Slavery, Empiricism and Modern Medicine

In 18th century America, medicine was in a transition mode. While some pre-modern practices were still around, the 18th century saw the beginnings of a new modern medical practice. Replacing the passed down wisdom from the ancient world was clinical observation, the first American medical school, and experimental science, along with many physicians beginning to replace midwives. During the 18th century, a transition from pre-modern practices and theories to modern medical practice occurred because of medical education and the growth of hospitals, advances in medical procedures, and different types of medical practitioners.

Although medicine today is comparatively more advanced, that is a more recent change than one would like to think. For instance, not even 150 years ago, “Hippocrates and Galen would have recognized and largely agreed with most medical practices.” Barry addresses this topic of medical advancement at the beginning of his book by producing a well researched, albeit a little too long, history of western medicine. He provides examples of how medicine evolved from the teachings of Hippocrates, Galen, and Vesalius to a more “modern” form of medicine. This was done in order to explain how prepared the medical community was in the face of this impending virus. Unlike the other epidemics, the people of the early 19-century should have been prepared to face the influenza with all of their exciting and new medical equipment and practices, but there was something in their way of advancement—universities.

The bio-medical model of ill health has been at the forefront of western medicine since the end of the eighteenth century and grew stronger with the progress in modern science. This model underpinned the medical training of doctors. Traditionally medicine had relied on folk remedies passed down from generations and ill health was surrounded in superstition and religious lore with sin and evil spirits as the culprit and root of ill health. The emergence of scientific thinking questioned the traditional religious view of the world and is linked to the progress in medical practice and the rise of the biomedical model. Social and historical events and circumstances were an important factor in its development as explanations about disease

The Civil War was a time of great learning in the medical field. Without these advances, we would live in a completely different world. The question is though, would the same amount of medical supplies and knowledge in both the North or South have changed the eventual outcome of the Civil War? Similar circumstances in medicine would have only affected the mortality rates of both sides, not the outcome of the Civil War. Almost all odds were against the South from the very beginning. It was just a matter of time from the very start.

The findings of this survey showed that 73.6% agreed with the use of traditional medicines for health maintenance, 79.2% agreed for benign illness, such as colds or sprained ankles, and 90.3% agreed for palliative care (Zubek, 1994, p. 1926). Where they disagreed the most was with the use of traditional healing in the intensive care units, only 16.9% agreed with the use of this treatment for serious illness, such as cardiac or respiratory compromise, whether in the hospital (21.2% agreed) or as outpatients (26.4% agreed). Nearly half (48.6%) agreed with using traditional medicines for chronic illnesses, such as non-insulin dependent diabetes or Parkinson's disease (Zubek, 1994, p. 1926). One instance where physicians were unwilling to allow their patients to use Native medicine was while the patient is in the hospital, because the physician could be held legally responsible for any treatment administered while admitted under their care. There is also the problem of differentiating between legitimate Native healing practitioners and those who would take advantage of anyone not aware of the proper rituals and techniques that need to be performed (Zubek, 1994, p. 1929). This could be overcome by having a formalized licensing organization such as is used by Western practitioners (i.e. American Society of Clinical Pathology [ASCP]). That poses another problem though, as to whether traditionalists would be willing to have such an organization.

During the Civil War, medicine was an important aspect for every soldier due to the fact that many soldiers had to fight and ended up with injuries also there were many types of illnesses. In this essay, I will focus on the advance of medicine during the Civil War. Also how the soldiers and civilians were treated as well as how sanitize their location was, are questions I will try to answer. Also, I will like to include some of most known causes of deaths during the Civil War and the types of diseases that soldiers would come in contact with. Include who was in charge of the hospitals during the war. I will also include information from letters and documents that the nurse and doctors wrote while the Civil War was going one and what kind of establishments were created and the kind of equipment they used in the hospital. Since the period of the Civil War was and is consider to be the start and growth of the medical industry it is important for me to find out why.

Have you ever wondered what our Healthcare system was like in the 1800’s? Have you never wondered what they did to cure disease, treat broken bones, how society back then as a culture acted, and among other things why woman had been the main pioneer of this field? This is what my research topic consists of and below you’ll find my opinions and sources that I have used to come to the conclusion I have to illuminate the Healthcare system in the 1800’s.

