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Throughout
i
s
e
The Series
a
history
s
e
National Security vs. Civil
s
& Privacy Rights
&
Immigration
E
Gender: Roles & Rights p
i
d
Drug Use & Abuse Diseases & Epidemics
e
The Environment m
i
Social Media Issues
c
s
The Death Penalty
Voters’ Rights
Presidential Authority
Guns in America
Globalization
Robotics &
Issitt
Artificial Intelligence
4919 Route 22, Amenia, NY 12501
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opinions
Throughout
history
Diseases & Epidemics
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opinions
Throughout
history
Diseases & Epidemics
by Micah L. Issitt
GREY HOUSE PUBLISHING
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Publisher’s Cataloging-In-Publication Data
(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)
Names: Issitt, Micah L., author.
Title: Diseases & epidemics / Micah L. Issitt.
Other Titles: Diseases and epidemics | Opinions throughout history ; 13.
Description: Amenia, NY : Grey House Publishing, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: ISBN 9781642658446
Subjects: LCSH: Epidemics--United States--History--Sources. | Communicable diseases--United States--History--Sources. |
COVID-19 (Disease)--United States--History--Sources.
Classifi cation: LCC RA650.5 .I87 2021 | DDC 614.4973--dc23
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Table of Contents
Publisher’s Note .............................................................................................................................ix
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................xi
Historical Timeline .....................................................................................................................xvii
1. The American Plague
Bringing Diseases to America (1620) .............................................................................................1
2. The Grinning Death
The History of Lockjaw (300 BCE–1924) .....................................................................................13
3. The Children’s Disease
The Effort to Beat Whooping Cough (1200s–1914) ......................................................................27
4. The Black Death
The Bubonic Plague in History and in the Modern World (1347–Present) .................................37
5. The Strangling Angel of Children
The Diphtheria Epidemic in America (1613–1925) .....................................................................51
6. The Colonialist Disease
Smallpox and the Making of America (6th Century–1770) .........................................................65
7. The First Vaccine
Development of the First Vaccine for Smallpox (1796–1979) ......................................................81
8. Fear of Science
The Origin of the Anti-Vaccination Movement (1809–1905) ........................................................97
9. Another Childhood Menace
The Effort to Combat Measles (1765–1963) ................................................................................113
10. Measles Strikes Back
The Resurgence of Measles and the Anti-Vaccination Movement (1981–1991) ........................127
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vi
| Table of Contents
11. Yellow Fever and the Mosquito Problem
Insect Vectors in Epidemic Diseases (1793–1953) ......................................................................139
12. The Riparian Plague
The Spread of Cholera across the World (1817–1866) ...............................................................153
13. The Red Rash
The Scarlet Fever Epidemic in American Popular Culture (1858–Present) .............................167
14. Marsh Fever
The Global Threat of Malaria (1897–Present) ...........................................................................177
15. The Infamous Typhoid Mary
The Typhoid Plague and Asymptomatic Carriers (1906–1907) ................................................193
16. A Non-Spanish Flu
The Spanish Flu Epidemic and the History of Infl uenza (1918–1919) .....................................205
17. A Presidential Disease
Polio and the Creation of America’s Vaccination Culture (1916–1955) ....................................221
18. America’s Disease Authority
The Formation of the Centers for Disease Control (1914–1946) ................................................237
19. The Global Health Problem
The Foundations of the World Health Organization (1948) ......................................................249
20. The Asian Flu
The H2N2 Infl uenza Outbreak (1957) ........................................................................................261
21. The Hong Kong Flu
The 1968 Infl uenza Pandemic (1968) .........................................................................................271
22. The DTP Controversy
The DTP Debate and Anti-Vaccination (1970s) ........................................................................281
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Table of Contents | vii
23. Human Immunodefi ciency Virus: Politics and Prejudice
The HIV Pandemic and the Impact of Prejudice on Public Health (1981) ...............................293
24. The Autism Myth
The MMR Vaccine and the Autism Controversy (1998–Present) ...............................................309
25. The First Coronavirus
The 2002 SARS Pandemic and the WHO and CDC Response (2002–Present) ........................321
26. The Bird Flu
The 2006 Pandemic and the Problem of Avian Carriers (2006–Present) .................................333
27. Return of the Coronavirus
Early History of the COVID-19 Crisis (2019) ............................................................................345
28. America in the Age of COVID
The American Reaction to COVID-19 (2020) .............................................................................367
29. Conclusion
Managing Fear and “I” Thinking ..............................................................................................381
Appendices
Notes ............................................................................................................................................385
Primary and Secondary Sources ................................................................................................399
Glossary .......................................................................................................................................403
Historical Snapshots ...................................................................................................................427
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................449
About the Author .........................................................................................................................473
Index ............................................................................................................................................475
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Publisher’s Note
Diseases & Epidemics is the thirteenth volume in the Opinions Throughout History
series from Grey House Publishing. Each single, in-depth volume traces public opinion on
current, controversial topics from our nation’s early history to the present using a range
of primary and secondary source documents, including newspaper and magazine articles,
speeches, court decisions, and other legislation. These documents are accompanied by
expert commentary and analysis to guide the reader through the process of understanding
their historical signifi cance and placing them in the context of how they contributed to,
or are a refl ection of, changing attitudes on important issues.
Content
Following this Publisher’s Note is a detailed Introduction that gives an overview of major
outbreaks that decimated populations and established the makeup of the modern world as
well as discussing how societies over time have reacted to such events. A comprehensive
Timeline highlights signifi cant events from the possible presence of smallpox in Egypt’s
New Kingdom in 1570 BCE to news of the fi rst successful phase III trials of a COVID-19
vaccine in 2020.
The 29 chapters that follow detail history’s most signifi cant diseases and epidemics
and trace scientifi c discoveries from microbiology to germ theory to vaccination—
tools that allowed a level of control over disease outbreaks. Coverage follows patterns
of science skepticism and refusal by some to engage in safe practices like quarantine,
social distancing, and mask-wearing. Governments who have downplayed the severity
of an outbreak to avoid panic and prevent economic decline include Woodrow Wilson’s
administration and their handling of the 1918 Spanish fl u pandemic and Donald Trump’s
administration during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. The changing role of the press is
also examined, from Wilson’s near-total control of the fl ow of information to today’s near-
immediate public access to data and fact-checking.
The importance of the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control
in tracking and responding to health emergencies is contrasted with the politicized
response of isolationism. The economic inequality and lack of adequate medical care
that result in a high incidence of preventable disease are analyzed. The origins of the
anti-vaccination movement are explored, from legitimate problems with early vaccines
to modern-day claims.
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