The presidential inauguration that made everyone sick

·12 min·1 clip

President James Buchanan hid a roiling sickness during his 1857 inaugural parade, as hundreds would soon fall ill and at least 30 die.

The episode begins with host Petula Dvorak announcing the relaunch of the Washington Post's Retropolis column, which she will write, focusing on historical stories. She shares her background as a metro columnist and reporter, emphasizing her experience in archives. Dvorak then reads her first column, detailing the 1857 inauguration of President James Buchanan. The inaugural parade featured floats, but Buchanan and his entourage were secretly ill from staying at Washington's National Hotel. Within days, hundreds of people at the inauguration developed similar symptoms, with at least 30 deaths. Newspapers dubbed it the 'National Hotel Disease' and speculated it was a deliberate poisoning attempt, given the nation's divisions before the Civil War. Historian Kerry Walters, author of a book on the outbreak, discusses the conspiracy theories and their parallels to modern times. Investigations by the D.C. Board of Health and a Smithsonian chemist found no clear cause, with theories including arsenic, miasma from sewage, and poisoned rats in water tanks. The episode describes the unsanitary conditions of 1857 Washington, D.C., with no sewage network and open waste disposal. Walters notes the illness was likely caused by germs, unknown at the time, possibly cholera from sewage. The story concludes with Buchanan's recovery, the hotel's remodeling, and a mention that John Wilkes Booth later stayed there. Dvorak encourages listeners to email her with historical backstory ideas.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Retropod