The Bite that Changed America Man can capture an elephant, train a lion, and totally obliterate a species from this earth. If man can do all that surely he will have dominion over something as small and meek as a mosquito. The Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793 proved this notion to be false as this disease, transmitted solely by the bite of a female mosquito, wiped out one tenth of Philadelphia’s population in four months. Some make the mistake of seeing this as an isolated event but this epidemic was as far-reaching as the disease itself since it forever changed America’s Government, public health system and African American community. Since Philadelphia was, at the time, the capitol of the United States of America the epidemic proved …show more content…
In fear and mass panic Hundreds then thousands began to flee the city including members of government. Congress was adjourned and along with the president and other government officials moved to German Town (Gum 2). Many historians find this very signifcant since the discord between the Republicans and Federalists during this time over social and medical(both sides had opposing views on the cause of the epidemic) issues were escalating into heated and sometimes relatively violent arguments. The months while congress was adjourned allowed the tension to lesson possibly preventing a poltical eruption that would have set America on a different track (Kolsky 7).
With the countries capital city shaken to the core the people needed the guidance of Congress and the President. Unfortunately since many Americans feared their president would become autocratic like the Kimg of France in Versailles the President was not allowed to hold a meeting outside of the capital. Later Congress recognized the consequences this raised so they passed a law allowing the President to move a meeting in a time of danger or distress. More notably the 1793 outbreak(and smaller Yellow Fever outbreaks that would happen sporadically throughout the decade) helped dash the hopes of Philadelphia becoming the permanent capital. Instead the capital would become a small rural area to be titled Washington D.C which appeased the Federalists who had been
although this plan work for the northern states the southern states wouldn't agreed with hamilton's plan because they said that since the nation's capitol was in new york the the northern states would have more influence over the government. Hamilton, jefferson, and madison meet and all came to an agreement to move the capitol to philadelphia to get the southern states to
A great misfortune took place during the summer of 1793. It was one of the driest and hottest summers in years making way for many disease spreading pests like mosquitoes (Gum 1). Said bugs and rodents took the lives of thousands leaving Colonial America in terrible condition. The College of Physicians not only established organization during this time of chaos, but they also limited future epidemics like the events that took place in Philadelphia and Colonial America from occurring again. To expand upon, the college created eleven rules for people to follow in order to prevent Yellow Fever from dispersing any further (Dobson 2). These rules included avoiding “all unnecessary intercourse” with those who have contracted the disease; housing all of the diseased in a large open room, removing “offensive matters from the diseased’s room” (2), frequently cleaning the selected room, and bathing the infected as quickly as possible; having a medical center for each city so the poor can also be assisted with regards to Yellow Fever; putting a stop to the ringing of the church bells; burying the dead fever victims in a private manner;
The one thing that could keep me inside on a nice summer’s day is the threat of mosquitoes. Where they bite me, I swell up and itch for days afterwards. It’s a hard choice between slathering myself in nasty smelling insect repellant or staying inside. Sometimes even with the insect repellant I still get bit. To add insult to injury, they sometimes get in the house and attack me. They seem to be an annoyance I can’t escape. I’m lucky that the mosquitoes that bite me don’t carry dangerous diseases like the ones in other counties. Daniel Engber who wrote the article “Let’s Kill All the Mosquitoes” has the solution to our problem. He makes a great argument to kill the dangerous mosquitoes and it’s very well supported with credible sources.
The most crucial problem concerned land in the west. After the revelation Americans continued to move westward. Many Americans moved to western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Nashville TN region. This caused other states to become jealous due to them not having any claims on any land in the west; this would result in them not making any money off the lands the Americans were settling in. This happening caused Maryland to not give their consent on the Articles of Confederation until Virginia gave up their holdings in the west to the federal government. Two years later Congress passed an achievement under the Articles of Confederation called Northwest Ordinance of 1787; this created territorial governments in the Great Lakes region and set a map for
The history of the United States began with Virginia and Massachusetts; their histories begin with epidemics of unidentified diseases. Smallpox was the worst and the most amusing diseases that were out. Smallpox were just killing down all the Native Americans, they didn’t know what to do with it all. The epidemic destroyed half of the Cherokee in 1738, in 1759 almost half of the Catawba’s, in the first years of the next century two-thirds of the Omaha’s and perhaps half of the population between the Missouri River and New Mexico.
