Thread by @ProfWehrman

That delta cases exploded in Missouri, a state with one of the lowest vaccination rates proves that the "Show-Me" state didn't learn from one of the wildest stories in the history of smallpox in the United States. A short thread 1/8

In 1907, a member of the Missouri House of Representatives, W. J. Salts, broke out with a bad case of smallpox on the floor of the Missouri capitol. Salts said he thought he had a cold, but another representative who was a doctor knew it was smallpox. 2/8

The other members of congress fled for the exits, leaving Salts alone on the floor. He was eventually removed to one of the committee rooms. Despite vaccination being widely available, most of Missouri's congressmen and staff had not been vaccinated. 3/8

Although Jefferson City had seen a recent outbreak of smallpox cases, the city chose not to act. They had no facility to house smallpox patients and did not order vaccinations. So when Salts broke out, and soon several other representatives and staffers, they had no plan. 4/8

As the news spread, the hotels and boarding houses where congressmen stayed started kicking them out for fear of them spreading smallpox. Governor Folk, who had been vaccinated, invited any who were infectious or lost their housing to stay at the Governor's Mansion. 5/8

Jefferson City and the state health department finally began a vigorous vaccination campaign. A vaccination order was given for the city. All members of congress and their staff were vaccinated, even Dr. Alonzo Tubbs... 6/8

...Tubbs, a Republican from Gasconade County in central Missouri, had declared just days before that "medicine is a fraud." A crowd gathered around him and his vaccination "was greatly enjoyed by the onlookers." 7/8

W. J. Salts, Representative Barker, and several others who developed smallpox eventually recovered. But why did Salts show up to Congress so sick? He and Barker were key Democratic votes for a "Jim Crow" bill separating Black and white train passengers supported by Gov. Folk. 8/8

N.B. The picture of the poor guy with smallpox above is not Salts, but a smallpox survivor in Cleveland in 1902 courtesy of the Dittrick Medical History Center. cleveland.com/metro/2017/06/…

And, yes, as several have pointed out, I should have written “state legislators” rather than state congressmen. I write about different state and colonial legislatures all the time, so I shouldn’t have made that (early morning) mistake. Where’s that edit feature @Twitter?

Rep. Salts' case was said to have been the "most aggravated" case of smallpox a doctor on hand had ever seen. Here are a couple different accounts of how was discovered on the House floor. It was also reported that Gov. Folks noticed his "pimples" earlier but didn't say anything.