ApexNews
Return to Main
Book

American Contagions: Epidemics and the Law from Smallpox to COVID-19

2020

Synopsis

From yellow fever to smallpox to polio to AIDS to COVID-19, epidemics have prompted Americans to make choices and answer questions about their basic values and their laws. In five concise chapters, historian John Fabian Witt traces the legal history of epidemics, showing how infectious disease has both shaped, and been shaped by, the law. Arguing that throughout American history legal approaches to public health have been liberal for some communities and authoritarian for others, Witt shows us how history’s answers to the major questions brought up by previous epidemics help shape our answers today: What is the relationship between individual liberty and the common good? What is the role of the federal government, and what is the role of the states? Will long-standing traditions of government and law give way to the social imperatives of an epidemic? Will we let the inequities of our mixed tradition continue?

Suggested Reading

The End of Epidemics: The Looming Threat to Humanity and How to Stop It

The 2020 outbreak of coronavirus has terrified the world--and revealed how unprepared we are for the next outbreak of an infectious disease. Somewhere in nature, a killer virus is boiling up in the bloodstream of a bird, bat, monkey, or pig, preparing to jump to a human being. This not-yet-detected ...

View Details

Eradication: Ridding the World of Diseases Forever?

How shall we improve human health? One answer is: by eradication. The Gates Foundation announced in 2007 that their goal is malaria eradication; another of their priorities is polio eradication. Eradication means the complete elimination of a disease through deliberate human intervention. It stands ...

Purchase on Amazon View Details

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By continuing to browse, you accept our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.