Hasty History #7: The Bath Riots of 1917

As you all know, we are currently on a season break and working hard behind the scenes to bring you a very exciting Season Ten very soon! In the meantime, however, we thought it would be fun to give you some bonus content! We hope you enjoy!

In this week's BONUS Hasty History episode, we will be discussing the 1917 Bath Riots. These were a series of riots that occurred in January of 1917 when seventeen-year-old Carmelita Torres refused to take a toxic bath in order to cross from Juarez, Mexico to El Paso, Texas. Yes, you heard that correctly: American officials in Texas required Mexicans entering the United States to strip naked, be physically inspected, sprayed down with water that contained gasoline and other toxic chemicals, and undergo an intensive lice treatment. When Torres refused to be humiliated in this way, it sparked a series of riots that would occur over the course of two days at the Santa Fe Bridge.

This is an often forgotten story in American History and one that is super important to talk about and remember. So let's dive in!

Hasty History BONUS episodes are no-nonsense, crash course, cram session History lessons. No cocktail segment, no ads, no bloopers. Just a quick download of some heavy History content. Submit your topic suggestion for future Hasty History episodes at HashtagHistory1865@gmail.com.