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Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Abstract

This paper examines advertisements for patent medicines and nostrums, from the Colonial Period to the Food and Drug Act of 1906.  The Pure Food and Drug Act represented the triumph of the medical profession over state legislation and unsupervised patent medicine manufacturing. Tracing these advertisements alongside the historiography of science, medicine, and advertising; this paper argues that advertisements for patent medicine represent a shift in the culture of healing and the growth of medical knowledge in the United States. By the end of the nineteenth century, science and medicine made great advances and medical professionals began influencing both state and popular opinion. Likewise, the growth of the press highlighted both the successes of modern medicine and the quackery of so-called “cure-alls.” These advertisements reflect these transitions and serve as a window into popular ideas surrounding healing and authority.

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