The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 55, July 1951 - April, 1952 Page: 325
562 p. : ill. (some col.), ports., maps (some col.) ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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THE SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
VOL. LV JANUARY, 1952 No. 3
Skherlmal oodwi-- rexas Physicda#
1814-1884
HARRY RANSOM
NTELLECTUAL occupations of early Texans have often been
ignored. Almost as often they have been dismissed with
amused contempt. Among the frames of mind which con-
tributed to ways of life in nineteenth-century Texas and which
are sure to receive increasingly thoughtful attention as the social
history of the state is written are those of professional men-
doctors, lawyers, teachers, preachers-seldom represented in the
heroic chronicles of a period filled with action.'
Two of these mental qualities deserve immediate emphasis
here. The first is intellectual curiosity. At its least it came to
mere inquisitiveness; at its best it was dedication to truth. It
assumed, as it still assumes, that the facts must be sought; that
they can be found; that once found, they are not only an end
but also means to other good ends. The second frame of mind
grew out of sensitiveness to wrong. It expressed hatred of the
false and mean, hostility toward evil, and determination to defeat
that evil at whatever cost.
That these attitudes-the first of scientific inquiry, the second
of opposition to wrong-were prominent in early Texas I wish
to demonstrate by discussing the life and opinions of one man.
Tracing only his external life, I shall let his opinions speak for
themselves.
This man's name was Sherman Goodwin, a doctor who spent
1This essay was planned as part of a small volume concerning such early citizens,
to be called Texans without Guns. In a different form it was read at one of the
sessions of the fifty-fifth annual meeting of the Association. Throughout its prep-
aration I have been greatly encouraged and assisted by Miss Grace Mc Intosh of
Victoria.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 55, July 1951 - April, 1952, periodical, 1952; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101139/m1/397/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.