Skip to Main Content

NLM- Politics of Yellow Fever in Alexander Hamilton's America

National Library of Medicine Exhibit "Politics of Yellow Fever in Alexander Hamiliton's America" information and extra resources

Questions?

Contact the DMU Library with questions about the NLM exhibit.

library@dmu.edu

Politics of Yellow Fever in Alexander Hamilton's America

Politics of Yellow Fever in Alexander Hamilton's America Sneak Peek!

We are excited to host a traveling exhibit from the National Library of Medicine in Feb 2025!

Find out more during the exhibit: Feb 4-March 13

Contact the library for details.

 

The National Library of Medicine produced Politics of Yellow Fever in Alexander Hamilton's America, guest curated by public historian Ashley Bowen, PhD (editor of Perspectives on History).

The National Library of Medicine produced this exhibition and the companion website.

Four illustrations show the progression of yellow fever in Observations sur la fièvre jaune, faites à Cadix, en 1819, Etienne Pariset and André Mazet,

Yellow fever is a viral infection that damages the liver. The resulting jaundice or yellowing of the skin is how the disease gets its name.

 

Four illustrations show the progression of yellow fever in Observations sur la fièvre jaune, faites à Cadix, en 1819, Etienne Pariset and André Mazet, Paris, 1820

Courtesy National Library of Medicine

Engraved portrait of Alexander Hamilton, undated Courtesy Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Secretary of the Treasury and leading Federalist Alexander Hamilton contracted yellow fever but survived. Although he was not a doctor, Hamilton waded into heated public and medical debates about the possible cause and potential cures for the disease.


Engraved portrait of Alexander Hamilton, undated

Courtesy Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Facts and Observations Relative to the Nature and Origin of the Pestilential Fever, College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 1798 Courtesy National Libr

The College of Physicians, one of the oldest medical associations, believed that yellow fever was an imported disease, brought to the city through trade. The association’s stance aligned with the Federalists’ point of view.


Facts and Observations Relative to the Nature and Origin of the Pestilential Fever, College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 1798

Courtesy National Library of Medicine

An Account of the Bilious Remitting Yellow Fever, as It Appeared in the City of Philadelphia, in the Year 1793, Benjamin Rush, Philadelphia, 1794 Cour

Dr. Benjamin Rush, a prominent Phiadelphia physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence, split from many of his medical peers over the suspected origins of and best treatment for yellow fever. Rush believed that a miasm or impure air brought the disease to the city.

 

An Account of the Bilious Remitting Yellow Fever, as It Appeared in the City of Philadelphia, in the Year 1793, Benjamin Rush, Philadelphia, 1794

Courtesy National Library of Medicine