We can all learn a valuable lesson from Onesimus. Though he was a slave and probably suffered much in his lifetime, he shared with others his knowledge of a life saving procedure that he knew for a fact would save the lives of countless people. Treat others the way you want to be treated. It doesn't mean you have to like anyone or everyone, just that you should not treat them in a way you yourself would not appreciate.
FANTASTIC AGAIN SIR ! YOUR PROGRAM IS CERTAINLY ONE THAT SHOULD BE IN EVERY SCHOOL IN AMERICA. My Great Aunt Genevieve Miller (1914-2013) was a college professor who held a few degrees, one in medical history. During her long career she wrote and/or co-wrote and published a few books, one on the smallpox vaccine. Another is titled "Yankee in Gray" based on letters and documents telling the tale of a doctor pressed into service by the Confederacy. (For which she was robbed of promised credit for her detailed research and other contributions to the final draft.) My mother inherited her personal copies.
Agreed that is very interesting history and a story that should be better known. But how can you assert that it's "actively ignored"? As if you know that those who disseminate information are actively trying to suppress this?
This episode is perfect timing. I am taking a U.S. history class at the local Community College and Cotton Mather and Onesimus and inoculation is mentioned in just one sentence. We students are required to write a make believe diary; about 5 typed pages, on whatever we want to write about that takes place in the early Colonies. Even though I am a man, I decided to make up a diary about a young woman who was taught medicine by her Father, who was a physician, and took that training to the small settlements and helped a lot of people. I was going to mention Mather and Onesimus, and this episode has given me a fabulous amount of information that I can use to incorporate into the diary. No, I will NOT plagiarize; I will use just the basic idea of inoculation and put it in my own words, but I am definitely going to tell the instructor about this fantastic channel and particularly this episode. Hooray for The History Guy..!!
@marbleman52: I would say that your statement above would completely dispel any accusations of plagiarism. If I was your teacher, I would encourage my students to include "background information" (i.e., what was your inspiration?). It's not plagiarism if you cite your sources.
@@peterkizer6163 Thank you for your kind words. You might find this interesting: I am 68 and taking classes; how 'bout that! It has been over 40 years since I was last in college and I am really enjoying being back in an academic environment. I had just started my Junior year at a university when my first child, a daughter, was born and my wife and I had already decided that we wanted her to stay home and be the Mother instead of having someone else raise our daughter so she quit her job and I dropped school and went to work full time. I don't regret it one bit; I made the right decision. About plagiarism; every instructor hammers it hard; it is not tolerated; it is treated like a criminal offense and it can lead to being kicked out of school. Whenever a paper is electronically submitted to the instructor, the paper is sent through a data base that contains millions & millions of articles, newspapers, books, etc., and it is almost guaranteed that if a student tries to pass off someone else's work as their own they will get caught. And besides that, every instructor learns quickly how a student writes from the other written assignments and will immediately recognize when a student plagiarizes. This little diary assignment is not like a research paper with works cited; the instructor made that very plain; paraphrasing if needed, but no works cited, just keep it simple and historically accurate. I had this same instructor, a PhD in history, last semester and we had two diary assignments so I know what he is wanting. Thanks again for your response.
marbleman52 - you have no idea how much your response made me smile! Good luck with your diary and keep enjoying college! I’m not that much younger than you, but the thought of returning to University for another degree is enough to make me exhausted!
@@mandywalkden-brown7250 Thank you for your encouragement. My first semester back in school was this past Fall and I started with 12 hrs.( 4 classes). My intention is to enjoy the classes and not get stressed out with taking a real full load; like 15 hrs. and even more hrs. that some students take who are wanting to get their degree in a minimum amount of time. I am not in that situation. I am retired and and doing this for my own enjoyment and not to necessarily get a degree that will get me a good future ( kinda late for that..LOL..!! ), and a good salary. I dropped one of the classes last Fall because I WAS getting stressed at the workload. This semester I am just taking only 9 hrs. and I have plenty of time to really concentrate on each class and learn more than just the minimum to get by the next test. I made two 'A's' and one 'B'( and that was almost an A) last Fall. My Daughter was real proud of this 'old man'..Ha.! So I am having fun being around and making friends with the young students. Oh, there are a few 'older' students; a few young mothers who are improving their future job opportunities, and I applaud them for making the effort...and time, but I am definitely the oldest...but that's okay...I'm a young at heart kinda man.
You have the wisdom to recognize it. Puts you way ahead of many who are certain they know everything and could never be wrong or open to learning something new.
Your in good company. We live in a reductionist world. I knew about Jenner, and that was it. THG takes us beyond the recived school room version of history.
Hi History Guy, ive always loved yr history snippets but for some reason i never checked yr channel, until now and WoW what a treat cos im gonna binge watch alnight ! , youve finally earned my sub and i thankyou in advance you have so many topics that im interested in AND many topics that ive never come across before that i just know will have me trawling the internet for more information . Thanks again .R.
I learn something new from *every* video you make. As a child in elementary school in the 60's, I had of course heard how cowpox was used to inoculate against smallpox, but never heard what you outlined today. Fascinating.
This was a fantastic presentation! I shared it with others (something pretty rare for me). Your story is filled with some social statements that ensnared mankind throughout the ages. It also covered how the social issues were faced by several different cultures. Achieving a "breakthrough" is often tied to extraordinary courage for some cultures, while it's a natural passing for others. It's quite mind-opening!
I started watching your presentation, certain I was going to chastise you in the comments, along the lines of “yeah? What about the Turks? What about the Chinese?” But, you not only got your story right, you did justice to the details. Well done!
those are understandable, being the first time hearing about it and all that. Plus even with a tenth of the lethality being directly responsible for a patient's death must have suuucked for the doctors
@@beruman correct. and the same ignoramus attitude rules antivaccers to this date. Combined nowadays with idiots believing that vaccines are part of a government program to spread disease...
Thank you so much #thehistoryguy for your wonderful videos! I've always heard that #poker originated in France. That's about all I know. I play a few times a week, and enjoy hearing the stories of origins of phrases like "the buck stops here", and "play your cards close to the vest." I'd love to see a new article by you so that I can pass along the knowledge while I am playing! The guys and gals will love to watch it at one of the games!
Once again I would like take a moment to compliment you on your channel, and thank you for your work, .... the sheer breadth of the subjects you are covering is amazing, kudos!
