A Review of Sick From Freedom
Jim Downs, notable historian who researches the civil war and reconstruction’s effect on slaves is the author of the fascinating book Sick From Freedom. The Civil War is infamous for how disease claimed lives of more soldiers than military combat. In his book Downs exemplifies that disease and sickness actually had a more devastating effect on emancipated slaves than on soldiers. Downs encourages readers to look beyond military casualties and consider the public health crisis that faced emancipated slaves in the years following the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Estimates show that at least a fourth of the four million former slaves got sick or died between 1863 and 1870, including at least 60,000 who perished in a smallpox epidemic that began in Washington and Spread throughout the south. Downs persuasively presents that emancipation was a process, not an instant transition from slavery to freedom, but a progression to citizenship that was tied to the poor health and wellbeing of slaves. His perspective on emancipation is unique, as typically historians have presented the …show more content…
Sick From Freedom draws a diverse audience. Those interested in microbial diseases, the history of medicine or federal medical assistance, or the politics of slavery, just to name a few, would all find this book interesting. Downs’ argument is unique in the sense that typical histories examine emancipation as a simple switch to freedom and not a process that was related to health, citizenship, and politics of slaves. Downs says that, “ The experience of sick people was often pushed aside in favor of a liberation narrative that heroically described the abolition of slavery” (6). His argument adds to our understanding of emancipation, slavery, and civil war illness causing the largest biological crisis of the 19th
Jim Downs, notable historian who researches the civil war and reconstruction’s effect on slaves is the author of the fascinating book Sick From Freedom. The Civil War is infamous for how disease claimed lives of more soldiers than military combat. In his book Downs exemplifies that disease and sickness actually had a more devastating effect on emancipated slaves than on soldiers. Downs encourages readers to look beyond military casualties and consider the public health crisis that faced emancipated slaves in the years following the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Estimates show that at least a fourth of the four million former slaves got sick or died between 1863 and 1870, including at least 60,000 who perished in a smallpox epidemic that began in Washington and Spread throughout the south. Downs persuasively presents that emancipation was a process, not an instant transition from slavery to freedom, but a progression to citizenship that was tied to the poor health and wellbeing of slaves. His perspective on emancipation is unique, as typically historians have presented the …show more content…
Sick From Freedom draws a diverse audience. Those interested in microbial diseases, the history of medicine or federal medical assistance, or the politics of slavery, just to name a few, would all find this book interesting. Downs’ argument is unique in the sense that typical histories examine emancipation as a simple switch to freedom and not a process that was related to health, citizenship, and politics of slaves. Downs says that, “ The experience of sick people was often pushed aside in favor of a liberation narrative that heroically described the abolition of slavery” (6). His argument adds to our understanding of emancipation, slavery, and civil war illness causing the largest biological crisis of the 19th