New Jersey: A Brief History of Chiropractic
Imagine getting thrown in jail for practicing chiropractic in New Jersey without a license—but it was impossible to get a license!
Medical examining boards made it even more difficult with the passage of the McClave Act in 1939, establishing uniform license requirements for anyone in New Jersey wishing to practice any of the healing arts. Applying the standards of medical doctors, who perform surgery and prescribe medications, to chiropractors was a ploy used in states other than New Jersey to limit chiropractic.
Finally, in 1953 the New Jersey law was changed and chiropractors were allowed to apply for licensure before an examining board consisting mostly of medical doctors and a single chiropractor.
Over time, New Jersey licensure laws continued to evolve with increasing educational and training requirements for chiropractors that were more in step with the national accreditation given chiropractic colleges.
Thankfully, for chiropractors and chiropractic patients in New Jersey, chiropractic has come a long way since the days when chiropractors were routinely jailed and suffered at the hands of the fanatical, anti-chiropractic wing of organized medicine!
