"If 3000 Men Were Unanimous On Any Subject, You Would Know At Once They Were Not Doctors": The Slow And Difficult Path To Professionalization Of Medicine In Texas

Abstract

This thesis seeks to explain the growing dominance of allopathic medicine and the struggle of professional organizations, such as the Texas Medical Association, for the professionalization of medicine. Chapter One illustrates how nineteenth century practices, values, rivalries, and emphasis on local, rather than national concerns, continued to undermine the Texas Medical Association's goal of professionalization of medicine in Texas. Chapter Two of this paper begins at the dawn of the twentieth century and depicts how several strategic changes by the Texas Medical Association led to legislative victories. However, Chapter Three describes the limitations of professionalization of medicine in Texas. By the end of the Progressive era, Texas still suffered from lingering problems that prevented the Texas Medical Association from widening its influence.