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Source: Report of
the Council of Hygiene and Public Health of the Citizens' Association of
the New York Upon the Sanitary
Condition of the City, second edition. New York: D. Appleton &
Co., 1866.
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The Citizens' Association, dominated by wealthy business leaders, issued
the first edition of this 500-page report in June, 1865. The report summarized
the results of a detailed, house-by-house study of health conditions throughout
New York. Published while the memory of the Draft Riot was still fresh
in the public mind, the report argued that the wellbeing of the community
as a whole depended on improving life for all New Yorkers. Not even the
mansion districts were safe from the disease and potential rebellions that
could breed in the slums, the writers warned. The report helped health
reformers win passage of a state law in February, 1866, creating a Metropolitan
Board of Health. In just its first sixth months, the board ordered clean-up
measures that included the removal of 38,314 loads of night soil. Click
here for more background information. |
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The first two excerpts provide an overview of the ideas and concerns that
shaped the report. The third excerpt is a more detailed description of
conditions in the Fourth Ward, which was one of several working-class areas
in which the health reformers found cause for alarm. The third excerpt
contains highlighted links that will lead you to further information, such
as definitions of terms, illustrations, and related documents. After viewing
a definition, click again on the term to return to the point at which you
left the document. |