description: 1793, Philadelphia. The nation's capital and the largest city in North America is devastated by an apparently incurable disease, cause unknown . . .Jim Murphy describes the illness known as yellow fever and the toll it took on the city's residents, relating the epidemic to the major social and political events of the day and to 18th-century medical beliefs and practices. Drawing on first-hand accounts, Murphy spotlights the heroic role of Philadelphia's free blacks in combating the disease, and the Constitutional crisis that President Washington faced when he was forced to leave the city--and all his papers--while escaping the deadly contagion. The search for the fever's causes and cure, not found for more than a century afterward, provides a suspenseful counterpoint to this riveting true story of a city under siege.
language: English
title: An American Plague
titlecomplete: An American Plague
genres: Medicine, History, Science, American History, Historical, Childrens, Health, Nonfiction, Middle Grade, Medical
ratings_count: 4420
awards: awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: Newbery Medal, awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: Sibert Medal, awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: NCTE Orbis Pictus Award, awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: National Book Award Finalist
category: Young People's Literature, awardedAt: 1262332800000
name: Margaret A. Edwards Award
publisher: Scholastic