Thomsonianism was an early 19th century American-based system of alternative medicine, developed and promoted by Samuel Thomson. It grew rapidly during the Popular Health Movement when many Americans distrusted expertise in general and physicians in particular. It was based on herbal treatments designed to regulate body heat, and rejected drugs, heavy bleeding and surgery. The cult faltered and factionalized in the 1850s, and was largely a spent force by the 1860s. However, its emphasis on herbal remedies was copied by other herbalist sects.