Knowledge in the Time of Cholera

The Struggle over American Medicine in the Nineteenth Century

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences, History, Americas, United States, 19th Century
Cover of the book Knowledge in the Time of Cholera by Owen Whooley, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Owen Whooley ISBN: 9780226017778
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: April 10, 2013
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Owen Whooley
ISBN: 9780226017778
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: April 10, 2013
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

Vomiting. Diarrhea. Dehydration. Death. Confusion. In 1832, the arrival of cholera in the United States created widespread panic throughout the country. For the rest of the century, epidemics swept through American cities and towns like wildfire, killing thousands. Physicians of all stripes offered conflicting answers to the cholera puzzle, ineffectively responding with opiates, bleeding, quarantines, and all manner of remedies, before the identity of the dreaded infection was consolidated under the germ theory of disease some sixty years later.

These cholera outbreaks raised fundamental questions about medical knowledge and its legitimacy, giving fuel to alternative medical sects that used the confusion of the epidemic to challenge both medical orthodoxy and the authority of the still-new American Medical Association. In Knowledge in the Time of Cholera, Owen Whooley tells us the story of those dark days, centering his narrative on rivalries between medical and homeopathic practitioners and bringing to life the battle to control public understanding of disease, professional power, and democratic governance in nineteenth-century America.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Vomiting. Diarrhea. Dehydration. Death. Confusion. In 1832, the arrival of cholera in the United States created widespread panic throughout the country. For the rest of the century, epidemics swept through American cities and towns like wildfire, killing thousands. Physicians of all stripes offered conflicting answers to the cholera puzzle, ineffectively responding with opiates, bleeding, quarantines, and all manner of remedies, before the identity of the dreaded infection was consolidated under the germ theory of disease some sixty years later.

These cholera outbreaks raised fundamental questions about medical knowledge and its legitimacy, giving fuel to alternative medical sects that used the confusion of the epidemic to challenge both medical orthodoxy and the authority of the still-new American Medical Association. In Knowledge in the Time of Cholera, Owen Whooley tells us the story of those dark days, centering his narrative on rivalries between medical and homeopathic practitioners and bringing to life the battle to control public understanding of disease, professional power, and democratic governance in nineteenth-century America.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book The Nature of Selection by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book Studying Human Behavior by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book Vaudeville Melodies by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book Don't Look, Don't Touch, Don't Eat by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book What Is an Event? by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book West of Sex by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book Paraliterary by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog) by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book The Spirit of Religion and the Spirit of Liberty by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book Character, Scene, and Story by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book French Modern by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book Law, Legislation and Liberty, Volume 1 by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book This New Yet Unapproachable America by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book Europe's Steppe Frontier, 1500-1800 by Owen Whooley
Cover of the book Forgive and Remember by Owen Whooley
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy