The Religion of Chiropractic: Populist Healing from the American Heartland

366 Pages·2017·3.715 MB·English

by  Holly Folk

the religion of c hiropractic
This page intentionally left blank
t h e
R e l i g i o n
o f
C h i R o p R a C t i C
p o p u l i st h e a l i n g
f r o m t h e
a m e r i c a n h e a rt l a n d
holly Folk
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
CHAPEL HILL
This book was published with the assistance of the
Lilian R. Furst Fund of the University of North Carolina Press.
© 2017 the university of north carolina press
All rights reserved. Designed by Sally Fry Scruggs and set in Utopia and
Novecento by codeMantra. Manufactured in the United States of America. The University
of North Carolina Press has been a member of the Green Press Initiative since 2003.
Cover illustration: diagram of the Cerebro-Spinal System of Nerves from H. Newell Martin,
The Human Body: A Text-book of Anatomy, Physiology and Hygiene (New York: Henry Holt
and Company, 1900), 233. This image was reprinted in many nineteenth-century popular
health books; D. D. Palmer included it in The Chiropractor’s Adjuster (1910).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Folk, Holly, author.
Title: The religion of chiropractic : populist healing from the American heartland / Holly Folk.
Description: Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2017] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016033872 | Isbn 9781469632780 (cloth: alk. paper) |
isbn 9781469632797 (pbk : alk. paper) | isbn 9781469632803 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Chiropractic—United States—History. | Medicine—United States—Religious
aspects. | Palmer, D. D. (Daniel David), 1845–1913. | Palmer, B. J. (Bartlett Joshua), 1881– |
Chiropractic—Study and teaching—United States—History. | Palmer College of Chiropractic.
Classification: LCC RZ225.U6 F65 2017 | DDC 615.5/340973—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016033872
for ben and h elen folk,
and andrew and e mma tyukody
This page intentionally left blank
contents
Acknowledgments, xi
Introduction, 1
one The First Adjustment, 14
two A Magnetic Healer in Iowa, 53
three From Vital Magnetism to Vertebral Vitalism, 85
four On the Frontier of the New Profession, 109
five Chiropractors on Parade, 147
six History Repeats, 191
seven The World of Chiropractic, 253
Notes, 279
Bibliography, 305
Index, 341
This page intentionally left blank
figures
Daniel David (D. D.) Palmer, ca. 1905, 55
Harvey Lillard, the first Chiropractic patient, 77
Henry Hall Sherwood’s 1841 spinal chart, 88
B. J. Palmer, 110
Mabel Heath Palmer, 112
D. D. Palmer—the “Chiropractic Fountain-Head,” 128
Palmer School of Chiropractic, Davenport, Iowa, ca. 1912, 149
1918 Meric spinal chart, 177
The Palmer Mansion, 182
The Palmer Printery, ca. 1930s, 185
“Progress/Power over Death,” ca. 1912, 195
Lyceum parade, ca. 1921, 198
Little Bit O’Heaven garden, 204
The Neurocalometer, 207
David Daniel Palmer, 227
“Builders of America” testimonial, 236