American Contagions

A concise history of how American law has shaped-and been shaped by-the experience of contagion, "taking us from the smallpox outbreaks of the colonies to COVID-19. . . . The conclusion [Witt] arrives at is devastating." (Jennifer Szalai, New York Times)"One wishes that, six months ago, every member of Congress and the Trump administration had been forced to read and reckon with the history Witt neatly summarizes.But now in the aftermath of a close, bitterly fought election, let’s hope that this book will help America chart its way forward."-Jill Filipovic, Washington Post 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 b