“THAT CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY, VACCINATION”: TRACKING THE EXPANSION OF PROGRESSIVE ERA POLICE POWER THROUGH THE SMALLPOX ANTI-VACCINATION MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES

This thesis explores the connections between the turn-of-the-century American smallpox anti-vaccination movement and the larger Progressive Era debates about the government’s role in improving society. Using sources from across the United States, it argues that resistance to compulsory vaccination laws is specifically part of the overarching battle between citizens' individual liberties and a state’s police power to promote welfare. It concludes that while the smallpox anti-vaccination movement was unsuccessful in its goals to end compulsory vaccinations, these debates forced the U.S. Supreme Court to formally grant state governments the power to mandate public health policy.