4.7: Dr. Rush, the Free African Society, and Philadelphia's Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793

About this episode

This episode discusses Dr. Rush and the Free African Society's roles during the Yellow Fever Epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793.

Send us Fan Mail Yellow fever devastated the nation’s capital of Philadelphia in 1793…hardly a center known for its tropical climate, but the disease nevertheless proved deadly. Our focus today is placed on one individual, and one group: one was a Founding Father who was certain that he was correct about how to treat the disease, and the other was a society not yet one decade old whose members were tasked with assisting with the afflicted. In today’s episode of History: Beyond the...

People in this episode

Host: Alex Mattke

Topics covered

• yellow fever
• Philadelphia
• African American history
• Founding Fathers
• epidemics
• healthcare
• society

Keywords

• yellow fever
• Philadelphia
• Dr. Rush
• Free African Society
• 1793
• epidemic
• healthcare
• history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Free African Society

Places: Philadelphia

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