Reforms to Human Health

About this episode

This episode discusses the health reforms targeting alcohol abuse and the rise of temperance organizations in 19th century America.

Reformers targeted vices that corrupted the human body and society: the individual and the national soul. For many, alcohol appeared to be the most destructive and widespread. Indeed, in the years before the Civil War, the United States appeared to be a republic of drunkenness to many. To combat this national substance abuse problem, reformers created a host of temperance organizations that first targeted the middle and upper classes, and then the working classes. Thanks to Sylvester Graham and other health reformers, exercise and fresh air, combined with a good diet, became fashionable. Phrenologists focused on revealing the secrets of the mind and personality. In a fast-paced world, phrenology offered the possibility of knowing different human characteristics. All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/13-3-reforms-to-human-health Welcome to A Journey into Human History. This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story. The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Access for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history Podcast…

People in this episode

Host: Miranda Casturo

Topics covered

• health reform
• temperance movement
• phrenology
• alcohol abuse
• 19th century America

Keywords

• health reform
• temperance
• alcohol
• Sylvester Graham
• phrenology
• Civil War
• 19th century

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: OpenStax, temperance organizations, phrenologists

More episodes of A Journey into Human History

• Inventors of the Age · June 12, 2026 · 11 min
• The Impact of Expansion on Chinese Immigrants and Hispanic Citizens · June 10, 2026 · 9 min
• The Assault on American Indian Life and Culture · June 8, 2026 · 13 min
• Making a Living in Gold and Cattle · June 5, 2026 · 13 min
• Homesteading: Dreams and Realities · June 3, 2026 · 9 min
• The Westward Spirit · June 1, 2026 · 14 min