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A Tale Of Two Schools: Medical Education And California's Political Economy, Michael Weismeyer

Andrews Research Conference

This paper examines the beginnings of medical education in California and argues that the establishment of a medical school in California contributed to the growth of the state’s political economy and allowed for further development of the state. After statehood in 1850, California developed necessary infrastructure, including providing healthcare to the California populace. While there were doctors in California in the 1850s, no institution existed for educating new doctors within the state. This changed in 1859 with the founding of California’s first medical school, which was formed as the medical department of the University of the Pacific, one of California’s …