Health

Health in  America during the antebellum period was most often inadequate and insufficient in meeting patients' needs.  Diseases were a major problem and led to many deaths.  For example, according to Geoffrey Marks and William K. Beatty, authors of The Story of Medicine in America: "In the Civil War the 224,000 deaths from disease were more than double the deaths in action and from wounds received in action" (246).   Some of the most common diseases were malaria, smallpox, yellow fever, typhoid, typhus, scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, and polio.  Many of these were spread because of unsanitary conditions where bodily fluids were often exposed.   Because of the rapid spread of these diseases, physicians were in high demand.  As a result, many were trained in an apprenticeship system, usually with a local physician, and many were not formally educated, although wealthier students were able to attend medical schools such as Harvard and Yale.  Likewise, nurses were not formally trained, and their job was usually on a volunteer basis.  

Medical treatments and techniques were still in a primitive state and were ineffective and often harmful.  Because of the lack of medical knowledge and ineffective treatments, unorthodox medicine had a major boom in the antebellum period.  Many products such as tobacco and herb and root concoctions were used to cure ailments like the toothache and the gout.  One of the most famous unorthodox practitioners of this era was Elisha Perkins of Plainfield, Connecticut.  He believed that metal rods, or "tractors," containing secret alloys were an excellent treatment for curing muscle pain.  Although many doctors used unorthodox medicines, there were many critics who opposed these methods.  Instead, they used medicines such as morphine, which was the leading pain killer of this time.  The most common surgery  for infections was amputation, and despite its criticism today, it saved more lives than it killed.  Also, the use of anesthesia wasn't a common procedure before  the 1840's.  During surgery, patients were cut open while conscious.  Alcohol and opium were mainly used to relax the patients before surgery.  However, in the early 1840's, anesthesia was introduced,  and Americans began to accept it.  Then, in 1842, anesthesia was used for the first time to extract a patient's tooth.  

Along with the insufficient medical knowledge of the time, hospitals were few and staff were relatively small.  In spite of the population of over 7 million in the early 1800's, there were only three public hospitals and 98 surgeons in America.  In their book Two Centuries of American Medicine, James Bordley III and A. McGehee Harvey implied that physicians and surgeons were hard to find and many communities did not have any type of doctor (10).  

Nonetheless, the medical world began to improve as the century progressed.  From 1810 to 1840, twenty-six new medical schools opened in the U.S.  Then, by 1848, women began to break into the medical profession, and the Ladies Physiological Institute of Boston and Vicinity was also founded at this time.  Another great improvement was in  1863 when the first modern microscope was invented.  Finally, the nursing profession was changed drastically in 1873 when a training school was created in order to make nursing a profession rather than a volunteer job.  

The years of antebellum America were a crucial time in the field of medicine.  Diseases were many, and medical treatments and knowledge were inadequate to fight the them efficiently.  Physicians were poorly trained and often offered no real help.  With the increased amount of research and inventions, medicine slowly became beneficial in contrast with its impact of the early years.  Furthermore, the medical world grew and attained the trust of the population and today is an important aspect of American society. 

Bibliography

This secondary source provides a scholarly perspective on unorthodox movements and  practices that have arisen in the United States.  The effects of the lack of medical knowledge and inadequate treatments of diseases and disorders are also illustrated in this book.  The book, being printed in 1988, is an excellent source on the topic of unorthodox medicine in antebellum America.  Norman Gevitz is a very credible author in writing medical books.  He has written many informative books, interpreting and analyzing historical medicine, such as his book, The D.O's: Osteopathic Medicine in America.  He is also known for his healing books, which contain home remedies and explain the stages of healing.  His work in this book is well researched as he uses many citations to support his writing.  Also the use of actual testimonies serve as adequate proof for his book. 

This secondary source describes the early history of medicine in America as well as noteworthy people who made substantial advances in the field of health.  It also includes the problems of public health and the ways in which medicine progressed during the 19th century.  Although this book was published in 1973, it is a very useful source in describing the early forms of medicine and health during the years of antebellum America.  These two authors are very credible in their writings.  In writing this book alone, they have listed several pages of sources as well as reference notes they used to write the book.  Not only have they written this book about medicine in America, they have also written two other books dealing with health: The Medical Garden and Women in White. 