All was not right in the capital of the early united state or Philadelphia. Many people were dying of a fever that slipped under the radar.
During the Conquest period, epidemics of diseases like smallpox significantly reduced native populations. Centuries later, the HIV/AIDS destroyed large populations of the LGBT community in the United States. When diseases killed natives, doctors at the time did not have the advanced knowledge to understand what spread the disease and how to contain it. Therefore, while the colonists might have benefited from epidemics, they did not willfully spread the disease. Although one could speculate that the conquistadors would have used disease strategically if they understood how to spread it, there is no way to prove that they would have. In fact, it is possible that they would have tried to contain diseases more, as the natives provided useful labor and subjects for conquistadors. On the other hand, during the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the late 20th century, the United States government knowingly did not take measures to assist those affected with HIV/AIDS because they looked down on the communities most affected by the disease. While the conquistadors killed large amounts of Indians with epidemics, they did not do so intentionality. However, the United States government allowed disease to
At the peak of Britain's prominence, it was said that the sun never sets on the British Empire. Many were enthralled under its wing of mighty protection and dare a country stand up to Britain and face the consequences. In 1755 the last of the great conflicts between the Britain and France broke out. Although initially proving its superiority, one of the main facets of the British Empire headed for a major transformation. So that is why I say the very of the British triumph over France in the French and Indian War opened the door to the American Revolution.
Members also saw that life in the capital reaped more benefits. After the civil war, congress saw that there was new and often very complex areas that needed better policy. Congress saw this opportunity so seize more power by the initiating new policies, instead of the President. With all these new developments arrived congress sought he need to
The United States had some fundamental problems in the late 1780 's. Many saw this and were looking for a way to produce a national government that would be more than the virtually powerless government the United States currently had. Pennsylvania was represented in the federal convention by a larger delegation than any of the other states.
Each type of government holds different views as to the role the leaders and citizens should perform in their country .Different types of government include, oligarchy where the government is run by the best leaders, Tyranny, where they believe those in power should have complete control over its people. In the United States of America, we believe in democracy, rule by the majority. The main problem with our type of government is maintaining it. Our government and its citizens have lost sight of their roles and responsibilities, in government.
The physical side is at one time they did love each other because kids were born. The shared activities are the fact they have children and they still do things as a family.
The historical research done into the lives of the principals, details of historical events and of the virus of yellow fever. As Crosby asserts, yellow fever came from West Africa to the United States on slave ships, is carried by mosquitoes and thrives in warm and wet environments (History.com Staff, 2009). However, in the book Crosby focuses the view of the history of yellow fever in the United States on the Memphis epidemic of 1878. While this was a massive epidemic and the worst one in American history, (Crosby, 41), the research leaves out other major predecessors to the Memphis epidemic. The Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic in 1793 depopulated the nation’s capital at similar levels and was the first major outbreak in the United States (Graham, 2016). Outbreaks continued. The outbreak in New Orleans in 1853, settled in the perfect environment for an outbreak, killed a whopping 7,849 (Waits, 2016). Though these epidemics and others are mentioned in Crosby’s account, they are presented as more of an afterthought than an important part of the history of yellow fever as they
On April 19, 1775, Americans will never forget when many deaths and historical events occurred allowing the colonist to receive their victoriorous justice. Colonists were frustrated because Britain forced them not to have any representation in the British Parliament. This led to an American battle which had 4,435 deaths involving this event. Although, we lost many lives during this time period, we gained justice and independence from Great Britain, with the help of one of Americas strongests allie; the French. In fact, without assistance, the Americans were no match for Britains; showing the hatred towards the British from the French and Americans, thus, making it easy for them to form an alliance. In 1778, representatives of both America
Due to the economic strife the American public knows all too well what a recession is. It is economic hardship that has led to the loss of thousands of jobs and businesses. This economic hardship has led to many people losing their homes, cars and other valuables. Why is it that when the Obama administration talks about the recession they refer to it as “The Bank Stabilization Plan.” (Stewart) Something that has caused the total meltdown of the American Economy being referred to as “The Bank Stabilization Plan” (Stewart) seems outright ludicrous. Even if they are in the process of fixing the problem, the government insists on using modest language to confuse the public into believing that the issue is not a huge problem; Just a