smallpox
As American independence rang, a sweeping lockdown and mass inoculations fought off smallpox
By Woody Holton, University of South Carolina Many Americans of the founding era denounced government tyranny, celebrated the Declaration of Independence – and favored lockdowns and mass inoculations to combat a viciously contagious disease. Unchecked, smallpox kills more than one in 10 of its victims, leaving many of the rest blind, disfigured and sometimes sterile. […]