Revolutionary Medicine : The Founding Fathers and Mothers in Sickness and in Health / Jeanne E. Abrams.
2013
E302.5 .A37 2013eb
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Title
Revolutionary Medicine : The Founding Fathers and Mothers in Sickness and in Health / Jeanne E. Abrams.
Author
Abrams, Jeanne E., author.
ISBN
9780814760352
Published
New York, NY : : New York University Press, [2013]
Copyright
©2013
Language
English
Language Note
In English.
Description
1 online resource
Other Standard Identifiers
10.18574/nyu/9780814760352.001.0001 doi
Call Number
E302.5 .A37 2013eb
Dewey Decimal Classification
973.2
Summary
An engaging history of the role that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin played in the origins of public health in America Before the advent of modern antibiotics, one's life could beabruptly shattered by contagion and death, and debility from infectiousdiseases and epidemics was commonplace for early Americans, regardless ofsocial status. Concerns over health affected the founding fathers and theirfamilies as it did slaves, merchants, immigrants, and everyone else in NorthAmerica. As both victims of illness and national leaders, the Founders occupieda unique position regarding the development of public health in America. Revolutionary Medicine refocuses thestudy of the lives of George and Martha Washington, Benjamin Franklin, ThomasJefferson, John and Abigail Adams, and James and Dolley Madison away from theusual lens of politics to the unique perspective of sickness, health, andmedicine in their era. For the founders, republican ideals fostered a reciprocalconnection between individual health and the "health" of the nation. Studyingthe encounters of these American founders with illness and disease, as well astheir viewpoints about good health, not only provides us with a richer and morenuanced insight into their lives, but also opens a window into the practice ofmedicine in the eighteenth century, which is at once intimate, personal, andfirst hand. Perhaps most importantly, today's American public healthinitiatives have their roots in the work of America's founders, for theyrecognized early on that government had compelling reasons to shoulder some newresponsibilities with respect to ensuring the health and well-being of itscitizenry. The state of medicine and public healthcare today is still awork in progress, but these founders played a significant role in beginning theconversation that shaped the contours of its development.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
System Details Note
Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
Digital File Characteristics
text file PDF
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 18. Sep 2023)
Available in Other Form
print 9780814789193
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Table of Contents
Frontmatter
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction. Health and Medicine in the Era of America's Founders
1. George and Martha Washington Health, Illness, and the First Family
2. Benjamin Franklin
3. Abigail and John Adams
4. Thomas Jefferson
5. Thomas Jefferson
Epilogue. Evolutionary Medicine
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction. Health and Medicine in the Era of America's Founders
1. George and Martha Washington Health, Illness, and the First Family
2. Benjamin Franklin
3. Abigail and John Adams
4. Thomas Jefferson
5. Thomas Jefferson
Epilogue. Evolutionary Medicine
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author