When a slave became sick, we received the best care we could be given from our own. The master let our old mammy doctor take care of us by giving us herbs she gathered in the woods, which included cami seeds, peach tree leaves, red oak bark, used for fever, chills and malaria, in addition to privet weed for tuberculosis, and things that the white doctor could not cure. But if we got an arm or a leg broken then master would still take us to the white doctor to get it fixed, but that was all he could do as our mammy did much better than the white doctor with her herbal teas. When she gave you a tea made from herbs you knew it would end up curing most of your ailments. – John Mosley, born in Texas, in 1851
Academics have historically been able to determine certain points of intricate social relationships of those living under slavery by examining medical work and healthcare in those times, bringing them to a better understanding of that life. How a society practices medicine can offer a glimpse into relationships of an interpersonal and economic degree. In the United States in particular, these practices have been able to provide this data throughout all eras of the country’s existence. The difference in quality in medical care experienced by the white race historically in the United States as opposed to other races, in particular blacks during slavery, provides many insights into certain social, economic and cultural dynamics. Despite this breadth of information regarding the majority of society, historians have run into trouble attempting to get insights into the healthcare experiences of slaves. The reasons for this lack of information is due to inadequate keeping of medical records, the scarcity of data for this purpose in particular, and the general illiteracy rate at the time.
These series of articles attempt to examine the medical care provided to slaves by non-slaves as well as other slaves during the antebellum and Civil War era. Our focus will surround practices used by African Americans at the time, both free men and those who were enslaved, for the treatment of diseases and injuries, in particular alternative medicine and plant based, or herbal, medicine. Through the study of folk medical practices utilized by slaves at that time, in conjunction with the materia medica written about it, we can form some understanding of the complexity of human relationships during slavery.