Annual Report Of The State Commissioner In Lunacy

Vols. for 1895/96-1919/20 include annual reports of the various state hospitals for the insane, reports of the Bureau of Deportation, the State Charities Aid Association and the Psychiatric Institute. (1908/09-1919/20 summaries only).

The Massachusetts State Board of Lunacy and Charity has long been at the forefront of efforts to improve the welfare and quality of life for individuals struggling with mental illness and other challenges. This collection of reports and analyses from the Board's sixteenth annual volume provides a detailed and fascinating portrait of the state of these issues in the late nineteenth century, including discussions of advances in institutional care, legislative developments, and more. As a historical document, this volume is an unparalleled resource for anyone looking to understand the early history of American approaches to mental health and social welfare. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This is the first full-length biography of New York surgeon and social activist Stephen Smith (1823–1922), who was appointed to fifty years of public service by three mayors, seven governors, and two U.S. presidents. The book presents the complex life of Stephen Smith, a consistent figure in the history of public health, mental health, housing reform in New York, and even urban reforestation. Utilizing Smith’s writings, public records, and recently discovered personal correspondence, this research shows how Smith succeeded where others failed. It also acknowledges that Smith was unsuccessful in convincing his fellow professionals to fight for a cabinet level public health department or to resist the rise of custodial care for the mentally impaired. Given Smith’s many accomplishments, the book asks us to consider if what stopped him stops us, highlighting the relevance of Smith’s story to contemporary debates. Pestilence, Insanity, and Trees is a readable and well-documented narrative and a resource for students and scholars, filling gaps in the history of American medicine, public health, mental health, and New York social reform.