{"id":1094,"date":"2020-10-26T17:16:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T17:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/?post_type=blog&p=1094"},"modified":"2021-07-29T17:04:15","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T17:04:15","slug":"what-yellow-fever-quarantines-can-teach-us-about-the-law-during-covid-19-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.justinian.com\/es\/personal-injury-blog\/what-yellow-fever-quarantines-can-teach-us-about-the-law-during-covid-19-coronavirus\/","title":{"rendered":"What Yellow Fever Quarantines Can Teach Us About The Law During Covid-19 Coronavirus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Americans feared<\/a> contracting a highly contagious<\/a> and particularly lethal <\/a>virus with no known cause or effective treatment<\/a>. The virus was described by Spanish conquistadors<\/a> in the Americas as early as 1648, with ongoing appearances in the English colonies<\/a>, but in 1798, epidemics broke out in Boston, Philadelphia and New York, decimating 5-8% of the cities\u2019 populations<\/a> in a single year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to fever, nausea, discomfort, facial bleeding and eventually organ failure, symptoms included jaundiced skin, earning it the nickname<\/a> \u201cYellow Fever.\u201d Many mysteries<\/a> surrounded the illness, but physicians had deduced<\/a> that the virus was arriving via seaports<\/a>, principally ships from the Carribean. Without any means to combat or cure<\/a> Yellow Fever, sanitation and quarantines<\/a> became the favored tools of prevention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarantines proved effective<\/a> in the Northeastern U.S., but a relentless spate of outbreaks plagued the the American South. The yellow quarantine flags<\/a> frequently seen flying on ships in the Mississippi Delta earned the virus local nicknames<\/a> like \u201cYellow Jack\u201d and \u201cBronze John.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Viral Panic<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The first response to an outbreak of Yellow Fever was often a mass exodus from cities and other infected regions, and in some cases<\/a> legislators themselves just handed over power to the executive and left town. Alarmed that the trains were filled with infected passengers and cargo, many states issued quarantines against regions and even entire states, and at one point Mississippi banned any and all entry, from anywhere, whatsoever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, railroads had extended the reach of Yellow Fever<\/a> throughout the South by moving people and livestock, and local communities were rightly concerned. Epidemics were frequent<\/a> and lethal<\/a>, and with the best efforts of physicians<\/a> and state authorities<\/a> unable to stem the tide of Yellow Fever, the process quickly devolved into local self-help that a Chicago journalist<\/a> dubbed \u201cshotgun quarantines.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Rise of \u201cShotgun Quarantines\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the image they conjure of vigilante groups, shotgun quarantines were generally ordered by local authorities<\/a> such as town councils, and enforced by an armed citizenry deputized by the Sheriff. Shotgun quarantines involved<\/a> guarding entry points to a cordoned area, both on foot and in boats, arresting people trying to enter or leave, and preventing the unloading of cargo and passengers from trains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

States and localities passed laws establishing the rights of communities to impose local quarantines, and while they were criticized by many<\/a>, others acknowledged<\/a> the fear felt by communities learning about the virus\u2019 rising body count. Some even shared the local residents\u2019 indignation<\/a> that state authorities had failed to prevent another outbreak, and while the real culprit was usually ignorance<\/a> and primitive germ theory<\/a>, in some cases the townsfolk were right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yellow Fever And Fake News<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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New Orleans officials, physicians and newspapers were frequently dishonest<\/a> about the reality of an outbreak, worried about its effect on commerce. They blamed<\/a> outsiders and the poor, assuring the world that cleaner and more responsible individuals had little to worry about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although no one was yet aware, the virus\u2019 African origins did in fact mean that new arrivals to the port were more susceptible<\/a> to contracting it, but when Yellow Jack reached wealthier, established areas<\/a> of the city, the virus proved equally destructive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Months before one paper claimed the disease was considered obsolete<\/a> by physicians, New Orleans\u2019 yellow fever mortality rate jumped from .3% to 5% of the population<\/a>, killing approximately 13 percent<\/a> over the next four years<\/a>. Only when the epidemic overwhelmed the city did officials admit the full extent of yellow fever. Even in the face of it, some criticized the press for telling the truth and harming local businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The routine quarantines imposed on New Orleans dropped the anchor on shipping via the Mississippi or Gulf of Mexico, leaving the South dependent on railroads to transport cargo and passengers. Even relief supplies were blockaded and dismissed, since many many believed<\/a> infection was passed not by interpersonal connection, but by contaminated air lingering in cargo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Trying To Stop A Moving Train<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Shotgun quarantines were highly effective, and neither train workers nor passengers had the stomach for a gun battle with local \u201csentinels\u201d, or their frequent threats of tearing up tracks and burning down bridges. Blockading river and train travel wreaked havoc on commerce and travel, and many large and small businesses went forced to shutter their doors permanently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Merchants and trade groups lobbied states and Congress<\/a> to draft legislation authorizing state police power to break shotgun quarantines and administer commerce and efforts to isolate and prevent the spread of infection. Some state officials decried the notion, but many states\u2019 rights advocates found themselves pushing for extensive Federal<\/a> interference in local matters.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Get A Free Consultation!<\/h2>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \n
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