Public Health Act of 1879 or National Board of Health Act, 1879 was a

United States federal statute An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both house ...

authorizing the creation of the

National Board of Health The National Board of Health (NBH) was a short lived institution that operated from 1879 to 1883 in the United States. It was created during the third Session of the 45th Congress, listed as chapter 202 better known as the Public Health Act of 18 ...

. The

Act of Congress An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

was an appeal for a national public health organization and national quarantine system for purposes of contagious or

infectious diseases An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

discovered in nineteenth century America. The United States public law sanctioned the newly formed National Health Board and

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unite ...

to provide reports concerning

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

information with regards to the

Perpetual Union The Perpetual Union is a feature of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, which established the United States of America as a political entity. Under modern American constitutional law this means that U.S. states are not permitted to ...

or States for the purposes of;

Provisions of the Act

The forty-fifth United States Congress authored the public law as four sections sanctioning the needs for conformity concerning public health incidences, uniformity of incident reports, and a national public health organization. :Sec. 1 - Creation of National Board of Health ::Consist of seven members :::Appointed by the President :::Advice and consent of the Senate :::Not more than one of whom shall be appointed from any one State ::Compensation of civilian members :::Ten dollars per diem ::Meetings :::Meet in Washington within thirty days after the passage of this Act :::Meet for special examinations and investigations at any place or places within the United States, or at foreign ports :::Meet as deemed best, to aid in the execution of this Act and the promotion of its objectives :Sec. 2 - Duties ::Obtain information upon all matters affecting the public health of the States ::Advise several departments of the government, executives of several States, and Commissioners of the District of Columbia ::Opinion of the board and advice to the preservation and improvement of public health for the States :Sec. 3 - Report ::National Board of Health and Academy of Science to report directly to Congress at its next session :::Full Report concerning statement of transactions and plan for a national public health organization :::Plan shall be prepared after consultation with principal sanitary organizations and sanitarians of States or United States :::Plan shall have special attention to the subject of quarantine, both maritime and inland :::Plan for State or local systems of quarantine and a national quarantine system :Sec. 4 - Appropriation ::Appropriation of fifty thousand dollars for the purposes of this Act :::Salaries and expenses for National Board of Health :::Appropriation to carry out this Act

United States Quarantine Stations of 1888

The

50th United States Congress The 50th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1887, ...

passed legislation to enhance and improve the quarantine service for nineteenth century America. In 1888,

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...

s were enacted by the

22nd President of the United States Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

which established eight quarantine stations for the United States coast to coast

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...

Provisions of the Act

United States Quarantine Stations of 1888

See also

References

Bibliography

Historical Quarantine Stations

Historical Video Archive

External links