Straw Hat Riot

Newspaper advertisement, 1919

Straw hats had appeared in the 19th century as summertime wear usually in connection to summer sporting events such as boating (hence the name boater). Soft Panama hats were likewise derived from tropical attire but began to be worn as informal summer attire. Initially it was not considered good form for men to wear these in big cities even at the height of summer (women's hats were different). By the early 20th century, straw boaters were considered acceptable day attire in North American cities at the height of summer even for businessmen, but there was an unwritten rule that one was not supposed to wear a straw hat past September 15 (which was known as "Felt Hat Day").[1]

This date was arbitrary; earlier it had been September 1, but it eventually shifted to mid-month. It was socially acceptable for stockbrokers to destroy each other's hats, due to the fact that they were “companions”,[2] but it was not acceptable for total strangers. If any man was seen wearing a straw hat, he was, at minimum, subjecting himself to ridicule, and it was a tradition for youths to knock straw hats off of wearers' heads and stomp on them.[3] This tradition became well established, and newspapers of the day would often warn people of the impending approach of the fifteenth, when men would have to switch to felt or silk hats.[4] Hat bashing was only socially acceptable after September 15, but there were multiple occasions leading up to this date where the police had to intervene and stop teenagers.[2]

The riot itself began on September 13, 1922, two days before the supposed unspoken date, when a group of youths decided to get an early jump on the tradition. This group began in the former "Mulberry Bend" area of Manhattan by removing and stomping hats worn by factory workers who were employed in the area. The more innocuous stomping turned into a brawl when the youths tried to stomp a group of dock workers' hats, and the dock workers fought back.[5] The brawl soon stopped traffic on the Manhattan Bridge and was eventually broken up by police, leading to some arrests.[3]

Although the initial brawl was broken up by police, the fights continued to escalate the next evening. Gangs of teenagers prowled the streets wielding large sticks, sometimes with a nail driven through the top, looking for pedestrians wearing straw hats and beating those who resisted. One man claimed that his hat was taken and the group who had taken his hat joined a mob of about 1,000 that was snatching hats all along Amsterdam Avenue.[6] Several men were hospitalized from the beatings they received after resisting having their hats taken, and many arrests were made. Police were slow to respond to the riots, although several off-duty police officers found themselves caught up in the brawl when rioters attempted to snatch their hats. Two or three boys were accosted by pedestrians who said that their straw hats had been smashed; the boys were arrested.[5]

Many of those taken to court following arrests related to the hat-snatching frenzy opted to be fined rather than serve time in jail. The longest recorded time one of the teens was sent to jail was three days served by an A. Silverman, who was sentenced by Magistrate Peter A. Hatting during night court.[7]

In one incident, "ten or twelve boys armed with sticks dashed out of doorways near 109th Street".[7] Seven of the youths brought to the police station were under 15 and were not arrested; their parents were summoned and the boys "were spanked ignominiously"[5] in the "East 104th Street police station by order of the lieutenant at the desk."[5] After the station dealt with the original riot, all stations were told to keep an eye out for hat-snatching teens. E.C. Jones claimed to see around 1,000 teens in a mob roaming around Amsterdam Avenue.[7] A man, Harry Gerber, was kicked so badly he had to be hospitalized.[7] When Acting Detective Brundizo had his hat knocked off, he chased the kid but was interrupted by policeman Sigmund Cohn.[5] Brundizo then arrested Cohn for "interfering with an officer in the discharge of his duty". Cohn was released that night in night court, where he explained that he didn't know that Brundizo was an officer until he "drew his gun and black-jack".[5]

The tradition of hat smashing continued for some time after the riots of 1922, although they marked the worst occurrence of hat smashing. In 1924, one man was murdered for wearing a straw hat. 1925 saw similar arrests made in New York.[3]

That the activity died out is probably connected with the disappearance of the tradition of the seasonal switch from straw to felt hats. While Panama hats became, if anything, more fashionable during the 1930s, the straw boater became less fashionable. They had started as a fashionable item in the 1890s but by the 1930s comparatively few young men were wearing them (even for boating and other summer activities). They probably seemed dated, quaint and after the 1929 Wall Street crash, a symbol of the irresponsible 1920s. Straw hats for men continued to be manufactured but crucially they closely resembled hats such as the Panama, trilby or fedora in shape. By the 1950s the classic straw boater was virtually extinct as a garment, except in specialized circumstances such as the uniform of certain English public schools or university and college sportswear.

• Zoot Suit Riot
• Hard Hat Riot
• List of incidents of civil unrest in New York City
• List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States

• Archived New York Times article