The 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic in Philadelphia: The Voluntary Aid of the African American Relief Force to the Ailing Population
Date
2009
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Producer
Director
Performer
Choreographer
Costume Designer
Music
Videographer
Lighting Designer
Set Designer
Crew Member
Funder
Rehearsal Director
Concert Coordinator
Advisor
Moderator
Panelist
Alternative Title
Department
Haverford College. Department of History
Type
Thesis
Original Format
Running Time
File Format
Place of Publication
Date Span
Copyright Date
Award
Language
eng
Note
Table of Contents
Terms of Use
Rights Holder
Access Restrictions
Haverford users only
Terms of Use
Tripod URL
Identifier
Abstract
In 1776, the United States declared independence from the British Empire. The end of the American Revolution marked a crucial point in American history, a defining moment for what has proven to be the promising future of capitalism and democracy in the United States. The young republic was founded on the democratic ideal of protecting individual rights. The decades following Independence marked a period of great vulnerability in the history of the United States. In 1793, an outbreak of yellow fever devastated the capital city of Philadelphia. Catherine West offers a social historian's view of the 1793 Philadelphia Yellow Fever Epidemic, by explaining the national culture, public health, and disease theory of the period to illuminate the social response of the African American Community. Despite the major contributions of Philadelphia's African American population to the relief force, Mathew Carey slighted their role in A Short Account of the Malignant Fever, Lately Prevalent in Philadelphia: with a Statement of the Proceedings That Took Place on the Subject in Different Parts of the United States. Mathew Carey created a false depiction of the African American nurses in order to draw more positive attention to the white protagonists of his own narrative. The volunteer nurses from the African American Community of Philadelphia embraced the idea of civic voluntarism during the epidemic. However, the prejudice of contemporary sources excluded free African American citizens from the characterization of the public-spirited citizen. As a result, the efforts of the African American Community to prove their rightful citizenship during the outbreak were unsuccessful. An evaluation of the contributions made by the African American Community of Philadelphia, as indicated in the narrative written by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, allows for the heroic efforts of the African American nurses to be rightfully placed in the overall development of public health.