Cradle of America: Four Centuries of Virginia HistoryVirginia is definitely for lovers—of history! As the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America, the birthplace of a presidential dynasty, and the gateway to western growth in the nation's early years, Virginia can rightfully be called the "cradle of America." In this first single-authored history of Virginia since the 1970s, Peter Wallenstein traces major themes across four centuries in a brisk narrative that recalls the people and events that have shaped the Old Dominion. Historical accounts of Virginia have often emphasized harmony and tradition, but Wallenstein focuses on the impact of conflict and change. From the beginning, Virginians have debated and challenged each other's visions of Virginia, and Wallenstein shows how these differences have influenced its sometimes turbulent development. Casting an eye on blacks as well as whites, and on people from both east and west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he traces such key themes as political power, racial identity, and education. Bringing to bear his long experience teaching Virginia history, Wallenstein takes readers back, even before Jamestown, to the Elizabethan settlers at Roanoke Island and the inhabitants they encountered, as well as to Virginia's leaders of the American Revolution. He chronicles the state's dramatic journey through the Civil War era, a time that revealed how the nation's evolution sometimes took shape in opposition to the vision of many leading Virginians. He also examines the impact of the civil rights movement and considers controversies that accompany Virginia into its fifth century. The text is copiously illustrated to depict not only such iconic figures as Pocahontas, George Washington, and Robert E. Lee, but also such other prominent native Virginians as Edgar Allan Poe, Carter G. Woodson, and Patsy Cline. Sidebars throughout the book offer further insight, while maps and appendixes of reference data make the volume a complete resource on Virginia's history. As people in Virginia and elsewhere prepare to observe the 400th anniversary of Jamestown's settlement, Wallenstein's fresh interpretation marks a significant commemoration of that beginning of Virginia—and America—and shows us that the adventure of Virginia has in many ways been the adventure of America. |
Contents
158051760s | 1 |
Queen Elizabeth I | 9 |
Jamestown | 14 |
John Smiths map | 16 |
John Smith | 26 |
Land and Labor | 32 |
William Byrd II | 42 |
The West | 49 |
189051940s | 249 |
Radford Farm Virginia | 256 |
Julius Rosenwald | 266 |
Alternative PastsPreserved Retrieved Celebrated | 270 |
Ellen Glasgow | 272 |
Carter G Woodson | 278 |
Alternative Futures | 285 |
Formerly Known as a Colored Man | 290 |
John Farrers view | 50 |
George Washingtons map | 56 |
1760s1820s | 63 |
George Mason IV | 72 |
Daniel Morgan | 79 |
Power and Policy | 82 |
Life of George Washingtonthe Farmer | 89 |
Virginia and a New Union | 94 |
James Madison | 95 |
Washingtons second inaugural 1793 | 104 |
Mother of Presidents Mother of States | 107 |
Dolley Madison | 116 |
182051890s | 125 |
Charles Fenton Mercers plantation Aldie | 131 |
The Virginia Military Institute | 137 |
Collision of Three Virginias | 140 |
Race and Slavery 1820s1850s | 150 |
The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad | 153 |
Virginia Planters Family | 163 |
Dred Scott | 174 |
Edmund Ruffin | 187 |
The Virginia Secession Ordinance April 1861 | 190 |
Tredegar Iron Works | 194 |
Powhatan Beaty | 203 |
The Union Party on Slavery and Union 1864 | 204 |
President Abraham Lincoln in Richmond April 1865 | 209 |
Blanche K Bruce | 223 |
Statute Designating Virginias LandGrant Schools | 226 |
William Mahone | 232 |
Making the Virginia Twist | 239 |
The Womans Land Army of America | 295 |
An Act to Preserve Racial Integrity 1924 | 298 |
Great Depression and New Deal | 301 |
Miss Tobacco | 305 |
Mabry Mill | 308 |
World War II | 314 |
Douglas Southall Freeman | 317 |
Marshall | 323 |
19452007 | 327 |
Luther P Jackson | 332 |
Board of Education 1954 | 340 |
Massive Resistance to School Desegregation | 344 |
The Southern Manifesto March 1956 | 346 |
David John Mays | 348 |
Governor Holton and daughter Tayloe | 356 |
Power and PolicyThe Politics of the 1960s | 360 |
Ruth Tinsley 1960 | 363 |
Virginia 1963 | 364 |
Douglas Wilder candidate for the Virginia Senate 1969 | 373 |
Virginia since the 1970s | 381 |
Advance Auto Parts truck | 385 |
Planting a tobacco crop 1999 | 391 |
Into Virginias Fifth CenturyControversy | 399 |
Edgar Allan Poe | 400 |
Governors of Virginia 17762007 | 409 |
Virginia and Presidential Elections 17892004 | 418 |
Virginia and the Census Returns 17902000 | 424 |
Acknowledgments | 443 |
Other editions - View all
Cradle of America: A History of Virginia. Second Edition, Revised Peter Wallenstein Limited preview - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
African American amendment army Assembly became began black students black Virginians Blue Ridge Brown Byrd Byrd Organization Carter Carter Family century Church Civil College colony Confederacy Confederate Congress Constitution convention County declared Deep South Democratic desegregation early election England established farm federal freedom funds George Mason ginia governor Hampton high school higher education Indians Institute James Jamestown Jefferson John John Mercer Langston land large numbers later legislative legislature lived Madison Massive Resistance military Negro Norfolk North northern Opechancanough Petersburg political president public schools race racial railroad Readjusters Republican Richmond River Roanoke secession segregation Shenandoah Valley slavery slaves southern teachers Thomas tion tobacco took troops U.S. Senate U.S. Supreme Court Union University of Virginia Virginia Historical Virginia Military Institute vote voters Washington western white Virginians white women William and Mary William Byrd II World