Book ID: CBB734894658

Diploma Mill: The Rise and Fall of Dr. John Buchanan and the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania (2018)

unapi

Johnson, David Alan (Author)


Kent State University Press


Publication Date: 2018
Physical Details: 256
Language: English

The absence of medical licensing laws in most states during the years following the American Civil War made it possible for unscrupulous individuals to exploit the weak over- sight and unregulated state issuance of school charters. Diploma Mill traces the rise and spectacular fall of Dr. John Buchanan―educator, author, and criminal―and the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania (EMC) over the course of its three decades’ existence. Founded as a legitimate educational institution, the EMC aspired to carry the banner of eclectic medicine in the eastern United States. Enter Dr. Buchanan, who during his tenure at the EMC assumed control of this small Philadelphia school and issued thousands of dubiously earned diplomas. Buchanan’s political connections shielded his activities at the school for more than a decade. His ambitions for the EMC carried both him and the school into a criminal enterprise, representing the largest and most notorious medical diploma mill in 19th-century America. Despite multiple arrests on various charges during the mid-1870s, Buchanan’s operations at the EMC continued unchecked until an elaborate sting operation in 1880 secured evidence for federal and state charges against him. Hoping to relocate his operations, Buchanan faked his own death and fled the country. The story of John Buchanan and the EMC contains unusually dramatic elements more typical of a novel than a work of history but does not undermine its importance. His activities ultimately resulted in stronger medical licensing laws and cast a shadow upon the minority of physicians practicing eclectic medicine. By relating the history of a criminal enterprise arising within the confines of a legitimate medical school, Diploma Mill represents a unique contribution in the literature of 19th-century American medicine.

...More
Reviewed By

Review Sarah Naramore (2021) Review of "Diploma Mill: The Rise and Fall of Dr. John Buchanan and the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania". Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences (pp. 110-112). unapi

Review Bobby Alan Wintermute (2020) Review of "Diploma Mill: The Rise and Fall of Dr. John Buchanan and the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania". Journal of American History (pp. 1063-1064). unapi

Review Lynn E Miller (2019) Review of "Diploma Mill: The Rise and Fall of Dr. John Buchanan and the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania". Social History of Medicine (pp. 873-875). unapi

Review Toby A. Appel (2019) Review of "Diploma Mill: The Rise and Fall of Dr. John Buchanan and the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania". Bulletin of the History of Medicine (pp. 619-621). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB734894658/

Similar Citations

Book Mohr, James C.; (2013)
Licensed to Practice: The Supreme Court Defines the American Medical Profession (/isis/citation/CBB001213165/)

Book Johnson, David A.; Chaudhry, Humayun J.; (2012)
Medical Licensing and Discipline in America: A History of the Federation of State Medical Boards (/isis/citation/CBB001420162/)

Article Magalhães, Sônia Maria de; (2011)
Batalha contra o charlatanismo: institucionalização da medicina científica na província de Goiás (/isis/citation/CBB001420551/)

Article Mast, Brian J.; (2011)
Dr. Benjamin Rohrer's Artifact Collection (/isis/citation/CBB001200544/)

Article McCauley, H. Berton; (2003)
The First Dental College: Emergence of Dentistry as an Autonomous Profession (/isis/citation/CBB000932360/)

Article Corgan, James X.; (2004)
Some Medical Dissertations Written by Tennesseans before 1846 (/isis/citation/CBB000700927/)

Article Corgan, James X.; (2006)
The Old Days (/isis/citation/CBB000700926/)

Thesis Sliter-Hays, Sara Maria; (2008)
Narratives and Rhetoric: Persuasion in Doctors' Writings about the Summer Complaint, 1883--1939 (/isis/citation/CBB001561173/)

Article Yildirim, Nuran; Sert, Gürkan; (2009/2010)
Eczacilik Mevzuatimizin Tarihsel Sürecinde Eczane Açma / Eczaci Olma Kosullari ve Hekim-Eczaci Iliskisi (1852--1953) (/isis/citation/CBB001220729/)

Article Barron H. Lerner; (2018)
The Fielding H. Garrison Lecture: Great Doctor History (/isis/citation/CBB312203657/)

Book Weaver, Karol K.; (2011)
Medical Caregiving and Identity in Pennsylvania's Anthracite Region, 1800--2000 (/isis/citation/CBB001200550/)

Authors & Contributors
Corgan, James X.
Martin Robert
Yildirim, Nuran
Woods, Abigail
Weaver, Karol Kimberlee
Valenzuela Candelario, José
Concepts
Medicine
Physicians; doctors
Medical education and teaching
Professions and professionalization
Professional qualifications; status; remuneration
Discipline formation
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
20th century
18th century
Renaissance
21st century
Places
United States
Tennessee (U.S.)
Pennsylvania (U.S.)
Nepal
Southern states (U.S.)
England
Institutions
University of Paris V
United States. Supreme Court
University of Edinburgh
American Medical Association
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment