Figure 7: Doctors commonly made house calls to visit sick patients, so a portable carry-all for medicines and instruments was an essential piece of equipment. This nineteenth-century medical chest is full of bottles of elixirs to treat disease or to moderate pain. The top drawer looks long enough to carry several instruments, such as forceps, cutting tools, metal catheters, and the all-important uterine sound. The sound enabled a doctor to probe into the uterus, chiefly to unblock obstructions. It became the most common and effective tool to interrupt pregnancy. Medicine Chest (1800-1850), Gift of The Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of the State of Maryland, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution.
Welcome to Commonplace, a destination for exploring and exchanging ideas about early American history and culture. A bit less formal than a scholarly journal, a bit more scholarly than a popular magazine, Commonplace speaks—and listens—to scholars, museum curators, teachers, hobbyists, and just about anyone interested in American history before 1900. It is for all sorts of people to read about all sorts of things relating to early American life—from architecture to literature, from politics to parlor manners. It’s a place to find insightful analysis of early American history as it is discussed in scholarly literature, as it manifests on the evening news, as it is curated in museums, big and small; as it is performed in documentary and dramatic films and as it shows up in everyday life.
In addition to critical evaluations of books and websites (Reviews) and poetic research and fiction (Creative Writing), our articles explore material and visual culture (Objects); pedagogy, the writing of literary scholarship, and the historian’s craft (Teach); and diverse aspects of America’s past and its many peoples (Learn). For more great content, check out our other projects, (Just Teach One) and (Just Teach One African American Print).
How to cite Commonplace articles:
Author, “Title of Article,” Commonplace: the journal of early American life, date accessed, URL.
Sophie White, “Trading Looks Race, Religion and Dress in French America,” Commonplace: the journal of early American life, accessed September 30, 2019, https://commonplace.online/article/trading-looks-race-religion-dress-french-america/
Joshua R. Greenberg, editor
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