1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi there, Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 1: where we sift through the artifacts of history seven days 4 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: a week. Today is May five, nineteen. The day was 5 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: May five. Eight thirty two, Congress passed the Indian Vaccination Act, 6 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: which appropriated twelve thousand dollars to purchase vaccines and hired 7 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:39,239 Speaker 1: doctors to vaccinate Native Americans against smallpox. There have been 8 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:42,879 Speaker 1: other small scale efforts to inoculate Native Americans against the 9 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: disease on the South and North American continents before, but 10 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: the eighteen thirty two Act was the first piece of 11 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,560 Speaker 1: federal legislation in the US that was designated to deal 12 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: specifically with the Native Americans health issue. The intention of 13 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: the Act was not just to protect Native Americans from smallpox, though, 14 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: It was passed in the interest of Native American removal, 15 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,399 Speaker 1: or the process of removing Native American tribes from their 16 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: ancestral lands to territory west of the Mississippi River so 17 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: white people could develop the vacated lands. On top of 18 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: the shady political motivations of the Act, its administration was 19 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: also plagued by corruption and incompetence. Smallpox is an infectious 20 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: disease caused by the variola virus. The virus is now eradicated, 21 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,039 Speaker 1: but back in the eighteen hundreds it was active and 22 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: highly contagious. Though most people who got the smallpox recovered, 23 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: three out of ten people and infected with the contagious 24 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 1: disease died. Symptoms included fever, body eggs, skin rash, skin stores, 25 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: and scabs. European colonization brought smallpox into North America in 26 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: the seventeenth century, and by eighteen thirty two, millions of 27 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: non native peoples had already been vaccinated against smallpox, but 28 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: smallpox was ravaging Native American populations. In eighteen thirty U 29 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: s Indian agents as they were called, were authorized to 30 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: hire physicians on an ad hoc basis to vaccinate or 31 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:15,799 Speaker 1: treat Native Americans at their agencies, but that was not 32 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:18,799 Speaker 1: enough to deal with the spread of smallpox to native 33 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 1: people's across the Central Plains. In eighteen thirty one and 34 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty two, Indian agents and others who witnessed the 35 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: smallpox epidemic on the western frontier asked officials for assistance 36 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: with controlling the disease. President Andrew Jackson was a huge 37 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: advocate of Native American removal, and in eighteen thirty he 38 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: signed into law the Indian Removal Act, which resulted in 39 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:46,360 Speaker 1: the deadly Trek West that became known as the Trail 40 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: of Tears. Since Congress was in the process of planning 41 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: to remove tens of thousands of Native Americans into areas 42 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: that were being seriously affected by smallpox, these outbreaks were 43 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:02,640 Speaker 1: a problem. Commissi of Indian Affairs Albert Herring claimed in 44 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,520 Speaker 1: his annual report to the Secretary of War that the 45 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: Chippewa who had gone through smallpox epidemics had basically brought 46 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: the disease upon themselves. This helped convince the federal government 47 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: that it needed to help Native Americans. There was no 48 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: precedent for a bill to deal with this kind of problem, 49 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: but legislation proposed twelve thousand dollars for preventing the spread 50 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:31,079 Speaker 1: of smallpox along Native American frontiers. When the bill was introduced, 51 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: southern congressman opposed it, while Northerners largely supported it. Senators 52 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,119 Speaker 1: against the bill argued that twelve thousand dollars was too 53 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 1: much and leaned on the stereotype of Native Americans as savages, 54 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: but the bill passed on its third reading. On May five, 55 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: thirty two, the Indian Vaccination Act went into effect. Section 56 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: two of the Act stated, and be it further enacted, 57 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: that the Secretary of War b and he hereby is 58 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: empowered to employ as many physicians or surgeons from the 59 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: army or resident on the frontier near the point where 60 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: their services shall be required, as he may find necessary 61 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: for the execution of this Act, and if necessary to 62 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: competent persons, to conduct the physicians to the remote Indians 63 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:23,040 Speaker 1: who are infected or maybe in immediate danger of being 64 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: infected with the smallpox, whose compensation shall be six dollars 65 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: per day, and six men, whose compensation shall be twenty 66 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:36,600 Speaker 1: five dollars per month. Physicians use live vaccine material, typically 67 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:41,039 Speaker 1: thread are cotton contaminated with cowpox to inoculate Native Americans. 68 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: Secretary of War Louis Cass administered the program. He decided 69 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: that the tribes that would get the vaccination were those 70 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: that were friendly to the US, those that had significant 71 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: roles in the economy, and those that were being forcibly 72 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 1: relocated to the West. He also ordered Indian Agent John 73 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,039 Speaker 1: though Pty to limit vaccinations to tribes in the Lower 74 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:08,719 Speaker 1: Missouri River Valley. Civilian and army physicians vaccinated people, yet 75 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: Native Americans had no say in the creation and implementation 76 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: of the vaccine program. Beyond aiding in the removal and 77 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 1: relocation of Native Americans, the Act also accelerated westward expansion 78 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: and consolidated reservation communities. The money allotted for the vaccination 79 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:32,040 Speaker 1: programs was not always used as planned. For instance, Henry 80 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:35,839 Speaker 1: Schoolcraft spent eight hundred dollars of the vaccination funds for 81 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 1: a cartographic and geological survey of Chippewa County, vaccinating some 82 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: Native Americans along the way. Another issue with the program 83 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 1: was Louis Cass's exclusion of the Mandan and other Upper 84 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: Missouri River tribes, possibly because they were no longer economically 85 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:57,240 Speaker 1: important to the US or not considered civilized enough. No 86 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: Native American groups that had been deemed aggressives were vaccinated, 87 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,479 Speaker 1: yet cast favored Native American nations that were involved in 88 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:09,360 Speaker 1: favorable treaties with the US, and while many Native Americans 89 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: welcomed the vaccinations, others refused them before deportation, so there 90 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:17,920 Speaker 1: were still large groups of unvaccinated people in the new nations. 91 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 1: In eighteen thirty seven, and eighteen thirty eight, thousands of Mandan, Hadatza, Creed, 92 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: and other Upper Missouri River tribes that have been left 93 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: out of the Act died from smallpox. Non native populations 94 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 1: affected were not so devastated. In eighteen thirty nine, another 95 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: five thousand dollars was allocated to the Indian Vaccination Act 96 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,919 Speaker 1: programs to provide for vaccinations. After the smallpox epidemic of 97 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty seven and eighteen thirty eight. At least thirty 98 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:52,359 Speaker 1: eight thousand Native Americans were vaccinated under the Indian Vaccination Act. 99 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 1: I'm Eve Stepcote and hopefully you know a little more 100 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. You can learn 101 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 1: more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and 102 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d i h C podcast. Thank you 103 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:13,679 Speaker 1: for joining me today. 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