Thomsonianism was an early 19th century American-based system of alternative medicine, developed and promoted by Samuel Thomson. It grew rapidly during the Popular Health Movement when many Americans distrusted expertise in general and physicians in particular.

Samuel Thomson (9 February 1769 – 5 October 1843) was a self-taught American herbalist and botanist, best known as the founder of the alternative system of medicine known as "Thomsonian Medicine" or "Thomsonianism", which enjoyed wide popularity in the United States during the early 19th century.

Nov 17, 2021 · By the late 1820s references to the treatment of sick Shakers using the Thomsonian system began to appear in their journals, and Shaker recipe books included Thomsonian formulas.

Jan 12, 2022 · Using the Thomsonian system of herbs, one would be able to cure all their ills at home instead of relying on professional physicians, which those under Thomson’s banner both disdained and distrusted.

Dec 9, 2024 · Thomsonian remedies often involved herbs with heat (such as the abovementioned ginger, cayenne, and cloves) to restore the body’s optimal balance and ward off the cold that Samuel Thomson believed was the cause of a weakened immune system.

Feb 22, 2025 · The Thomsonian System of Medicine, pioneered by Samuel Thomson in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, represents a significant pivot in the approach to health care during a period dominated by complex and often hazardous medical practices.

Jan 9, 2009 · The Thomsonian materia medica: or, Botanic family physician: comprising a philosophical theory, the natural organization and assumed principles of animal and vegetable life: to which are added the description of plants and their various compounds.

Samuel Thomson (9 February 1769 – 5 October 1843) was a self-taught American herbalist and botanist, best known as the founder of the alternative system of medicine known as "Thomsonian Medicine", which enjoyed wide popularity in the United States during the 19th century.

May 18, 2012 · The practice of medicine on Thomsonian principles : adapted as well to the use of families as to that of the practitioner : containing a biographical sketch of Dr. Thomson, propositions illustrative of the philosophy of Thomsonianism, a brief history of the symptoms, peculiarities, and general course of disease in its different forms and ...