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Democratic Ideology, The Frontier Ethos, Medical Practice And Hospital Culture: Pacific Northwest Health-Seekers, Community Health And The Sisters Of Providence, Vancouver, Wa 1856 - 1879, Susan T.L. Courtney

Dissertations and Theses

Most historians readily acknowledge the economic incentive that prompted many pioneers to migrate westward across the overland trail. Health motivations remain generally unexplored. Many Americans had settled the interior regions most suited to farming, especially the acreage around river valleys in the Mississippi drainage system. Unfortunately, health conditions were not favorable to human existence.

The dilemma of economic well-being versus health disaster motivated a number of Americans to seek better living conditions. Some chose overland migration to the Pacific Northwest. The situation in contemporary medical practice was a kaleidoscope of competing sects and contradictory convictions. The mainline profession of medicine, …