Jonas Salk and the Invention of the Polio VaccineMain MenuJonas Salk and the Invention of the Polio VaccineA Brief History of VariolationA Brief History of VaccinationPolio TimelineAlvaro Quezada7828c851ddc470a00b45eb00bde06e8e2aefd52c
The American Revolutionary War
12020-09-29T15:13:33-07:00Cari Kaurloto3781164953cd6d9b5d46e62a61a9c84cdeafe0c1378895This first instance of mandatory inoculation in the United Statesplain2020-10-06T10:02:54-07:001775-1783Cari Kaurloto3781164953cd6d9b5d46e62a61a9c84cdeafe0c1The Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783, allowed for more wide scale acceptance and use of variolation. George Washington went against the Continental Congress and argued that smallpox posed a threat to military operations and variolation should be mandatory for soldiers. By 1778, the smallpox death rate among soldiers dropped from 17% to 1%. This was the first instance of mandatory inoculation in the United States.