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Book SynopsisNow an LA Times Book Prize finalist: a timely and fascinating account of the raucous public demand for smallpox inoculation during the American Revolution and the origin of vaccination in the United States. Finalist of the LA Times Book Prize for History by the LA Times, Winner of the Peter J. Gomes Memorial Book Prize by the Massachusetts Historical SocietyThe 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 smallpoxthey were the ones demanding it. 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 th
Trade ReviewIn
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.
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NatureThe 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.
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EngadgetThe 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.
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New York AlmanackIn
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.
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Wall Street JournalTimely and thought provoking.
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H-NetOver the past three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, controversies about preventive measures, government versus individual control of health, medical racism and health inequities, disease versus the economy, and vaccine mandates have raged. Wehrman shows that this is not new ground we are treading...
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American Journal of Public HealthAndrew Wehrman makes a robust case that there is nothing new under the sun in public health in his fantastic new monograph
The Contagion of Liberty is both timely and sturdy in its findingsIt belongs on any list of the best history books of 2023.
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American HistoryAn accessible and valuable example of the long history of American healthcare controversies.
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H-WarThe Contagion of Liberty is a well-argued and extremely timely book. The depth of research and attention to political as well as medical debates make it a rare successful crossover text of interest to both historians of medicine and historians of the American Revolution. The strength and clarity of the argument and variety of evidence brought to bear make this book a must-read for students and scholars of the period. Wehrman demonstrates that the history of health and disease are essential—not supplemental—to our understanding of the past.
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Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied SciencesWell written and engaging....Rather than positioning epidemics and disease as natural phenomenon existing next to social and cultural questions, as most histories of that period do, [Wehrman] convincingly shows that smallpox and inoculation were part of political debates and ideas flowing through the history of the United States' independence....As recent epidemiological and political challenges of the present and recent past remind us, and as Wehrman aptly illuminates, these debates remain as pertinent today as they were in 1776.
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H-Soz-KultTable of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter 1. Sore Spots: Making Inoculation American
Chapter 2. General Inoculation in Boston
Chapter 3. The Norfolk Riots
Chapter 4. The Siege of Castle Pox
Chapter 5. Creating a Critical Mass
Chapter 6. From Rumors to Remedies
Chapter 7. George Washington's About-Face
Chapter 8. Thirteen Scars
Chapter 9. Inoculation Nation
Chapter 10. Vaccination Pains
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Notes
Index
