Frontier Medicine in the Wild West Characterized by Quackery and Disease
During the U.S. Wild West era, from approximately 1865 to 1895, medical care was severely limited and often unreliable. As Americans expanded westward, communities faced a scarcity of qualified medical professionals; only about 25% of individuals claiming to be doctors held a medical degree. This led to a prevalence of untested practices, folk medicine, and charlatanism, with many practitioners serving as both doctors and veterinarians. Epidemics such as cholera, diphtheria, and dysentery were rampant due to poor sanitation and crowded living conditions, causing more deaths than violence. The period also saw the rise of 'snake oil' salesmen, who peddled elixirs often containing alcohol and narcotics, making exaggerated claims of their curative powers. Notably, William D. Rockefeller Sr., father of John D. Rockefeller, was one such traveling salesman. 
