-
Scientific understanding of psychiatric disorders during the Antebellum Era was not well established. In many cases, the diagnosing of psychiatric disorders was used as a way to uphold the tradition of white supremacy and sexism. If members of minority groups attempted to break away from systems of oppression, they were deemed hysterical and in need of invasive treatment. -
In 1841, Miss T was accused of uttering “the most disgusting obscenities.” While otherwise in good health, she was observed to be exhibiting a “paroxysm of hysteria.” She was taken to the doctor, who diagnosed her with nymphomania and prescribed forced bleeding. Miss T showed physical improvement, so no further treatment was necessary. If that had not been the case, she would have been put in a mental institution or faced more invasive treatments such as forced removal of her ovaries. -
Throughout the 19th century, the American Industrial Revolution made way for technological developments that greatly improved productivity and living conditions. Consequently, men and women felt exhausted by the heightened demands of the "accelerated" industrial lifestyle. -
Amended by the U.S. Congress in 1850 as part of the 1850 Compromise between the North and South, the Fugitive Slave Act allowed for the capturing and returning of runaway slaves to their white masters. This act was a precursor to the pathologization of drapetomania as a psychiatric disease, and demonstrated the government’s power in criminalizing slaves for running away. The Fugitive Slave Act was at the backbone of Cartwright's ideologies regarding psychiatric diseases of slaves. -
On March 12, 1851, American physician Samuel A. Cartwright published the original hypothesization of Drapetomania as a psychiatric disease in the New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal. Cartwright characterized the disease as the uncontrollable impulse of slaves to run or wander away from their white masters. Further, Cartwright rationalized the pathologization of Drapetomania by claiming that black people were psychologically and physically unfit for freedom. -
In June of 1855, the Buffalo Medical Journal published critiques of Cartwright’s drapetomania, mentioning that the disease of runaway slaves was viewed as foolish and a legitimate disease only in the American South. The journal notes that “Dr. Cartwright has conferred this name, Drapetomania, upon a disease peculiar to the South, and which is, we believe, entirely confined to that section”. These critiques reveal the ideological differences between the North and South during this time. -
The condition was introduced in 1869 by American alienist, E.H. Van Deusen. Shortly after, American neurologist, George Beard used the term to characterize a condition with a broad range of vague symptoms, including excessive physical and mental fatigue, muscle weakness, and a lack of ambition. "Neurasthenia did not simply denote the presence of sickness. [...] It indicated the presence of an active mind, a competitive character, a lover of liberty- in short, the quintessential American." -
Throughout the late 1800s, American neurologist, Silas W. Mitchell popularly prescribed the Rest Cure as a treatment for women with neurasthenia. This cure involved 6-8 weeks of isolation, a nutrient-dense diet, massages, and electrotherapy. Contrastingly, men were prescribed the West Cure, which engaged them in "vigorous physical activity" until "the sheer manliness of it all restored their nervous energy". Today, historians view Mitchell's Rest Cure as an example of medical misogyny. -
Beard saw neurasthenia as being a predominantly American societal illness. In 1881, he claimed that this disease was "more common than any other form of nervous disease" in the US. Since the most intelligent and well-refined members of society were thought to be most susceptible, neurasthenia became "a mark of distinction, of class, of status, [and] of refinement". However, it quickly made its way through classes and became a "catch-all for nearly any kind of discomfort or unhappiness". -
In 1910, Congress passed the Mann Act, prohibiting the transportation of “any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution…or for any other immoral purpose.” Based on ideas from the Commerce Clause, using interstate commerce to transport women for immoral purposes was considered a felony. This act linked women having sex with slavery. It was absurd to think that a woman would consciously desire sex, and therefore if they were diagnosed with nymphomania or they were being sex trafficked. -
One of the first times the Mann Act was enforced was when the mother of Lucille Cameron accused Jack Johnson–her daughter’s future husband–of transporting her across state lines. Police arrested Johnson for kidnapping Cameron even though the two were in a consensual relationship. It was later determined that Cameron was a prostitute, nullifying anything she said in court attempting to defend her relationship with Johnson. -
The diagnosing of psychiatric disorders in Antebellum America's reinforced social orders of race, gender, and class. Disease and medicine were used as a method of justifying racism and misogyny. If a woman was acting in an abnormal way, she must be hysterical. If a slave was desiring freedom, he or she must be insane. These diseases helped further uphold the tradition of white supremacy and racism throughout American society. -