About the book
For enslaved and newly freed African Americans, attaining freedom and citizenship without health for themselves and their families would have been an empty victory. Even before emancipation, African Americans recognized that control of their bodies was a critical battleground in their struggle for autonomy, and they devised strategies to retain at least some of that control. In Doctoring Freedom, Gretchen Long tells the stories of African Americans who fought for access to both medical care and medical education, showing the important relationship between medical practice and political identity.
Working closely with antebellum medical journals, planters' diaries, agricultural publications, letters from wounded African American soldiers, WPA narratives, and military and Freedmen’s Bureau reports, Long traces African Americans' political acts to secure medical care: their organizing mutual-aid societies, their petitions to the federal government, and, as a last resort, their founding of their own medical schools, hospitals, and professional organizations. She also illuminates work of the earliest generation of black physicians, whose adult lives spanned both slavery and freedom. For African Americans, Long argues, claiming rights as both patients and practitioners was a political and highly charged act in both slavery and emancipation.
Editions of Doctoring Freedom
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9780807835838
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781469628332
- EBook
- ISBN 9781469601472
- EBook
- ISBN 9780807837399
- EBook
- ISBN 9798890884824
- PDF
- ISBN 9798890884817
Read an Excerpt
For enslaved and newly freed African Americans, attaining freedom and citizenship without health for themselves and their families would have been an empty victory. Even before emancipation, African Americans recognized that control of their bodies was a critical battleground in their struggle for autonomy, and they devised strategies to retain at least some of that control. In Doctoring Freedom, Gretchen Long tells the stories of African Americans who fought for access to both medical care and medical education, showing the important relationship between medical practice and political identity.
Working closely with antebellum medical journals, planters' diaries, agricultural publications, letters from wounded African American soldiers, WPA narratives, and military and Freedmen’s Bureau reports, Long traces African Americans' political acts to secure medical care: their organizing mutual-aid societies, their petitions to the federal government, and, as a last resort, their founding of their own medical schools, hospitals, and professional organizations. She also illuminates work of the earliest generation of black physicians, whose adult lives spanned both slavery and freedom. For African Americans, Long argues, claiming rights as both patients and practitioners was a political and highly charged act in both slavery and emancipation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Doctoring Freedom about?
For enslaved and newly freed African Americans, attaining freedom and citizenship without health for themselves and their families would have been an empty victory. Even before emancipation, African Americans recognized that control of their bodies was a critical battleground in their struggle for autonomy, and they devised strategies to retain at least some of that control. In Doctoring Freedom, Gretchen Long tells the stories of African Americans who fought for access to both medical care and medical education, showing the important relationship between medical practice and political identity.
Working closely with antebellum medical journals, planters' diaries, agricultural publications, letters from wounded African American soldiers, WPA narratives, and military and Freedmen’s Bureau reports, Long traces African Americans' political acts to secure medical care: their organizing mutual-aid societies, their petitions to the federal government, and, as a last resort, their founding of their own medical schools, hospitals, and professional organizations. She also illuminates work of the earliest generation of black physicians, whose adult lives spanned both slavery and freedom. For African Americans, Long argues, claiming rights as both patients and practitioners was a political and highly charged act in both slavery and emancipation.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Doctoring Freedom?
Society and Social Sciences > Society and culture: general > Social groups, communities and identities > Ethnic studies / Ethnicity
Where can I read a sample of Doctoring Freedom?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780807835838
How long is Doctoring Freedom and how many pages does it have?
Doctoring Freedom has 248 page(s)
Is Doctoring Freedom part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Doctoring Freedom?
Gretchen Long
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Doctoring Freedom is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780807835838) and paperback(ISBN 9781469628332) and ebook(ISBN 9781469601472) and ebook(ISBN 9780807837399) and ebook(ISBN 9798890884824) and pdf(ISBN 9798890884817)
Where can I buy Doctoring Freedom online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Doctoring Freedom from below
Where can I buy Doctoring Freedom?