Bondspeople who fled from slavery during and after the Civil War did not expect that their flight toward freedom would lead to sickness, disease, suffering, and death. But the war produced the largest biological crisis of the nineteenth century, and as historian Jim Downs reveals in this groundbreaking volume, it had deadly consequences for hundreds of thousands of freed people. In Sick from Freedom, Downs recovers the untold story of one of the bitterest ironies in American history--that the emancipation of the slaves, ...
Read More
Bondspeople who fled from slavery during and after the Civil War did not expect that their flight toward freedom would lead to sickness, disease, suffering, and death. But the war produced the largest biological crisis of the nineteenth century, and as historian Jim Downs reveals in this groundbreaking volume, it had deadly consequences for hundreds of thousands of freed people. In Sick from Freedom, Downs recovers the untold story of one of the bitterest ironies in American history--that the emancipation of the slaves, seen as one of the great turning points in U.S. history, had devastating consequences for innumerable freedpeople. Drawing on massive new research into the records of the Medical Division of the Freedmen's Bureau--a nascent national health system that cared for more than 500,000 freed slaves--he shows how the collapse of the plantation economy released a plague of lethal diseases. With emancipation, African Americans seized the chance to move, migrating as never before. But in their journey to freedom, they also encountered yellow fever, smallpox, cholera, dysentery, malnutrition, and exposure. To address this crisis, the Medical Division hired more than 120 physicians, establishing some forty underfinanced and understaffed hospitals scattered throughout the South, largely in response to medical emergencies. Downs shows that the goal of the Medical Division was to promote a healthy workforce, an aim which often excluded a wide range of freedpeople, including women, the elderly, the physically disabled, and children. Downs concludes by tracing how the Reconstruction policy was then implemented in the American West, where it was disastrously applied to Native Americans. The widespread medical calamity sparked by emancipation is an overlooked episode of the Civil War and its aftermath, poignantly revealed in Sick from Freedom.
Read Less
Add this copy of Sick From Freedom: African-American Illness and to cart. $13.63, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill of Orange County rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Ana, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Oxford University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fair. This is a USED book, it is subject to external and interior wear including, underlining, highlighting, annotations, water damage, minor scuffs and tears. This is a donated book accepted as is. Stickers and sticker residue on the cover should be expected, as well as spine wear from use. There are NO codes or disc(s) included. All items ship Monday-Friday within 2-3 business days. Thank you for supporting Goodwill of OC.
Add this copy of Sick From Freedom: African-American Illness and to cart. $18.88, good condition, Sold by BooksRun rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Philadelphia, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Sick From Freedom: African-American Illness and to cart. $39.62, new condition, Sold by Orange World rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from mundelein, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Sick From Freedom: African-American Illness and to cart. $44.52, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Sick from Freedom: African-American Illness and to cart. $45.39, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Oxford University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 280 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
