Analysis of the Thomsonian movement and early medical licensing laws

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Analysis of the Thomsonian movement and early medical licensing laws
Introduction
The article “The Thomsonian Movement, the Regular Profession, and the State in Antebellum Connecticut: A Case Study of the Repeal of Early Medical Licensing Laws” by Appel describes how the Thomsonian movement influenced states to invalidate laws regulating medical practice. The article focuses on Connecticut because the state had many botanical physicians and experienced a prolonged conflict than other states. Despite the huge success that the Thomsonian movement achieved across the US, there were significant rifts in the movement related to ownership of patents. The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of the Thomsonian movement and the rift within the movement.
In the United States, all medical professionals are licensed by medical boards either at the state or national level. This practice began in the late eighteenth century when all states required all medical professionals to acquire a license. However, individuals such as Samuel Thomson were not licensed because they used “vegetables, cayenne pepper, various herbs, and tea to support the healing process” (Appel, p 157). Although the author perceives the licensing process as discrimination against botanical physicians, he is wrong because traditional drug are known as traditional for a purpose: they are obsolete and ineffective. Nevertheless, through the Thomsonian movement, botanical doctors were also allowed to practice medicine. In fact, the movement was very influential that the author compares it to the Democratic and Republican parties. Based on modern medical conditions, the establishment ...