History of medicine in the United States
The History of Medicine in the United States covers health care from colonial times to today. Early on, medicine followed humoral theory—the idea that disease came from an imbalance of body fluids. Settlers mostly used remedies from England, but when those were scarce they turned to local plants and Native American cures. Native healing often combined herbs with rituals and prayers, a mix that Europeans, especially in Spanish areas, sometimes labeled heretical. In English colonies, many people also sought help from Native healers.
Mortality was very high for new arrivals, with malaria especially deadly in the South. Infants were vulnerable to diseases like diphtheria and yellow fever. People turned to a mix of local healers, ministers, barber-surgeons, apothecaries, midwives, and physicians who trained in Britain or learned as apprentices. There was little government regulation of medicine or public health.
By the 18th century, modern medicine began to take hold in cities. Smallpox inoculation appeared in the colonies before it was common in Europe. The first American medical schools opened in Philadelphia (1765) and New York (1768), and the first American M.D. degree was awarded in 1770. Quarantine facilities and early hospitals emerged in port cities, and the first general hospital appeared in Philadelphia in 1752. The Yellow Fever outbreak of 1793 in Philadelphia caused panic and helped spur reforms in public health and medical thinking.
In the 19th century, many competing medical sects offered alternative treatments. Licensing attempts by medical societies tried to restrict untrained practice, but some groups, like the eclectics led by Samuel Thomson, promoted popular herbal methods. The Civil War (1861–65) accelerated medical change: thousands of soldiers died from disease,, and the Union built numerous hospitals and trained nurses. The war also spurred better medical organization and data collection, laying groundwork for modern medical administration and information systems.
After 1870, nursing professionalized, following the Nightingale model. Women began to enter medicine more visibly: Elizabeth Blackwell became the first American woman to earn a medical degree in 1849, and she helped establish a hospital run by women. The late 19th century brought germ theory and science-based practice to medical education, a shift embodied by Johns Hopkins University’s endowment in 1889, which helped standardize training and hospital work.
The 20th century saw major reforms in medical education and nursing, especially around World War II. The Flexner Report of 1910 pushed for higher standards and science-based training. Women’s roles in medicine and nursing expanded, with new leadership positions emerging later, such as Leah Lowenstein becoming the first woman dean of a co-educational medical school in 1982. Religious orders also played a key role in hospital and nursing care, notably in Catholic hospitals that served broad public needs.
Today, American medicine blends its colonial roots with modern science, emphasizing research, professional training, and organized health systems that aim to protect and treat people across the country.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:47 (CET).