In 1855 Pottsville, a smallpox scare sparked a fight over school policy, public safety, and personal freedom that feels strikingly familiar. This new piece for Real Clear Pennsylvania follows those early vaccination battles—and why their echoes are so loud in our own time. Read the full story.
Dive into a rarely told piece of Civil War history, where doctors, nurses, and volunteers fought to keep the Thanksgiving spirit alive for wounded soldiers. Discover how these hospital celebrations offered hope and normalcy amid the chaos of conflict. Read the full story.
Netflix’s Death by Lightning tackles Garfield’s brief presidency, his assassination, and Charles Guiteau’s madness. In this episode of the Public History podcast, we offer our review and take a look at the history behind this series about the 20th President of the United States and the man who killed him. Listen to the episode.
Netflix’s upcoming miniseries Death by Lightning takes on one of America’s most tragic presidential stories—the 1881 assassination of James A. Garfield and the medical blunders that doomed him. Starring Michael Shannon, Nick Offerman, and Matthew Macfadyen and based on Candace Millard’s Destiny of the Republic, this one hits close to home for me. Read the full story.
As news of President Garfield’s shocking 1881 shooting reached the Coal Region, communities in Luzerne County paused in unified grief and anxious curiosity—echoing the sorrow of Lincoln’s assassination. Discover how local papers and citizens reacted to this national crisis and its lingering impact. Read the full story.
Uncover rare photographs of a schoolyard turned into a makeshift hospital during the devastating 1918 flu pandemic in Lykens, Pennsylvania. With hundreds falling ill daily, US Army medical teams were called in. Dive into this horrific chapter of American history and see these remarkable images from the pivotal moment.
Amid a smallpox epidemic in Schuylkill County, a newspaper editor threw up their hands at those who refused to be vaccinated, despite very real danger.
George Keiser died of typhoid fever in 1863. He was 17 and had just returned from service in the Pennsylvania militia during the Civil War.
And a call-to-action to prepare for a new wave of influenza in the autumn of 1919.
Medical officials and public school administrators worked together to enforce a mandate that students receive the smallpox vaccine in 1855.