This secondary source gives a broad range of details about health care in America.  One chapter in particular talks in general about the social meaning of personal health during the nineteenth century and how it became an important part of the people's lives.  This book was published in 1979.  It is a great source for learning about the general aspects of health during antebellum America.  Martha H. Verbrugge is in the Department of History at Bucknell University.  Her research concerns female health and education in nineteenth-century Boston.  This author goes into great detail about the stresses that personal health brought on the women of antebellum America.  She has also written one other book, Able-Bodied Womanhood: Personal Health and Social Change in Nineteenth-Century Boston. 

This secondary source lists specific medical schools of the time period before the Civil War.  It also lists some of the founding fathers of medicine in America.  Bordley and Harvey also speak on some of the diseases that affected people then and now.  The book was written in 1976 and does not appear to be dated in nature. The authors appear to have a strong knowledge of the antebellum period and a strong background in medicine.  James Bordley was a professor emeritus.  He was a clinical professor of medicine in Cooperstown,  NY.   A. McGee Harvey was a distinguished service professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.  He was also the author of Adventures in Medical Research: A Century of Research at Johns Hopkins.

People

• Elizabeth Blackwell
• Henry Detweiler
• Dorothea Dix
• Daniel Drake
• Harriot Kezia Hunt
• Edward Jenner
• John Morgan
• Valentine Mott
• Elisha Perkins
• Benjamin Rush
• Martha A. Sawin
• Daniel Hale Williams

Events

• Boston, Massachusetts
• New Orleans, Louisiana 
• New York, New York 
• Pennyslvania

Surgery 

Surgery was an important aspect in the field of health in antebellum America.  Because of widespread diseases, war, and infections, many people were dying, and medicine alone was not keeping them alive.  It was at this point that physicians began to experiment with their patients in procedures never previously done, and, without knowing, created the early forms of American surgery.  Compared to medicines such as pills and home-remedies, surgery was more practical, and its results were more immediate and noticeable.  It was common in hospitals and at home.  According to Joseph Mills Hanson, author of the article on medicine and surgery in the Dictionary of American History: "In the 19th century, only the poorer classes generally used hospitals” (189).  The wealthier people would call on a doctor or surgeon to come to the home and perform surgery there, usually on the kitchen table.  This caused further problems for the patient and others since sterilization of operating tools was not practiced.  At this time, doctors didn't know that unsanitized tools caused more infections and diseases.  This was ironic because performing surgery was supposed to help patients, not hurt them.   Also, anesthesia had not yet been discovered, and the only forms of relaxation for a patient before undergoing surgery was drinking alcohol or taking opium.  During the actual operation, patients seemed as if they were wide awake because of their eyes being open, but in actuality, they never really felt pain because of the muscle relaxers they had taken.  In turn, this led many people to the misconception that patients felt pain and were completely conscious during surgery.      
  
Moreover, in order to be able to perform these surgeries, physicians had to have some type of knowledge and training.  Many physicians had apprenticeships while others went to medical schools, such as Harvard and Pennsylvania.  At the medical schools, however, Agatha Young implies in her book Scapel: Men Who Made Surgery that the students mainly listened to lectures and hardly ever participated in any actual cutting.  If they did, they were only told what parts of the body not to cut, not what to cut (120).  On the other hand, students who had apprenticeships were always involved in cutting and often practiced on dead bodies.  Then, in 1804, a surgical amphitheater was established in Pennsylvania to help teach numerous students about surgery as well as let them witness it firsthand.  It was at this time that surgery  was known as a recognized discipline. 

Furthermore, as the nineteenth century progressed, technology and knowledge began to flourish.  Many more surgical procedures were being done, such as the first ovariotomy in 1809 by Dr. Ephraim McDowell on Jane Crawford.  The abdomen, head, and chest had never been cut into by anyone, but Dr. McDowell made the first step by cutting into the abdomen.  The procedure only took about twenty-five minutes, and Mrs. Crawford had recovered in about one week.  Then, in the early 1840s, anesthesia was discovered and the first surgical anesthesia was used in 1842 to extract a patient’s tooth.  Because of this new discovery, surgeons were better able to accomplish their tasks, and patients had a lower mortality rate.  However, Martin S. Pernick, author of Anesthesia and Medicine, implies that not all surgeons used anesthesia.  The older surgeons were more inclined not to, whereas the young ones were.  It was up to them to decide whether or not they wanted to use it (111).  Despite the fact that it was popular among the young, it did not have widespread use until 1861. 