I think this is the biggest reason we have people refuse vaccination today. No one sees good friends in an iron lung, or die. People don't live in fear. Even the flu isn't scary - many illnesses present flu-like symptoms, and are fine later, so they either don't think it's dangerous, or they got it even after getting a jab. I had the oral vaccine for polio. Not as old as you, but not much younger, either.
@@minuteman4199 It comes back. Many people who recovered from polio are now experiencing a return of the disease's debilitating effects, I know one of them, I've seen some of his decline.
I was born in 1957. At that time, my father was an osteopath, and the town doctor in the small town Ohio were we lived. I remember I must've been 4, maybe 5 years old, and he gave me my smallpox vaccination. I remember he dipped a needle thing in the liquid and jabbed it in my upper left arm. I still have the scar to this day. Sadly, he died in 1963 in an automobile accident, but I live on!
I remember being bused in the second grade from my 4 room (all 8 grades) rural school to another larger school nearby as were all the kids from all the other small schools. We were put into several lines and on we slowly moved to the front where there were doctors w/2 nurses each waiting to give us a "shot" against small pox. It hurt and later itched for days. The best thing for all of us was that the "Room Mothers" gave each one of us a "Safety Sucker" (rope for a handle-no choking on stick) for being brave. Was fascinated by how the nurses changed the hypo needles and drew in the serum. Had not thought about this in 60 years. Thanks from Wisconsin.
We have "The Mark". We can write in coded scribbles and can tell time from a round dial with arrows on it... just two of our protections against the millennials
It was a big gun with lots of needles! (Born 1966). As if pulled from a child's nightmare! Luckily, as a boy I wanted to man up which made it less stressful.
I had the test but was found to be immune and didn't need the inoculation, born in 1959, you are probably the same as me with just a little round lump on left shoulder.
Mike Whitcomb Was born in '59 and have no noticeable mark. My mom was so concerned with the big ugly scars she thought about having it done on my upper thigh. Oldest of 5, she was young & worried about stuff like that. I on the other hand wanted my son to have a nice innie belly button 😊
Just an FYI. @ 6:55 Charlestown, MA is not pronounced Charleston, it's Charles Town. As if it were two words. I'm not complaining. This is so much better than anything on TV. Just ordered my History Guy T shirt!
History guy thank you for this topic. It is an eye opener for me especially the part about some cultures deifying smallpox. This hit close to home as I remember my Yoruba people of West Africa actually have a god of smallpox called Sopona or Sapona.
Fascinating, Lance. I had long ago heard about the work of Edward Jenner, using cowpox inoculations in late 18th Century England, but was unaware of the ancient practice (in Africa, China and India) of inoculating healthy individuals with the smallpox virus, itself. Nor, was I aware of the story you have presented here; in which George Washington, himself played ar role. Kudos to you, sir!
St Francis with his stigmata. Not a bleeding pox. Again great video. History again and again deserves to be remembered. Glad I live in an educated era.
I remember learning about the milkmaids and the cowpox connection. But never the rest. Thank you for setting the record straight and giving credit where its due.
History Guy channel is very interesting. I know the host is US, but I would love to have more international subjects in the videos. The host does an amazing job with them, despite the tendency of other US channels to be US centric when treating international issues, the History Guy is more history centric, thus, his videos are more enjoyable to foreign people too.
07:45 This is one of the reasons why I love history so much. It preserves and It also shows us that life isn't and never was black and white. History is complicated. Who would have taught that getting information from African slaves about their practice inoculation would have led to the development of proper immunization techniques that saved millions of lives?
Thank you for this episode. It is just as interesting to hear how this society of the time handled inoculate as is the process of how it occurred... Love history!
When I was in high school I did a report on smallpox for my health class in junior year. It was based largely on an article in NatGeo magazine about this subject and the de declaration that it was eradicated. Sadly, cases kapt popping up here and there, some of them, if I recall correctly, from mishandling the live virus in a clinical setting. I was inoculated during Army inprocessing in 1983 with a large gauge needle in my deltoid muscle, and that stung pretty good. Four or five pustules popped up and went away in about a week. Thank you for another excellent installment.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel as the USSR and quite likely Russia still to this day weaponised smallpox (among other things) and keep stockpiles of it to use in case of war, that's a wise precaution. And Russia isn't the only one with an offensive biological warfare program. China, Iran, and probably other countries as well have or attempt to gain the capability.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel When I deployed to the middle east in 2007 I was supposed to get the smallpox vaccine before I left my home station. The exception was if you had someone pregnant in the household or small children. I met both criteria so I didn't get the vaccine.
Dirge Cry About ten years ago my doctor gave us shots for Scarlet Fever 🤒 I laughed saying have we gone back in time? Said no cases were popping up at the local HS.
The last naturally occurring case of smallpox was reported in 1977, according to the NIH (National Institutes of Health). There are small quantities of smallpox virus that still exist in two research laboratories in Atlanta, Georgia, and in Russia. There have been NO new cases of smallpox to date.
I came along after the epidemics, but we took the Sabin Polio Vaccine. I remember our parents told us of kids who had Polio and of course FDR. It was very real to us. From the late 60's and early 70's.
I can remember the polio vaccines they were giving us in school in the 50s and early 60s. At first it was a shot then they came out with a vaccine coating a lump of sugar. That was a bit more pleasant than the shots.
I have the scar on my arm. We had to be vaccinated then or isolated. I am thankful my parents listened to medical science. There was a kid in my class deformed from polio small legs and almost crippled.
@Steve Jones Many refused Polio vaccine because Salk and Sabin were Jewish. Also early live oral vaccine effort infected many in Afrika causing mass conspiracy theories. Today anti vaxer are like flat Earth types reject modern medicine. Insane Ignorance should be painful...
I enjoy your presentation. Reminds me of Walter Cronkite and his colleagues. I'm a WWII history enthusiast. Any plans for covering that era? Maybe the Home Front or such? The battles are well documented, but life for the people at home is for the most part neglected. Thank you for your work.
Thank you for the history lessons, yous sessions are much more enjoyable and educational than the dry history lessons of my school years a long time ago. I was wondering, does history recallscthat aHitler was a vegetarian environmentalist greenie?
