The Prettiest Girl in Chicago: America's First Beauty Pageant, 1865

Aisha Manus, Independent Historian

In the history of beauty pageants, according to the lore, the first modern style pageant was the Miss United States pageant in 1880 in Rehoboth, DE. However, this “fact” is more likely clever marketing on the part of the Miss United States pageant system in their attempts to claim status as the oldest pageant, as there is absolutely no record of that pageant ever taking place, nor is it likely to have taken place in that particular location in that era. So, by default, most have settled on the fact the first modern pageant was the widely covered and heavily documented Miss America pageant in 1921 in Atlantic City, NJ. But I am here to write the new lore, where the first pageant was actually in 1865 in Chicago, IL, at the Northwestern Sanitary fair to raise money for the wounded soldiers, and just like her modern counterparts, this pageant was full of scandal and drama and, of course, beautiful girls!

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 113. Aesthetics and Politics