Publication Date

1963

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Jameson, Hugh||Owens, Kenneth N.

Degree Name

M.S. (Master of Science)

Legacy Department

Department of History

LCSH

Medicine--United States--History

Abstract

Eighteenth-Century American Medicine surveys the types of illnesses from which the colonials suffered, the constitution of the medical profession, and the medicines and other treatments which the doctors and the colonials themselves tried in combating illnesses. Although the great epidemic killers such as yellow fever aid smallpox have received the greatest notoriety, it is shown in the chapter on illnesses that the common illnesses proved to be the deadliest in the final analysis, in spite of their less dramatic character. The information on the medical profession covers the great extremes of the level of preparation of its constituents, from those with absolutely no training to the men who had studied in the great university at Edinburgh, Scotland. The absence of medical training institutions in the colonies until the last half of the 18th century, and the lack of licensing restrictions for doctors until late in the century provide evidence for the state of the profession of medicine in America during the period under consideration. Prescriptions for the treatments of the various illnesses provide an interesting insight into the degree of advancement of the science of medicine. Although there was an occasional great breakthrough, such as the advent of inoculation, it is shown that a large amount of the medical treatment available in America during the 18th century was pathetically ineffective.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references.

Extent

v, 50 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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