Newark leaders should be blamed for the failure to act during the numerous pandemics that affected the city in the 19 th and 20 th centuries. What is evident is that the leaders were reactive to the pandemic and never took any measures to prevent the pandemics from occurring in the first place. All the measures sought to combat pandemics after they had already occurred and not before it spreads to the city. Lack of a unified approach from different levels of governance is also evident in several pandemics that Newark has dealt with in the past. The pandemics ravaged areas that the leaders had forgotten or ignored to develop proper health infrastructures. The lack of proactive approaches made Newark lag in terms of dealing with pandemics.
The 1832 cholera outbreak provides an example of how leaders failed to act before the case rose in Newark. Whereas physicians provided measures that can be taken to ensure that the disease does not spread in the communities, the city’s leadership did not take the necessary measures to ensure the disease does not spread. The focal points of the cholera epidemic covered an area that had people affected suffering from discrimination, such as blacks and those of Irish origin. The government did not invest in measures that would reduce exposure to the disease, such as drinking ( Galishoff, 1970) . In the 1849 pandemic, the rich and the middle class had prepared themselves to tackle the pandemic. However, the government did not enact any measures to caution the poor and the vulnerable. The 1854 epidemic shows that the marginalized communities in Newark were the most affected by the disease as the communities lacked the social amenities. One letter to Newark Daily Advertiser by a Committee of Germans argued that lack of clean water and the existence of stagnant pools emanating from faulty street construction was to blame for the spread of cholera ( Galishoff, 1970) . The Sixth ward did not have clean water and resulted in using wells as a source of water. The leadership had not taken the initiative to provide these communities with tapped water, as was the case in other regions in Newark. The abandonment of some regions created made the city unhealthy and prime for the cholera epidemic in 1832, 1849, and 1854.
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The polio epidemic of 1916 clearly shows that the leadership was not united in dealing with the pandemic. When the health officer of Newark Charles V. Craster declared the epidemic in Newark on July 14, the president of the board of health, Mr. William Disbrow, was not happy, as he had previously made a public statement arguing that the disease was under control and there was no cause of alarm. Instead of educating people on the disease, Disbrow started accusing the press of misleading people who argued that leaders were now running with the crowd and not dealing with the disease ( Galishoff, 1976) . Disbrow was worried about the city’s reputation if fright occurred and not dealing with the condition. When Craster appealed to the board of education to close schools, he was met with resistance, although schools were closed when attendance dropped. The leaders also failed in fully implementing the cessation of movement into Newark. Only a handful of entry points were closed, while others remained open ( Galishoff, 1976) . The leaders were not united in taking measures to combat the disease and only took the necessary steps when it was too late.
The leadership of the city was reactive, as seen in the 1918 influenza pandemic. The Mayor convened the first meeting a day after the first case was reported. There was nothing done to prevent the city dwellers from getting the disease or protecting themselves ( Galishoff, 1969) . However, the Influenza pandemic highlighted a scenario where precautionary measures by the Mayor and the board of health provided the best defense the city had against the disease. Despite the leaders taking the right measures, lack of unity was also evident. The Mayor and the Health Officer of Newark were not in support of the state closure orders as they thought the pandemic would be dealt with in less drastic means leading to panic. The city took the right measures in hiring medical practitioners during the pandemic and releasing funds to support measures to deal with the pandemic ( Galishoff, 1969) . However, the Mayor lifted the state ban arguing that it had been ineffective in dealing with the spread of the disease and had negative economic impacts on businesses. Racial discrimination in housing and other social amenities again proved to be one of the main factors that led to many deaths. Blacks who did not have proper houses and other amenities were the most affected. The city did not have the measures in place to provide proper housing, especially to immigrants from the south that were not prepared for city life.
Although the city’s leadership took the right measures in combating different diseases, some social problems existed to the detriment of the strategies adopted. For example, the call to change habits of city dwellers meant that only those with clean water during the cholera outbreak would benefit. However, the marginalized communities that depended on wells suffered greatly due to the poor living conditions. The same case applies to the influenza pandemic, where blacks, who had poor housing, were the most affected in terms of deaths.
References
Galishoff, S. (1976). Newark and the great polio epidemic of 1916. New Jersey History , 94 , 101-111.
Galishoff, S. (1970). Cholera in Newark, New Jersey. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences , 25 (4), 438-448.
Galishoff, S. (1969). Newark and the great influenza pandemic of 1918. Bulletin of the History of Medicine , 43 (3), 246-258.
