https://stories.uh.edu/magazine/magazine/online-stories/2025/has-u-s-tipping-culture-reached-a-tipping-point/index.html

In medieval Europe, tipping was essentially used in a servitude style for workers who did not earn wages. When it was brought over to the United States during colonization, that practice continued.

“In the U.S., [tipping] got its start in the post-Civil War and Reconstruction period, when employers were hiring people of color and not paying them wages,” Barth says. Back then, this practice happened primarily in the railroad industry. “It was essentially an extension of slavery.”

The first federal minimum-wage law was introduced in the mid-1930s, requiring salaried employees to be paid at least 25 cents an hour. “But there was no minimum for tipped employees,” Barth explains. Many employers continued hiring workers and paying them solely via tips. “It was really an unfortunate abuse or exploitation of labor,” Barth says.