The Religion of Chiropractic : Populist Healing From the American Heartland

Chiropractic is the most common form of alternative medicine in the United States today, but its origins stretch back to the popular healing subcultures of the nineteenth century. This book focuses on two of chiropractic's earliest founders, Daniel David (D. D.) Palmer and his son, Joshua Bartlett (B. J.) Palmer, who established the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa in 1897. It traces the history of ideas behind early chiropractic theory, as developed by the Palmers and their contemporaries and rivals. This book argues that a great deal of alternative medicine can be apprehended through two themes: vitalism and populism, and that the protean positioning of chiropractic as a scientific practice and a holistic alternative allows it to appeal to health consumers desires. The Palmers' system depicted chiropractic as a conduit for both material and spiritualized versions of a “vital principle,” reflecting popular contemporary therapies and 19th -century metaphysical beliefs, including the idea that the spine was home to occult forces that regulated bodily health. Chiropractic illustrates how the ideological and therapeutic aspects of health care are intertwined. In the Progressive Era, as the relationship between science and religion took on an urgent, increasingly competitive tinge, many remarkable people, including the Palmers, undertook highly personal reinterpretations of their physical and spiritual worlds. In this context, this book reframes alternative medicine as a type of populist intellectual culture in which ideologies about the body comprise an appealing form of cultural resistance. This legacy continues in the Straight Chiropractic movement. Chiropractic is by far the most common form of alternative medicine in the United States today, but its fascinating origins stretch back to the battles between science and religion in the nineteenth century. At the center of the story are chiropractic's colorful founders, D. D. Palmer and his son, B. J. Palmer, of Davenport, Iowa, where in 1897 they established the Palmer College of Chiropractic. Holly Folk shows how the Palmers' system depicted chiropractic as a conduit for both material and spiritualized versions of a "vital principle," reflecting popular contemporary therapies and nineteenth-century metaphysical beliefs, including the idea that the spine was home to occult forces. The creation of chiropractic, and other Progressive-era versions of alternative medicine, happened at a time when the relationship between science and religion took on an urgent, increasingly competitive tinge. Many remarkable people, including the Palmers, undertook highly personal reinterpretations of their physical and spiritual worlds. In this context, Folk reframes alternative medicine and spirituality as a type of populist intellectual culture in which ideologies about the body comprise a highly appealing form of cultural resistance. Cover -- Half Titel -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- ONE: The First Adjustment -- TWO: A Magnetic Healer in Iowa -- THREE: From Vital Magnetism to Vertebral Vitalism -- FOUR: On the Frontier of the New Profession -- FIVE: Chiropractors on Parade -- SIX: History Repeats -- SEVEN: The World of Chiropractic -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z Chiropractic is by far the most common form of alternative medicine in the US today, but its origins stretch back to the battles between science and religion in the nineteenth century. At the center of the story are chiropractic's colourful founders, D.D. Palmer and his son, B.J. Palmer. Holly Folk shows how the Palmers' system depicted chiropractic as a conduit for both material and spiritualized versions of a 'vital principle'