Lotions, Potions, Pills, and Magic: Health Care in Early America. New York University Press, 2012
An analysis of the trends in American health care by both professional and folk practitioners from the initial settlements to the mid-nineteenth century. The book deals with the treatment of disease, epidemic crises, food habits, childbirth practices, the attitude toward the insane, wartime problems, and public health issues, with revelations about how and why the medical profession declined in importance during those years.
Dr. Alexander Hamilton and Provincial America: Expanding the Orbit of Scottish Culture. Louisiana State University Press, 2008.
Hamilton, a highly educated doctor from Scotland migrated to colonial Maryland in 1737 to make his fortune. Unhappy with life in Annapolis, he tried to recreate part of the essence of Edinburgh cultural life by establishing the Annapolis Tuesday Club, modeled on Scottish clubs. Dr. Hamilton is best known for his 1744 trip through the colonies (The Itinerarium), but he had a thriving medical practice, was involved in local politics, and married a daughter of one of the richest men in the colony.
Witches of the Atlantic World: A Historical Reader and Primary Sourcebook. NYU Press, 2000.
A collection of articles and selective primary sources that describes and analyzes the widespread fear of witches from the sixteen to the eighteenth centuries in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and the mainland British colonies. Sections deal with Christian and non-Christian beliefs including African, American Indian, and European folk practices, as well as the idea of diabolical possession and the Salem incident.
Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem: Devilish Indians and Puritan Fantasies. NYU Press, 1996.
Identifies Tituba as an American Indian slave (not an African) at the center of the Salem witchcraft fear in 1692. Her confession was pivotal in sparking the massive hunt for a diabolical presence that led to the arrest of over 150 people and the deaths of 24, both men and women. The book reconstructs Tituba’s life from her roots in South America, her experiences on a plantation in Barbados, and her sojourns in Massachusetts that led to the accusation of witchcraft in Salem.
Records of the Tuesday Club of Annapolis, 1745-56. University of Illinois Press, 1988.
The minutes of an important cultural-intellectual center, The Tuesday Club, organized by the expatriate Scot, Dr. Alexander Hamilton, in colonial Annapolis that includes the names and contributions of individual members and visitors and the dates of their attendance.. Their satirical skits, poetry, music, and discussions of contemporary affairs are clear indication of a lively intellectual life in a provincial area that attracted visitors from other colonies including Benjamin Franklin.
Speaking Topics
- Lotions, Potions, Pills, and Magic: Health care in Early America
- To Be Sick and in Pain Before Modern Medicine: Don’t Call the Doctor
- A Colonial Medical Practice: Dr. Hamilton of Annapolis.
- Health Care in Early America: The Pitfalls and the Benefits.
- The Tuesday Club of Annapolis Maryland, 1745-56.
- Tituba’s Confession: Accused Witch of Salem.
- Why Women Witches?