In 18th-century New York, a black market fueled by medical ambition created a terrifying reality: the fresh corpse of your loved one was worth more than gold. Join The Bone Library as we dig into the shocking true story of the Resurrectionists.
In the darkest file of The Bone Library, we uncover the gruesome, forgotten history of America's first major medical crisis: the Resurrectionist Epidemic.
Before anatomy laws existed, doctors had to choose between progress and morality. The result was a brutal, underground trade where criminal "Gravediggers" specialized in stealing bodies from cemeteries to sell to elite medical schools. This deep dive examines :
• The terrifying mechanics of the crime (How they stole bodies without disturbing the coffin).
• The social crisis that made the poor the primary target.
• The explosion of violence: The 1788 Doctors' Riot, where New York City citizens took up arms against doctors and the militia to protect their dead.
• The lasting legacy: How this fear created Mortsafes and paved the way for unjust anatomy laws.
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