“The difference, sir, is that you understand the notion of vaccines and vaccination.”
Tune in to your local public radio or join the 1776 Club to hear this episode of What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
The Pandemic
“The difference, sir, is that you understand the notion of vaccines and vaccination.”
Tune in to your local public radio or join the 1776 Club to hear this episode of What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
"The Yellow Fever was the first epidemic after America became America."
— Stephen Fried
We are joined this week by Stephen Fried, the award-winning journalist and best-selling author who teaches at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. We discuss his biography of Doctor Benjamin Rush and his more recent article, “Yellow Fever Stalks the Founders,” published in spring 2020 issue of American Heritage magazine. Fried speaks about how doctors in Philadelphia in 1793 dealt with contagious disease.
"The difference, sir, is that you understand the notion of vaccines and vaccination."
— Clay S. Jenkinson portraying Thomas Jefferson
We discuss the Philadelphia Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793. Philadelphia's population at that time was approximately 50,000, and before it was over 1 in 10 died from the outbreak despite the best efforts of physicians of the time.
"He and Jefferson talked about everything."
— Stephen Fried
Benjamin Rush was a physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, educator, and a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Rush was a leader of the American Enlightenment and an enthusiastic supporter of the American Revolution. Born the son of a Philadelphia blacksmith, Rush touched virtually every page in the story of the nation’s founding. It was Rush who was responsible for the late-in-life reconciliation between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. This week we speak with the author Stephen Fried about his new book, Rush: Revolution, Madness, and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father.