ABSTRACT

Born and raised in Arkansas, the son of a teacher and school principal, Woodward came of age in the 1930s, which were beset with the Great Depression and the politics of scarcity. Woodward was recognized in almost every way a scholar can be recognized. He served as the president of all three of the relevant historical organizations: the Southern Historical Association (1951-1952); the Organization of American Historians (1968-1969); and the American Historical Association (1969-1970). Woodward himself recognized the irony of the fact that the South was in reality the seat of super-Americanism, the exaggerated version of the national mood that Woodward found so distressing. Woodward believed quietly but passionately in the wonderful myth that the search for truth is a cooperative enterprise. Thus, one's critics are actually allies, fellow travelers on the road to discovery. Thinking Back displays this attitude in operation, as Woodward expresses his indebtedness to various critics who have changed his understanding of a subject.