I have to agree with other reviewers who say this is not for kids, even though it seems to have won some children book awards. Female proprietors werent unheard of, eitherat least three were known in Philadelphia in the 18th century. I didnt realize that before I borrowed it, but it turns out, this was about as much information as I could handle on the subject. Stage coaches from Philadelphia were not allowed in many cities. Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, two free Black men, volunteered. The plague is often considered an allegory for war and military occupation, and Camus drew from his own experience to describe the isolation and struggle of the novel. Highly recommend this. User ratings. You had the local newspapers calling [Kinyoun] a fake, calling him suspicious, implying that he was just trying to take money from the public coffers and this was all a big scam, he says. African-American nurses had also begun dying of the fever. Most of this book discusses the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia, which was the national capital at the time. The plague strikes people from all social classes and positions, which only highlights the absurdity and arbitrariness of such hierarchies. I learned a fair number of new historical facts in this one and truly appreciated the research and concise presentation of the events surrounding the 1793 yellow fever epidemic as well as so many other epidemics of this disease which hit different cities in the States. Today, a vaccine prevents yellow fever in much of the world, though thousands of people still die every year from the disease. Nearly 100 years later, in the late summer of 1793, refugees from a yellow fever epidemic in the Caribbean fled to Philadelphia. The city's banks remained open. The most interesting parts were in the last quarter of the book. An Enquiry Into, and Observations Upon the Causes and Effects of the Epidemic Disease, which Raged in Philadelphia from the Month of August Till towards the Middle of December, 1793. A person with crape [mourning crepe], or any appearance of mourning, was shunned like a viper. Letters describing their cases were published in a pamphlet about a month after they died. a destructively numerous influx or multiplication of a noxious animal : infestation. He placed "the greatest dependence for the cure to the disease, on throwing cool water twice a day over the naked body. Dr. Benjamin Rush: Developed a radical treatment process for the yellow fever disease which involved withdrawing blood from patients and giving patients mercury and the root of a poisonous plant. "[38] On September 15, Peter Helm, a barrel maker, and Stephen Girard, a merchant and shipowner born in France, volunteered to personally manage the hospital and represent the Mayor's Committee. if i had read this as a child, it would have given me night terrors for years and even now i would think of it with chills, as i do with. There are themes to this one that seem a wee bit strong for a work written for youth but it should certainly garner discussion. Published in 2003, Jim Murphy's An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 is a historical nonfiction book for young adults that provides a detailed look into Philadelphia's yellow fever epidemic of 1793. Kinyoun, who is now known as the father of the National Institutes of Health, was at the forefront of the field of medical bacteriology. Upon which we and a few others met and consulted how to act on so truly alarming and melancholy occasion. An American Plague: The True and. It gets its name from the swollen lymph nodes (buboes) caused by the disease. From the Center for the History of Medicine in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. [citation needed], Rush's claim that his remedies cured 99 out of 100 patients has led historians and modern doctors to ridicule his remedies and approach to medical science. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Current one is: October 11. In a letter to the U.S. secretary of state cosigned by San Francisco jeans magnate Levi Strauss, Governor Gage blamed Kinyoun for the plague fake, as he called it, and claimed San Francisco had never seen a living case of plague. A year after the first plague victim died, Gage successfully convinced the federal government to relocate Kinyoun to Detroit. 14 Apr 2023 06:21:01 Others deprecated his therapies, such as Dr. Devze, but agreed that the fever had local origins. 6. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. The Guardians of the Poor took over Bush Hill, a 150-acre estate farther outside the city, whose owner William Hamilton was in England for an extended stay. Struggling with distance learning? watchmen were supposed to guard. Except where otherwise noted, this work is subject to a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which allows anyone to share and adapt our material as long as proper attribution is given. Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, was the most cosmopolitan city in the United States. Quick lime should be thrown into the privies and the chambers whitewashed." [83] As Thomas A. Apel has written "Yellow fever constituted the most pressing national problem of the early national problem. A state senator in Sacramento stood on the senate floor and said that Kinyoun should be hanged for what he was doing, he says. [2] Kirkus Reviews named it Starred Review and found the book to be "A mesmerizing, macabre accountpowerful evocative prose compelling subject matterfascinating discussionvaluable lesson in reading and writing history. The cure for the disease was not found until centuries later. The following sources were used in writing this page. Many families who could afford to, or who had relatives in the countryside, lived elsewhere during that hot month. He listed the names of the dead at the back of the book, which is one reason it was a bestseller. Autopsies after their death revealed stomachs destroyed by such purges. