Politics of Yellow Fever in Alexander Hamilton’s America

In 1793, yellow fever ravaged Philadelphia. During this time, citizens confronted the epidemic in the absence of an effective cure or consensus about the origins of the disease, while medical professionals, early political parties, and private citizens seized on the epidemic to advance their respective agendas. As a result, Philadelphia’s sick and dying received medical care informed as much by politics as by the best available science. Politics of Yellow Fever in Alexander Hamilton’s America considers how science and politics helped determine the response to the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. Visit the Online Exhibition - https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/po...