The Diffusion of Cholera in the United States in the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

Two diffusion processes have been discussed in the literature.The first, which has received substantial attention, focuses on the frictional effects of distance, and emphasizes diffusion sequences operating over space.The second has been studied less, and is concerned with processes moving downward from larger to smaller centers in an urban system; this kind of sequence can be termed hierarchical diffusion.The example presented in this paper shows that during the early years of the nineteenth century, when access was difficult and the urban system was only embryonic, cholera spread largely through spatial diffusion [Id].By 1866 a rational urban hierarchy had emerged, however, and railroads already provided a modicum of rapid national integration.The cholera epidemic of that year diffused hierarchically. CholeraThe occurrence of cholera is rooted in sub-Asian antiquity.Three major cholera pandemics lashed out at the United States in the nineteenth century.The pestilential movement of the disease through the urban system was rapid, and frequently masses of people fled the possibility of death to no avail.Others never knew what killed them.The recognized epidemic years of national proportions were 1832, 1849, and 1866.This study relates difference in the diffusion of cholera in the United States to the country's evolving urban and transportation environments.Rosenberg [IS] offers a vivid presentation of the three successive waves of the disease in New York City.New York was an international port capable of receiving cholera from dozens of maritime sources, and some of the filthiest slums in the city were adjacent to the port facilities.It was only natural for New York City to be the