History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

a414 History of Medical Practice in Illinoistrading post, and later as a great medical center which served southernIllinois most effectively for a long time.The northern part of Illinois developed in a very different way. Here theIndian problem was a serious one and the settlements by the whites wereto a large extent blocked by the Indian treaties made by the government atan earlier time. The Black Hawk War of 1832 changed all this. With thedefeat of the Indians, the northern counties were rapidly occupied by thewhites, not primarily from the south but from the eastern colonies, chieflyNew York and New England. With them came many medical men—variegated lot it is true—including quacks, midwives, bone setters, feverdoctors, hawkers, etc. But among them were also a large number of highlyrespectable physicians, many of whom had graduated from some one of themedical schools, above referred to,in the East.In and about Chicago, soon after this great migration in the 1840's,groups of the more resourceful of these physicians again saw fitto createmedical schools as their predecessors had done in the East. No doubt themotives that impelled them to do this were mixed, but whatever they were,the services of doctors were in great demand, primarily due to two reasons:(1) a general dearth of competent physicians for general practice, and (2)the existence in this new country of a very high incidence of serious epidemicdiseases, malaria, cholera, smallpox and children's diseases beingoutstanding.The creation of a motley array of medical schools continued throughoutthe entire nineteenth century. It is reported that in Illinois fourteenschools existed at one time, and many more were created. Some of them,it is known, died "aborning," as one writer put it. 1 While most of themclosed their doors permanently, several at a later time fused or unitedwith other institutions, chiefly the large universities. This "regeneration"resulted to a great degree from the activities of the Council of the AmericanMedical Association at the turn of the century.Before proceeding with special histories of these colleges, it is pertinentto call attention in some detail to a volume on the Colleges of the Westwritten in 1896; it was edited by H. G. Cutler, formerly of the NewberryLibrary, and published by the Oxford Publishing Company of Chicago.It is both historical and biographical, and is well illustrated by cuts inphotogravure and steel. A large amount of medical information is herepresented, covering chiefly the period during the second half of the lastcentury. Fairly detailed histories of the more important and larger institutionsare given, with less detailed accounts of the small ones. Certain historicaldata are found here that are not available elsewhere.1By 1943 not one of all these medical schools continued to exist under its originalname.