Prairie madness
- For the 1970s band, see Prairie Madness (band).
Prairie madness is a term that describes an affliction that was common in the United States among white settlers of the Great Plains during the mid-to-late 19th century. Another common (though, technically incorrect) name for the affliction is "Prairie fever". The madness was a result of the extreme isolation experienced by former city dwellers and farmers more used to hilly and forested country. The affected individual would fixate on the fact that they were surrounded by hundreds of miles of prairie land, with no neighbors or anyone to talk to. When the perceived isolation became too much to bear, mental breakdown would occur. Breakdowns induced by prairie madness often led to starvation and suicide.
In popular culture
2008 US Western, Prairie Fever. IMDb page - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1160018/
References
- Sandilands, John (1977) "Prairie Madness" Western Canadian Dictionary and Phrase Book University of Alberta Press, Edmonton, p. 35, ISBN 0-88864-021-8 Western Canadian Dictionary and Phrase Book at Google Books
- Brebner, John Bartlet (1960) Canada, a Modern History, Univ of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, p. 355 OCLC 497697
- Robertson, Heather (1973) Grass Roots James Lorimer & Co., Toronto p. 53, ISBN 0-88862-099-3 Grass Roots from Google Books
- Silverman, Eliane L. (1984) The Last Best West: women on the Alberta frontier, 1880-1930 Eden Press, Montréal, ISBN 0-920792-29-4
- Sterns, Robert (ed.) (2000) "Prairie Madness" Illusions of Eden: Visions of the American Heartland Columbus Museum of Art in partnership with Arts Midwest, Minneapolis, MN, ISBN 0-918881-404
See also