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The Discovery Of Insulin And Penicillin And The Development Of The U.s. Health Care System

Decent Essays

When most people think of America in the 1920s, the thing that comes to mind is the phrase ‘Roaring Twenties’ accompanied by the thought of flappers and Gatsby. In fact, if a person were to Google images of ‘the Roaring Twenties,’ there is a very little variation in results. Many people do not know that the 1920s was more than an age of economic prosperity and defying prohibition; it was also a time of great advances in health care and medicine in the United States. The discovery of insulin and penicillin and the development of the U.S. health care system are only a few of the examples of the medical advances that took place in the 1920s. These advances shaped the lives of Americans in a way like no other. Medicine and health care was much different in the late 1800s and early 1900s than it is today. Most ill people were treated in their homes with concoctions that had little to no effect on the sickness. While hospitals did exist at the time, their methods were underdeveloped and very unlike the ones we see today. Mortality was at an all time high prior to the discoveries made in the early 20th century. According to the article “Immigration and Health Concerns in Late Nineteenth Century America” by Ted Brackemyre, “Large waves of immigration in the nineteenth century, made New York City America’s largest and most diverse city, but also its most unhealthy, as the large spike in population made it more susceptible to disease.” As compared to other urban cities in America at

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