John & Abigail & Smallpox
Play • 39 min

We dig into the separate smallpox inoculations of John and Abigail Adams and the heartfelt and hilarious love letters this supercouple exchanged during their quarantines, along with some background on Lady Mary Montagu's bold introduction of the smallpox inoculation from Turkey to England.

Sources:
Founders Online - letters between John & Abigail Adams
Time Magazine: How One Daring Woman Introduced the Idea of Smallpox Inoculation to England by Thomas Hager
The Story of Smallpox in Massachusetts by Samuel Bayard Woodward, M.D.
Inspired by my post "Love in the Time of Smallpox"

Show notes and sources at plodpod.com

 

Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content!

More episodes
Search
Clear search
Close search
Google apps
Main menu