Then, in 1861, the American Civil War arose between the North and the South. Compared to other wars in American history, this war was a time of even further progression of surgery.  Because of the many wounds in battle, surgeons were required to be more knowledgeable and faster with their work.  Inventions were also made, such as the MASH units (Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals), to aid the wounded.  Doctors also established a system of record keeping on patients’ problems.  Both of these were highly effective in providing patients with better care.  However, this war was also a time of pain and death.  Wounded soldiers often had to wait two or three days to get treated because of the small hospital staff, and many died while waiting.  Supplies were few, hard to keep up with, and had to be shared by all.  This led to highly unsanitary conditions because blood was not washed from each operating tool.  Also, a most common painful surgery was the amputation of body limbs.  Even though patients were given anesthesia, sometimes it was in too small of a dosage and pain was felt.  Surgery was also in a complicated system composed of three stages.  The first stage was where first aid was performed and was located on the battlefield.  The next stage was the field hospital, located in a church or barn, where operations such as amputations were done.  Finally came the fixed hospitals, far away from the battlefield; patients stayed at these hospitals until they recovered.  Despite the many complications and deaths, by the end of the war, this system had become highly efficient, and for the most part, surgery became known as a lifesaver, not an act of murder.     
 

Bibliography 

This newspaper article not only describes how surgery in the Civil War had a major impact on the lives of the people, but also how it has made an impact on society today with the building of a new Civil War museum.  Mary Belferman describes in great detail the different types of surgery performed and the unsanitary conditions of that time.  This article was written in 1996 and is very useful in describing surgery at the end of the antebellum period.  Belferman is also very credible in her writings.  She is a staff writer for The Washington Post and has written several other articles for this newspaper.

This secondary source gives a brief discussion of medicine and health in America over several centuries.  Each chapter in the book deals with a certain time period and includes the problems and progressions of each.  This book, being only eight years old, is a great source of information about health and procedures of previous time periods, including the antebellum years.  James H. Cassedy is very credible in his writings.  At the end of this particular book, he lists the specific books he used for each chapter as well as the pages.  He is also the editor of the annual Bibliography of the History of Medicine and has written other books: American Medicine and Statistical Thinking, 1800-1860 and Medicine and American Growth, 1800-1860.

This secondary book describes the early history of medicine in America as well as noteworthy people who made substantial advances in the field of health.  It also includes the problems of public health and the ways in which medicine progressed during the 19th century.  Although this book was published in 1973, it is a very useful source in describing the early forms of medicine and health in antebellum America.  These two authors are very credible in their writings.  In writing this book alone, they have listed several pages of sources as well as reference notes they used to write the book.  Not only have they written this book about medicine in America, they have also written two other books dealing with health: The Medical Garden and Women in White.

This secondary source describes how the introduction of anesthesia brought about many changes and progressions in the field of medicine, especially in surgery.  Part I of the book even gives a detailed summary of one patient’s particular surgery while using anesthesia.  It also gives an overview of nineteenth-century medicine.  Even though this book was published in 1985, it has lots of information about surgery and the procedures used in the antebellum period.  Martin S. Pernick is credible in his writings because he not only lists his acknowledgments at the beginning of the book, but also has over 100 pages of notes and bibliographical information at the end of the book. 

This secondary source describes particular men who made an impact on surgery.  Each chapter gives detailed information about men related to that main topic.  It also describes the early forms of surgery as well as surgery up to the 1950s.  Although this book is outdated, it is still a very reliable source that has a lot of useful information.  Agatha Young is also very credible in her writings.  She has listed a bibliography of her work in the back of the book and has written three other books, one being Blaze of Glory. 

