WorldCat Linked Data Explorer

Turtle N-Triple JSON-LD RDF/XML HTML Contact Us Home

http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/797256966

The pox and the covenant Mather, Franklin, and the epidemic that changed America's destiny

A covenant of life and death. For 100 years, God had held to his promise, and the colonists had as well: live uncorrupted lives or suffer divine wrath. But on April 22, 1721, the arrival of one doomed ship in Boston's harbors unleashed a deadly smallpox epidemic that put this covenant to its greatest test. The fierce debate over how to combat the growing tragedy quickly became a battle between faith and reason that would reshape the colonists' view of their destiny, setting a new course for America and inciting the first drumbeats of revolution. The Pox and the Covenant is the story of well-known figures such as Cotton Mather, James Franklin, and a young Benjamin Franklin struggling to fight for their cause amidst the chaos of death and panic -- although not always for the side one would expect - Back cover.

Open All Close All

type

about

http://schema.org/about

contributor

creator

description

http://schema.org/description

  • "A covenant of life and death. For 100 years, God had held to his promise, and the colonists had as well: live uncorrupted lives or suffer divine wrath. But on April 22, 1721, the arrival of one doomed ship in Boston's harbors unleashed a deadly smallpox epidemic that put this covenant to its greatest test. The fierce debate over how to combat the growing tragedy quickly became a battle between faith and reason that would reshape the colonists' view of their destiny, setting a new course for America and inciting the first drumbeats of revolution. The Pox and the Covenant is the story of well-known figures such as Cotton Mather, James Franklin, and a young Benjamin Franklin struggling to fight for their cause amidst the chaos of death and panic -- although not always for the side one would expect - Back cover."@en
  • "In the midst of the deadly 1721 smallpox epidemic, two factions faced off in Boston over scientific innovation versus the Bible. A small but not inconsequential cadre believed that the previously unheard-of practice of inoculation would stem the spread of this serious disease. The larger community protested that the very notion of inoculation flew in the face of everything the Bible stood for. What's more, they insisted, it was bad science. The surprising twist here, without spoilers, is that the latterly iconic Puritan minister Cotton Mather led the group putting its faith in science. The opposition numbered among it the most prominent and powerful physicians of the day, joined by several of Mather's peers and community leaders and supported by members of the Boston press, including a teenaged Benjamin Franklin, who penned several scathing invectives criticizing Mather and his heretical proposal. Mather's reputation took a beating, but Franklin did an about-face on inoculation within the decade. With present-day controversy over vaccination, everything old is new again. And Williams' history is timely as well as engaging. -- Donna Chavez (Booklist)"@en
  • "After several days of skirting the North American coast, the Seahorse reached Boston, the largest city in the colonies, with a population of roughly eleven thousand souls. With such a large number of people, Boston rivaled the cities of mother England, save only for London. Boston was moreover one of the great hubs of the Atlantic trade network. It gathered goods from the farms of the New England hinterland and from smaller cities and ports along the American coast. These commodities were shipped all over the Atlantic which other goods were imported into the city and sent elsewhere. For a virus, a better place to contaminate could hardly be found ... Book jacket."
  • "For one hundred years, God had held to his promise, and the colonists had as well. When the first Puritans sailed into Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, weak from the ocean journey, they formed a covenant with each other and with God to establish a city on a hill-a commitment to live uncorrupted lives together or all suffer divine wrath for their collective sin. But now, a century later, the arrival of one doomed ship would put this covenant to its greatest test. On April 22, 1721, the HMS Seahorse arrived in Boston from the West Indies, carrying goods, cargo, and, unbeknownst to its crew, a deadly virus. Soon, a smallpox epidemic had broken out in Boston, causing hundreds of deaths and panic across the city. The clergy, including the famed Cotton Mather, turned to their standard form of defense against disease: fasting and prayer. But a new theory was also being offered to the public by the scientific world: inoculation. The fierce debate over the right way to combat the tragedy would become a battle between faith and reason, one that would set the city aflame with rage and riot. The Pox and the Covenant is a story of well known figures such as Cotton Mather, James Franklin, and a young Benjamin Franklin struggling to fight for their cause among death and debate-although not always for the side one would expect. In the end, the incredible results of the epidemic and battle would reshape the colonists' view of their destiny, setting for America a new course, a new covenant, and the first drumbeats of revolution. Praise for Pox and the Covenant: A welcome shade of gray into the traditional depiction of Puritans as repressive and closed-minded - Boston Globe A fascinating aside to American medical history. - Publisher's Weekly With present-day controversy over vaccination, everything old is new again. And Williams' history is timely as well as engaging. - Booklist"@en

genre

http://schema.org/genre

  • "Electronic books"@en
  • "History"@en

name

http://schema.org/name

  • "The pox and the covenant Mather, Franklin, and the epidemic that changed America's destiny"@en
  • "The pox and the covenant : Mather, Franklin, and the epidemic that changed America's destiny"@en
  • "The pox and the covenant : Mather, Franklin, and the epidemic that changed America's destiny"

workExample