American Soldiers Post-War

Paper Summary:

The paper shows how in the first wars fought by American soldiers, medical science and the government were both completely unprepared in coping with the problems of veterans after war. The paper discusses soldiers' opium addiction, the over-use of amputation and the lack of resources to overcome the physical and mental injuries of war.

Outline:
Objective
Introduction
Drug Addiction-Soldiers Disease Ignored
Quick to Amputate and Failure to Assist
Mental Disabilities of Veterans Post-War
Summary and Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The facts are that more Civil War veterans died from soldier's disease than were killed by war wounds. Immediately following the Civil War there were absolutely no reports whatsoever of addiction however, "there were 63,000 soldiers whose chronic diarrhea carried on after the war" (Adams, 1889 as cited in Mandel, 2008) Furthermore, there were more than 20,000 survivors of amputations that the Union doctors had reported. (US Surgeon General, 1883; as cited in Mandel, 2008) The work of Horatio Day entitled "The Opium Habit" which was published in 1868 relates information to the 'Soldier's Disease' stating: "The events of the last few years [Civil War] have unquestionably added greatly to their [confirmed opium eaters'] number."

Sample of Sources Used:

• G. Kurt Piehler (2003) Revolutionary War Bibliography. Center for the Study of War and Society, Department of History, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. 12 Sept 2003.
• Mandel, Jerry (2008) The Mythical Roots of U.S. Drug Policy: Soldier's Disease and Addicts in the Civil War. Schaffer Library of Drug Policy. Online available at: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/history/soldis.htm
• Marten, James Alan (2001) Exempt from the Ordinary Rules of Life: Researching Postwar Adjustment Problems of Union Veterans. Civil War History - Volume 47, Number 1, March 2001. Abstract online available at: http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/civil_war_history/v047/47.1marten.html
• Roland, Charles G. (nd) War Amputations in Upper Canada. Archaivia Journal. Online available at: http://journals.sfu.ca/archivar/index.php/archivaria/article/viewFile/10811/11712

More papers on American Soldiers Post-War:

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• Term Paper # 115576 : "The Trauma of the Vietnam War"

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