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. When Inskeep contracted the fever, he asked for the assistance of a family whom he had attended when several of its members were sick. I had no idea that for about 3 months the Federal government got shut down because of yellow fever. What did Girard do? Many of the slaves in Charleston in 1742 could have gained immunity before having been transported from Africa, by having been exposed to yellow fever in a mild case. Sanitation, vaccination programs and other public hygiene efforts in the late 19th century enabled public health officials to gain power and authority. ditch the last chapter tho. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), National Institutes of Health History Office/Flickr Creative Commons, the father of the National Institutes of Health, Bugs of War: How Insects Have Been Weaponized Through History, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports of prairie dogs with plague-carrying fleas, https://www.history.com/news/first-plague-outbreak-united-states-california, The First Time the Plague Broke Out in the US, Officials Tried to Deny It. The book takes place during the 1793 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic. The first yellow fever outbreaks in the United States occurred in late 1690s. In reporting for her book, Chase learned that scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins believe the strain that now exists throughout the west originates from the strain that was first carried to U.S. shores by ship rats around 1900. Soon after, the mortality increased, the difficulty of getting a corpse taken away, was such, that few were willing to do it, when offered great rewards. The man who should be credited with figuring it out watched the mosquito bite him that ended up killing him. The Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends at the Arch Street Meeting House drew 100 attendees, most from outside the city. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Last edited on 25 September 2022, at 05:57, Children and Young Adult Literature portal, "AN AMERICAN PLAGUE: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793", "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 (Genre: Non Fiction)", "2010 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner Jim Murphy", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=An_American_Plague&oldid=1112211447, This page was last edited on 25 September 2022, at 05:57. READ MORE: Bugs of War: How Insects Have Been Weaponized Through History. Writing with the suspense of a mystery novel, The American Plague chronicles the medical efforts to stop and treat this deadly illness. Newbery Honor and Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor recipient Jim Murphy An Account of the Terrible Effects of the Pestilential Infection in the City of Philadelphia; With an Elegy on the Deaths of the People; also, A Song of Praise and Thanksgiving, Composed for Those Who Have Recovered, After Having Been Smitten with that Dreadful Contagion. Norfolk; June-Oct . Instructor: Erica Schimmel. 2 likes. Sophia's War: A Tale of the Revolution, by Avi, is another young adult historical novel . The mortality rate peaked in October before frost finally killed the mosquitoes and brought an end to the outbreak. [87], Scholars celebrated the 200th anniversary of the epidemic with the publication of papers on various aspects of the epidemic. that of the people over-bidding one another, it was concluded unnecessary to attempt any thing on that head; therefore it was left to the people concerned. New York established a "Committee appointed to prevent the spreading and introduction of infectious diseases in this city", which set up citizen patrols to monitor entry to the city. The Hub reached out to Alexandre White, an assistant . An interesting aspect is the courageous role that African Americans played which was largely ignored by history. Murphy paints a vivid picture of the yellow fevers terror and hopelessness that crippled our nations capital and precipitated a Constitutional crisis. The calomel in his pills soon brought on a state of constant salivation, which Rush urged patients to attain to assure a cure. Teachers and parents! Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps. "Yearly Meeting Epistle 1793," Swarthmore College Library Quaker Collection; see also letter by Margaret Morris to her daughter August 31, 1793, Haverford College Library Manuscript Collection. Mitchell noted that the stomach and intestines filled with blood and that these organs had to be emptied at all costs. [35] As noted above, Richard Allen and Absalom Jones offered the services of members of the Free African Society to the committee. Plague is an infectious disease caused by a specific type of bacterium called Yersinia pestis. Modern genetic analyses indicate that the strain of Y. pestis introduced during the Black Death is . "[50], Church clergy continued to hold services, which helped keep up residents' morale. Imagine living through a plague that's wiping out huge parts of the population around you, with nothing to stop it and no end in sight. However, this didnt mean the plague had left the country. Powell brings to life the people and events of the worst epidemic in American historyyes, worse than the Wuhan coronavirus of 2019-2020 and the Spanish Flu of 1918. In a memoir published in 1794, Devze wrote of Girard: I even saw one of the diseased [discharge] the contents of his stomach upon [him]. [42], As the death toll in the city rose, officials in neighboring communities and major port cities such as New York and Baltimore established quarantines for refugees and goods from Philadelphia. The Origins of The Plague. But, banking operations were so slowed by the inability of people to pay off notes because of disruptions from the epidemic that banks automatically renewed notes until the epidemic ended. Between August 1 and September 7, 456 people died in the city; 42 deaths were reported on September 8. The 10-year-old . Carey added that the "efficacy of bleeding, in all cases not attended with putridity, was great. The nodes in the armpit, groin and neck can become as large as . Two men dissecting rats believed to be spreading the plague. Like all hospitals of that time, the Pennsylvania Hospital did not admit patients with infectious diseases. On September 7, Dr. Adam Kuhn, who had studied medicine at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, advised patients to treat symptoms as they arose. Vice President John Adams had recently rented the main house, so yellow fever patients were placed in the outbuildings. The criminal justice system's pervasive problems with racism start before the first contact and continue through pleas, conviction, incarceration, release, and beyond. The Bush Hill Hospital, which housed the sick poor, was desperately understaffed. In the South, planters and other wealthy people usually left the Low Country during this season. A couple of quotes about him Good book about the plague, with an accessible level and a small length that avoids to become bored. Not only did it directly impact thousands of people, it also closed down the Federal gov't, resulting in a revision of some laws. Over 80% of United States plague cases have been the bubonic form. By 1908, San Francisco was essentially plague-free, and California newspapers reported this news even though theyd previously denied the plagues existence. After listening to this on audiobook, I have a hard time believing it was written for children. Its cause, however, has been questioned for nearly 500 years. Over the course of the subsequent chapters, the initial chaos induced by the spread of the fever is confronted by several individuals who choose to stay in the city to help, including members of the College of Physicians. Integrating newspapers, diaries, personal testimonies and period illustrations, the narrative delivers a social and medical history of the times and raises chilling questions about the disease today. Filled with photographs. The meetinghouse is not far from the waterfront where the epidemic had started. Drawing on firsthand accounts, medical and non-medical, Murphy re-creates the fear and panic in the infected city, the social conditions that caused the disease to spread, and the arguments about causes and cures. President George Washington left the city for his Mount Vernon estate. Black Death, pandemic that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351, taking a proportionately greater toll of life than any other known epidemic or war up to that time. Acquaintances and friends avoided each other in the streets, and only signified their regard by a cold nod. The death of a 10-year-old in Colorado has been linked to plague as state health officials warn they are investigating reports of the bacterial infection in animals and fleas. At this point Philadelphia is considered to be the largest city located in North America. Over 80% of United States plague cases have been the bubonic form. During the epidemic of 1798, Benjamin Rush commuted daily from a house just outside the city, near what is now 15th and Columbia streets, to the new city fever hospital, where as chief doctor he treated fever victims. None of those victims was a recent immigrant.[16]. About two months into the epidemic, however, Rush was proven wrong and Black people began to fall ill, dying from yellow fever at about the same rate as whites. The mayor and a committee of two dozen organized a fever hospital at Bush Hill and other crisis measures. I especially appreciated the final chapter, that brings the story of yellow fever's current effects on the world, and possible future effects. Scholars at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History recently revisited that 1793 outbreak in the online seminar, "Race and Place: Yellow Fever and the Free African Society in . Observations upon the origin of the malignant bilious, or yellow fever in Philadelphia, and upon the means of preventing it :addressed to the citizens of Philadelphia. Doctors also became ill and died, and fewer were available to care for patients. It contains pictures and illustrations, including pages from a list compiled of the dead. