Article ID: CBB001212063

“Spitting Is Dangerous, Indecent, and against the Law!” Legislating Health Behavior during the American Tuberculosis Crusade (2013)

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Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in early twentieth-century America. Reducing the sputum vector of contagion by changing public behavior initially focused on anti-spitting campaigns. According to most Progressive Era health experts, promiscuous spitting was a prime culprit in spreading the disease. Beginning in 1896 in New York, towns and cities throughout America passed anti-spitting legislation, sometimes creating tensions between individual liberty and the need to protect public health, and often highlighting class issues. Progressives viewed anti-spitting legislation in a favorable light because they advocated improving the health and well-being of Americans using state-of-the-art medical knowledge and because they often advocated the use of law and the coercive power of the state to impose order on society.

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Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001212063/

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Authors & Contributors
Craig Alex Biegel
Daidoji, Keiko
Aizenberg, Lila
Smith, Jenna Murdock
Segrave, Kerry
Ruis, A. R.
Concepts
Public health
Tuberculosis
Health
Disease and diseases
Medicine
Hygiene
Time Periods
20th century, early
19th century
20th century
Places
United States
Argentina
Great Britain
Philadelphia, PA
Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Netherlands
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