Hear from historian Andrew M. Wehrman, author of The Contagion of Liberty: The Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution. 

This is 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.

Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions and have their books signed.

REGISTER

In PersonVirtualBuy the Book

Add to Calendar 08/10/2023 19:00:00 08/10/2023 20:00:00 America/New_York Ford Evening Book Talk: The Contagion of Liberty

Hear from historian Andrew M. Wehrman, author of The Contagion of Liberty: The Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution. 

This is 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.

Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions and have their books signed.

REGISTER

In PersonVirtualBuy the Book

George Washington Presidential Library George Washington's Mount Vernon tickets@mountvernon.org MM/DD/YYYY 15

Special Event Showing On

Cost

Free

About the Book

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—they 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 the eighteenth century. The difficulty lay in providing it to all Americans and not just the fortunate few. Across the colonies, poor Americans rioted for equal access to medicine, while cities and towns shut down for quarantines. In Marblehead, Massachusetts, sailors burned down an expensive private hospital just weeks after the Boston Tea Party.

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. 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.

About the Author

Andrew M. Wehrman is an associate professor of history at Central Michigan University where his research and teaching focuses on Colonial and Revolutionary America and the history of medicine, disease, and public health. In his writing and speaking engagements, he seeks to put current questions about government responses to epidemics (or lack thereof) and public vaccination efforts into a lively historical context. A winner of the Walter Muir Whitehill Prize in Early American History, Wehrman’s writing has appeared in The New England Quarterly, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post. He earned his Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

Sponsored By The Ford Motor Company Fund

Sponsored By The Ford Motor Company Fund

Mount Vernon has enjoyed a very special relationship with the Ford Motor Company dating back more than 90 years. We are grateful for their generous support and we applaud their abiding respect for American heritage.

Contact

Stephen A. McLeod

Director, Library Programs

703.799.8686

smcleod@mountvernon.org

Share this event

#gwmountvernon

Login
Buy Tickets Activities Calendar Shop Restaurant Give Membership
Estate Hours

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

iconDirections & Parking
buy tickets online & save