Why So Many Pioneer Women Went INSANE on the Prairie

Why So Many Pioneer Women Went INSANE on the Prairie In 1862, a government report claimed that many asylums held more farmers' wives than any other class, and people repeated it for fifty years. In this episode of Old America, we follow one real pioneer wife through the summer of 1856 in Kansas Territory, straight from her own diary, and look at what the asylum records actually show. Inside this episode: • The promised prairie town that turned out to be one log cabin • "I am afraid you will go crazy": the night terrors of a settler's wife • Alone with the sick, four miles from the nearest neighbor • The September that took most of her family • What the asylum ledgers listed as the causes • What the government found when it finally checked the claim Did your family have a woman who held the whole homestead together? Tell me about her in the comments, and what state she lived in. Will's family stories are a storytelling frame. The history and numbers are real. #AmericanHistory #PioneerWomen #OldAmerica #PioneerLife #KansasHistory #WomensHistory More Old America know-how:    • True Old America Stories   Make sure you subscribe to explore with us Old America:    / @oldamericareal