Professional Lives in America : Structure and Aspiration, 1750-1850

Daniel Calhoun analyzes and defines the changing attitudes, values, and style of life of men in the major professions during a transitional period in American history. Carefully examining original sources, including personal retrospective accounts of the lives and work of men in medicine, law, and the ministry, he shows how these men reconciled their ethical values and professional commitments with an evolving social structure and concludes that, by the middle of the nineteenth century, these men had already played a key role in helping to establish the singular character and tempo of modern American society. Foreword Preface Contents I. Power, Responsibility, and Style II. Fear of Individuality: John W. Francis and the New York Medical Community III. Branding Iron and Retrospect: Lawyers in the Cumberland River Country IV. Permanency in the New England Clergy: The General Problem and the New Hampshire Gase V. Stasis, 1850 Notes Index