Dictionary definition of “dementia Americana”

dementia Americana

n. a (supposed) form of insanity, leading to violence, which comes over a man who believes his his home or family has been violated. Subjects: English, United States, Crime & Prisons, Health, Law

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Citations: 1907 Chicago Daily Tribune (Apr. 10) “Unwritten Law Thaw’s Last Hope” (in New York City) p. 1: “Ah, gentlemen,” said Mr. Delmas, dramatically, turning to the alienists who testified for the prosecution, “if you desire a name for this species of insanity let me suggest it—call it dementia Americana. That is the species of insanity which makes every American man believe his home to be sacred; that is the species of insanity which makes him believe the honor of his daughter is sacred; that is the species of insanity which makes him believe the honor of his wife is sacred; that is the species of insanity which makes him believe that whosoever invades his home, that whosoever stains the virtue of this threshold, has violated the highest of human laws and must appeal to the mercy of God, if mercy there be for him anywhere in the universe.” 1908 Wayne County Journal (Mo.) (Jan. 30) “Local Happenings” @ MOWAYNE-L (June 22, 2004) Sharon “Local Happenings—Thursday, January 30, 1908 Wayne County Journal”: The County court met Monday to pass on the sanity of Tony Hood. In the court’s opinion the case was found to be a bona fide case of insanity, unalloyed with “Dementia Americana” exaggerated ego or any other new fangled phase of insanity, and the boy was ordered to the Farmington asylum, Sheriff Barrow accompanying him to that place Tuesday morning. 2002 Film Quarterly (Summer) “Headline Hollywood”: When Thaw’s attorney made the case that his client had been acting out of a condition he termed dementia Americana—a legitimate rage triggered by the desecration of a man’s home—a powerful nexus of concerns with national identity, patriarchy, class, and the public sphere emerged. Meanwhile (and most interestingly), Evelyn Nesbit Thaw became “the first person to capitalize on a scandal to become a film star.”

Posted 25 Jun 04 | Permalink | Tell a Friend