The Rise of Homeopathy I

As mentioned in the post The Opposition to Homeopathy III, which is part of the series on The History of Homeopathy, not all was doom and gloom for homeopathy. In a 1890 Harpers Magazine article Mark Twain mentioned the great value of homeopathy: “The introduction of homeopathy forced the old school doctor to stir around and learn something of a rational nature about his business. (1) Good old Mark also proclaimed “that you may honestly feel grateful that the homeopath survived attempts of the allopathists to destroy it.”

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The Opposition of Homeopathy II

We continue our mini series on The History of Homeopathy with the growing popularity of homeopathy in the United States shortly after Hans Gram, a Danish homeopath, emigrated here in 1825. The expansion was so rapid that homeopaths decided to establish a national medical society. In 1844 they organized the American Institute of Homeopathy, which became America’s first national medical society. (1) In response to the growth of homeopaths, in 1846 an opposing medical group formed, which then vowed to slow the development of homeopathy. (2) This organization called itself the AMA or American Medical Association.

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The Opposition to Homeopathy I

In the first couple of posts dedicated to The History of Homeopathy I gave you a brief introduction to this great medical system first introduced and then perfected by Samuel Hahnemann. In the next couple of posts I will focus on the opposition to homeopathy.

Homeopathy was a serious threat to orthodox medicine. Despite the fact that historians and scientists today consider medicine of the 18th and 19th century as unscientific, and barbaric, allopaths of the time had the impudence to criticize herbalists, midwives, and other “non-regular” practitioners because of their lack of “medical training,” and call these practitioners “quacks,” “unscientific,” “cultish,” and “devilish.”

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