People 

• John Shaw Billings 
• William E. Clark 
• William Stewart Halstead
• Frank Hamilton
• William A. Hammond
• Carl Koller
• Crawford Long
• Ephraim McDowell
• Valentine Mott
• Nicholas Senn

Events 

Places

• Boston, Massachusetts
• Civil War battle sites
• Kentucky
• Pennsylvania

Nursing

Not long after these religious orders were established, Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to study medicine, was rejected from medical school twelve times. Finally in 1847, Geneva Medical School accepted her. After a year and a half of study, she graduated at the head of her class, and only one year later did her parents with the help of the Quakers establish and open the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania. On December 31, 1851, the first eight female physicians graduated, though they only possessed theoretical knowledge of medicine, because the college wasn't affiliated with any clinical facilities (90-92). Later on Elizabeth Blackwell established the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. Dr. Emily Blackwell, who was Elizabeth's sister, and Marie E. Zakrzewska, along with Elizabeth herself, were the administrative physicians. She wanted to open this infirmary because there was no work for female nurses, due to the exclusion of women in the medical field during this time (94). 

This soon changed. In 1861, the Civil War began, which meant there would be a demand for nurses. Philip and Beatrice Kalisch state that Dorothea Lynde Dix, "a pioneer worker for the better care of mental patients in the United States," was appointed by Simon Cameron, secretary of war, to oversee 100 women nurses as volunteers at Fort Sumter (56). Physicians in antebellum America did not agree with the idea of women in hospitals, so they treated them badly, hoping they would leave. Many of the nurses did just that. The ones who remained in the hospitals found themselves doing any type of housekeeping, such as scrubbing wards or supervising laundry. Occasionally they would be asked to help with direct patient care, but most times this was when there was a crisis. Trainloads of wounded troops would arrive and have to be washed, fed, and put to bed. Along with doing this, the nurses would have to continue supervising wards, dressing wounds, and administering medications (60-61).  
 

Bibliography 

This secondary source gives a tremendous amount of detail about nursing in America.  I found several chapters that specifically discussed the advantages and disadvantages of nursing in the nineteenth century.  It also gives you a general idea about each section of nursing and how it came to be.   Philip A. Kalisch is the professor of history, politics and economics of nursing, and interim director for the Center for Nursing Research at the School of Nursing, University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor.  Beatrice J. Kalisch is the Shirley C. Titus Professor of Nursing, chairperson for the Department of Parent-Child Nursing, and project director for the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program at the School of Nursing, University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor.  These two authors really go into great detail to stress nursing and the effect it had on the people of antebellum America.  An Analysis of the Impact of Authorship on the Image of the Nurse Presented in Novels and A Discourse on the Politics of Nursing are only two of the many works that the authors have written together.

People

• Louisa May Alcott 
• Elizabeth Blackwell 
• Emily Blackwell 
• Kate Cumming 
• Dorothea Lynde Dix 
• Oliver Wendell Holmes 
• Robert Koch 
• Florence Nightingale 
• Valentine Seaman 
• Elizabeth Bayley Seton 
• Rudolf Virchow 
• J. Collins Warren 
• Joseph Warrington 
• Horace Well 
• Walt Whitman 
• Jane Stuart Woolsey 
• Marie E. Zakrzewska 

Events 

Places

• Cairo, Illinois 
• Emmitsburg, Maryland 
• Boston, Massachusetts 
• Betrand, Michigan 
• Mississippi 
• New York 
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
• Washington, D.C. 

Treatments

Orthodox treatments in antebellum America consisted mostly of allopathy, which was based on a well-defined set of dogmatic principles.  Allopathic treatments were usually medication in the form of pills and were the modern medicine of the time.  Being the newest addition to the medical world, allopathy suffered a great deal of criticism, and allopathics had a hard time gained accreditation as useful physicians.  

