“Lots of doctoring, with great success”: Healthcare within the Port Royal Experiment and the Work of Laura M. Towne

In 1862, Laura M. Towne – abolitionist, teacher, educator, and trained homeopath – joined the Port Royal Experiment, a project initiated by Northern benevolent societies to provide education and relief for former slaves on the South Carolina Sea Islands, which had been occupied by Union troops in la...

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Main Author: Antje Dallmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: European Association for American Studies 2015-03-01
Series:European Journal of American Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10668
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author Antje Dallmann
author_facet Antje Dallmann
author_sort Antje Dallmann
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description In 1862, Laura M. Towne – abolitionist, teacher, educator, and trained homeopath – joined the Port Royal Experiment, a project initiated by Northern benevolent societies to provide education and relief for former slaves on the South Carolina Sea Islands, which had been occupied by Union troops in late 1861. On the Sea Islands as well as in broader Northern culture, healthcare for freedpeople – and freedpeople’s health – soon became controversial topics. This article traces how Towne as homeopathic practitioner uses medical tropes in autobiographic documents intended for publication or circulation in the North to increase her own authority within a wartime discourse and how, at the same time, she avoids reflection about medical crises.
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spelling doaj-art-dd6e750f84da4f178eb383cf7bb94a6f2025-01-06T09:10:04ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362015-03-0110110.4000/ejas.10668“Lots of doctoring, with great success”: Healthcare within the Port Royal Experiment and the Work of Laura M. TowneAntje DallmannIn 1862, Laura M. Towne – abolitionist, teacher, educator, and trained homeopath – joined the Port Royal Experiment, a project initiated by Northern benevolent societies to provide education and relief for former slaves on the South Carolina Sea Islands, which had been occupied by Union troops in late 1861. On the Sea Islands as well as in broader Northern culture, healthcare for freedpeople – and freedpeople’s health – soon became controversial topics. This article traces how Towne as homeopathic practitioner uses medical tropes in autobiographic documents intended for publication or circulation in the North to increase her own authority within a wartime discourse and how, at the same time, she avoids reflection about medical crises.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10668Civil WarwhitenessraceDiscursive sitesPort Royal Experimentthe South
spellingShingle Antje Dallmann
“Lots of doctoring, with great success”: Healthcare within the Port Royal Experiment and the Work of Laura M. Towne
European Journal of American Studies
Civil War
whiteness
race
Discursive sites
Port Royal Experiment
the South
title “Lots of doctoring, with great success”: Healthcare within the Port Royal Experiment and the Work of Laura M. Towne
title_full “Lots of doctoring, with great success”: Healthcare within the Port Royal Experiment and the Work of Laura M. Towne
title_fullStr “Lots of doctoring, with great success”: Healthcare within the Port Royal Experiment and the Work of Laura M. Towne
title_full_unstemmed “Lots of doctoring, with great success”: Healthcare within the Port Royal Experiment and the Work of Laura M. Towne
title_short “Lots of doctoring, with great success”: Healthcare within the Port Royal Experiment and the Work of Laura M. Towne
title_sort lots of doctoring with great success healthcare within the port royal experiment and the work of laura m towne
topic Civil War
whiteness
race
Discursive sites
Port Royal Experiment
the South
url https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10668
work_keys_str_mv AT antjedallmann lotsofdoctoringwithgreatsuccesshealthcarewithintheportroyalexperimentandtheworkoflauramtowne