In the book Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82 by Elizabeth A. Fenn, the author provides a new perspective on the face of North America during the time of the American Revolution. Fenn provides the reader with a perspective of the American Revolution from the perspective of the variola virus and its effects on the population of North America. His thesis for the book is: “While colonial independence forever reshaped global politics, the contagion was the defining event of the era for many residents of North America. With the exception of the war itself, the smallpox epidemic was the greatest upheaval to afflict the continent in years.” Fenn does not downplay the war, but rather provides more information about the American Revolution era and the role of smallpox in that time period. Considering the author's argument, Fenn clarifies the different impact that smallpox had on North Americans depending on their race and social status during the American Revolution. One of the determining factors for a person's survival from the variola virus during the time of the American Revolution in North America was a race. Although the variola virus itself does not take race into account when determining whether to infect one person over another, race played a significant role in survival rate when exposed to the virus. Part of Fenn's thesis is that Europeans had an innate immunity against disease that those who didn't come from Europe didn't have. He argued that because Europeans come from a world with a wide range of diseases, their bodies have developed some protections against the Variola virus. This innate immunity that Fenn discussed led to the activation of certain mechanisms within the body that led to revolutionary North America. Strategy, trade and native populations. Elizabeth A. Fenn's book Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82 sheds light on a significant aspect of that era that had not previously been given due credit. It also illuminated the effect of smallpox when it came to race and social status. As for race, smallpox decimated much of non-European populations, in part due to their lack of innate immunity to that virus and Europeans' lack of respect for those of a different race. Fenn's argument about social status showed how the poorest strata of society suffered most severely from the variola virus due to a lack of funding to get vaccinated; thus, the poor often suffered from a worse strain of the virus that often led to death.