Another top notch video. Thanks! A note, though: unlike Charleston, South Carolina, Charlestown, Massachusetts never changed its pronunciation. It is still Charles-town.
History is always complex,heroes can be factually villains and villains can be factually good men.The full context and time of history is vital.Which you always provide.
I would like to see a video comparing the estimated numbers of deaths due to all of the wars in human history to all of those that died to , “ Its just a flu”. We don’t take flu as seriously as we should. I like your videos even before I watch them.
problem is how you deliniate. E.g. the 1918 flu pandemic in large part was able to do the damage it did because of the conditions on the western front and in army barracks during WW1. So the war allowed the flu to kill far more people than it otherwise would have.
You need to consider doing a snippet about the Marshall Islands Atomic Cleanup. Many books about this once-secret operation are available on Amazon. Look up Enewetak Atomic Cleanup Veterans for information as well.
Great video (as always). I am the youngest of 4 siblings, my sister and oldest brother both have scars on their arms from the small pox vaccination, they had stopped the practice by the time my older brother and I became teens
I remember how envious I was of my friends when they would show off their truly nasty oozing sores on their upper arms from their small pox inoculations. Mine never "took" and I never got that particular badge of courage to show off. No horrible sore and no really neat scar for me (we tried twice). This was probably in the late 1950's. I suppose I was one of the lucky ones with a natural immunity, but I didn't feel lucky back then and I had to be content with that monumental stubbed toe.
also maybe the history of Captain John Stark, Vermont has the Molly Stark trail (she never did sleep a widow), and his words are on the license plate of every car in New Hampshire!! When I moved to the area I found it incredible that he marched across Vermont... (it's quite the drive) and that the contest for what to put on the state license plate was a bust, and someone just said let's quote Captain Stark!! People always ask me WHY DOES YOUR LICENSE PLATE SAY "LIVE FREE OR DIE"?
My kindergarten class was the first in my school to be vaccinated against Polio in 1955. As a result, we were the first class not to have any polio victims. I remember when we were vaccinated against Small pox in high school, most of us had slight fevers, a few kids got sick for a day or two which is why I think they did it on a Friday. Unfortunately they had no vaccination against Chicken Pox, mumps, whooping cough, or measles at the time so everyone of my generation got sick. We pay for this today because we are more likely to get shingles. My children and grand-children have all been vaccinated against those childhood diseases and thus will never endure being sick again.
Huh that's odd. I went through school in the 70's and I'm fairly sure we covered that fact. So much for your pathetic attempt to play the race card/"Evil Europeans" card.
@@samiam619 What I was taught totally overlooked this *interesting, lifesaving* contribution. The details could have been much simplified but kept the salient bits, and been done in the same amount of time. Your premise is a little off.
@@TheDoctor1225 You're the one talking about "evil Europeans" . Also noted is the comment "fairly sure". Congratulations, you impugned Europeans all by yourself. Don't include me with your embarrassment. The shame is all yours... I am merely noting the *omission* of this *historical fact* (without accusation), regarding *my* education . Quit trying to play the race card, its pathetic...
I remember learning that milkmaids did not get smallpox because of their proximity to cows. The variallation (sp?) procedure is featured in the series ,John Adams, where his wife, Abigail, has her children subjected to the procedure. The poor "donor" was carried about in the back of a wagon, the doctor taking samples from infected sores. According to the series, one of the children got the full blown disease, but survived.
It's nice that we now live in a world where people are educated and no longer believe in misinformation and myths and instead understand the scientifically proven benefits of modern medicine.
Hi there Born in the UK... ( thinking Springsteen just then) In 1960. When I was a child whenever someone in the village that I lived in had Measles, Mumps etc etc we were taken around to their house to play, As we were 5/6/7 at the time we didn't know why, but we often ended up with the same illness as our friends. It was always just something that seemed to happen. It seemed like I was always getting ill. You name it I probably had it. That was our version of inoculation in 't' old days. Not that long ago really plus I have talked to younger adults in their 30s whose parents would do something similar even though here in the UK children get inoculated for those diseases. These days. How about a show on the origins of the many nicknames people from certain parts of the UK are called. Eg People in Hartlepool in the North East of England are called "Monkey Hangers" The tale goes that during the Napoleonic wars a French ship broke up and sank on the rocks amongst the wreckage was one 'Monkey.' I guess never having seen a French sailor or a Monkey they assumed the monkey was French sailor or possibly a spy, no matter how hard they tried they couldnt get the 'Frenchman' to understand them or it them, so they Hung the Monkey as a French Spy. People in Liverpool are known as Scousers. But what's a scouser? Well according to my nearly 90 year old aunt it was quite offensive to her, as Scouse is a poor mans stew made with cheapest cuts of meat and vegetables my aunt never allowed us to call the family Scousers as she had worked hard to put decent food on the Table. My mum never minded 12 years older than my aunt it always gave her a tickle and laugh her socks off though she never described herself as a scouser just a Liverpool lass. Unlike many of today's generation. People in Lincolnshire are known as Yellowbellies. The Tenth of Foot which became the Lincolnshire and then Royal Lincolnshire Regiment and now the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment. Were at Lexington and Concord with some Marines they served their country well with many many battle Honours on their Regimental colours a proud Regiment. The 10th had a yellow breast on their uniform hence they were known as Yellowbellies. Lincolnshire people are proud to state that they are a Lincolnshire YellowBelly. Though often these days many dont know why. Theres many more of them.
In my home town during the late 1950s, I had received 3 forms of the same inoculation as the practice went through modernization. I had already gotten the Shot in the arm, then came 2 forms of oral within 6 months of each other. Since many of the Baker family were apart of the community health and services, we all were inoculated.
I have also heard that we had a polio outbreak due to people being too clean. Babies used to be exposed to that virus, which lives in dirt, and were immune thereafter. As a baby they could fight it off. But when we started keeping babies very clean, they wouldn’t be exposed until they were kids and were no longer able to fight it off.
you are always so very interesting - your a good storyteller - they used to have professional storytellers go village to village - "Storytelling" might even be a good topic sir - throughout time as we know it...
one of the hazards of variolation was that the person with the mild case of small pox was contagious and could spread small pox. To do this safely the person had to be isolated. Many poor laborers could not afford to take time off work to do this. This was one reason for the resistance to the procedure.
