In 1738, the New York City Council established a quarantine anchorage off Bedloe’s Island, now home to the Statue of Liberty, to prevent the spread of smallpox and yellow fever. Bedloe’s Island becomes a quarantine station for contagious passengers and crew from arriving ships.

When the United States was first established, little was done to prevent the importation of infectious diseases. Protection against imported diseases fell under local and state jurisdiction. Individual municipalities enacted a variety of quarantine regulations for arriving vessels.