Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and his wife, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, came down with yellow fever in September 1793. They recovered following the cold-bath treatment prescribed by Dr. Edward Stevens. Hamilton wrote to the College of Physicians to praise and recommend the methods of Stevens, an old friend from St. Croix. He also wrote, "It is natural to be afflicted not only at the mortality which is said to obtain, but at the consequences of that undue panic which is fast depopulating the city, and suspending business both public and private," demonstrating that the desire to balance public and economic wellness is not new.
Read the September 11, 1973 letter on the National Archives website.
Objects and Images Related to 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic
(Click images for more information)