A history lesson in pandemics

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is currently conducting an ongoing series titled, “Pandemic Perspectives.” The Museum of the Rockies (MOR) is making the individual lectures available to the public and MOR’s members. On Tuesday, Feb. 2, they presented “Race and Place: Yellow Fever and the Free African Society in Philadelphia,” which highlighted the details of the Yellow Fever epidemic that took place in 1793 and how it affected the Free African Society. The panel included historians David Barnes, Simon Finger and Vanessa Northington Gamble, who discussed the health tragedy and how it impacted various groups within the new nation’s capital.

The three panel members kicked off the discussion by talking about Philadelphia and the Free African Society. In 1793, Philadelphia was the cultural, political and financial capital of the United States. At this time, Philadelphia also possessed the largest free Black population in the United States, composed of approximately 2,100 individuals. The city served as the headquarters for the abolition movement, although Black people were still seen as unequal and slavery continued until 1847.

The panel then went on to educate the viewers on the Free African Society, which was founded in 1787 by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones as a self-help movement for free Black people in Philadelphia. The society advocated for the equal treatment of African Americans. 

The main goal of the lecture series was to discuss the Yellow Fever epidemic. When it hit Philadelphia, physicians such as Benjamin Rush called on the Free African Society for assistance as 40% of the city’s population fled, including healthcare workers and government officials (such as President George Washington). If 40% of New York City’s current population fled because of COVID-19, that would be equivalent to 3.2 million people. Richard Allen and the members of the Free African Society responded to this call and were trained by Rush and other doctors to provide aid, which was seen as controversial at this point in history. Allen and Jones responded to criticisms regarding the Black population and their role in the epidemic when they released the pamphlet titled, “A Narrative by the Proceedings of the Black People during the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia, in the year 1793.” This pamphlet highlighted that one of the reasons the Black population did not turn its back on the community was because they wanted to take care of white Americans so that they would in turn be seen as moral humans. 

During this epidemic, Philadelphia experienced a societal divide due to differing thoughts on slavery and freedom, as well as disagreements regarding the cause of the fever and treatments for the symptoms. The epidemic was followed by significant changes in the city’s sanitation priorities as well as the creation of a Board of Health. Thomas Jefferson wrote that he hoped the fever would come with a silver lining and would push people out of unsanitary cities to “cleaner,” more rural locations. 

This lecture was packed with historical detail extremely relevant to the pandemic we are navigating today. So much can be learned from history and I was able to make various connections between the 1790s and the present day throughout the discussion. The next lecture of the series is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 16,from 2 -3 p.m. and can be accessed through the Museum of the Rockies website at https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fyWa3jubSHS3OKYtXIqeig