Wonderful story. Wish a story on two topics : 1. Monkey Juice and Polio inoculations, cubes... [ I had all three] , 2. Plague (of some sort) killing Chicago in the ?30's? brought death to many doctors from the region who were called to go there to care to the sick. Local Chicago doctors are dead.... Best Regards to your research group. Martin
I remember the scar on my grandmother's arm from her vaccination. Nowadays, most of us don't get even so much as a mark. Medicine has become a truly miraculous science.
i can remember lining up in school in the 60s and they used a type of gun to give ( all of us) vaccines in the arm for various diseases (still have the little scar) and when someones child had chicken pox or measles other parents took their kids over there for a slumber party so the kids would be exposed to it under a controlled environment. my how things have changed. Mom used to also treat us for worms a few times a year as well.
I remember one flu season and how my brother got it and how bad it was(he got through it but he was bed ridden for two weeks and he was really fit) Years later i went to the same highschool as him and the teachers talked about how the halls at that time were empty and barely any one was at school it burned through it so fast.
My grandmother showed me her smallpox inoculation scar and told me that she was happy I didn't have to have *that*! I do not understand why now we have resistance against vaccinations; we know how much good they've done. And now we've got diseases popping up that had dropped down to rare after vaccinations were created for them, thanks to that. :/
diseased foreigners illegally entering our southern border probably had absolutely nothing to do with the rise in old diseases the last few years. /sarc
It's a combination of things: First off, if you've never seen one of these diseases, you don't understand how bad they were. I actually had someone say that things like rubella "weren't really that bad", and as proof, it's been decades since there was a large outbreak. The reason we don't see big outbreaks, of course, because people have vaccinated. But I had a sister who was stillborn because my mom contracted it while she was pregnant and before the vaccine was available. Second, some people are just going to buy into every conspiracy theory on the planet, so when some quack says that vaccines are part of "Big Pharma's Plan to make billions", they're going to buy it, and ignore the fact that "Big Pharma" would make a hell of a lot more money off of _sick_ kids than they do off of keeping them from getting sick. Finally, people are generally pretty lousy at evaluating risks. The "adverse effect" rate of all vaccines is literally 1 in a million. The death rate from just one disease (measles) is 1 in 1000. And yet people will risk their kids getting the measles because of "the danger of the vaccine". That's like wanting to send your kids on a cross country trip, but because you're worried about airline crashes, you make them hitchhike.
I was born in 66, my sister in early 75, I have a smallpox inoculation scar, my sister does not. It was declared extinct in the US in the years between our births.
The story of Onesimus, the African slave, has a remarkable similarity to Francisco Equia, an African slave credited with spreading smallpox in Mexico and causing the fall of the Aztec Empire. Orwell called this Doublethink - Holding two contradictory beliefs at once.
OMG, as a nurse, this was the most interesting story presented. Fascinating.
We can all learn a valuable lesson from Onesimus. Though he was a slave and probably suffered much in his lifetime, he shared with others his knowledge of a life saving procedure that he knew for a fact would save the lives of countless people. Treat others the way you want to be treated. It doesn't mean you have to like anyone or everyone, just that you should not treat them in a way you yourself would not appreciate.
Amen
Agreed! I would even take it beyond that , treat others the way they want to be treated!!
Wise words 👍
If only white Americans could learn the same lesson. He would be remembered as a Hero, but today, most people don’t know him.
FANTASTIC AGAIN SIR ! YOUR PROGRAM IS CERTAINLY ONE THAT SHOULD BE IN EVERY SCHOOL IN AMERICA.
My Great Aunt Genevieve Miller (1914-2013) was a college professor who held a few degrees, one in medical history. During her long career she wrote and/or co-wrote and published a few books, one on the smallpox vaccine. Another is titled "Yankee in Gray" based on letters and documents telling the tale of a doctor pressed into service by the Confederacy.
(For which she was robbed of promised credit for her detailed research and other contributions to the final draft.)
My mother inherited her personal copies.
It's frustrating that this is not just history that needs to be remembered, it is actively being ignored.
I got taught this in school
@@HiHello-wb9yq How old are you and where are you from?
@@godofthisshit below 20 and from the united states
Agreed that is very interesting history and a story that should be better known. But how can you assert that it's "actively ignored"? As if you know that those who disseminate information are actively trying to suppress this?
A shot of knowledge a day keeps ignorance away...thanks Dr. HG!
Honestly, some very fascinating Puritan theological debates!
This episode is perfect timing. I am taking a U.S. history class at the local Community College and Cotton Mather and Onesimus and inoculation is mentioned in just one sentence. We students are required to write a make believe diary; about 5 typed pages, on whatever we want to write about that takes place in the early Colonies. Even though I am a man, I decided to make up a diary about a young woman who was taught medicine by her Father, who was a physician, and took that training to the small settlements and helped a lot of people. I was going to mention Mather and Onesimus, and this episode has given me a fabulous amount of information that I can use to incorporate into the diary. No, I will NOT plagiarize; I will use just the basic idea of inoculation and put it in my own words, but I am definitely going to tell the instructor about this fantastic channel and particularly this episode. Hooray for The History Guy..!!
marbleman52 Don't forget the pirates!
@marbleman52: I would say that your statement above would completely dispel any accusations of plagiarism. If I was your teacher, I would encourage my students to include "background information" (i.e., what was your inspiration?). It's not plagiarism if you cite your sources.
@@peterkizer6163 Thank you for your kind words. You might find this interesting: I am 68 and taking classes; how 'bout that! It has been over 40 years since I was last in college and I am really enjoying being back in an academic environment. I had just started my Junior year at a university when my first child, a daughter, was born and my wife and I had already decided that we wanted her to stay home and be the Mother instead of having someone else raise our daughter so she quit her job and I dropped school and went to work full time. I don't regret it one bit; I made the right decision. About plagiarism; every instructor hammers it hard; it is not tolerated; it is treated like a criminal offense and it can lead to being kicked out of school. Whenever a paper is electronically submitted to the instructor, the paper is sent through a data base that contains millions & millions of articles, newspapers, books, etc., and it is almost guaranteed that if a student tries to pass off someone else's work as their own they will get caught. And besides that, every instructor learns quickly how a student writes from the other written assignments and will immediately recognize when a student plagiarizes. This little diary assignment is not like a research paper with works cited; the instructor made that very plain; paraphrasing if needed, but no works cited, just keep it simple and historically accurate. I had this same instructor, a PhD in history, last semester and we had two diary assignments so I know what he is wanting. Thanks again for your response.
marbleman52 - you have no idea how much your response made me smile! Good luck with your diary and keep enjoying college! I’m not that much younger than you, but the thought of returning to University for another degree is enough to make me exhausted!
