Joe Deutsch

Biology 248

Prof. Edwards

January 25, 1999

Since the proclamation by John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, that America should view herself as a "city upon a hill", Americans have strived to create a utopian society (Brinkley, 40). Winthrop viewed America as God's country, a place where the troubles of Europe and the rest of the world would not be repeated. This ideal is still valued by American society, yet it has prevented Americans from accepting the notion that an epidemic could strike their own country. Epidemics in the Modern World by Joann P. Krieg examines American society's reaction to the outbreak of epidemics in this country. Krieg threads the theme of American Romanticism throughout her work, as she explores the reactions of politicians, literary figures, and society in general to the outbreak of disease. Krieg also gives some biological information on the diseases that have haunted the American utopia. While this potpourri of information creates a valuable source for one studying the social effects of disease, its extensive discussion on literary topics becomes long-winded and irrelevant.

Krieg explores the outbreak of five American epidemics: smallpox, cholera, yellow fever, TB, and AIDS. While reactions to each were different, Krieg shows that American Romanticism, the notion that "it couldn't happen to us", was prevalent in each of society's reactions to these epidemics. American Romanticism limited the swiftness to which the government, as well as the people, reacted to the outbreak of epidemics. Government often did not acknowledge the outbreak of an epidemic in America because it would blemish the image of the "city upon a hill". Even if they did acknowledge an epidemic, the government often quarantined ports to limit the influx of what was surely a foreign disease. Krieg adeptly gives historical perspective to each of the epidemics, and shows the human turmoil each created. Krieg also enlightens the reader to debates over the causes of the epidemics, and how different Americans responded to the epidmeics. To further elucidate the prevalence of American Romanticism, Krieg steps into the literary world to show the limited and nonspecific writings about American epidemics.

Krieg's literary expertise comes into focus as she explores the limited American writing pertaining to the outbreak of epidemics. Again Krieg ties the notion of American Romanticism to authors who did not want to destroy the ideal of utopian America. While this research is extensive, interesting, and the most original part of the work, it strays into long plot synopses that have little to do with epidemics at all. I was interested to find out that Henry David Thoreau had TB, and much of Walden contains references to his condition, but largely I felt that these sections of the work were too lengthy.

Krieg's work is relevant to our studies of disease and discrimination for several reasons. Obviously, American Romanticism has prevented the swift care for victims of these epidemics, which caused a higher death toll and a higher proliferation of the disease. Krieg also shows how political forces can limit the influx of new medicinal techniques. For example, a rebellion against inoculation led by Benjamin Franklin occurred in Boston during the smallpox epidemic. Revolutionaries such as Franklin were hoping to destroy the power and credibility of the clergy, led by the discoverer of the inoculation techniques, Cotton Mather. Also, since these diseases often attacked the marginal members of society (poor, blacks, gays), and cures were unknown, Americans blamed disease on God's will, and did not attempt to cure the epidemic until it had struck the homes of the middle class. The middle class also blamed the victims, again the marginal members of society, for causing the disease which created a greater social gap between the middle class and the victims of the epidemics.

The strength of Krieg's work lies in her evaluation of the causes of American society's reaction to epidemics, and the consequences for the victims of these epidemics. While Krieg offers biological explanations of AIDS and TB, she offers no information on the characteristics of the other contagious diseases she is explores. Her research on the literary reaction to these epidemics is the central point of the work, but her work also contains plenty of historical perspective and analysis. Combining history, biology, and literary research, this work becomes a hodge-podge of information for many audiences. The work is able to provide a fair amount of information on each subject, and is not too heavy on any of the approaches. However, the literary information is of little to no use for our purposes in studying disease and discrimination, except to further show that society largely ignored devastating epidemics. Krieg's book studies disease and also explores the American character. Combined, these two subjects generate an interesting discussion on the causes of discrimination against the sick in America.

Bibliographic Information:

Krieg, Joann P. Epidemics in the Modern World. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992.

Works Cited:

Brinkley, Alan. American History, A Survey. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1995.