1854: ‘Red men will be numbered with the dead,’ physicians state

The American physicians Josiah Nott and George Gliddon theorize in their book Types of Mankind that American Indians will not survive as a people because of the disparity in their mortality rates from epidemics when compared to the rates of others in the country. Many whites blame the higher Native mortality on Indian cultures, which are considered to promote unhygienic behaviors such as religious dancing, pipe smoking, and traditional cooking practices.

“It is as clear as the sun at noon-day, that in a few generations more the last of these Red men will be numbered with the dead.” —Josiah Nott and George Gliddon, Types of Mankind, 1854

Theme

Epidemics

Region

California, Great Basin, Great Plains, Northeast, Northwest Coast, Plateau, Southeast, Southwest