@@mandywalkden-brown7250 Thank you for your encouragement. My first semester back in school was this past Fall and I started with 12 hrs.( 4 classes). My intention is to enjoy the classes and not get stressed out with taking a real full load; like 15 hrs. and even more hrs. that some students take who are wanting to get their degree in a minimum amount of time. I am not in that situation. I am retired and and doing this for my own enjoyment and not to necessarily get a degree that will get me a good future ( kinda late for that..LOL..!! ), and a good salary. I dropped one of the classes last Fall because I WAS getting stressed at the workload. This semester I am just taking only 9 hrs. and I have plenty of time to really concentrate on each class and learn more than just the minimum to get by the next test. I made two 'A's' and one 'B'( and that was almost an A) last Fall. My Daughter was real proud of this 'old man'..Ha.! So I am having fun being around and making friends with the young students. Oh, there are a few 'older' students; a few young mothers who are improving their future job opportunities, and I applaud them for making the effort...and time, but I am definitely the oldest...but that's okay...I'm a young at heart kinda man.
This was just the shot in the arm I needed to get my day going! Thanks THG!
ISWYDT
Oof!
A pox upon you🤣
@@petergray2712 Awww quit needling me! :)
@@taun856 The way you injected yourself into this comedic vein... my arm smart!
I am embarrassed at how much I don't know. Thank you history guy.!
You have the wisdom to recognize it. Puts you way ahead of many who are certain they know everything and could never be wrong or open to learning something new.
Your in good company. We live in a reductionist world. I knew about Jenner, and that was it. THG takes us beyond the recived school room version of history.
@@givemeaforkingname Agreed, and well said!
Hi History Guy, ive always loved yr history snippets but for some reason i never checked yr channel, until now and WoW what a treat cos im gonna binge watch alnight ! , youve finally earned my sub and i thankyou in advance you have so many topics that im interested in AND many topics that ive never come across before that i just know will have me trawling the internet for more information . Thanks again .R.
when ever I watch one of your videos it reminds me how glad I am to have discovered the channel, keep the history comin!
Love your videos. Always a highlight of my day to see a new one. You make boring stuff interesting daily!
I learn something new from *every* video you make. As a child in elementary school in the 60's, I had of course heard how cowpox was used to inoculate against smallpox, but never heard what you outlined today. Fascinating.
This was a fantastic presentation! I shared it with others (something pretty rare for me). Your story is filled with some social statements that ensnared mankind throughout the ages. It also covered how the social issues were faced by several different cultures. Achieving a "breakthrough" is often tied to extraordinary courage for some cultures, while it's a natural passing for others. It's quite mind-opening!
Thank you History Guy, this was a great video and history that deserves to be remembered and needs to be taught more in school.
I started watching your presentation, certain I was going to chastise you in the comments, along the lines of “yeah? What about the Turks? What about the Chinese?”
But, you not only got your story right, you did justice to the details.
Well done!
I guess antivaxers go back further than we thought. 😉 Great episode! Thank you.
those are understandable, being the first time hearing about it and all that. Plus even with a tenth of the lethality being directly responsible for a patient's death must have suuucked for the doctors
@@beruman Very true; good point! 👍🏻
@@beruman correct. and the same ignoramus attitude rules antivaccers to this date. Combined nowadays with idiots believing that vaccines are part of a government program to spread disease...
intelligence is hard stupid is easy
@@jwenting or part of secret government plan involving bill gates putting microchips in everyone's vaccines so the government can track you
A very timely and needed video!
Thank you so much #thehistoryguy for your wonderful videos!
I've always heard that #poker originated in France. That's about all I know. I play a few times a week, and enjoy hearing the stories of origins of phrases like "the buck stops here", and "play your cards close to the vest."
I'd love to see a new article by you so that I can pass along the knowledge while I am playing! The guys and gals will love to watch it at one of the games!
just like all of your history talks this one was truly infectious :) x
Once again I would like take a moment to compliment you on your channel, and thank you for your work, .... the sheer breadth of the subjects you are covering is amazing, kudos!
Well said... and I agree, totally.
I remember kids that had polio in school. Yeah, I'm old.
I think this is the biggest reason we have people refuse vaccination today. No one sees good friends in an iron lung, or die. People don't live in fear. Even the flu isn't scary - many illnesses present flu-like symptoms, and are fine later, so they either don't think it's dangerous, or they got it even after getting a jab.
I had the oral vaccine for polio. Not as old as you, but not much younger, either.
This shit is returning thanks to the morons who run California.
I remember reading something about this back in elementary school in social studies I think.
I had an uncle who got polio, and recovered.
@@minuteman4199 It comes back. Many people who recovered from polio are now experiencing a return of the disease's debilitating effects, I know one of them, I've seen some of his decline.
I was born in 1957. At that time, my father was an osteopath, and the town doctor in the small town Ohio were we lived. I remember I must've been 4, maybe 5 years old, and he gave me my smallpox vaccination. I remember he dipped a needle thing in the liquid and jabbed it in my upper left arm. I still have the scar to this day. Sadly, he died in 1963 in an automobile accident, but I live on!
I remember being bused in the second grade from my 4 room (all 8 grades) rural school to another larger school nearby as were all the kids from all the other small schools. We were put into several lines and on we slowly moved to the front where there were doctors w/2 nurses each waiting to give us a "shot" against small pox. It hurt and later itched for days. The best thing for all of us was that the "Room Mothers" gave each one of us a "Safety Sucker" (rope for a handle-no choking on stick) for being brave. Was fascinated by how the nurses changed the hypo needles and drew in the serum. Had not thought about this in 60 years. Thanks from Wisconsin.
great video, thank you for taking the time to share this with us.
i fucking love this channel... it's in my top 5 and one that i ALWAYS recommend to people when exchanging youtube channel suggestions
I love constantly learning things from you, Sir!! This does indeed deserve to be remembered and should be taught. Ty
Always enjoy your videos on history. You bring some many things to light. Keep up the great work!
