An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Who was Robert Morris?

2. Why was Philadelphia a significant city in 1793?

3. What did many people of the time believe brought “unhealthy air and sickness” when it occurred in “abundance”?

4. Why is a diagnosis of yellow fever particularly serious?

5. What was the immediate consequence of the fear of the illness in Philadelphia?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe the setting in Chapter 1. How does Murphy paint a picture of the location for his narrative?

2. How did the French help the American colonists? What was the impact of their aid on the future of the US?

3. Describe the change in Philadelphia between August 3 and August 16, 1793. What was the pattern of this illness? What was the common denominator of these mysterious deaths?

4. Compare and contrast the opinions of Drs. Foulke, Hodge, and Rush concerning the increase of illness in the Philadelphia area. What did Dr. Rush believe was the appropriate course of action?

5. For what two reasons did some people stay in the confines of the city at the end of August 1793?

6. Summarize the list of recommendations that the College of Physicians proposed in its meeting. What were some additional measures that Philadelphians took to avoid getting sick?

Paired Resources

Observations of Yellow Fever

• The National Institutes of Health shares visual observations of a yellow fever patient in early 19th-century France.
• How do these drawings represent the stages of yellow fever in patients? Do the images match what you imagined from reading Murphy’s text?

“French Alliance, French Assistance, and European Diplomacy During the American Revolution, 1778-1782”

• The US Department of State’s Office of the Historian describes the ways in which France supported the colonists during the American Revolution.
• Based on the text as well as the above resource, how did France contribute to American Leadership in a Crisis?

Chapters 4-8

Reading Check

1. What incident unsettled the senators and representatives in Chapter 4?

2. Where did the Guardians initially quarantine the impoverished sick?

3. Why were African American nurses harassed on the streets?

4. What did Dr. Rush do when he contracted yellow fever?

5. What was the Special Committee of Philadelphia’s first order of business?

6. What three things did Peter Helm bring to the work at Bush Hill?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Summarize the problems that Mayor Clarkson faced in Chapter 4.

2. Describe the Free African Society (FAS). What was its significance in relation to the yellow fever outbreak?

3. Compare and contrast Dr. Rush’s treatment of yellow fever patients with Dr. Devèze’s.

4. What was Bush Hill? Describe the situation at this place as of mid-September 1793, as well as which two men were sent to improve the circumstances.

5. Describe some religious leaders’ theories about why Philadelphians suffered from yellow fever.

Paired Resources

“A Contemporary Black Perspective on the 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic in Philadelphia”

• Rana Hogarth’s 2019 article highlights the role that African Americans played in the 1793 outbreak.
• How do both Hogarth and Murphy connect the 1793 yellow fever outbreak to the larger discussion of Racial Dynamics in Philadelphia?

“Free African Society”

• This article is a brief overview of the FAS, as well as their role in the 1793 outbreak.
• Based on the text as well as the above resource, how does the formation of the FAS speak to the larger theme of Racial Dynamics in Philadelphia?

Chapters 9-10

Reading Check

1. What was the status of the yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia by the end of October?

2. What did Washington decide to do, based on his inspection of Philadelphia in November 1793?

3. What was built in 1799 because of Philadelphians’ continued complaints?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe the central argument regarding moving Washington’s government outside of Philadelphia. Which politicians agreed and disagreed with the move? What was the conclusion to the disagreement?

2. Summarize how yellow fever changed the course of Dolly Payne Todd’s life.

3. Which laws did Congress pass to avert a gridlock for federal and state governments in the case of future health crises?

4. How did Carey’s A Short Account of the Malignant Fever hurt the reputation of the FAS nurses who helped during the epidemic? What did members of the FAS do in response?

Chapter 11

Reading Check

1. How did Manhattan’s response to the yellow fever outbreak in 1858 differ from Philadelphia’s response in 1793?

2. After decades of research, which insect was eventually identified as a carrier of yellow fever by some medical professionals in the late 19th century?

3. During which war did the US government take an official interest in the eradication of yellow fever?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why was the US able to complete the building of the canal in occupied Panama while France was not?

2. What is DDT? Summarize the main arguments surrounding the use of DDT.

Recommended Next Reads

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

• This 2002 novel sets a fictional story from a young adult perspective in the setting of Murphy’s nonfiction narrative.
• Fever 1793 on SuperSummary

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

• Murphy references Carson’s 1962 text in a discussion of the environmental harm of chemicals like DDT.
• Silent Spring on SuperSummary