"Quacks, Nostrums, and Miraculous Cures: Narrartives of Medical Modernity in the Nineteenth-Century United States" (original) (raw)

This paper explores the evolution of medical authority and practice in the nineteenth-century United States, arguing that the narrative of medical modernity is intertwined with a transformation of religion rather than a simple secularization. It posits that the professionalization of medicine, particularly before and during the Civil War, combined with cultural narratives, produced a perception of medicine as distinctly modern while still connected to religious frameworks. The analysis provides insight into how concepts of good and bad medicine were historically defined against religious practices, revealing an ongoing relationship between medical discourse and religious belief.