While allopathy, or orthodox medicine, was having such a hard time, unorthodox medicine such as naturopathy, homeopathy, and hydropathy thrived and owned much of society's faith in healing.  According to Norman Gevitz, author of Other Healers: Unorthodox Medicine in America, “Homeopathy was the largest unorthodox sect during the nineteenth century, and . . . a serious threat to orthodox medicine” (99).  Homeopathy was originated by Samuel Hahnemann, a young doctor from Saxony, Germany, over 200 years ago.  In the unorthodox world of medicine, homeopathy came about at the right time because it was an excellent alternative to the practice of blood letting, which was an extremely dangerous process.  Brian Inglis and Ruth West, authors of The Alternative Health Guide, stated: “Homeopathy is based on the principle that symptoms are often the consequence of the body’s resistance mechanism working to repel an attack, and that far from seeking a way to suppress symptoms, it may be desirable to take some form of treatment calculated to help the resistance” (66).  Homeopaths believe that disease can be cured by drugs, which in a healthy person would create the same symptoms as those in the sick person.  For example, instead of treating a fever with drugs, as an orthodox practitioner would, a homeopath would apply heat or, in some cases, pus containing the same diseases that the patient has.  

Another sector of unorthodox medicine was naturopathy.  Although not as popular as homeopathy, it was widespread, and health spas were popular all over the country.  Naturopaths believed that the body is equipped to make any necessary changes in order to maintain homeostasis, or a healthy state.  Since they believed that all diseases are due to the same cause, the accumulation in the system of waste materials and bodily refuse, naturopaths believed that the body can rid itself of any disease with no additional aid.  In fact, practitioners of naturopathy believed that orthodox medicine hinders the body’s self-initiated attempts to rid itself of the foreign bodies and waste material.  

The simplicity of unorthodox medicine was illustrated in the treatments and methods used.  In spite of the uncomplicated methods practiced by homeopaths and naturopaths, there was still one more division of unorthodox medicine that was far simpler; it was called hydropathy.  Hydropathy was a practice that involved using water as a healing substance.  The water could be taken internally or externally, and it could be recommended hot or cold.  The most important ingredient of the hydropathic cure was drinking large amounts of water for internal cleansing.  Arthur Wrobel stated in his book: “Most patients were directed to drink copious amounts of water, the quantity varying from five to forty tumblers in twenty-four hours” (85).  As water was commonly administered externally, the most common technique was the wet sheet.  The technique involved winding a patient in a sheet of cotton or linen, which was previously dipped in cold water and spread on several thick blankets.  Then the patient would remain in the cocoon for twenty-five minutes to several hours.  Finally, hydropathy also became popular because it offered flexible, hygienic principles in place of drug-based therapeutics.  

Bibliography 

This secondary source provides a scholarly perspective on unorthodox movements and practices that have arisen in the United States.  The effects of the lack of medical knowledge and inadequate treatments of diseases and disorders are also illustrated in this book.  The book, being printed in 1988, is an excellent source on the topic of unorthodox medicine in antebellum America.  Norman Gevitz is a very credible author in writing medical books.  He has written many informative books, interpreting and analyzing historical medicine, such as his book The D.O's: Osteopathic Medicine in America.  He is also known for his healing books, which contain home remedies and explain the stages of healing.  His work in this book is well researched as he uses many citations to support his writing.  Also the use of actual testimonies serve as adequate proof for his book. 

This secondary source provides in-depth descriptions of many alternative treatments throughout history.  It also describes the therapies along with the disorders.  Although the book was written in 1983, Inglis and West conducted thorough research, and the alternative treatments from ancient times up to antebellum America are included.  Inglis and West have good credibility as authors of medical books.  Their work is well researched, and they have many resources along with a lengthy bibliography.  Inglis has written other medical books, including Natural Medicine. 

This secondary source describes the recent studies about the nineteenth-century pseudo-sciences primarily phrenology, mesmerism, spirtualism, hydropathy, and homeopathy.  The book contains many stories of actual treatments, explaining the therapies of the patient and often the testimony after therapy is complete.  Although the book was written in 1987, the information that makes up the text is accurate and coherent.  Wrobel, being an associate professor of American literature at the University of Kentucky and the editor of American Notes and Queries,is very equipped as an efficient researcher.  The book includes very descriptive footnotes at the end of each chapter. 

People 

• Henry Detweiler
• Hans B. Gram
• Samuel Hahnemann
• Constantine Hering 
• Dr. Thomas Low Nichols
• Mary Sargeant Gove Nichols
• Elisha Perkins
• Vincent Priessnity

Events

Places 

• Grafenberg
• New York
• Pennsylvania