Chapter five addresses the eclipse of D. D. Palmer by his son, in leading both the proprietary school and the burgeoning chiropractic profession. B. J. Palmer presented himself as the rightful heir and loyal exponent of his father’s ideas, but he used legal measures and the court of opinion to block D. D.’s involvement in the chiropractic movement. It is in this climate of marginalization, the chapter argues, that D. D. Palmer made his most elaborate “religious turn,” with the creation of the Third Chiropractic Theory. Living in Southern California, D. D. Palmer befriended the metaphysical writer William Juvenal Colville. This chapter analyzes the Third Chiropractic Theory, and considers the possible influence of Theosophical ideas for its emphasis on “Tone” and “Vibration.” It compares D. D. Palmer’s Chiropractic Philosophy with the spiritual theories proposed by Andrew Taylor Still, creator of osteopathy, after he was sidelined from his profession.
Henry E. Huntington and the Creation of Southern California.