[1][3] He was first son of Ann (née Leftwich) and John Goode (1796-1876), a veteran of the War of 1812, who lived on a plantation and enslaved 39 individuals.

[1] He served one term in the Virginia House of Delegates as a Democrat in 1852, which was unusual because Bedford County was primarily a Whigs country.

Ellis resigned in early 1866, Goode was appointed to represent the city of Norfolk in the Virginia House of Delegates for the December 1866 and March–April 1867 sessions.

[14] The Southern Opinion wrote on November 16, 1866, "Mr. Goode is a lawyer of methodical mind, that is in its astuteness reminds us of Edmund Burke.

In 1876, he was re-elected to serve in the 45th United States Congress, defeating Republican Joseph Segar by winning 52.97% of the vote.

In 1878, he was re-elected to serve in the 46th United States Congress, defeating Republican John Frederick Dezendorf by winning 56.73% of the vote.

In May 1885, President Grover Cleveland, a fellow Democrat, appointed Goode as the acting Solicitor General of the United States.

[16] In 1892, Cleveland appointed Goode to the United States and Chilean Claims Commission which settled several disputes between the two countries.

Goode denounced both the Reconstruction Amendments and the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868, saying, "Congress not only committed a stupendous blunder, but a crime against civilization and Christianity when, against the advice of their wisest leaders, they required the people of Virginia and the South, under the rule of the bayonet, to submit to universal negro suffrage.

Disenfranchisement became the subject of much debate; delegate Carter Glass explained how it would inevitably cut 4/5ths of the African American voters.

Large sections of the final document restricted voting to war veterans and their sons, property owners who paid at least $1,000 in taxes during the previous year, and any man who could give a satisfactory explanation of any portion of the state constitution.

Lawyer and Readjuster John S. Wise pursued two federal cases contested that the lack of submission, as well as delegates' intent to disenfranchise African-American voters.

However, federal judges relied on an 1895 case arising out of the South Carolina convention to find a lack of jurisdiction.

Brewer elaborated, citing that in the William Jones case, the U.S. House of Representatives seated his opponent despite complaints, noting "the thing sought to be prohibited has been done and cannot be undone by order of the court.

[5] As a member of Congress, he authored a bill for a monument at Yorktown that celebrated the surrender of Cornwallis during the Revolutionary War.

[24][6] Goode was described as, "A man of splendid stature, large head crowned with snowy hair, ruddy complexion and eyes that sparkled with fun and twinkled with the kindly humor he invariably injected into his always bright and interesting conversation.