Samuel Thomson and the Poetry of Botanic Medicine, 1810-1860

By John S. Haller Jr.

This particular collection of poetry concerns the development of the botanical medical sect known as Thomsonism, and its founder, Samuel Thomson (1769-1843). Beginning his professional career as an itinerant healer traveling a circuit among the small towns and villages of Maine , New Hampshire , and Massachusetts , Thomson transformed his medical practice into a successful business enterprise whose agents and sub-agents sold several hundred thousand patent-rights to his system of practice, along with an even greater number of books, and tons of botanical medicines.Over a period of several decades, Thomson melded his followers into a militant corps of dedicated believers, using them to successfully lobby state legislatures to pass medical acts favorable to their cause. He authorized agencies, infirmaries, and medicine depots in every state and territory; organized the first national convention of botanic healers fifteen years before the American Medical Association could muster its own corps of regular doctors; and popularized a distinctive "course" of medicine that became the regimen of choice for families in every part of the country. In the first half of the nineteenth century, Thomsonism became a household word for several millions of people.Unlike the more standard poetry of the day, the poetry of Thomson's botanic reformers was written predominantly by men and intended mainly for medical purposes rather than for any moral, ethical, or pious objectives. In many instances, it even served as a vehicle for medical instruction, teaching families in mnemonic fashion how to monitor sickness and proceed with a course of medicine. His poems carried anti-elitist messages against lawyers, priests, and doctors; attacks against agents who betrayed him; recollections of past humiliations; and simplified explanations of his system of medicine.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1541338618
• ISBN13: 9781541338616
• Release Date: December 2016
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 169 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.4" x 6.0"