Visit the Fairfax Museum for this next traveling exhibition from the Library of Medicine: Politics of Yellow Fever in Alexander Hamilton’s America. Hours are from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily.  Free 703-385-8414.

As yellow fever consumed Philadelphia in 1793, politicians debated the disease’s origins, its treatment, and preventative measures. Hamilton and other Federalists favored actions like closing the ports and restricting immigration to stem the epidemic. By publishing his opinions about the epidemic and its treatment in newspapers, Hamilton turned what had been a medical question into a political dispute.