Rock Stars and Rural Remedies - Snake Oil Salesmen in Reconstruction America

(recorded over zoom) 19th-century “medicine shows” marketed cure-alls in a moveable feast of showmanship that compelled rural pain sufferers to exchange hard-earned cash for “miracle” elixirs, tonics, and liniments. Most of these treatments were dubious at best, dangerous at worst. But these shows were more than just a particularly vivid chapter in America’s long history of rewarding savvy hustlers peddling questionable products. The medicine show was also a vitally important social phenomenon, providing unique social and economic mobility for people who had talent, but were otherwise shut out from the opportunities of  post-Reconstruction America. Join Dr. Karen Bellinger as she speaks with writer and historian Deb Hunter about the role of Snake Oil Salesmen in the early days of the pharmaceutical industry.