Document Type
Book
Files
Download (242 KB)
Description
The National was once the grandest hotel in the capital. In 1857, it twice hosted President-elect James Buchanan and his advisors, and on both occasions, most of the party was quickly stricken by an acute illness. Over the course of several months, hundreds fell ill, and over thirty died from what became known as the National Hotel disease. Buchanan barely recovered enough to give his inauguration speech. Rumors ran rampant across the city and the nation. Some claimed that the illness was born of a sewage “effluvia,” while others darkly speculated about an assassination attempt by either abolitionists or southern slaveowners intent on war. Author Kerry Walters investigates the mysteries of the National Hotel disease. [From the publisher]
ISBN
9781626196384
Publication Date
10-2014
Publisher
The History Press
City
Charleston, SC
Department 1
Philosophy
Copyright Note
This is the publisher's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
Walters, Kerry. Outbreak in Washington DC: The 1857 Mystery of the National Hotel Disease (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2014).
Required Publisher's Statement
Original version is available from the publisher at: https://historypress.net/catalogue/bookstore/books/Outbreak-in-Washington,-D.C./9781626196384
Included in
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Political History Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons
Comments
The introduction to Kerry Walters' book is available for download.