Plague at the Golden Gate
american experience

Over 100 years before the COVID-19 pandemic set off a nationwide wave of fear and anti-Asian sentiment, an outbreak of bubonic plague in San Francisco's Chinatown unleashed a similar crisis. The death of a Chinese immigrant in 1900 would have likely gone unnoticed if a medical officer hadn't discovered a swollen black lymph node on his groin - evidence of bubonic plague. Fearing the city would become the American epicenter of the disease, health officials drew on racist pseudoscience to cover up the threat and protect San Francisco's burgeoning economy. As the outbreak continued to spread, public health officer Rupert Blue became determined to save his city. He established ties to Chinatown and ultimately proved that throngs of flea-infested rats-rather than the "foreign" habits of the Chinese-were the real reason the disease persisted. Based on David K. Randall's "Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague" and directed by Li-Shin Yu.

Episode Duration: 1 hour 56 minutes and 46 seconds

Episode Number: 3404

About American Experience:

As television's longest-running, most-watched history series, American Experience brings to life the incredible characters and epic stories that helped form this nation.


Watch American Experience - Clips, Episodes & Previews


Future Broadcast times for "American Experience": (show all)

Wed, Aug 7 3:00 P.M. Fly with Me     NH Explore (11.2)
Thu, Aug 8 3:00 A.M. Fly with Me     NH Explore (11.2)
Tue, Aug 13 9:00 P.M. The American Diplomat     NHPBS (11.1)
Wed, Aug 14 1:30 A.M. The American Diplomat     NHPBS (11.1)
Thu, Aug 15 4:00 A.M. The American Diplomat     NHPBS (11.1)
Wed, Aug 21 1:00 P.M. Sandra Day O'connor: The First     NH Explore (11.2)
Fri, Aug 23 9:00 P.M. Sandra Day O'connor: The First     NH Explore (11.2)
Sat, Aug 24 1:00 A.M. Sandra Day O'connor: The First     NH Explore (11.2)
Sat, Aug 31 7:00 P.M. The American Diplomat     NH World (11.3)


NHPBS Over-the-Air Broadcast

WENH-TV Ch. 11 Durham

WLED-TV Ch. 48 Littleton

WEKW-TV Ch. 18 Keene

W50DP-D Ch. 50 Hanover

W34DQ-D Ch. 34 Pittsburg

Cable and Satellite Channels


NHPBS Five Channels

NHPBS - 11.1

NH Explore - 11.2

NH World - 11.3

NH Create - 11.4

NH Kids - 11.5

Learn More


NHPBS NHPBS Passport Passport

Grantchester | Episode 1
Dynamic Planet | Ice
America ReFramed | Como Vivimos (How We Live)
Professor T | Heir to the Throne
D.I. Ray | Rivals
Local, USA | Public Enemies, Private Friends
Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution | Rock the Boat
Pompeii: The New Dig | Episode 3
My Music with Rhiannon Giddens | Episode 6
Antiques Roadshow | I Was There
Great Performances | Purlie Victorious
Nature | Wild Ireland: Kingdom of Stone
After Action | Serving with Pride
Poetry in America | Steps
The Ghost Army | The Ghost Army
Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story | Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story
MaryLand | Episode 3
Guilt | Episode 2
American Experience | The Riot Report
Art Happens Here with John Lithgow | Art Happens Here with John Lithgow
AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange | Freedom Hill
American Masters | The Incomparable Mr. Buckley (ASL)
Changing Planet | Coral Special
Independent Lens | One With the Whale
Through Our Eyes | Uprooted
Next at the Kennedy Center | Joshua Redman where are we
Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator | Ides of March
The Real Story of Mr Bates vs The Post Office | The Real Story of Mr Bates vs The Post Office
Mr Bates vs The Post Office | Episode 1
Finding Your Roots | Viewers Like You