Thank you for this timely dissertation.
Thank you, History Guy;
I absolutely love your work and this channel!
I would be interested to see a story on the Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919.
"The Speckled Monster"- - - just discovered my new on-line gamer name.
@Uthar2010 indeed and it is very nice with custard ,steamed sponge with currants
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_dick
Best comment award winner 🏆
spotted dick... it's the english food you never hear about.
Spectacular video. Thank you!
I have no recollection of being inoculated, but I do have my round scar on my left arm. Born in 1960.
We have "The Mark". We can write in coded scribbles and can tell time from a round dial with arrows on it... just two of our protections against the millennials
same with my mother, she was also born in 1960.
It was a big gun with lots of needles! (Born 1966). As if pulled from a child's nightmare! Luckily, as a boy I wanted to man up which made it less stressful.
I had the test but was found to be immune and didn't need the inoculation, born in 1959, you are probably the same as me with just a little round lump on left shoulder.
Mike Whitcomb Was born in '59 and have no noticeable mark. My mom was so concerned with the big ugly scars she thought about having it done on my upper thigh. Oldest of 5, she was young & worried about stuff like that. I on the other hand wanted my son to have a nice innie belly button 😊
Just an FYI. @ 6:55 Charlestown, MA is not pronounced Charleston, it's Charles Town. As if it were two words. I'm not complaining. This is so much better than anything on TV. Just ordered my History Guy T shirt!
Great vlog as always! Be safe and god bless!
History guy thank you for this topic. It is an eye opener for me especially the part about some cultures deifying smallpox. This hit close to home as I remember my Yoruba people of West Africa actually have a god of smallpox called Sopona or Sapona.
Fascinating, Lance. I had long ago heard about the work of Edward Jenner, using cowpox inoculations in late 18th Century England, but was unaware of the ancient practice (in Africa, China and India) of inoculating healthy individuals with the smallpox virus, itself. Nor, was I aware of the story you have presented here; in which George Washington, himself played ar role. Kudos to you, sir!
St Francis with his stigmata. Not a bleeding pox. Again great video. History again and again deserves to be remembered. Glad I live in an educated era.
Great episode. I learned something from that.
I remember learning about the milkmaids and the cowpox connection. But never the rest. Thank you for setting the record straight and giving credit where its due.
Top notch episode!
History Guy channel is very interesting. I know the host is US, but I would love to have more international subjects in the videos. The host does an amazing job with them, despite the tendency of other US channels to be US centric when treating international issues, the History Guy is more history centric, thus, his videos are more enjoyable to foreign people too.
07:45 This is one of the reasons why I love history so much. It preserves and It also shows us that life isn't and never was black and white. History is complicated. Who would have taught that getting information from African slaves about their practice inoculation would have led to the development of proper immunization techniques that saved millions of lives?
Thank you for this episode. It is just as interesting to hear how this society of the time handled inoculate as is the process of how it occurred...
Love history!
When I was in high school I did a report on smallpox for my health class in junior year. It was based largely on an article in NatGeo magazine about this subject and the de declaration that it was eradicated. Sadly, cases kapt popping up here and there, some of them, if I recall correctly, from mishandling the live virus in a clinical setting. I was inoculated during Army inprocessing in 1983 with a large gauge needle in my deltoid muscle, and that stung pretty good. Four or five pustules popped up and went away in about a week.
Thank you for another excellent installment.
US Service members deploying abroad still get the vaccine, reportedly as a protection against bio-terrorism.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel as the USSR and quite likely Russia still to this day weaponised smallpox (among other things) and keep stockpiles of it to use in case of war, that's a wise precaution.
And Russia isn't the only one with an offensive biological warfare program. China, Iran, and probably other countries as well have or attempt to gain the capability.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel When I deployed to the middle east in 2007 I was supposed to get the smallpox vaccine before I left my home station. The exception was if you had someone pregnant in the household or small children. I met both criteria so I didn't get the vaccine.
Pneumatic injection one on either side, delivering immunity from five or six diseases and a Tetanus shot for good measure.. 1963
@Pierre LeDouche 3 for flinching
1980, smallpox is declared dead.
2018-2019, rare cases of smallpox begin popping up again.
That is the danger of forgotten history.
Dirge Cry About ten years ago my doctor gave us shots for Scarlet Fever 🤒 I laughed saying have we gone back in time? Said no cases were popping up at the local HS.
along with diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, and tetanus... of which a few of them are making comebacks for some reasons(anyone care to guess?)
The last naturally occurring case of smallpox was reported in 1977, according to the NIH (National Institutes of Health). There are small quantities of smallpox virus that still exist in two research laboratories in Atlanta, Georgia, and in Russia. There have been NO new cases of smallpox to date.
@@artbrann antivaccers...
Evidence please.
Excellent. Much enjoyed..
Great video
In the 60 ‘s in the UK it was mandatory to get small pox inoculation before you travel or applying for a passport .
Queen Victoria mandated it in 1853.
Still have the little round scar from mine from when we went to the uk to visit family in the 60's.
I came along after the epidemics, but we took the Sabin Polio Vaccine. I remember our parents told us of kids who had Polio and of course FDR. It was very real to us. From the late 60's and early 70's.
I can remember the polio vaccines they were giving us in school in the 50s and early 60s. At first it was a shot then they came out with a vaccine coating a lump of sugar. That was a bit more pleasant than the shots.
I have the scar on my arm. We had to be vaccinated then or isolated.
I am thankful my parents listened to medical science.
There was a kid in my class deformed from polio small legs and almost crippled.
@@glennso47 I ha e my scar an glad I was vaccinated.
Ignorant idiots today rather believe quacks off internet than modern medicine.
@Steve Jones Amen!
@Steve Jones Many refused Polio vaccine because Salk and Sabin were Jewish.
Also early live oral vaccine effort infected many in Afrika causing mass conspiracy theories.
Today anti vaxer are like flat Earth types reject modern medicine.
Insane
Ignorance should be painful...
A wonderful example of how the hardest thing to fight is ignorance and fear.
I enjoy your presentation. Reminds me of Walter Cronkite and his colleagues. I'm a WWII history enthusiast. Any plans for covering that era? Maybe the Home Front or such? The battles are well documented, but life for the people at home is for the most part neglected. Thank you for your work.
