XENOPHOBIA & PUBLIC HEALTH LESSON PLAN SERIES:

Smallpox, Fear & Racism During 1800s San Francisco

GRADE LEVEL: 6-12 
Note: Lower grade levels may require adjustments. Activity 3 is most suitable for younger students.
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SUGGESTED RUN TIME: 2 one-hour class periods (go through slide deck and pick from 1 or 2 of the below activities). To complete all 3 activities in class, recommended time is 4 class periods.

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:

  • Customizable slide deck tailored for remote teaching
  • 3 hands-on student activities involving primary source analysis
  • Customizable student worksheets
  • List of further resources to guide teacher research & preparation
Instructor's Quick Summary
  • 4 devastating smallpox epidemics occurred in San Francisco in the 1800s: in 1868, 1876, 1880, and 1887. 
  • San Francisco responded to these epidemics with racially targeted tactics that scapegoated the Chinese immigrant population in the city, including policies that forced Chinatown under close surveillance, prevented Chinatown residents from accessing healthcare resources, and attempted to further isolate and even exclude the Chinese. 
  • Thousands died during these epidemics, and the racist public health policies had little to no impact on stemming the spread of the disease. To the contrary, the introduction of the smallpox vaccine was the key factor in reducing the mortality rate in later outbreaks. 
  • Racial scapegoating still occurs today, notably in the 2020-21 novel coronavirus pandemic where East Asians and Asian Americans have been accused of spreading the virus and attacked in the streets. Encourage your students to make these connections and think critically about how to effectively combat public health crises and push back against discrimination.
Key Understandings for Students
1. Racism and anti-immigrant sentiment 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. Public health policy created based on racist beliefs or agenda have devastating consequences on the population and distract from more effective ways of preventing or stopping disease outbreaks.

3. 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
Grades 6-8

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.8
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.4
​CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.6
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.7
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.8
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.9
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.6
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.8
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.9
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.6
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.8
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.9
Grades 9-12

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.5
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.6
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.8
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.9
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.3
​CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.6
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.7
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.8
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.9
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.6
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.8
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.6
For more information, please visit www.thecorestandards.org.
Further Readings & Resources
Shah, Nayan. Contagious Divides: Epidemics and Race in San Francisco's Chinatown. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.
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Immigrant History Initiative. 500 Years of Migration, published 2018, https://www.immigranthistory.org/chineseamerican.html

New York Historical Society, Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion Curriculum Guide, published 2014, https://chsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Chinese-American-Classroom-Materials-1.pdf

Chinese Historical Society of America, San Francisco Chinatown 1906-2006: Selected Milestones, published 2006, http://www.chsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Chinatown_Rising_Timeline.pdf
Lesson Plan Components

Activity 1:
Mapping Stereotypes

Students will analyze graphical primary sources (maps) to investigate how racialized perceptions of Chinatown impacted public health policy during the smallpox epidemics.

Activity 2:
Racial Scapegoating in Texts

Students will analyze three textual primary sources from different points of view to understand how racial scapegoating was pushed, justified, or condemned.

Activity 3:
Using Art for Good & Evil

Students will interpret political cartoons from the time period and compare with activist artwork from COVID-19 pandemic. Can be adapted for younger students.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Ruchi Shah
lesson creator

Kathy Lu
lesson creator

Julia Wang
lesson creator

REVIEW BOARD

Dr. Nayan Shah
historian

Dr. Shah is an award-winning historian studying race, sexuality and gender, as well as the history of migration, health, law and governance. He is the author of Contagious Divides, on which this lesson plan was based. He is a professor of American Studies and Ethnicity and History at the University of Southern California. 

Sheena Iwamoto
teacher

​Sheena is a History educator who believes that our classrooms can become powerful spaces of personal transformation and empowerment. She received her M.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Education and currently teaches in the Bay Area.

Hilary Gushwa
teacher

Hilary Gushwa is a high school English teacher in LA who believes in using authentic writing tasks, student-led discussions, and challenging readings by authors of diverse backgrounds to create an empathetic but rigorous learning environment. Outside of the classroom, she is a member of both BFW and NMSI's professional learning communities, and mentors with WriteGirl.

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