Servants, Obey Your Masters

One of the key cultural functions of nineteenth-century asylums was reframing mental suffering or “insanity” as medical illness—a secular experience—while also promoting the values of mainstream Protestantism, which, in the South, included the preservation of slavery. This process of cognitive reframing posed particular challenges for enslaved and white patients who adhered to marginal beliefs. Engaging in voodoo, believing oneself “tricked,” and espousing abolitionism were characterized as superstition or fanaticism by administrators who attempted to suppress these ideas and practices. Distinguishing between religion that promoted social conformity and that which fomented dissension was perceived as especially important at a time in which denominational schisms over slavery divided the nation’s churches and permeated political discourse.