In fact, my very first episode was on the home front in WWII. ruclips.net/p/PLSnt4mJGJfGjOqKgHe1_b8pIq-bZewEfA
Thank you for the history lessons, yous sessions are much more enjoyable and educational than the dry history lessons of my school years a long time ago. I was wondering, does history recallscthat aHitler was a vegetarian environmentalist greenie?
Another top notch video. Thanks!
A note, though: unlike Charleston, South Carolina, Charlestown, Massachusetts never changed its pronunciation. It is still Charles-town.
Brilliant thanks history guy absolutely brilliant
Great video!
History is always complex,heroes can be factually villains and villains can be factually good men.The full context and time of history is vital.Which you always provide.
I would like to see a video comparing the estimated numbers of deaths due to all of the wars in human history to all of those that died to , “ Its just a flu”. We don’t take flu as seriously as we should. I like your videos even before I watch them.
problem is how you deliniate. E.g. the 1918 flu pandemic in large part was able to do the damage it did because of the conditions on the western front and in army barracks during WW1.
So the war allowed the flu to kill far more people than it otherwise would have.
@@jwenting
No, it was way more than a common flu virus.
More civilians died than soldiers, ten's of millions.
Excellent presentation on small pox.,
You need to consider doing a snippet about the Marshall Islands Atomic Cleanup. Many books about this once-secret operation are available on Amazon. Look up Enewetak Atomic Cleanup Veterans for information as well.
An incredible story!
This was interesting thank you History Guy.
God bless you, Rev Cotton Mather, AND Onesimus!
Great video (as always). I am the youngest of 4 siblings, my sister and oldest brother both have scars on their arms from the small pox vaccination, they had stopped the practice by the time my older brother and I became teens
Take heed stranger as you walk by, as you are now so once was I, as I am now you shall be, so prepare to meet in eternity
It would be interesting to know if Onesimus has any living descendants, and if they know of his history.
Two kids, both died young, as stated in the video.
I remember how envious I was of my friends when they would show off their truly nasty oozing sores on their upper arms from their small pox inoculations. Mine never "took" and I never got that particular badge of courage to show off. No horrible sore and no really neat scar for me (we tried twice). This was probably in the late 1950's. I suppose I was one of the lucky ones with a natural immunity, but I didn't feel lucky back then and I had to be content with that monumental stubbed toe.
Thank you from OZ. 👍😎
Brilliant. Thank you.
(Paraphrasing Stevie Wonder) "History Guy, keep on Historying!"
Can you please do a video on Semmelweis, the Viennese physician who introduce hand-washing and other prophylactic measures to obstetrics.
Love you videos. Could you do a video on Audrey Marie Munson ". The first Supermodel". Thanks
Very very good as...Usual.....Thanks my good man...Cheers..!
also maybe the history of Captain John Stark, Vermont has the Molly Stark trail (she never did sleep a widow), and his words are on the license plate of every car in New Hampshire!! When I moved to the area I found it incredible that he marched across Vermont... (it's quite the drive) and that the contest for what to put on the state license plate was a bust, and someone just said let's quote Captain Stark!! People always ask me WHY DOES YOUR LICENSE PLATE SAY "LIVE FREE OR DIE"?
My kindergarten class was the first in my school to be vaccinated against Polio in 1955. As a result, we were the first class not to have any polio victims. I remember when we were vaccinated against Small pox in high school, most of us had slight fevers, a few kids got sick for a day or two which is why I think they did it on a Friday. Unfortunately they had no vaccination against Chicken Pox, mumps, whooping cough, or measles at the time so everyone of my generation got sick. We pay for this today because we are more likely to get shingles. My children and grand-children have all been vaccinated against those childhood diseases and thus will never endure being sick again.
Interesting innoculation came from peoples other than Europeans. This was never covered in my history classes. Thank you! Saving this story.
B uppy You people sure want your History Class to cover a lot. Are you advocating a history class to be 10 hours a day, every day for 20 years?
Huh that's odd. I went through school in the 70's and I'm fairly sure we covered that fact. So much for your pathetic attempt to play the race card/"Evil Europeans" card.
@@samiam619
What I was taught totally overlooked this *interesting, lifesaving* contribution. The details could have been much simplified but kept the salient bits, and been done in the same amount of time. Your premise is a little off.
@@TheDoctor1225
You're the one talking about "evil Europeans" . Also noted is the comment "fairly sure". Congratulations, you impugned Europeans all by yourself. Don't include me with your embarrassment. The shame is all yours...
I am merely noting the *omission* of this *historical fact* (without accusation), regarding *my* education . Quit trying to play the race card, its pathetic...
I remember learning that milkmaids did not get smallpox because of their proximity to cows. The variallation (sp?) procedure is featured in the series ,John Adams, where his wife, Abigail, has her children subjected to the procedure. The poor "donor" was carried about in the back of a wagon, the doctor taking samples from infected sores. According to the series, one of the children got the full blown disease, but survived.
It's nice that we now live in a world where people are educated and no longer believe in misinformation and myths and instead understand the scientifically proven benefits of modern medicine.
Hi there
Born in the UK... ( thinking Springsteen just then)
In 1960.
When I was a child whenever someone in the village that I lived in had Measles, Mumps etc etc we were taken around to their house to play, As we were 5/6/7 at the time we didn't know why, but we often ended up with the same illness as our friends. It was always just something that seemed to happen.
It seemed like I was always getting ill.
You name it I probably had it. That was our version of inoculation in 't' old days. Not that long ago really plus I have talked to younger adults in their 30s whose parents would do something similar even though here in the UK children get inoculated for those diseases. These days.
How about a show on the origins of the many nicknames people from certain parts of the UK are called.
Eg
People in Hartlepool in the North East of England are called "Monkey Hangers"
The tale goes that during the Napoleonic wars a French ship broke up and sank on the rocks amongst the wreckage was one 'Monkey.'
I guess never having seen a French sailor or a Monkey they assumed the monkey was French sailor or possibly a spy, no matter how hard they tried they couldnt get the 'Frenchman' to understand them or it them, so they Hung the Monkey as a French Spy.
People in Liverpool are known as Scousers.
But what's a scouser?
Well according to my nearly 90 year old aunt it was quite offensive to her, as Scouse is a poor mans stew made with cheapest cuts of meat and vegetables my aunt never allowed us to call the family Scousers as she had worked hard to put decent food on the Table.
