While homeopathic medicine originated in Germany, by the 1840s the practice was flourishing in the United States. Homeopathy was just one of several sects of alternative medicine that emerged during this period, including hydropathy, osteopathy, eclectic medicine, Thomsonain medicine, and Christian Science. There were many reasons why Jacksonian America became a hotbed of alternative medical practices; chief among them, an inherent distrust of elitism; the subsequent repeal of medical licensing laws; and the “wild west” ethos of for-profit medical schools. And while each sect enjoyed varying degrees of popularity, it was homeopathy that became regular medicine’s biggest rival. At its height, there were over 14,000 homeopathic physicians and 22 homeopathic medical schools in the United States.4
The Regulars vs. The Homeopaths
As wacky as homeopathic remedies might seem from our twenty-first century perspective, at the turn of the century, regular physicians perceived the practice of homeopathy as a legitimate threat. In fact, it would be a mistake to draw a straight line from nineteenth-century regular medicine to modern-day scientific medicine. As sociologist Owen Whooley argues, it was never “predetermined” who would be the apostles of modern medicine — it was anybody’s game at that point.5
And it was a high-stakes game. Who ultimately had access to hospitals, the battlefield, and university medical schools was largely tied up with the question of who had the most legitimate claim to medical knowledge and authority.
Of course, we know now that in the battle of the regulars vs. the homeopaths, the regulars came out on top. But what happened? In 1847, the American Medical Association was founded, largely as an effort to expel homeopaths from the profession. The federal government also played an important role in curbing the expansion of sectarian medical schools, while corporate interests increasingly favored the funding of orthodox medical schools by the early twentieth century. Some historians argue, however, that the fatal blow to homeopathic medicine occurred when, somewhat ironically, regular physicians decided to simply stop fighting them. In 1903, the AMA reversed their policy against admitting homeopaths, and oddly enough, this inclusion spelled their demise. As Starr argues, “When homeopathic … doctors were shunned and denounced by the regulars, they thrived. But the more they gained in access to the privileges of regular physicians, the more their numbers declined.”6 Their numbers continued to dwindle well into the twentieth century, and the last traditional homeopathic college closed its doors in the 1920s.