XENOPHOBIA & PUBLIC HEALTH LESSON PLAN SERIES:
Anti-Semitism & Xenophobia during 19th Century Epidemics
GRADE LEVEL: 6-12
Note: Lower grade levels may require adjustments.
SUGGESTED RUN TIME: 2 one-hour class periods (go through slide deck and pick from 1 or 2 of the below activities).
Note: Lower grade levels may require adjustments.
SUGGESTED RUN TIME: 2 one-hour class periods (go through slide deck and pick from 1 or 2 of the below activities).
In times of great emergency, blame and anger manifest in violent ways toward perceived outsiders. The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. IHI is proud to present this series of lesson plans investigating the link between xenophobia and public health crises through in-depth historical case studies. This free instructor guide presents important but sobering history, highlights how past events mirror the present, and challenges both students and teachers to consider the COVID-19 pandemic in all its dimensions and take action against racism, fear, and hate.
Made possible with funding from CT Humanities.
this free lesson plan contains:
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Instructor's Quick Summary
- Throughout history, epidemics have often led to the scapegoating of Jewish communities, dating back to as early as the Bubonic Plague during the Middle Ages. During disease outbreaks in the 19th century, Eastern European Jewish immigrants and residents were perceived as dirty and as disease carriers.
- In 1892, two epidemics took place in New York - typhus and cholera - both centered around the New York Port, the busiest port in the U.S.
- Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe were blamed by officials and the public for bringing the diseases to the U.S., and the U.S. government’s reaction included an immigration ban against Russian Jews.
- Public health officials made policy decisions based on their suspicion of Eastern European Jewish immigrants, targeting those who had recently arrived as well as other Jewish residents in the city in an attempt to stop outbreaks.
- Many Jewish immigrants and residents were forcibly quarantined even when they weren’t sick, and those living in the city were monitored and even evicted.
- The conditions in which Jewish immigrants were held, i.e. in highly unsanitary and crowded spaces, exacerbated the spread of disease among vulnerable populations. Many became sick as a result of inadequate quarantine facilities.
- Similar to public rhetoric during the COVID-19 around Chinese and other East Asian communities, blame centered around immigrants from one particular area as the ‘cause’ of disease, when in fact the epidemics had already spread through Asia and Europe and were brought to the U.S. by multiple ethnic groups.
Key Understandings for Students
1. Racism and xenophobia tend to spike during times of great emergency, such as public health crises. Racial scapegoating occurs when one racial group is unfairly singled out and blamed for a particular problem, leading to mistreatment and injustice.
2. Xenophobia has a strong history rooted in anti-Semitism, the prejudice against Jewish people.
3. Public health policy created based on racist beliefs or agenda have devastating consequences on the population and marginalized peoples while also distracting from more effective ways of preventing or stopping disease outbreaks.
4. Racism and xenophobia are not only confined to the past, but continue to impact us today. During public health crises today, including the COVID-19 pandemic, we see similar patterns of racial scapegoating. We all have a responsibility to fight back against racial scapegoating and advocate for better ways of protecting the public health.
2. Xenophobia has a strong history rooted in anti-Semitism, the prejudice against Jewish people.
3. Public health policy created based on racist beliefs or agenda have devastating consequences on the population and marginalized peoples while also distracting from more effective ways of preventing or stopping disease outbreaks.
4. Racism and xenophobia are not only confined to the past, but continue to impact us today. During public health crises today, including the COVID-19 pandemic, we see similar patterns of racial scapegoating. We all have a responsibility to fight back against racial scapegoating and advocate for better ways of protecting the public health.
Common Core Standards
For more information, please visit www.corestandards.org, or click the above links for the specific standard descriptions.
Further Readings & Resources
Batlan, Felice. Law in the Time of Cholera: Disease, State Power, and Quarantines Past and Future. published 2007.
Jackson, Paul. University of Toronto. Fearing future epidemics: the cholera crisis of 1892. published 2012, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1474474012455017
Kenealy, Annesley. The Cholera In Hamburg. pp. 354-358. Chicago, Ill: Monarch Book Company, 1893 http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/eagle/congress/kenealy.html
Kushner, Aviya. Forward. Pandemics have always incited anti-Semitism. Here’s the history you need to know. published 2020, https://forward.com/culture/445419/pandemic-anti-semitism-coronavirus-black-death-typhus-cholera-immigrants/
Mintz, S., & McNeil S. "Migration and Disease." Digital History. published 2018, http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu
Nuland, Sherwin. The New Republic. Hate in the Time of Cholera. published 1997, https://newrepublic.com/article/116867/sherwin-nuland-jewish-immigrants-new-yorks-cholera-epidemics
Owen, Ryan. Forgotten New England. The Immigrant Experience In 1892: New York's Cholera Scare and Its Effect On Boston. published 2012, https://forgottennewengland.com/2012/03/03/the-immigrant-experience-in-1892-new-yorks-cholera-scare-and-its-effect-on-boston/
The Peopling of New York. Health of New York's Jewish Immigrants. published 2009, https://macaulay.cuny.edu/seminars/drabik09/articles/h/e/a/Health_of_New_York%27s_Jewish_Immigrants_566a.html
University of Virginia Darden. Q&A with Richard J. Evans on the relevance of a past cholera epidemic. published 2020,
https://blogs.darden.virginia.edu/globalwater/2020/10/27/qa-with-richard-j-evans-on-the-relevance-of-a-past-cholera-epidemic/
Virtual New York City. Cholera. published 2001, https://virtualny.ashp.cuny.edu/cholera/cholera_intro.html
Jackson, Paul. University of Toronto. Fearing future epidemics: the cholera crisis of 1892. published 2012, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1474474012455017
Kenealy, Annesley. The Cholera In Hamburg. pp. 354-358. Chicago, Ill: Monarch Book Company, 1893 http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/eagle/congress/kenealy.html
Kushner, Aviya. Forward. Pandemics have always incited anti-Semitism. Here’s the history you need to know. published 2020, https://forward.com/culture/445419/pandemic-anti-semitism-coronavirus-black-death-typhus-cholera-immigrants/
Mintz, S., & McNeil S. "Migration and Disease." Digital History. published 2018, http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu
Nuland, Sherwin. The New Republic. Hate in the Time of Cholera. published 1997, https://newrepublic.com/article/116867/sherwin-nuland-jewish-immigrants-new-yorks-cholera-epidemics
Owen, Ryan. Forgotten New England. The Immigrant Experience In 1892: New York's Cholera Scare and Its Effect On Boston. published 2012, https://forgottennewengland.com/2012/03/03/the-immigrant-experience-in-1892-new-yorks-cholera-scare-and-its-effect-on-boston/
The Peopling of New York. Health of New York's Jewish Immigrants. published 2009, https://macaulay.cuny.edu/seminars/drabik09/articles/h/e/a/Health_of_New_York%27s_Jewish_Immigrants_566a.html
University of Virginia Darden. Q&A with Richard J. Evans on the relevance of a past cholera epidemic. published 2020,
https://blogs.darden.virginia.edu/globalwater/2020/10/27/qa-with-richard-j-evans-on-the-relevance-of-a-past-cholera-epidemic/
Virtual New York City. Cholera. published 2001, https://virtualny.ashp.cuny.edu/cholera/cholera_intro.html
Lesson Plan Components
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Ruchi Shah
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Kathy Lu
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Julia Wang
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REVIEW BOARD
Dr. Nayan Shah
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Sheena Iwamoto
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Hilary Gushwa
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