WHITE PLAGUE AND DOUBLE-BARRED CROSS IN ATLANTA, 1895-1945 (TUBERCULOSIS, PUBLIC HEALTH

At the turn of this century Atlanta joined other cities in the nation in mounting a struggle against tuberculosis, then the most pervasive health problem of urban dwellers. That cities could focus attention at that time on this disease, omnipresent since colonial days, testified to medical triumphs over more dramatic killers and renewed interest in humanitarian reform. Traditionally, scholars have paid less attention to health and illness as significant determinants of urban experience, even though the health of a community (especially if it is poor) would seem a powerful variable for evaluating that experience. The primary purpose of this research was to describe Atlanta's experience with tuberculosis during the first half of this century. Widely accepted theories identifying the American South as a unique region framed the second research question: What seemed to be distinctive about Atlanta's experience?;Atlanta's battle with tuberculosis was waged by a few public health-minded physicians and politicians prodded into action by amateur altruists, aggressive philanthropists, and enthusiastic social reformers. From the beginning the effort was interdisciplinary, co-educational, and, significantly, interracial.;Like other cities the model Atlanta adopted for fighting tuberculosis was the voluntary association. This study shows how, from 1907 until 1945 the Atlanta Anti-Tuberculosis and Visiting Nurse Association carried out the primary aims of the National Tuberculosis Association which were to educate the public about the disease and its prevention, and to detect the disease in early stages.;In doing so, and in initiating other community health programs, the Association performed many functions traditionally reserved for the municipal health department, which in Atlanta's case, was not well developed. In addition, and probably uniquely, the Atlanta Association provided medical and nursing care to the city's indigent tuberculous until forced to cease in 1945 largely because of pressure from the parent agency. While this study does not compare Atlanta's experience directly to that of other cities it suggests that aspects of that experience may have been distinctive.