| A
History Of The Modern Funeral
What has come to be known as the American way of death
has roots that date back to the Civil War. During the
conflict, as troops from both The North and The
South were felled on the battlefield, it was customary
to ship the remains back home. Given the long distances and
time involved, it became apparent that it was necessary to
develop some sort of process that would help to preserve the
bodies of the dead soldiers. Gradually a process was developed
whereby a high concentration of formaldehyde was injected
into the body in order to slow the natural rate of decomposition.
Throughout the war the medical corp. refined this process
of embalming with special units assigned to perform the task
of preparing the deceased to be shipped to their hometown.
When the Civil War finally ended, both sides had created
well staffed, well trained units, but with no place to ply
their new found trade. In the period immediately following
the war, there was an attempt to introduce embalming
into the New York City area, but it failed to become an accepted
practice.
Suddenly, America found itself in the midst of a tragic event
that would alter our history forever, and by coincidence,
launch modern funeral directing as we know it today… the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The nation that had
almost been ripped apart by a bloody civil war found itself
on the brink of crumbling.
At the time, most of the power in Washington fell on the
shoulders of Secretary of State Stanton. By many accounts,
he was a manipulative, machiavellian type of figure, who in
the turmoil realized that unless he could quickly focus the
nation, there was a definite risk that it would disintegrate.
Immediately, Stanton swung into action organizing a massive
funeral, the likes of which our young nation had never witnessed.
Despite protests from Lincoln's family a State Funeral
was organized, culminating with a train trip back to Lincoln's
home in Illinois. Altogether, the funeral ceremonies stretched
out over two weeks with the dead President's body to be displayed
throughout the entire time!
In order to stage this massive public outpouring of grief
it was absolutely necessary to somehow preserve the remains
with embalming. All through the days of viewing by hundreds
of thousands of mourners, Lincoln's casket was displayed on
a bier, holding the perfectly preserved remains. Many marveled
at how the new and modern embalming process seemed to "preserve"
the body! What most people never knew was that large blocks
of ice had been placed under the casket, hidden in the bier
to keep the remains well chilled.
Toward the end of the funeral ceremonies during the second
week when Lincoln's body was being transported by train to
Illinois, it was discovered that his body had suddenly blackened,
creating the need to re-embalm the remains.
There seems little doubt that this historical event became
the cornerstone of today's funeral process. The practice of
embalming began to catch on rapidly in urban areas throughout
the end of the 1800's and into the 1900's.
Not much changed in funeral directing until after World War
II. The post war years saw North America rapidly shifting
toward an era of unparalleled commercialism with funerals
swept into the spiral of money and spending. While I have
childhood memories of family funerals being held at home,
by the sixties such a practice had become unheard of.
As funeral costs gradually escalated during the sixties,
seventies, and eighties, the nineties saw price increases
moving at warp speed with the advent of the chain
funeral home, owned by large, publicly traded companies.
Within a relatively short number of years, thousands of hometown
funeral homes were quietly bought up by these corporations.
Although the ownership of local funeral homes changed hands,
consumers were left believing that they were still dealing
with a local businessman, when in fact the operating funeral
director had become merely another salaried employee. In many
cases, the same corporation would actually own a large percentage
of the funeral homes in an entire city or county.
Until 1984, consumers had little choice as to how to care
for their dead. The funeral industry had evolved into what
has been viewed by many as a commercialized, big business
monopoly. While there had been a growing anti-funeral industry
sentiment set in motion with much acclaimed 1963 expose by
Jessica Mitford's The American Way Of Death,
it wasn't until nearly two decades later that The Federal
Trade Commission began enacting laws to protect consumers.
In 1994, the F.T.C. amended what has become known as The
Funeral Rule to prohibit funeral directors from charging
a handling fee or penalty if consumers wished to exercise
their right to freedom of trade by shopping outside of the
funeral home for their casket and other funeral related merchandise.
Furthermore, funeral directors are strictly forbidden to
cause a family any undue, embarrassment or duress if they
decide to furnish their own merchandise. The Federal Trade
Commission amendment is based upon the legal premise that
a funeral director is a licensed service provider. Because
he is selling you his services, the director can't turn around
and make you buy his goods and merchandise.
There is no question that the skyrocketing costs of funerals
created a demand for retail casket stores and a cost saving
alternative. The 1994 amendment to the Funeral Rule opened
the door for what has become a rapidly growing industry. |