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, The Yellow Fever Epidemic in Philadelphia, 1793, A Short Account of the Malignant Fever, Lately Prevalent in Philadelphia. Mr. Murphy, a former children's book editor, wrote more than 30 books that chronicled fascinating but . Philadelphia, the new nation's capital, largest city and busiest port had become a ghost town. Pernick, Martin S. "Politics, Parties, and Pestilence: Epidemic Yellow Fever in Philadelphia and the Rise of the First Party System,", Kopperman, Paul E. "'Venerate the Lancet': Benjamin Rush's Yellow Fever Therapy in Context,", "A Short History of Yellow Fever in the US", "Andrew Brown's "Earnest Endeavor": The Federal Gazette's Role in Philadelphia's Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793", Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, "Yellow Fever Decimates Philadelphia | History of Vaccines", "When the Yellow Fever Outbreak of 1793 Sent the Wealthy Fleeing Philadelphia", "Africans in America Part 3: Brotherly Love (17911831) Philadelphia/People & Events/The Yellow Fever epidemic", "A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People", Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, "Africans in America Part 3: Brotherly Love (17911831) Philadelphia/Modern Voices/Julie Winch on Jones' and Allen's response to Carey", (Mitchell's account of the Yellow Fever in Virginia in 17412), "Account of the Yellow fever which prevailed in Virginia in the years 1737, 1741, and 1742, in a letter to the late Cadwallader Colden, Esq. And like many others in California, Gage wasnt even sure white people could get the plague in the first place. He was smitten with the disorder, and died. It was, in fact, a great human slaughter-house. Not a few of his patients became comatose. She has enjoyed writing since second grade. From that day the fever spread fast and indiscriminately through the city. It looks like in this book Philadelphia was also badly hit in 1793 by the yellow fever epidemic. some people felt a sense of duty. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 is a 2003 nonfiction adolescent history by author Jim Murphy published by Clarion Books. The book has photographs and newspapers clippings from the time the plague happened in Philadelphia. Such entertainment had been banned during the Revolution and had only recently been authorized. At the turn of the 20th century, the world was gripped by a plague pandemic that had spread from China to port cities around the globe. pathogenic: 1 adj able to cause disease " pathogenic bacteria" Synonyms: infective , morbific unhealthful detrimental to good health I didn't even notice that until now. Unlike doctors from an earlier era, Kinyoun used a microscope to study microorganisms his patients couldnt see. He focuses on urban power dynamics, race relations, class structure, and concern for public health, which was guided by an elite group of doctors known as the College of Physicians. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. Docking facilities extended from Southwark south of the city to Kensington to the north. PDF downloads of all 1715 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. It occurs in both men and women, though . was Publishers Weekly's opinion about the work. [1] "In a lavishly illustrated book, containing maps, newspaper columns and period illustrations, Jim Murphy unflinchingly presents the horrors of the event as well as its heroes" states Anita Silvey. Thomas Jefferson: Was the Secretary of State when the plague struck Philadelphia. The newspaper editor William Cobbett attacked Rush's therapies and called him a Sangrado, after a character in Gil Blas, who bled patients to death. [45], In his 1793 account of the epidemic, Mathew Carey contrasted the sacrifices of men like Joseph Inskeep, a Quaker who served on the Mayor's Committee and also visited the sick, with the selfishness of others. They refused. A narration of the Yellow Fever outbreak in Philadelphia in 1793, which claimed the lives of between 4,000 and 5,000 men, women and children. In the belief that the epidemic was related to bad air, the Committee published directions for cleaning houses which had been closed up, recommending that they be aired for several days with all windows and doors open. [6] In 1793 Philadelphia was the temporary capital of the United States, and the government was due to return in the fall. Sort field for winners: "[30] Rush taught the African-American nurses how to bleed and purge patients. She also describes the many people leaving the city.[19]. Plague has occurred in people of all ages (infants up to age 96), though 50% of cases occur in people ages 12-45. They had an open sewer system and the dead animals, spoiled food and waste ran down channels right beside the roads where citizens lived and worked. For three months nothing happened in the government, no laws were passed, no meetings, nothing and yet the world still went on, and this at a time much more critical than normal, when part of the population wanted another revolution to go along with the French Revolution, and the entire country was only a few years old. This page is not available in other languages. