Overview

The Revolutionary War broke out during a smallpox epidemic, and in response, General George Washington ordered the inoculation of the Continental Army. But Washington did not have to convince fearful colonists to protect themselves against smallpox. In The Contagion of Liberty, Andrew M. Wehrman describes a revolution within a revolution, where the violent insistence for freedom from disease ultimately helped American colonists achieve independence from Great Britain. Inoculation, a shocking procedure introduced to America by an enslaved African, became the most sought-after medical procedure of the eighteenth century. Across the colonies, poor Americans rioted for equal access to medicine, while cities and towns shut down for quarantines. The miraculous discovery of vaccination in the early 1800s posed new challenges that upended the revolutionaries' dream of disease eradication, and Wehrman reveals that the quintessentially American rejection of universal health care systems has deeper roots than previously known. During a time when some of the loudest voices in the United States are those clamoring against efforts to vaccinate, this richly documented book will appeal to anyone interested in the history of medicine and politics, or who has questioned government action (or lack thereof) during a pandemic.

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Andrew M. Wehrman is an associate professor of history at Central Michigan University. A winner of the Walter Muir Whitehill Prize in Early American History, his writing has appeared in the New England Quarterly, the Boston Globe, and the Washington Post. Timothy Andres Pabon is an actor and Spanish and English voice-over artist/audiobook narrator from Washington DC. He has over 140 books on Audible.com, one of which was nominated for a 2015 Society of Voice Arts and Sciences Award and another which was awarded an AudioFile Earphones award as part of an ensemble audiobook cast in 2014. His voice-over clients include Gabrielle Giffords, Hillary Clinton, The Sierra Club, NBC, and the 10-episode series Chasing Che on National Geographic. He has been seen on House of Cards seasons 3 and 4 as Mark, a White house press correspondent. He has also been a costar on HBO's acclaimed series The Wire opposite country music legend Steve Earl. As a stage actor he has worked Off-Broadway at the June Havoc Theatre, and his regional credits include Center Stage, the Shakespeare Theatre, Arena Stage, The Hippodrome, Olney Theatre, Rep Stage, and GALA Hispanic Theatre. Tim is a proud father of two children, and a member of AFTRA/SAG and Actor's Equity.

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