US History

Science and Technology

The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)

This collection uses primary sources to explore the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878.

An excerpt from *Yellow Fever* by Dr. Thomas O. Summers, 1878. 

Thomas Summers was a doctor active during the epidemic. In chapter one, he summarizes the contemporary medical understanding of the etiology of yellow fever.

An 1856 map showing geographic distribution of health and disease, including fever districts in the United States and West Indies.

An illustration depicting charity workers and caregivers during the Memphis yellow fever outbreak, 1870s.

The Catholic Sisters of Charity cared for patients afflicted by yellow fever and were particularly active in the hard-hit town of Holly Springs, Mississippi.


An illustration from *Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper* depicting a hospital tent during the yellow fever epidemic, 1878.

A page from *Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper* in 1879 depicting camps established outside of Memphis during the yellow fever epidemic. 

As the first Memphis residents became infected with yellow fever, over half of the city’s population fled for fear of getting sick. Some traveled north or went to stay with relatives. Many of the city’s poor were desperate to leave but had no place to go. Camp Father Matthew was one of several camps established outside the city of Memphis for refugees from the fever.


An 1878 illustration of a physician from the Howard Association, an organization of volunteers, on rounds during the Memphis outbreak. 

The Howard Association was an organization of volunteers that provided medical treatment during yellow fever epidemics of the nineteenth century.

An 1878 illustration from *Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper*, depicting hungry citizens in Memphis.

Excerpts from *Dr. Dromgoole’s Heroes, Honors, and Horrors of 1878*, published in 1879. 

A medal from the Howard Association, an organization of volunteers, in recognition of service during yellow fever epidemic, 1878. 

The Howard Association was an organization of volunteers that provided medical treatment during yellow fever epidemics of the nineteenth century.


An account of an expedition for yellow fever relief by the US War Department, 1878. 

An image depicting the collection of clothes in New York for fever patients, 1878. 

A letter from William Lloyd Garrison to his son Francis about a fair to be held to benefit the yellow fever victims in the South, 1878. 

Transcript:

Tarrytown, Sept. 9, 1878

My dear Frank:<br>
Yours of yesterday, with the two letters enclosed, is received.  I hope you accepted the invitation of Mrs. Otis; and if you did, and anything noteworthy occurred at the seance, let me know at your leisure.

I shall write at once to Mrs. Diaz acknowledging the receipt of her letter, and the regret I feel that I am not able to attend the funeral of her uncle Edwin Morton, this day at Plymouth.  His esteem and friendship for me from the first hour of our acquaintance to the end, were uncommonly strong; and mine for him were quite as unvarying.  He was of a modest and gentle nature, with ever a pleasant smile upon his countenance, ardent in his feelings, radical and progressive in his views, erect and uncompromising in his principles, and steadfast in his abolitionism as the needle to the poles.

[page 2]
His older brother, Ichabod Morton, was of a similar type, and equally earnest in his advocacy of the anti-slavery cause.  I shall always cherish a profound respect for their memories as among the best of men. 

I arrived here on Saturday evening about a quarter past 7 o’clock, and had such a greeting as you can imagine from Harry, Fanny, and the children -- Agnes included, of course.  They were hoping that I had taken the morning train, and so were looking for me at an earlier hour. From Boston to Worcester I had the company of Aaron Powell and his wife, and from Worcester to Springfield that of your co-laborer in the office, Scudder.  Continuous conversation served to lessen the tediousness of the long ride, and the absence of dust was something to be specially thankful for.

I found John and Rosa Ritchie here who had preceded me but a few hours, having come from Boston via the Stonington route (which I came near taking on Friday night.  There were quite charmed with this location, and enjoyed their 

[page 3]

visit to the full while they remained.  Yesterday afternoon Harry ordered a carriage to take them, with Fanny and myself, to a drive down to Sleepy Hollow, through Kingsley’s fine estate, and thence to Irvington and towards Dobbs’ Ferry.  You know the route, and how beautiful and attractive it is.  This forenoon Fanny and I escorted John and Rosa to Sing-Sing, in a carriage, where they are to remain two or three days, then going to Fishkill for a short visit, and from thence making a similar visit to Wendell at Orange, provide Wendell can find room for them, which is perhaps somewhat doubtful as his is having one visitor after another; so that the tax upon his time, attention and hospitality must be considerable.  John and Rosa are bound for Chicago. 

Your Club picnic appears to have been consummated most agreeably, notwithstanding the unpropitious state of the weather in the morning, which did not clear up here with us until Sunday forenoon, when we had a brilliant remainder of the day, and a glorious moonlight night.  I shall be quite ready to accompany you on my 

[page 4]

return to the spot and the residence which you describe as so lovely.

I take it for granted that George is having a pleasant time at Osterville with William and Ellie.  He must try to spend a few days here before the return of the family to New York.
	
When you write again, give me the address of Mrs. Parsons, of Brooklyn, in full.

**The children are very busy in making preparations for their Fair in behalf of the yellow fever sufferers at the South, which is to come off on Friday next. They have had printed one or two hundred tickets of admission, at ten cents each, and are endeavoring to find purchasers for them. How many persons may be induced to come from the town is problematical. A lady, boarding at Mr. Cole’s, has generously expended sixty dollars in purchasing articles for the tables.**

It is a good report that you send of Minnie Garrison.  She is fortunate to have found such friends, and such a situation.<br>
Your loving Father.

