The “picket line” of national quarantine (1897) research Note

By Kristopher A. Nelson
in September 2018

100 words / 1 min.
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Quarantine to create a strong national border (“picket line”) against yellow fever, from The Washington Post in 1897.


Please note that this post is from 2018. Evaluate with care and in light of later events.

What we want is a permanent, all the year round, high-class quarantine, conducted under national auspices, and clothed with paramount authority. Yellow fever is an exotic. It appears in the country only as the result of importation. The country demands a picket line that cannot be invaded.

“Facts About Quarantine Laws,” The Washington Post (1877-1922), Nov. 18, 1897.