RLO: The Rise and Fall of the American Vice District
One Hour Television Documentary

This program explores the history of regulated prostitution in America. In the 1800s, cities began to experiment with licensed prostitution in an effort to control their growing vice trades. Systems varied, but most included minimum age requirements and weekly medical inspections. If a prostitute was found infected with a venereal disease, she was sent to a special hospital for treatment. If healthy, she was allowed to ply her trade within a specific area of the city.

One of the first cities to adopt licensed prostitution was Nashville, TN. Under the cover of martial law, Union officers introduced the system to help protect the health of their soldiers. "The army," reported the Nashville Daily Press," has notified all public women in the city to report to the colonel's office. Upon examination by a surgeon and payment of five dollars, they will receive licenses. Any such woman found without a license will be arrested and incarcerated in the workhouse for a period of not less than thirty days. Good. Capital--say we!"

Over the next fifty years, cities across the country studied the Nashville experiment and drafted their own regulatory systems. Other cities relied on more informal arrangements brokered between local authorities and the denizens of the vice districts.

Across the country, lines were drawn between pragmatists who believed regulation was the best way to control the "social evil" and those who refused to compromise their view of morality. Their battle would help define the moral compass of the nation and strip the civil liberties of an entire class of people.

Distribution

Currently in production with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Completion Date:
Fall 2008

Presenting Station:
WYES-TV, New Orleans