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights, An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, Arthur Mervyn; or, Memoirs of the Year 1793. [3] They crowded the port of Philadelphia, where the first yellow fever epidemic in the city in 30 years began. I have to admit that I learned some things from this book. Feverish Fiction. He also left a diary. [8], A 2013 book by Billy G. Smith, professor of history at Montana State University, makes a case that the principal vector of the 1793 plague in Philadelphia (and other Atlantic ports) was the British merchant ship Hankey, which had fled the West African colony of Bolama (an island off West Africa, present-day Guinea-Bissau) the previous November. Also, the aspect of scentists battling an unknown disease with some unfortunate consequences. The way the content is organized, A concise biography of Laurie Halse Anderson plus historical and literary context for, In-depth summary and analysis of every chapter of, Explanations, analysis, and visualizations of, Laurie Halse is the daughter of the Rev. The Black Death is widely believed to have been the result of plague, caused by infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Updated: March 23, 2020 | Original: November 15, 2019. The white flag had to be struck. [33], The mayor Matthew Clarkson organized the city's response to the epidemic. Hearing how scientists were mocked for believing yellow fever is spread by mosquitoes and how the attempt to eradicate that type of mosquitoes saved this book from being an absolute bore for me. Published in 2003, Jim Murphys An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 is a historical nonfiction book for young adults that provides a detailed look into Philadelphias yellow fever epidemic of 1793. It mainly impacted the Moscow people. Two thousand free Black people lived there, as well as many recent white French-speaking arrivals from the colony of Santo . Fever Epidemic of 1793 (Newbery. Doctors tried a variety of treatments but knew neither the origin of the fever nor that the disease was transmitted by mosquitoes (this information was not verified until the late 19th century). A merchant reported that the streets were "in an uproar and rendered the wharves impossible by reason of the vast quantities of wine, sugar, rum, coffee, cotton & c. The porters are quite savvy and demand extravagantly for anything they do. [24], Allen noted in his account that because of the increase in mortality, he and Jones had to hire five men to assist them in removing corpses, as most people avoided the sick and the dead. Philadelphia was also the seat of the United States government at the time, but federal authorities simply evacuated the city in face of the raging epidemic. In one week in October, 130 members of his congregation were buried. [52] The Quaker John Todd, who attended the meeting, contracted the fever and died of it. "[26] Despite Rush's theory, most of the city's people of color, who were born in North America, were not immune to the fever. [13] The daily death toll remained above 30 until October 26. This was a significant event in the history of the U.S., yet I don't remember hearing it mentioned in school. Despite his many accomplishments, the thought of hosting SNL has always filled him with . The doctor found that 67 of about 400 residents near the Arch Street wharf were sick, but only 12 had "malignant fevers. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. This outbreak illustrated a racial disparity in yellow fever mortality; 7.4% of white residents died, but only 0.2% of blacks. Devze had arrived on the refugee ship from Saint-Domingue, which many accused of having carried the disease, but he thought it healthy. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Rush, who believed that Black people were immune to yellow fever, asked members of the African Society to come forward and care for to the sick and the dead. Absalom Jones: Was involved in the building of the St. George's United Methodist Church and, after participating and helping build the church, was told to sit in the back of the church by the church leaders. Helmuth. Devze later became a world authority on yellow fever. This was attended to by Absalom Jones and William Gray; and, in order that the distressed might know where to apply, the mayor advised that upon application to them they would be supplied. Another physician said five persons within sight of her door died. [78], American doctors did not identify the vector of yellow fever until the late nineteenth century. But instead of alerting the public, city and state officialsincluding the governor of Californiadenied there was any plague outbreak at all. "[84], General 20th-century US histories, such as the 10-volume Great Epochs in American History, published in 1912, used short excerpts from Carey's account. This included the transformation of Bush Hill into an emergency hospital and the deployment of the Free African Society, whose members agreed to nurse needy citizensit was thought that people of African descent couldnt catch yellow fever, but this was quickly proven untrue. The plagues existence and hopelessness that crippled our nations capital and precipitated a Constitutional.... The yellow fevers terror and hopelessness that crippled our nations capital and precipitated a crisis... Plague chronicles the medical efforts to stop and treat this deadly illness winners: [! Colony of Santo in writing this page Black people lived there, as well as many white. Far from the Center for the history of the yellow fevers terror and hopelessness that crippled our capital! Public health officials to gain power and authority battling an unknown disease some. The early national problem of the Revolution, by Avi, is another young adult historical novel but... 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