Book · 1981 · History
American History
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Here's a quote from the book Pox An American History, which I really recommend. "With a willing patient, the vaccine operation, as doctors called it, lasted just a minute or two.
Why people recommend it
Pox: An American History by Robert James Maddox is a historical study examining the smallpox epidemics of the past and the origins of public health mandates. On the podcast Behind the Bastards, host Robert James Maddox's book was enthusiastically recommended by host Robert Evans while exploring the historical roots of the anti-vaccine movement. Evans cited the text to describe the mechanics of early smallpox vaccinations, noting how medical workers performed operations that lasted only a minute or two. The book also provided a detailed account of public health responses during outbreaks, such as when officials in Middlesboro divided the city into districts and conducted house-to-house inspections, or when a local farm was placed under strict quarantine after an anti-vaccine physician named Emanuel Pfeiffer contracted the virus. Additionally, Maddox's work helped contextualize the ideological background of early anti-vaccination advocates, identifying them as part of a defunct American intellectual tradition known as libertarian radicalism. Evans utilized the book to show how these early activists blanketed the nation with pamphlets filled with violent imagery to argue against compulsory vaccination, demonstrating that modern anti-vaccine rhetoric has deep historical roots.
Every mention
Robert Evans Here's a quote from the book Pox An American History, which I really recommend. "With a willing patient, th… 5
“Here's a quote from the book Pox An American History, which I really recommend. "With a willing patient, the vaccine operation, as doctors called it, lasted just a minute or two.”
“The city was, "divided into five districts, one inspector to each make a house-to-house canvas." A local newspaper boasted awkwardly that the service's inspection showed that,”
“Pox says that these people were part of a now mostly defunct American intellectual tradition called libertarian radicalism. These folks aren't libertarians in the sense that we're used to.”
“So, these physicians and laymen and laywomen anti-vaxers blanketed the nation in pamphlets and books outlining their case against vaccination. According to the book Pox, "Violent imagery pervaded the anti-vaccination texts.”
“Here's Pax, quote, "How many had been exposed to smallpox in these days between Pfeiffer's disappearance and the arrival of the health officials at his Bedford bedside? No one knew. Bedford officials placed the Pfeiffer farm under quarantine, ordering all on the premises vaccinated.”