Cradle of America: Four Centuries of Virginia HistoryUniversity Press of Kansas, 2007 - 476 pages Virginia 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
1580s1760s | 1 |
How They Catch Fish | 11 |
Jamestown | 14 |
Pocahontas | 20 |
John Smith | 26 |
Land and Labor | 32 |
William Byrd II | 42 |
The West | 49 |
The Union Party on Slavery and Union 1864 | 204 |
Blanche K Bruce | 223 |
Statute Designating Virginias LandGrant Schools | 226 |
John Mercer Langston | 237 |
1890s1940s | 249 |
Radford Farm Virginia | 256 |
Alternative PastsPreserved Retrieved Celebrated | 270 |
Ellen Glasgow | 272 |
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 |
1820s1890s | 125 |
Charles Fenton Mercers plantation Aldie | 131 |
Collision of Three Virginias | 140 |
The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad | 153 |
Sam Houston | 166 |
Edmund Ruffin | 187 |
The Virginia Secession Ordinance April 1861 | 190 |
Powhatan Beaty | 203 |
Alternative Futures | 285 |
Formerly Known as a Colored Man | 290 |
The Womans Land Army of America | 295 |
An Act to Preserve Racial Integrity 1924 | 298 |
Great Depression and New Deal | 301 |
World War II | 314 |
19452007 | 327 |
Board of Education 1954 | 340 |
Massive Resistance to School Desegregation | 344 |
The Southern Manifesto March 1956 | 346 |
Power and PolicyThe Politics of the 1960s | 360 |
Virginia 1963 | 364 |
Virginia since the 1970s | 381 |
Into Virginias Fifth CenturyControversy | 399 |
Governors of Virginia 17762007 | 409 |
Virginia and Presidential Elections 17892004 | 418 |
Virginia and the Census Returns 17902000 | 424 |
Acknowledgments | 443 |
454 | |
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 born Brown Byrd Byrd Organization Carolina Carter century Church Civil College colony Confederacy Confederate Congress Constitution convention County declared Deep South Democrats desegregation early east eastern Virginia election England English farm federal free blacks freedom George Mason ginia governor Henry higher education Indians Institute James Jamestown Jefferson John John Mercer Langston land later legislative legislature lived Madison Massive Resistance military Negro Norfolk North northern Ohio Opechancanough Petersburg political president public schools race racial railroad Republican Richmond River Roanoke secession segregation Shenandoah Valley slavery southern teachers Thomas tion tobacco took troops U.S. Senate U.S. Supreme Court Union University of Virginia Virginia Historical Virginia Historical Society Virginia Military Institute vote voters Washington western white Virginians white women William and Mary William Byrd II World