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

Murphy examines much of the yellow fever epidemic in terms of racial dynamics, which at times were tense. The outbreak serves as a way for Murphy to explore the challenging and changing role of African Americans in Philadelphia in 1793. At the height of the outbreak, the Free African Society agrees to volunteer its services to help fever patients. Public reception to their assistance, however, is mixed, as reports spread that African American nurses are preying on the sick and dying by raising prices due to high demand. Although Mayor Clarkson appears to settle the matter by explaining that the higher prices are due to white patients outbidding one another, it resurfaces in the aftermath of the outbreak in Matthew Carey’s book.

While Absalom Jones and Richard Allen write a rebuttal to Carey that Murphy praises as “a remarkable essay, tightly argued and organized, passionate and unrelenting” (118), they remain the target of racial hostility that is not easily quelled. The city still has a small population of slaves, and free African Americans are only just starting to forge a strong community, establishing the Free African Society, for example, in 1787. However, Matthew Carey’s efforts to address and ameliorate the situation also demonstrate that the voices of some of the city’s more prominent African Americans are being taken seriously. Although Carey’s actions are inadequate, they reveal the complexity of racial dynamics in Philadelphia. Racism is very much present, but African Americans are making substantial inroads across various fields.

Murphy also stresses the extent to which the Free African Society is critical to the city’s efforts to manage the epidemic. The city would have been at a significant disadvantage had the Free African Society not agreed to help Mayor Clarkson. Murphy explains that all African Americans in Philadelphia at the time “had suffered in one way or another at the hands of whites, some of them in appalling ways” (44). Despite the many continued injustices against them, including the fact that some of them were enslaved, they make great sacrifices to care for the sick and dying during the epidemic. Murphy calls them a “battalion of heroes” (55).

The social structure of Philadelphia in 1793 plays a major role in determining how the yellow fever epidemic plays out. Those who initially flee the city at the onset of the outbreak are generally wealthier people, or those who can afford to leave. It is the poor and destitute that are primarily left behind, except for a few individuals of means who choose to stay. Murphy consistently emphasizes the plight of poor people as the fever spreads, viewing those who stay to help them as courageous. For Murphy, a large part of their heroic actions stems from the fact that they are helping the destitute and disadvantaged.

Throughout the book, Murphy demonstrates the extent to which urban life in the young nation is defined by social and economic status. Most of the wealthiest citizens leave almost immediately, which includes many members of government. Even before the fever, there are very few organizations and individuals dedicated to helping the city’s large underclass. As thousands of people flee, the fever puts this group in an even more vulnerable position. Mayor Clarkson describes the situation as “grave” to the Guardians and Overseers of the poor, which at the start of the epidemic is “the only official group then dealing with the poor of Philadelphia” (38).

Murphy makes clear that those who step in to help the poor are mostly from the middle classes. Those with wealth and power do very little to help until the fever has dissipated, creating bigger problems by leaving. The end of the epidemic does little to change the heavy class stratification of the city, and the poor continue to be at risk.