The Scientific Revolution abandoned medicine based on the Greek idea of the four humors and made important discoveries regarding the humans body that led to a new theory of medicine.  It suggested materialist, non-religious explanations for disease based on observation and experimentation.  Some new medicines were discovered and employed, for example quinine.  New initiatives in public health such as the keeping of vital statistics and government-run "poor houses" and hospitals were undertaken.  What evidence is there that the health conditions of ordinary people did not change much as a result and why do you think that?

Normalcy and the New DealBackground: When the First World War ended, Americans welcomed what they hoped would be a “return to normalcy.” The decades that followed, however, are ones which would rarely be described as normal in comparison to what came before or after. During these decades, a struggle ensued within the American nation regarding how best to define the nation’s essential character, as groups like the revived Ku Klux Klan fought a rearguard action to define nationhood solely in terms of white skin and Protestant religion against secularists, Catholics, flappers, “New Negroes,” and others who challenged the traditional order. Immediately thereafter, the New Deal implemented in response to the Great Depression revolutionized the role of the federal government in lives of the American people, in ways that many Americans believed violated the basic tenets of the Constitution—and others believed were not radical enough. Taken together, the decades from 1920 to 1940 may have transformed the American nation more than any other comparable time period.Resources: When responding to these questions, draw material from ONE of the following videos:Hogan, H. (Writer). (2003). The great depression. [Television series episode]. In R. Hawksworth (Executive producer), America in the 20th Century. New York, NY: Films for the Humanities & Sciences. Retrieved from http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=36219&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=Hogan, H. (Writer). (2003). The roaring twenties [Television series episode]. In R. Hawksworth (Executive producer), America in the 20th Century. New York, NY: Films for the Humanities & Sciences. Retrieved from http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=36218&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=Stone, R. (Writer & Director). (2009). The civilian conservation corps [Television series episode]. In M. Samels (Executive producer), The 1930s. Boston, MA: WGBH Educational Foundation. Retrieved from http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=44081&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=Also, draw from the material in AT LEAST TWO of the following primary sources:Bliven, B. (1925, Sept. 9). Flapper Jane. Retrieved from http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/1025/flapperjane.pdfForquignon. (1932).Bonus army marches on Washington, DC 1932 [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWvCCxOUsM8&feature=youtu.beHartt, R. L. (1921, Jan. 15). “The new Negro”: “When he’s hit, he hits back!”. Independent. Retrieved from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5127 Long, H. (1934, Feb. 23).Share our wealth speech. Retrieved from http://www.hueylong.com/programs/share-our-wealth-speech.phpMarshall, C. C. (1927, April). An open letter to the honorable Alfred E. Smith. Atlantic Monthly, 139, 540-544, 548-549. Retrieved from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5074 Martin, T. T. (1923).Hell and high schools. Atlantic Monthly, 139, 540-544, 548-549. Retrieved from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5074 McDougald, E. J. (1925). The double task of Negro womanhood.In A. Locke (Ed.), The New Negro: An Interpretation. Retrieved from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5126 Roosevelt, F. D. (1933, May 7).Address of the President delivered by radio from the White House. Retrieved from http://www.mhric.org/fdr/chat2.html Shafter, L. H. (1938).I’d rather not be on relief. Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/todd:@field(DOCID+st045) The New Deal Network. (2003). TVA: Electricity for all. [Interactive Exhibit]. Retrieved from http://newdeal.feri.org/tva/index.htmInstructions: Review the major social and economic developments in American society during the 1920s and 1930s. After reviewing your Instructor’s Guidance and completing the weekly reading assignments (including those in the resource section below), please post a substantive discussion post of at least 200 words that compares and contrasts the decades of the 1920’s with the 1930s using the following questions as the basis of your analysis: How did American society change in the two decades after the First World War? How did the federal government change in response to those changes? How did the American people respond to the changing role of the federal government? How did the New Deal change over time and what alternatives were offered to it? Which groups benefited or suffered most from these changes? Should this period be regarded as having represented a revolutionary moment in American history?Along with the general discussion, address developments across these two decades related to AT LEAST ONE of the following groups: Evangelical Protestants Farmers African Americans Women Business owners The middle classYour initial post should be at least 200 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and properly cite any references. You may use additional scholarly sources to support your points if you choose. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7 in at least 100 words. When responding to classmates, you should refer to the material from one of the sources which you did not reference in your initial post. 

The 19th century saw increasing professionalization and specialization of medicine. Professionalization raised standards and care through education and surveillance. Specialization resulted in better care for specific diseases. These trends continue today. Are there disadvantages as well as advantages to these trends and what, in your opinion, are these advantages and disadvantages?Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit of Mankind, p.304-396