Lotions, Potions, Pills, and Magic: Health Care in Early America

252 Pages·2012·4.02 MB·English

by  Elaine G. Breslaw

Lotions, Potions, Pills, and Magic
This page intentionally left blank
Lotions, Potions, Pills, and Magic
Health Care in Early America
Elaine G. Breslaw
a
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
www.nyupress.org
© 2012 by New York University
All rights reserved
References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that
may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Breslaw, Elaine G., 1932-
Lotions, potions, pills, and magic : health care in early America / Elaine Breslaw.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8147-8717-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8147-8718-2 (e-book)
ISBN 978-0-8147-3938-9 (e-book)
1.   Medicine—United States—History—18th century. 2.   Medicine—United States—
History—19th century. 3.  Medical care—United States—History—18th century. 4.  Medical
care—United States—History—19th century. 5.  Physicians—United States—History—18th
century. 6.  Physicians—United States—History—19th century. 7.  Public health—United
States—History—18th century. 8.  Public health—United States—History—19th century.
9.  United States—Social conditions—To 1865.  I. Title.
R152.B725 2012
362.10973—dc23
2012016648
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials
to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In few of the civilized nations of our time have the higher sciences
made less progress than in the United States.
Democratic institutions generally give men a lofty notion of their
country.
—Alexis de Tocqueville,
Democracy in America,
vol. 2, 1835
This page intentionally left blank
To all the Breslaws: Karl, Theresa, Rachel, and Alec
And to my husband, John
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Illustrations xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction 1
1. Columbian Exchange 9
2. Epidemics 27
3. Tools of the Trade 43
4. Abundance 61
5. Wartime 77
6. New Nation 95
7. Giving Birth 113
8. The Face of Madness 135
9. Democratic Medicine 151
10. Public Health 169
Conclusion 185
Epilogue 193
Abbreviations 201
Bibliographic Essay 203
Index 227
About the Author 237
>> ix