Constitutional Issues
I. Mary Mallon (Directions: Copy the note-taking framework below and complete during the video.)
1. Setting:
2. Mary Mallon: (Who is she? Provide at least 5 descriptors.)
3. Why did Mary Mallon come to America?
4. Dr. George Soper: (Who is he? Provide at least 5 descriptors.)
5. Typhoid fever: (What was it? How did it affect people? How deadly was it?)
6. Explain how the 4th Amendment relates to the story of Mary Mallon.
The 4th Amend. relates to Mary Mallon’s story because ___
7. Explain how the 5th Amendment relates to the story of Mary Mallon.
The 5th Amend. relates to the story because ___
8. Whose side are you on – Mary Mallon’s or the New York Health Department’s? Why?
I am on ___’s side because ___
9. In the video, Mary Mallon says, “There are two kinds of justice in America, one for the rich, and one for the poor.” Explain how
this idea contradicts the 14th Amendment.
The idea of “Two kinds of justice in America” contradicts the 14 th Amend. because ___
10. Obviously, the case of Mary Mallon was not handled well by city officials of New York. Design a solution that would have
protected the “common good” while also preserving Mary’s “individual rights.”
Mary’s case could have been handled better if ___
*** If you were absent, copy the following notes.
1. The story takes place in and around New York City in 1906.
2. Mary Mallon is a 37 year-old cook. She is poor and hardworking. She is ignorant about “science” and public health.
3. Mary Mallon came to America during the Irish potato famine.
4. Dr. George Soper was a city engineer. He was stubborn in wanting to get to the bottom of the typhoid fever outbreak. He did not have much
empathy for Mary Mallon.
5. Typhoid fever is highly contagious. It is spread through fecal matter.
6. Mary Mallon was a “healthy carrier” of typhoid fever. That meant that she was spreading the deadly disease without even knowing she had
it.
7. Mary Mallon’s 4th Amendment rights were ignored when Dr. Soper demanded that she go to the hospital with him and provide specimens to
prove that she had typhoid fever.
8. Mary Mallon’s 5th Amendment rights were ignored when she was essentially imprisoned on the quarantine island without ever getting “her
day in court” and without the health department ever following a clear set of rules, or “due process.”
9. Because she was poor, Mary Mallon was treated much differently than wealthy people who had typhoid fever. This inferior treatment
violated Mary Mallon’s 14th Amendment rights, which guarantee all Americans’ equal treatment under the law, no matter how rich or poor, no
matter what religion or race, mo matter what cultural background or lifestyle, etc.
10. To protect the “common good” of New York, the health department took away all of Mary Mallon’s “individual rights.” A better solution
would have protected as many of Mary Mallon’s rights as possible, while still protecting public health. For example, Mary could have been
retrained in a vocation that paid as well as cook.