The History of American Public Health

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at "Origins of Pubic Health in America: Selected Essays 1820-1855", which is a collection of four essays that discuss the rise of US institutions of public health throughout the early to mid 1800s. The paper explains that the central purpose of these four works is to show that there was not only a multitude of health problems within urban areas, but that there was a diversity of medical and social opinions about how to solve these problems. The paper critically reviews the book but concludes that it is a substantially enriching resource for teaching American medical and public health history.

From the Paper:

"The book "Origins of Pubic Health in America: Selected Essays 1820-1855" at first glance would seem to be wide sweeping review of public health history within the United States. However, the title itself is a bit misleading, for the contents reveal it to be more limited and specific in nature. However, as a text on the historiography of American public health it is an exemplary expansion and welcome addition to the field. The work is a collection of four essays selected by the editors to discuss the rise of institutions of public health throughout the early to mid 1800s. Charles Rosenberg, the chief editor of this book is the Ernst Monrad Professor of the Social Sciences in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Charles Rosenberg, advisory ed. Origins of Public Health in America: Selected Essays 1820-1855. New York, Arno Press and The New York Times, 1972.

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