“The highest ideal of cure is rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of the health…” Samuel Hahnemann

In 1810, Hahnemann published the first text on homeopathy, The Organon, which he updated throughout his life with what he and his colleagues learned from decades of experience. Homeopathy became very popular and spread quickly

The Hahnemann Monument in Washington, D.C. was built in 1930 to honor the founder of Homeopathy.

because it proved so effective compared to the conventional treatments in use in the mid-1800’s. It was especially superior in treating infectious epidemics. For example, during the London cholera epidemic in 1854, the mortality rate was 50 percent for patients treated in conventional hospitals compared with 16 percent for those treated in the homeopathic hospital. Some of Hahnemann’s followers translated his Organon into English and moved to the United States. By 1890, there were 60 homeopathic medical colleges in the U.S. and the President of the United States had his own homeopathic doctor on staff.

The Demise of Homeopathy in America

Homeopathy’s popularity, as well as the criticisms by homeopaths of traditional allopathic philosophy and practices, particularly suppressive drugs, posed a threat to “orthodox” medicine. When the American Medical Association was founded in 1846, it was able to forbid the study or use of homeopathy in all its schools and by all its members. This contributed greatly to homeopathy’s decline in the U.S.

Over the past few decades, the use of homeopathy has steadily grown around the world as the limitations of conventional medicine have become apparent and people have become more trusting of alternative approaches. Britain, France, Germany, India and Israel all have very strong homeopathic colleges, hospitals and clinics. Homeopathy is used by some 30 million people in Europe alone! In many countries, insurance coverage is routine and many physicians practice both homeopathy and conventional medicine.

Homeopathy is experiencing a revival in the U.S. as people have become dissatisfied with conventional medicine’s lack of individualized treatment and less confident in its safety and effectiveness.