The diseases and conditions that Americans died from in 1776 is much different than today. In the past 250 years life expectancy has more than doubled. A baby born in 1776 could expect to live approximately 30 years or more, compared to nearly 80 today. However, these types of comparisons are misleading. Note: Fox News lists life expectancy as 30 years at birth, Science Insights claims 35-40 years.
Infant mortality was high, which heavily reduced average life expectancy at birth. Whereas average life expectancy was 30 or so at birth in 1776, children who made it to their 5th birthday could expect to live much longer than 25 more years. The following is from ScienceInsights:
The single biggest factor distorting that average is child mortality. Across historical populations, roughly 27% of newborns died in their first year of life. Data from Sweden, one of the few places keeping reliable records in this era, shows that 40% of children died before the age of 15 during the period from 1750 to 1780. When nearly half of all people born never reach adulthood, the average age at death plummets even if the survivors live long lives.
Those lucky enough to have made it to past infancy had other diseases to worry about. The list is from Fox News:
Death from childbirth. Women had additional risks, such as death from childbirth. Between 1% and 1.5% of childbirths resulted in the death of the mother from exhaustion, dehydration, infection, hemorrhage, or seizures.
Smallpox. Estimates vary from a 15% to 30% mortality rate, but many who caught smallpox died from it. George Washington purportedly thought smallpox a bigger threat to his army than the British.
Tuberculosis. Also known as consumption. It was a leading chronic condition until antibiotics were invented. President James Monroe died from it, and numerous other Americans including Doc Holliday.
Pneumonia. It was frequently fatal until antibiotics.
Dysentery and diarrheal diseases. Throughout history dysentery was the scourge of armies and anyone afflicted with it. It is caused by poor sanitation, consuming water tainted with excrement of others who had dysentery. Many a battle was lost when one side came down with dysentery. At least five English Kings and Crown Princes of England died from cholera or dysentery. Many Americans did too.
Typhoid, also spread through contaminated food or water.
Yellow Fever and malaria. Especially in Southern colonies, periodic outbreaks of mosquito borne diseases were common in the late 1700s.
Wound infections. People often died when wounds became infected, including Abraham Lincoln’s only grandson “Jack,” who died from sepsis after getting a blister on his foot. English king Richard the Lionheart famously died from an infection from a crossbow bolt to his shoulder.
The diseases Americans die from are a lot different than 250 years ago. What kills Americans today?
Cancer, accidents, strokes, chronic lower respiratory disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s Kidney disease, livery disease, suicides.
Happy 4th of July!
Read more at:
Fox News: What killed Americans in 1776? The answer is dramatically different from today
Science Insights: What Was the Average Life Expectancy in 1776?