Yaunk

The New York Board of Health apprehended Mary Mallon in 1907 on grounds that she was a healthy typhoid carrier. She was exiled to North Brother Island, just off the coast of New York, and put under quarantine. The Board of Health never specified a length of time for how long Mary would stay there, so she had no idea how long she would be exiled. During her exile, she would under go many tests, which confirmed that she was in fact a typhoid carrier. Mary had filed a habeas corpus hearing to try and gain her freedom in 1909. The Board of Health, however, still believed that she was a threat to society and should remain in exile. After reading Anthony Bourdain’s book, Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical, I believed that the Board of Health’s reasons for exiling Mary was for the benefit of society. I still firmly believe that the Board of Health’s reasons for exiling Mary were justified in Judith Walzer Leavitt’s book, Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public's Health, due to legal reasons.

While reading the first three chapters of Leavitt’s book, I noticed much more detailed evidence about Mary Mallon and her case. Leavitt’s book brought up much more perspectives of law and how it played a huge role in Mary’s case. One of the facts that Leavitt describes, is how the 14th Amendment was crucial to Mary’s defense (Leavitt 79). The Amendment states, “No state shall deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law” (Leavitt 79). This being said, George O’Neill, Mary’s lawyer, created a petition for Mary’s release under the means that the Board of Health had no right to determine if a citizens rights could be revoked for the protection of others.