In the Antebellum South, physician practices were often questioned for their veracity, and were frequently disregarded by both the slave owners and slaves themselves. Therefore, slaves and masters typically received medical care from the herb and root doctors living within the plantation’s boundaries. These specialty doctors were normal slaves, however, they had intimate knowledge of roots and herbs that helped cure certain diseases. Along with their practices being less painful than the cupping, leeching, lancing, and mercuralizing that a typical physician would perform, root and herb doctors were the primary medical practitioner to consult for an illness (Kiple 1-2). The incapability to trust physician’s practices forced slaves to deal with

At first Europeans were skeptical of the medicine that the Native Americans used. Medicine men and women used new medical techniques that the Europeans never have seen before, they prayed to spirits and had ceremonies to heal some patients. Native American healers highly believed in spiritual healing that Europeans were not accustom to and did not believe in. However Europeans went crazy over the way Native Americans could use plants and herbs in healing. Native Americans doctors would go into the forest often not far from their homes and find plants, berries, barks, and roots that would be used in healing, although they have been known to go on trips for several days to collect materials too. Many herbs that Native Americans used in early colonial America are still used today like ginseng and bayberry. With the Native Americans knowledge of herbs and natural remedies many colonists were beginning to think that Native American medicine men and women were better doctors than their own educated European doctors. Natives Americans came along way from being savages.

They could go the traditional route and participate in modern medicine or they can go the holistic route and participate in natural medicine. The conflict was resolved when the American Medical Association was established because the American Medical Association gave credibility to mainstream physicians because of the rules and regulation the American Medical Association put in place. Most mainstream physicians were banned from consulting or associating with a medical sectarian. Medical sectarian was excluded and it did not help that the Supreme Court was in favor of mainstream traditional medicine, then for the medical sectarians.

This class focuses on offenses that have occurred nationwide, leaving a long lasting negative impact on the world. This class has been discussing who is to be collectively held accountable for wrongdoings in society and the kinds of reparations done to right these wrongs. The discussion of the medical crimes committed during the Holocaust done by the Germans was an enthralling part of the discussion, and it was interesting to see how the Nazis were held accountable and how they took accountability for their actions. Americans, on the contrary, have committed their fair share of medical scandals, and have done little to accept responsibility. This essay looks at Eugenics, The Tuskegee Experiment, and the Stateville Penitentiary Malaria Study and the prejudice used against minority groups.

In the early 1800s, both in Europe and in the United States, physicians with formal medical training began to stress the idea that germs and social conditions might cause and spread disease, especially in cities. Many municipalities created "dispensaries" that dispensed medicines to the poor and offered free physician services. Epidemics of cholera, diphtheria, tuberculosis, and yellow fever, and concerns about sanitation and hygiene, led many city governments to create departments of health. New advances in studying bacteria were put to practical use as "germ theory" became the accepted cause for illness. It was in the face of epidemics and poor sanitation, government-sponsored public health, and healthcare that private healthcare began to systematically diverge.

The improvement of medicine over the course of the human successes gave great convenience to the people of today. Science has cured and prevented many illnesses from occurring and is on its way to cure some of the most dreadful and harmful illnesses. As the world modernizes due to the industrialization, so does the ways of medicine. Some cures are approached by chance, some, through intense, scientific measures.

Many ancient civilizations, such as the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians, pushed medical knowledge forward until the Middle Ages, when medical knowledge was believed to have slowed down. However, that is not the case. The Middle Ages were a time of change and improvement, they shaped the modern world. The Middle Ages revolutionized medical practices, physicians linked filth to the spread of disease, many practical diagnoses and treatments for common illnesses were discovered, and medical training programs in universities became well established.

There have been many advances in the medical field such as; anesthesia, drugs, machines, etc. This has helped the doctors find alternative solutions to problems, and in return has helped them save more lives. In the article “Medicine” by Britannica, “Many new advances in anesthesia, and these in turn depend upon engineers who have devised machines and chemists produced new drugs. Other operations are made possible by new materials, such as the alloys and plastics that are used to make artificial hip and knee joints.” Advances in the medical field have truly helped modern doctors. Without the medicine, machines, technology they have now there’s no way the doctors could have saved the same amount of lives. As Brian Ward, the author of “The Story of Medicine”, states in his book, “Despite opposition, revolutionary scientists and doctors persevered and made some ground breaking discoveries,” (Ward 22). Even though the doctors during the Renaissance had little technology, they still made discoveries that impacted the medical field. The discoveries made by the Renaissance doctors were life saving. However, with the given technology that is commonly found in modern day society doctors are able to impact the medical and scientific fields and by doing so, save more lives than thought possible during the Renaissance. Within the article “Medicine” written by Britannica, it shows the importance of, “Many other developments in modern surgical treatment rest on a firm basis of experimentation, often first in animals but also in humans; among them are Renal dialysis (artificial kidney), arterial bypass operations, embryo implantation, and exchange transfusions.” Although testing on animals is cruel, it shows that modern doctors were not just experimenting on people. The modern doctors had a thought process to reduce the amount of deaths due to