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American History, Case Study, Pages: 2

Medicine in Colonial America

Medicine in Colonial America

Introduction

Colonial Americans believed that everyone was individually responsible for their health. Traditional homemade medicines, family love, prayer, and good luck were believed to be key contributors to one’s well-being. The entry of colonial powers and settlers transformed medicine from a do-it-yourself venture to incorporating conventional treatments based on science and traditional home-based interventions: Medicine in Colonial America.

Diseases were viewed as a divine manifestation in colonial America. To that end, the colonial Americans believed God had a hand in disease and healing. The absence of epidemics meant that God was happy with people, hence blessing them, while epidemics were associated with God’s wrath (Corbett et al., 2023). Epidemics throughout colonial settlements, including smallpox, measles, influenza, and other diseases, were interpreted as a punishment for failing to live up to the expectations of their forefathers.

Apart from attaching disease to divine power, colonialists believed that one’s personal habits and state of mind would affect one’s well-being. For instance, gout was considered an affliction of the wealthy due to their poor diets, which economically disadvantaged households would not access (Corbett et al., 2023). Since people had a significant influence on disease, colonial Americans believed in the “every man be his own doctor” principle, which recommends safe cooking, cleaning, and home remedies as a perfect intervention to maintain good health and fight diseases. On the other hand, God would avert disease for individuals who did the right things and did not violate the expectations of their forefathers.

Native American medicine relied not on science but on years of experience, observation, and empirical comparisons. The traditional native physicians held a holistic view of healthcare, emphasizing the need to embrace nature, traditional medicines and herbs, and spiritual purity to maintain good health and deal with diseases (Corbett et al., 2023). It is also worth noting that native physicians believed in the healing properties of locally available plants, such as the cinchona tree, which produced quinine for malaria treatment. This medical philosophy did not align with the incoming colonial physicians whose practice was based on European medical theory.

Despite the initial skepticism among colonial physicians, the undeniable efficacy of native interventions and the urgent need to address public health concerns led to an intellectual exchange between the two groups. One of the notable exchanges was when European settlers learned that sphagnum moss would be used to treat wounds. Besides, the two groups collaborated and exchanged culture-specific medical knowledge. For instance, interventions on injury-related bone-settling procedures benefited from the cultural exchange.

According to Hussain et al. (2023), colonial powers exclusively promoted medical advancements for Europeans, only attending to natives and other vulnerable populations when it was in the colonial powers’ best interest. For instance, during the construction of the Panama Canal, the colonial powers implemented malaria control interventions to preserve slaves and some natives who would work on the project. The colonial government would have left these vulnerable populations to fate if their labor services were not required.

Besides, the colonial authorities embraced a policy of exploiting vulnerable populations in pursuit of medical advancements. For instance, enslaved black women were operated on without anesthesia by Marion Sims and others in search of women’s reproductive health solutions, without giving credit to the enslaved women for participating. The colonial policy on public health was biased against vulnerable populations.

Conclusion

In summary, colonial Americans held a holistic view of healthcare, emphasizing the need to connect with nature, embracing good personal habits and spiritual purity to maintain good health and prevent diseases. To that end, it was widely believed that everyone was individually responsible for their health, and this could be attained through proper cooking, cleaning, and embracing traditional home remedies. On the other hand, colonial powers and European settlers believed in conventional European medical theories based on science.

Despite these differences, intellectual exchanges between native practitioners and colonial physicians occurred, leading to Europeans incorporating traditional medicines and herbs as solutions to some diseases. Despite these intellectual exchanges, the public health policy of the colonial powers was biased against vulnerable populations.

References

Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T., Vickery, P., & Waskiewicz, S. (2023, July 6). U.S. History. OpenStax, OER Commons. Retrieved January 2, 2024, from https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history

Hussain, M., Sadigh, M., Sadigh, M., Rastegar, A., & Sewankambo, N. (2023). Colonization and decolonization of global health: Which way forward? Global Health Action, 16(1), 2186575. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2023.2186575

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Question

[Please delete all instructions once you have completed this case study. Length: 1-2 double-spaced pages. Use a minimum of one (1) documented example from your US History OpenStax course text and one (1) scholarly source from the Chamberlain Library. Remember, sources for this case study are found under the Leganto List of sources. Add in-text citations and end references, and double-space the writing once completed. The course text has already been added to the references, but please add your additional scholarly source to the list.]

Introduction

How did colonial Americans view disease, health, and healing? What roles did they ascribe to God and man in maintaining health and fighting disease?

Assess what intellectual exchange existed between the Native practice of medicine and colonial physicians.

Analyze colonial policy responding to public health crises like smallpox, yellow fever, influenza, diphtheria, typhoid fever, malaria, and dysentery.

Conclusion

References

[at least one other authoritative source in alphabetical order in the list and double-check APA document formatting]

Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T., Vickery, P., & Waskiewicz, S. (2023, July 6). U.S. History. OpenStax, OER Commons. Retrieved January 2, 2024, from https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history

Medicine in Colonial America

Medicine in Colonial America

Required Resources


Read/review the following resources for this activity:

Instructions
Pick one (1) of the following topics. Then, address the corresponding questions/prompts for your selected topic. Use the available resources from the list above to support your selected topic.

  • It’s highly recommended that you download and use the suggested assignment template for each topic to complete this case study.
  • When you complete the template, upload and submit it in the assignment dropbox on this webpage.

Topic1 : Medicine in Colonial America:

  • How did colonial Americans view disease, health, and healing? What roles did they ascribe to God and man in maintaining health and fighting disease?
  • Assess what intellectual exchange existed between the Native practice of medicine and colonial physicians.
  • Analyze colonial policy responding to public health crises like smallpox, yellow fever, influenza, diphtheria, typhoid fever, malaria, and dysentery.

Writing Requirements

  • Length: 1–2 pages (not including title page or references page)
  • Use the standard essay writing process by including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
  • 1-inch margins
  • Double spaced
  • 12-point Times New Roman font
  • Title page
  • References page
  • No abstract is required
  • In-text citations that correspond with your end references