The Bite That Changed America One man can capture an elephant, train a lion, and completely wipe out a species from this earth. If man can do all this, he will surely have dominion over something as small and tame as a mosquito. The yellow fever epidemic of 1793 proved this idea false as this disease, transmitted solely by the bite of a female mosquito, wiped out a tenth of Philadelphia's population in four months. Some make the mistake of viewing this as an isolated event, but this epidemic was as far-reaching as the disease itself as it forever changed the American government, the public health system, and the African American community. Since Philadelphia was, at the time, the capital of the United States of America the epidemic proved traumatic not only for the city but also for the government. By early August 1793, Philadelphia was booming. Immigrants from all over the world flocked to America's most cosmopolitan city, which was also the country's political center. Among the residents were the president, George Washington, and his wife Martha, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and most members of Congress (Kolsky 1). On August 19th people started talking about Peter Aston's very recent death from what many assumed was just a common autumn illness (Gum 2). Prominent physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Rush, identified Aston's illness, which by that time had already claimed multiple lives, as yellow fever (Kolsky 1). Although the medical community's understanding of this disease, now known as Malaria, was quite primitive, they knew at the time that it was spreading rapidly and was deadly. This fact became blatantly obvious to the public when the city began losing people at a rate of ten casualties... middle of paper... radox. It was isolated in Philadelphia but affected all of America due to government changes imposed by the epidemic. It was tragic that nearly 5,000 people lost their lives, but the creation of an organized medical society, a health body, and the medical advances that emerged from the epidemic saved (and continue to save) countless lives. Although the African American community was attacked after the epidemic for their “barbarism,” they defended themselves, as a community, for the first time and their actions will always be remembered as the bright moments in the white man’s darkest days. The epidemic may have ceased by the winter of 1793 but all of these effects are still visible today. Finally “the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 can be considered a crucial part of the story of human strength and fortitude in incredibly difficult times” (Gum 6).