A Study Of Plague Events In San Francisco,USA(1900-1904)

In the late 19th century,plague broke out in Asia and spread to San Francisco in 1900,causing a public health crisis in modern American history.The plague epidemic in San Francisco was small in scale,but it lasted for four years due to ineffective prevention and control of the epidemic.The occurrence of San Francisco plague was the result of many factors.Poor sanitation in Chinatown allowed for the growth and spread of plague bacteria.In the early 20th century,during the third world plague pandemic,San Francisco’s busy foreign trade provided an opportunity for the introduction of plague.Due to the unknown knowledge of plague transmission and the influence of the wave of Chinese exclusion and racist policies,white people regarded Chinatown as "the source of plague".In addition,California’s politicians have joined forces with business to form a business interest that not only controls city commerce but also competes with the federal government for quarantine authority.Once the plague in San Francisco spread,it caused an uproar in political circles,medical circles,the press and the Chinese community.The federal government appointed the Marine Hospital service department to take charge of epidemic control and established the plague investigation committee to investigate the truth of the plague.The state government tried to deny and cover up the existence of plague for commercial reasons.The city health department and health officials impose discriminatory public health measures on Chinatown.The press spoke up for their political parties and disagreed about whether the plague existed in San Francisco.The Chinese community,under the leadership of the Chinese General Assembly,fought against unequal quarantine measures.This plague epidemic not only caused the plague to take root in the continental United States,but also had a profound social impact.It prompted the US government at all levels to enhance the awareness of cooperation in epidemic prevention and promote the reform of public health institutions.However,the angel Island immigration station was established soon after and continued its racist attitude towards China.For the Chinese,although the plague event caused them to suffer physical and mental torture,it also objectively prompted the Chinese to take the initiative to improve their own medical and health environment,and enhance the awareness of judicial rights protection and naturalization.