[post-script, upside down on top of page 1]<br>
Fanny did not preserve Mr. Clark’s first letter, but remember that the name of the clergyman at Lockport was Norton. -- Look in my desk in the boudoir, and if you can find Mrs. Manson’s letter to me, please forward.  Kind regards to Georgina.

The Sanitary Code of New Orleans, 1899.

A postcard showing an armed man taking on a yellow fever-carrying mosquito, 1905.

Questions

1. At the time of the 1878 epidemic, doctors and scientists did not yet know exactly what caused yellow fever. Dr. Summers describes yellow fever as the “most formidable malady known to warm latitudes” and the “curse of our land.” Based on chapter one of [*Yellow Fever*](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-yellow-fever-epidemic-of-1878/sources/1239), explain what factors doctors had identified as possible causes of yellow fever. What causes does Dr. Summers rule out? Given that the disease is transmitted via mosquito bite, how accurate or “close” do you think nineteenth-century scientists were to identifying the cause of the disease? 
2. Using [*Yellow Fever*](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-yellow-fever-epidemic-of-1878/sources/1239) and the [map](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-yellow-fever-epidemic-of-1878/sources/1240), explain how the 1878 epidemic challenged and/or confirmed prevailing knowledge about the circumstances under which yellow fever occurred.
3. What do the *Frank Leslie’s* [excerpt about the yellow-fever camps](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-yellow-fever-epidemic-of-1878/sources/1243) and the [image of hungry citizens](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-yellow-fever-epidemic-of-1878/sources/1245) reveal about the impact of the disease beyond the medical crisis?
4. What does the title of [Dr. Dromgoole’s book](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-yellow-fever-epidemic-of-1878/sources/1246) tell you about the epidemic?
5. Much of the medical care provided during the yellow fever epidemic was offered by volunteer organizations including the Howard Association and Sisters of Charity. What do the "[Brave Women in Memphis](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-yellow-fever-epidemic-of-1878/sources/1246)” excerpt from Dr. Dromgoole’s book and the “[Sisters of Charity](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-yellow-fever-epidemic-of-1878/sources/1241)" illustration reveal about the role of women in treatment?
6. Based on the [report from the expedition of the War Department](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-yellow-fever-epidemic-of-1878/sources/1248), what can you infer about the involvement of the federal government in addressing the fever epidemic? How helpful do you think the efforts of this expedition were?
7. Using the [image from New York](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-yellow-fever-epidemic-of-1878/sources/1249) and the [letter from Boston abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-yellow-fever-epidemic-of-1878/sources/1250), what can you learn about how Northern communities reacted to the yellow fever epidemic?
8. Using the [Sanitary Code of New Orleans](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-yellow-fever-epidemic-of-1878/sources/1251), explain some ways the city applied lessons learned during the 1878 outbreak. The link between mosquito bites and the transmission of yellow fever was discovered shortly after this document was published. How do you think that discovery would impact the guidelines provided in this document?

Activity

Ask students to imagine themselves as news reporters during the 1878 yellow fever outbreak. Using the primary sources in this set, ask students to write an article about some aspect of the crisis. They should select at least three figures (real or imagined) featured in the sources of this set. For example, students may elect to “interview” one of the hungry Memphis residents waiting for food, a person who lived in the Father Matthew refugee camp, a Howard Association doctor, or one of the participants in the War Department expedition. Ask students to consider their angle and (imagined) audience. What questions would your students ask of their “interviewees”? 

Teaching Guide: Exploring the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878

Resources

1. [The Great Fever](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/fever/filmmore/index.html), American Experience, PBS.  
2. “[Zika Virus, Yellow Fever, and the Mosquito Behind Them](http://werehistory.org/zika/),” We’re History blog. 
3. [The History of Vaccines: Yellow Fever](http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/timelines/yellow-fever), College of Physicians of Philadelphia. 
4. [The United States Army Yellow Fever Commission](http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/yellowfever), University of Virginia Health Sciences Library. 

Overview

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the United States, Caribbean, and South America experienced several major outbreaks of yellow fever, devastating local populations. Yellow fever takes its name from the yellow-ish color of affected patients’ skin and eyes. The virus affects multiple organ systems and causes internal bleeding; it can be fatal. Yellow fever broke out in Boston in 1693, Philadelphia in 1793 and Norfolk, Virginia in 1855, but the worst American outbreak of yellow fever occurred in the Mississippi River Valley in 1878. 

Over the course of spring and summer of 1878, this region recorded 120,000 cases of yellow fever and between 13,000 and 20,000 deaths from the disease. The outbreak originated in New Orleans and spread up the Mississippi River and inland. The yellow fever epidemic impacted nearly all aspects of life in affected cities as residents fled, economies suffered, and thousands died. Memphis, Tennessee, was hit particularly hard, with over 20,000 residents fleeing the city. In the wake of the epidemic, cities implemented new public health and sanitation practices in an effort to prevent another outbreak. In 1900, researchers confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by a species of mosquito, *Aedes aegypti*, which is native to Africa and flourishes in tropical and subtropical climates. 


English

The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878

yellow-fever-epidemic-1878_03_98ede460650fea7031ff8dcb2424b492.jpg

Courtesy of Tennessee State Library and Archives via Digital Library of Tennessee.

“Catholic Sisters of Charity,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/98ede460650fea7031ff8dcb2424b492.

An illustration depicting charity workers and caregivers during the Memphis yellow fever outbreak, 1870s.

Cite this item

Tips for Students

Item 3 of 14 in the Primary Source Set The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878