0008-3194/91/27-51/$2.00/©JCCA 1993 The origins and early history of the National Chiropractic Association Joseph C Keating, Jr., PhD* William S Rehm, DC** Early organization in chiropractic was prompted by the Les premiers efforts d'organisation dans le domaine de la profession's need to promote itselfand to defend against the chiropratique venaient de la ne'cessite' de promouvoir la onslaught ofpolitical medicine and organized osteopathy. The chiropratique et de se defendre contre les attaques de la firstpriorities were legal defense againstprosecutionfor me'decinepolitique etde l'oste'opathie organise'e. Lespriorite's a unlicensedpractice and malpractice insurance. The Universal l'origine etaient la defensejuridique contre les poursuites Chiropractors' Association (UCA), organized at the Palmer judiciaires relatives a la pratique ille'gale et a l'assurance School ofChiropractic (PSC) in 1906, sought to meet these contre les erreursprofessionnelles. L' Universal Chiropractors' needs by insuring its members and by developing a legal Association (UCA), mise surpied a la Palmer School of department under the supervision ofattorney Tom Morris, one Chiropractic (PSC) en 1906, cherchaita re'pondre a ces besoins time lieutenantgovernor ofWisconsin. Thepublic relations and en assurant ses membres eten diveloppant un servicejuridique, marketing needs ofchiropractors were largely served by the sous la supervision de l'avocat Tom Morris, anciennement PSC and its legendary leader. However, as chiropractors lieutenant-gouverneur du Wisconsin. Les besoins des increasingly sought to avoidprosecution by passage of chiropraticiens en matiere de relations publiques et de chiropractic laws, Palmer's efforts to direct this legislation so marketing itaient largement servis par la PSC et son ce'lbre as to limit chiropractors' scope ofpractice increasingly leader. Cependant, a' mesure que les chiropraticiens alienated many in theprofession. The American Chiropractic cherchaient a e'viter les poursuites par l'adoption de lois en Association (ACA) wasfounded in 1922 to provide a broad- matiere de chiropratique, les efforts de Palmerpour amener la scope alternative to BJ's UCA. With Palmer's departurefrom legislation a' limiter 'eitendue de lapratique des chiropraticiens the UCAfollowing the neurocalometer debacle, ACA and UCA alienerent deplus en plus de membres de la profession. sought amalgamation. Simultaneously, organized medicine L'American Chiropractic Association (ACA)futfondie en 1922 renewed its attack on the profession by introducing basic pour offrir une altervative a l'UCA de B.J. Palmer, alternative science legislation, which prompted chiropractors to try to qui couvrirait un grand nombre de domaines. Avec le depart de upgrade and standardize chiropractic education. Early efforts Palmerde I' UCA apres la dibdcle du neurocalometre, I'ACA et to bring about the needed consensus were centered in the l'UCA cherche'rentafusionner. Au mieme moment, la medecine International Chiropractic Congress (ICC), particularly its organise'e renouvelait ses attaques contre la profession en division ofstate examining boards. In 1930 the ACA and UCA introduisant une re'glementation de base de la science, ce qui combined toform the National Chiropractic Association incita les chiropraticiens a normaliser et a ameliorer le niveau (NCA), and by 1934 the ICC had merged with the NCA to de lI'ducation en chiropratique. Les premiers efforts pour form part ofits council structure. With this modicum of arriver a un consensus eurent surtout lieu a l'Jnternational solidarity the NCA began the process ofeducational boot- Chiropractic Congress (ICC), plusparticulierement au niveau strapping at its 1935 convention in Los Angeles, when its de la division des commissions d'itude des itats. En 1930, Committee on Education, aforerunner oftoday's Council on I'ACA et I'UCA s'unirentpourformer la National Chiropractic Chiropractic Education, was proposed by C.O. Watkins of Association (NCA) et, en 1934, le ICCfusionnait avec la NCA Montana. pour en devenir sa structure de conseil. Avec ce minimum de (JCCA 1993; 37(1):27-51) solidarite, la NCA entamait le processus de mise en place d'un systeme d'education au cours de sa convention de 1935 a Los KEY WORDS: chiropractic, association. Angeles, lorsque son Comiti sur l'iducation, un precurseur du Council on Chiropractic Education actuel, futpropose par C.O. Watkins du Montana. (JCCA 1993; 37(1):27-51) * Professor, Palmer College ofChiropractic/West, 1095 Dunford Way, Sunnyvale, California 94087 USA, (408) 983-4000. Address correspondence to Western States Chiropractic College, 2900 N.E. 132nd Ave., Portland, Oregon 97230-3099, (503) 255-6771. ** Past President, Association for the History of Chiropractic, 4920 Frankford Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21206 USA, (410) 488-6604. MOTS CLE chiropratique, association. © JCCA 1993. The Journal of the CCA / Volume 37 No.1 / March 1993 27 National Chiropractic Association Introduction regular publication of a chiropractic journal, Backbone; the first Today's American Chiropractic Association (ACA) was pro- published use of the term "subluxation;" the first textbook of duced by the amalgamation of the National Chiropractic Asso- chiropractic, Modernized Chiropractic;3 and his collaboration ciation (NCA) and a splinter group from the International with Duluth, Minnesota chiropractor Daniel W Reisland in an Chiropractors' Association (ICA) in 1963.1 Although the unsuccessful effort to establish the first chiropractic licensing ACA's creation did not bring about the intra-professional unity law. Although the bill that Langworthy and Reisland had ar- that was hoped for (witness the failed ACA/ICA merger effort in ranged to have introduced passed both houses of the Minnesota the late 1980s), it did produce a consolidation that facilitated legislature, it was vetoed after D.D. Palmer paid a personal visit some of the major professional accomplishments of the 1970s, to the governor to urge its rejection. Gibbons2 suggests that it for instance, the recognition of the Council on Chiropractic was Langworthy's formation of the first ACA in 1905 which Education (CCE) by the U.S. Office of Education and the prompted B.J. Palmer (BJ) and others to organize the UCA in inclusion of chiropractic services in the federal Medicare pro- 1906, and that the UCA's first official resolution was a condem- gram. In many respects the story of today's ACA represents a nation of the "mixer" policies (such as spinal traction) advo- large chunk of chiropractic history in the final third of the cated by Langworthy's American School. It was a harbinger of chiropractic century. things to come. Yet the accomplishments and many of the heartaches experi- It is not known how long Langworthy's ACA lasted, but it is enced by the modem ACA may be seen as reflections of the known that the second ACA, founded in 1922 (see Figure 1), tampaigns and initiatives of the NCA and its predecessors, the was not related to Langworthy's alumni group. Interestingly, a Universal Chiropractors' Association (UCA) and an earlier notice in the December 1925 issue of the Bulletin oftheACA (p. ACA (founded in 1922). An overview of the sequence of merg- 5) cautions readers not to confuse the Bulletin of the ACA, ers that led to the NCA's formation in 1930 is presented in Figure published by "the national organization," with the ACA Journal 1. The NCA occupies centerstage in the story of American then being produced by "a Minnesota group." Speculatively, chiropractors' struggles during the middle of this century. This the Minnesota-based ACA and its Journal may have been a paper traces the early history of organizational efforts that remnant of the Langworthy-Reisland collaborations of 20 years produced the NCA, and reviews the first five years of NCA's earlier; the state branch "united with the national body" in operations. 1924.4 A "Minnesota American Chiropractic Association" is also mentioned a decade later by WS. Putman, D.C., its presi- Association by necessity (1906-1919) dent, in the December 1936 issue of the NCA's Journal. In any In many respects the development of various state and national case, Reisland, who followed his mentor's lead in selling trac- chiropractic organizations proceeded along predictable lines tion tables, was a regular advertiser in the second ACA's mandated by the challenges confronting the infant profession. Bulletin during 1925-1930. As chiropractors (DCs) became more numerous they attracted There surely were other good reasons for the UCA's forma- the increasing hostility of the allopathic and osteopathic com- tion in addition to the school competition from Langworthy's munities, and many were arrested for unlicensed practice. To group. In 1906 D.D. Palmer had been tried, convicted and cope with criminal and civil litigation, chiropractors banded incarcerated in Scott County, Iowa for unlicensed medical prac- together to hire attorneys and secure malpractice insurance. To tice, and organized medicine was gearing up for further assaults avoid such harassment DCs sought their own legislation from on the chiropractors. Twenty-five years later B.J. Palmer, who various states, and in so doing were challenged to demonstrate had succeeded his father as president of the Palmer School in that their education qualified them for independent, licensed April, 1906, recalled the UCA's creation: practice. To increase their share of the health care market, they sought to publicize their services ever more widely. Each of these issues (legal defense, insurance, licensure, publicity and Years ago The UCA was born in the basement of 828 Brady. It was education) required the chiropractors to pool their resources, conceived by Hod Norton, Ernest Erz, and some seventeen others, and thus began organized chiropractic. including B.J. Palmer. The first ACA was "essentially a school alumni group" One of its members was arrested in LaCrosse, Wis., for "practic- established at the American School of Chiropractic and Nature ing medicine without a license." Defense was demanded. He Cure (ASC) by Solon Massey Langworthy, D.C., a 1901 grad- couldn't do it alone. A group was needed to pool its money.