The State of Medicine at the Start of the Nation

Military Medicine

Preventive medicine for soldiers

Benjamin Rush’s (1746-1813) pamphlet discusses physical issues, such as personal hygiene and the proper diet, as well as mental health issues like keeping soldiers consistently engaged and active. It was reissued for distribution to officers in the Continental Army by order of the Board of War.

Item displayed: Rush, B. Directions for preserving the health of soldiers: recommended to the consideration of the officers of the Army of the United States. Lancaster, PA: John Dunlap, 1778.

Casualty Care

John Jones (1729-1791) was born in New York and, from a young age, studied medicine with his father and a cousin, both doctors. Jones published the first book on surgery in the American colonies, displayed here. He presents new surgical concepts and practices accompanied by personal experience as a

surgeon in the French and Indian Wars. This book shows an evolving view of combat medicine that includes humoral elements and observation-based care. For instance, he advocates treating major burns with bloodletting and enemas, but also favors quick removal of bullets, a novel idea in 1776.

Item displayed: Jones, J. Plain concise practical remarks, on the treatment of wounds and fractures: to which is added, an appendix, on camp and military hospitals; principally designed, for the use of young military and naval surgeons, in North America. Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1776.

Greater Access to Knowledge

Concurrent with advances in science and philosophy were novel methods for disseminating information. Libraries, universities, clubs, and salons were founded. Journals, encyclopedias, and newspapers were established. New approaches to sharing knowledge allowed more people than ever before to access information.

Thomas Paine’s (1737-1809) Common Sense, displayed here, went through 25 editions in 1776. It is estimated that every person in the American colonies had either read it or heard it read aloud.

Item displayed: Paine, T. Common sense; addressed to the inhabitants of America, on the following subjects. London: reprinted for J. Almon, 1776.

The first American medical journal

Journals, newspapers, and almanacs were important in the American colonies because they were often the only accessible sources of information. The Medical Repository was the first journal in the United States dedicated to the theory and practice of medicine, focusing especially on epidemics and contagious disease. It helped American physicians to establish and impact the profession independent of British influence.

Item displayed: Mitchell, SL. The Medical Repository. Vol. 1, no. 4, 1798.

Books for everyone

Advances in printing press technology allowed printers to streamline production, making cheaper books, more quickly. More people could afford to buy books, and so more texts were written with the general reader in mind. Displayed here is Gideon Harvey’s popular guide for household medical care. George Washington had a copy of this book in his library at Mount Vernon.

Item displayed: Harvey, G. The family-physician, and the house apothecary. 2nd ed. rev. London: M.R., 1678.

State of Change

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Europe and its colonies wrestled with the progression from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. While it is easy to think of these eras as distinct periods, the transition was complex and chaotic, marked by competing theories, ideas, and practices. This permeated all professions, including medicine. While some physicians clung to the methods and practices by which they had learned and experienced success, others took an experimental approach and disavowed old practices.

Humoral medicine

Re-balancing the body’s humors was a widespread practice systematized by ancient Greek doctors. Displayed here are instruments used to purge the body of excess humor.

Spring lancet and scarificator. These instruments were developed for bleeding small veins. While bloodletting was an effective treatment for hypertension and a few other conditions, it was widely overused. Most 18th-century advances in medical knowledge were in pathology, not treatment.

Trephine. Trephination is the process of drilling a hole in the skull to relieve pressure on the brain, and is one of the oldest known medical practices. Trephination was believed to heal those who suffered from epilepsy, mental disorders, and other ailments when the unhealthy humor escaped the hole.

Patent Medicine

Quacks, druggists, entrepreneurs, and anyone looking to make money sold enriching tonics, miraculous panaceas, and curative pills. Some patent medicines did have medicinal properties—e.g. ginger ale for indigestion—and others were harmless concoctions that might offer a placebo effect. But many contained opium, heroin, arsenic, or high-proof alcohol. Patent medicine manufacturers were not required to disclose ingredients or substantiate efficacy. The pamphlet displayed here contains testimonials about a cure for scurvy, leprosy, ulcers, and other conditions. George Washington had a copy in his library at Mount Vernon.

Item displayed: Norton, J. An account of remarkable cures, performed by the use of Maredant’s antiscorbutic drops. London: 1772.