American Experience

Plague at the Golden Gate

Discover how an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1900 set off fear and anti-Asian sentiment in San Francisco. This new documentary tells the gripping story of the race against time by health officials to save the city from the deadly disease.

Plague at the Golden Gate

1h 52m

Discover how an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1900 set off fear and anti-Asian sentiment in San Francisco. This new documentary tells the gripping story of the race against time by health officials to save the city from the deadly disease.

Previews + Extras

  • Trailer | Plague at the Golden Gate: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Trailer | Plague at the Golden Gate

    S34 E4 - 1m 46s

    Follow the gripping story of the race against time to save San Francisco and the nation from an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1900.

  • Dr. Joseph Kinyoun: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Dr. Joseph Kinyoun

    S34 E4 - 44s

    Dr. Joseph Kinyoun created the Hygienic Laboratory, the nation’s first federal laboratory of medical bacteriology which later became the National Institutes of Health.

  • The War on Rats: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The War on Rats

    S34 E4 - 1m 41s

    In 1900, the first case of bubonic plague to ever be confirmed in North America was diagnosed in San Francisco.
    Scientists did not understand how the disease was transmitted but had long theorized that rats played a role.

  • Rupert Blue: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Rupert Blue

    S34 E4 - 44s

    In 1901, Rupert Blue launched a public health campaign that ended a deadly bubonic plague outbreak in San Francisco.

  • The Chinese Six Companies: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Chinese Six Companies

    S34 E4 - 5m 36s

    On May 28, 1900, San Francisco policemen formed a perimeter around Chinatown, and set about building an eight-foot high wall around the district using cement blocks and barbed wire. Officials diagnosed bubonic plague in the neighborhood and wanted to quarantine the nearly 20,000 residents. As tensions flared, an influential group of merchants known as the Chinese Six Companies sprang into action.

  • Ng Poon Chew: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ng Poon Chew

    S34 E4 - 44s

    Ng Poon Chew was a writer, a publisher and an advocate for Chinese American civil rights. He established the first Chinese language daily newspaper in America, the Chung Sai Yat Po. This newspaper was a vital resource for the Chinese community during the plague outbreak in San Francisco.

  • San Francisco’s Bubonic Plague Cover-up: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    San Francisco’s Bubonic Plague Cover-up

    S34 E4 - 3m 58s

    As rumor spread of bubonic plague in San Francisco, newspapers couldn't agree if it was a nationwide threat or a plot to destroy the economy. Sound familiar?

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