The treatment of Philadelphia inebriates. From temperance reform to "secret cure".

Preventive education in the United States about the dangers of alcohol had failed to create a temperate society by 1840. But in that year, interest in medical treatment of the "habitual drunkard" rekindled in Philadelphia. It was the year an organization of reformed drunkards revitalized American temperance societies by emphasizing practical concern for the inebriate. The author describes Philadelphia's treatment of alcoholics from 1840 through the beginning of the 20th century, when entrepreneurs were marketing secret cures.