“prevailing taste for enlarging Philadelphia, and crowding so many human beings together on so small a part of earth” (276). Of course, that lesson was largely ignored and the likelihood of pandemics has steadily grown over the past century due to increased global travel, urbanization, and industrialization (Madhav et al. 315). But maybe, looking at COVID-19, leaders will understand the danger of dismissing or minimizing a potential outbreak for the sake of economic stability, and will be prepared to take decisive action early. Maybe governmental and health care institutions will recognize that contradictory messaging creates panic and uncertainty and will provide clear necessary information and detailed guidance. Maybe COVID-19 will teach future governments to provide sufficient resources for medical health professionals and to treat them with respect. Maybe this is the disease outbreak that finally teaches privileged people to properly value and reward the services provided by essential workers. Maybe the United States will understand that they cannot defeat an outbreak unless they unite in common purpose. Or maybe everything will be “unprecedented” all over again. Works Cited Carey, Mathew, excerpts from A Short Account of the Malignant Fever, Lately Prevalent in Philadelphia: With a Statement of the Proceedings That Took Place on the Subject in Different Parts of the United States. Printed by the Author, 1793. Currie, W. (1793). A description of the malignant, infectious fever prevailing at present in Philadelphia: With an account of the means to prevent infection, and the remedies and method of treatment which have been found most successful. T. Dobson. Finger, Simon. “Yellow Fever.” The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. 2011. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/yellow-fever/ Golins ki, J. (2016). “Debating the Atmospheric Constitution: Yellow Fever and the American Climate.” Eighteenth-Century Studies 49(2), 149-165. doi:10.1353/ecs.2016.0011. Hamilt on, Alexander, et al. "Hamilton's Itinerarium: being a narrative of a journey from Annapolis, Maryland, through Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, from May to September. Saint Louis, Missouri: Printed only for private distribution by William K. Bixby, 1907. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/ item/08002374/. Jones, Absalom, and Richard Allen. A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People during the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia in the Year 1793: 60
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