Crisis and Society: The 1793 Philadelphia Yellow Fever Epidemic

Vocabulary and key concepts regarding the impact of the 1793 yellow fever epidemic on Philadelphia society, based on the course materials and knowledge goals.

Essential Question

How can times of crisis affect citizens and society?

Social factors

Variables such as gender, race, and class that can influence an individual’s experience of an event like a crisis.

Scientific knowledge

Information deemed essential to effectively addressing medical crises and deepening understanding of epidemics.

An American Plague

An informational historical account core text written by Jim Murphy regarding the yellow fever epidemic.

Fever 1793

A literary novel core text written by Laurie Halse Anderson.

The Artist in His Museum

A painting by Charles Willson Peale used as a core study text.

Eighteenth-century medical practices

Procedures during the 1793 epidemic that were often hindered by a lack of scientific understanding, contributing to deleterious effects.

Patterns of human behavior

Behaviors emerging in crises driven by factors like fear, compassion, the impulse to understand the unknown, and the will to survive.

Invictus

A poem by William Ernest Henley included as a supplementary text for the study of crisis and response.

Philadelphia: The Great Experiment

A film produced by History Making Productions that examines the history of Philadelphia.

Late eighteenth-century Philadelphia

The setting of the 1793 epidemic, characterized by specific living conditions, political structures, and social norms.

Academic research

A methodology involving specific purposes, benefits, and processes as outlined in the knowledge goals.