A History of the Presidency - Illness and Disability

Presidential illness since the beginning has been a factor in the life of the
nation. Nevertheless, the health of presidents until relatively recently was
rarely spoken of; it was regarded as nobody's business but the president's.
Moreover, even after the advent of modern medicine, the unspoken proscription
against speaking about the body in Victorian America played a role in keeping
off limits the details of the chief executives' physical condition.
Consequently, facts are known today that contemporaries were unaware of. 

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Submitted by Professor Drew Nelson