Yellow Fever Epidemic 1793
The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 was a devastating outbreak that killed approximately 5,000 Philadelphians—roughly 10% of the city's population—between August and November 1793. The epidemic, striking Philadelphia while it served as the nation's capital, paralyzed government, exposed social divisions, and transformed understanding of public health. The African American community's response, both heroic and cruelly misrepresented, remains a significant chapter in Philadelphia's Black history.[1]
Origins and Spread
[edit | edit source]Yellow fever likely arrived with refugees fleeing the slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue (Haiti). The first cases appeared near the waterfront in late July 1793, spreading rapidly through the crowded streets near the Delaware River. The disease—transmitted by mosquitoes, though this was unknown until a century later—thrived in the hot, wet summer conditions.[1]
Physicians could not agree on the disease's cause or transmission. Dr. Benjamin Rush, Philadelphia's most prominent physician, believed the fever arose from miasma (bad air) from rotting coffee on the waterfront. He advocated aggressive treatment including bloodletting and purges with mercury compounds. Other physicians favored rest and supportive care. The debate reflected broader disagreements about disease causation that would persist until germ theory emerged decades later.[1]
Flight and Collapse
[edit | edit source]Those who could afford to fled the city. President Washington departed for Mount Vernon; other federal officials followed. City government largely ceased functioning as officials fled or died. By late August, the exodus had reduced Philadelphia's population by half. Businesses closed, commerce halted, and the nation's capital became a ghost town of the sick and dying.[1]
The poor, unable to flee, bore the epidemic's brunt. Crowded housing, inadequate sanitation, and limited resources made working-class neighborhoods particularly vulnerable. The wealthy who remained often retreated behind closed doors, avoiding contact with the stricken.[1]
African American Response
[edit | edit source]Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, leaders of the Free African Society (the organization that would become Mother Bethel AME Church), responded to Mayor Matthew Clarkson's appeal for help. The mayor and Rush believed (incorrectly) that Black Philadelphians were immune to yellow fever. Allen and Jones organized African Americans to nurse the sick, remove the dead, and provide services that white Philadelphians had abandoned.[1]
Black Philadelphians served at great personal risk—they proved susceptible to yellow fever, and many died. Their service was later viciously misrepresented in Matthew Carey's published account, which accused Black nurses of profiteering and theft. Allen and Jones published a response, "A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People," defending their community and documenting their sacrifice. This exchange represents an early instance of Black Americans combating racist narratives in print.[1]
End of the Epidemic
[edit | edit source]The epidemic subsided in late October as frost killed the mosquitoes that transmitted the disease (though no one understood this mechanism). By November, refugees returned, government resumed, and Philadelphia attempted to recover from the trauma. Final death counts exceeded 5,000 of a population around 50,000.[1]
Legacy
[edit | edit source]The epidemic prompted public health improvements including better water supply, street cleaning, and hospital facilities—though these addressed miasma theory rather than the actual vector. The experience influenced Philadelphia's later public health development and demonstrated the vulnerability of urban populations to epidemic disease.[1]
The African American community's sacrifice became a point of pride and a reminder of service rendered when others fled. The episode remains significant in Philadelphia's Black history as an example of community solidarity and unfair treatment.[1]