The Contagion of Liberty: The Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution

by Andrew M. Wehrman Narrated by Timothy Andrés Pabon

Overview

The Revolutionary War broke out during a smallpox epidemic, and in response, General George Washington ordered the inoculation of the Continental Army. But Washington did not have to convince fearful colonists to protect themselves against smallpox. In The Contagion of Liberty, Andrew M. Wehrman describes a revolution within a revolution, where the violent insistence for freedom from disease ultimately helped American colonists achieve independence from Great Britain.



Inoculation, a shocking procedure introduced to America by an enslaved African, became the most sought-after medical procedure of the eighteenth century. Across the colonies, poor Americans rioted for equal access to medicine, while cities and towns shut down for quarantines.



The miraculous discovery of vaccination in the early 1800s posed new challenges that upended the revolutionaries' dream of disease eradication, and Wehrman reveals that the quintessentially American rejection of universal health care systems has deeper roots than previously known. During a time when some of the loudest voices in the United States are those clamoring against efforts to vaccinate, this richly documented book will appeal to anyone interested in the history of medicine and politics, or who has questioned government action (or lack thereof) during a pandemic.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

In The Contagion of Liberty, historian Andrew Wehrman traces the path of the smallpox-inoculation movement, and its generally overlooked impact on politics around the American War of Independence. He argues that smallpox influenced the journey towards independence from British rule, and how Americans conceived of their new, hard-won liberties. It is a tale of startling contemporary relevance.As vaccination was privatized, he argues, the concept of a civic duty to protect public health was displaced by the idea of disease as a consequence of personal negligence.
—Nature

The Covid pandemic wasn't the first time that America has found itself split along ideological seams over infectious disease.As historian Andrew Wehrman explains in The Contagion of Liberty: The Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution, our downright violent resistance to, and demand for freedom from, the disease was also precisely what helped galvanize our mobilization of independence from England.
—Engadget

The Contagion of Liberty is a timely and fascinating account of the raucous public demand for smallpox inoculation during the American Revolution.This thought-provoking history offers a new dimension to our understanding of both the American Revolution and the origins of public health in the United States.
—New York Almanack

In The Contagion f Liberty, Andrew Wehrman weaves together dozens of individual stories and their layered historical contexts to provide a fascinating account of smallpox in America, from colonial times through the early republic. A deeply researched and gracefully written volume.
—Wall Street Journal

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176797169
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	12/27/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged

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