My mum never minded 12 years older than my aunt it always gave her a tickle and laugh her socks off though she never described herself as a scouser just a Liverpool lass. Unlike many of today's generation.
People in Lincolnshire are known as Yellowbellies.
The Tenth of Foot which became the Lincolnshire and then Royal Lincolnshire Regiment and now the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment.
Were at Lexington and Concord with some Marines they served their country well with many many battle Honours on their Regimental colours a proud Regiment.
The 10th had a yellow breast on their uniform hence they were known as Yellowbellies.
Lincolnshire people are proud to state that they are a Lincolnshire YellowBelly.
Though often these days many dont know why. Theres many more of them.
Hi doc, I miss the picture of your daughter on the 2nd shelf. Thank you!
In my home town during the late 1950s, I had received 3 forms of the same inoculation as the practice went through modernization. I had already gotten the Shot in the arm, then came 2 forms of oral within 6 months of each other. Since many of the Baker family were apart of the community health and services, we all were inoculated.
Very informative
I have also heard that we had a polio outbreak due to people being too clean. Babies used to be exposed to that virus, which lives in dirt, and were immune thereafter. As a baby they could fight it off. But when we started keeping babies very clean, they wouldn’t be exposed until they were kids and were no longer able to fight it off.
Wish I could "like" this more...time to make another timeline....
You are amazing! Please do the Doolilittle Raid 1942.
you are always so very interesting - your a good storyteller - they used to have professional storytellers go village to village - "Storytelling" might even be a good topic sir - throughout time as we know it...
Perfect timing for the Corona Virus pandemic outbreak. Stay safe everyone and hope they figure this thing out. Scary!
David Miller Dude China is lying so bad there are over 90,000 infections
Stop immigrants from China until China gets this disease under control.
It is scary, but to keep it in perspective 500,000 people a year die from the common 'flu. So far this is just a fraction of that.
Minute Man just what the Media wants you to think. There might be less killed but this is way way way more lethal
True let's hope scientist s get it under control and population doesn't listen to conspiracy theories on internet.
one of the hazards of variolation was that the person with the mild case of small pox was contagious and could spread small pox. To do this safely the person had to be isolated. Many poor laborers could not afford to take time off work to do this. This was one reason for the resistance to the procedure.
Have you considered making a video of the Yellow Fever epidemic in Philadelphia?
Take a look at "the fever of 1721" by Stephen Coss. Just starting the hook.
Thank you.
Thank You...Thank You...Thank You!
"We're blowing WHAT up his nose?! How did you even-"
"Do you have a better idea?"
Cotton Mather! Yes, his name alone has me reminiscing on an old friend. Well done.
Wonderful story. Wish a story on two topics : 1. Monkey Juice and Polio inoculations, cubes... [ I had all three] , 2. Plague (of some sort) killing Chicago in the ?30's? brought death to many doctors from the region who were called to go there to care to the sick. Local Chicago doctors are dead.... Best Regards to your research group. Martin
I remember the scar on my grandmother's arm from her vaccination. Nowadays, most of us don't get even so much as a mark. Medicine has become a truly miraculous science.
i can remember lining up in school in the 60s and they used a type of gun to give ( all of us) vaccines in the arm for various diseases (still have the little scar) and when someones child had chicken pox or measles other parents took their kids over there for a slumber party so the kids would be exposed to it under a controlled environment. my how things have changed. Mom used to also treat us for worms a few times a year as well.
mark skaggs I remember attending a “chicken pox party” as a child and being told to smooch with a girl who had it.
@@truthseeker9163 man i went to the wrong slumber party. smooching?
mark skaggs My mom said: “She’s so pretty. Kiss her. Myah Myah Myah”
I remember one flu season and how my brother got it and how bad it was(he got through it but he was bed ridden for two weeks and he was really fit) Years later i went to the same highschool as him and the teachers talked about how the halls at that time were empty and barely any one was at school it burned through it so fast.
I'm 54 and I remember getting lined up at school multiple times for shots. Not sure which ones we got, but I remember that needle gun.
My grandmother showed me her smallpox inoculation scar and told me that she was happy I didn't have to have *that*! I do not understand why now we have resistance against vaccinations; we know how much good they've done. And now we've got diseases popping up that had dropped down to rare after vaccinations were created for them, thanks to that. :/
diseased foreigners illegally entering our southern border probably had absolutely nothing to do with the rise in old diseases the last few years. /sarc
It's a combination of things: First off, if you've never seen one of these diseases, you don't understand how bad they were. I actually had someone say that things like rubella "weren't really that bad", and as proof, it's been decades since there was a large outbreak. The reason we don't see big outbreaks, of course, because people have vaccinated. But I had a sister who was stillborn because my mom contracted it while she was pregnant and before the vaccine was available.
Second, some people are just going to buy into every conspiracy theory on the planet, so when some quack says that vaccines are part of "Big Pharma's Plan to make billions", they're going to buy it, and ignore the fact that "Big Pharma" would make a hell of a lot more money off of _sick_ kids than they do off of keeping them from getting sick.
Finally, people are generally pretty lousy at evaluating risks. The "adverse effect" rate of all vaccines is literally 1 in a million. The death rate from just one disease (measles) is 1 in 1000. And yet people will risk their kids getting the measles because of "the danger of the vaccine". That's like wanting to send your kids on a cross country trip, but because you're worried about airline crashes, you make them hitchhike.
I was born in 66, my sister in early 75, I have a smallpox inoculation scar, my sister does not. It was declared extinct in the US in the years between our births.
AThimble IsMyCockHolster: You may think you're being sarcastic, but you're actually speaking a real, well-documented truth. So good job. [pat, pat]
... Something to consider globalpossibilities.org/abortion-drugs-discovered-in-bill-gates-vaccines-secret-sterilization-program-discovered-in-africa/ - 21stcenturywire.com/2019/12/23/bill-gates-develops-new-id-tattoo-to-check-for-vaccinations/ ... Just saying ...
The story of Onesimus, the African slave, has a remarkable similarity to Francisco Equia, an African slave credited with spreading smallpox in Mexico and causing the fall of the Aztec Empire. Orwell called this Doublethink - Holding two contradictory beliefs at once.