Political History Commons^™

“Principles Which Constitute The Only Basis Of The Union” : Virginian Beliefs During The Nullification Crisis, 1832-1833, Sean Elliott Kellogg

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Preceding the American Civil War by three decades, the Nullification Crisis is often overshadowed by that larger conflict. It tends to be thought of only as an event in which the two sides of the war, pro-union and anti-union, coalesced around divisive issues. This perspective obscures the complex ideological loyalties that were in conflict during the crisis. These disagreements were on especially clear display in the influential border state of Virginia, which hosted many different opinions about the relevant issues. The state ultimately chose to steer a middle course. In January 1833, it adopted a set of resolves that rejected …

New Women In The Old Dominion: Race And Gender In Progressive-Era Virginia, Rachel Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis traces the development of Black and white Southern women’s pursuit of political power between the end of the Civil War and the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Emancipation and the downfall of the antebellum planter aristocracy upset traditional Southern gender norms and opened new doors for women of both races in the political upheaval of Reconstruction. Though both Black and white women participated in the women’s club movement and joined women’s advocacy and charity groups following the Civil War, their work was distinctive both from each other and from other regional Progressive movements. The context of …

This Species Of Property: Slavery And The Properties Of Subjecthood In Anglo-American Law And Politics, 1619-1783, John N. Blanton

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This Species of Property examines the development of the law and practice of slavery in the 17^th and 18^th century Anglo-American empire through analysis of common law court decisions in England, Massachusetts, and Virginia. The dissertation argues that there was a long and vibrant debate over the legitimacy of the chattel principle – the definition of enslaved persons as a type of property – and that enslaved people and their allies pushed for the recognition of the legal humanity or subjecthood of the enslaved in colonial and metropolitan courts. This antislavery legal tradition culminated in the famous Somerset …

"Building A 'Temple Of Temperance': The Repeal Of Prohibition In Virginia And The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act", Alexandra T. Silva

Theses and Dissertations

"BUILDING A ‘TEMPLE OF TEMPERANCE’: THE REPEAL OF PROHIBITION IN VIRGINIA AND THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL ACT”

By Alexandra T. Silva, Bachelor of Arts, 2011

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015

Major Director: Dr. John T. Kneebone, Chair, Virginia Commonwealth University Department of History

This project examines the process by which the Commonwealth of Virginia repealed its statewide prohibition laws and the Eighteenth Amendment in 1933 and created a public monopoly system of alcohol control in 1934. It provides an overview of …

John Randolph Of Roanoke And The Politics Of Doom: Slavery, Sectionalism, And Self-Deception, 1773-1821, Aaron Scott Crawford

Doctoral Dissertations

In 1979, Robert Dawidoff wrote that it “was on the question of slavery that John Randolph contributed most decisively to American history.” Randolph’s stance on slavery has perplexed historians and biographers since his death in 1833. This dissertation examines the paradox of slavery in the life and career of John Randolph from the American Revolution until the Missouri Compromise. In an attempt to understand his public and private contradictions concerning slavery and the role of intense sectionalism in his politics, I have attempted to correlate his words with his actions. An examination of his letters reveal a man decidedly devoted …

Public School Desegregation In Virginia From 1954 To The Present, Adolph H. Grundman

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination of the struggle to desegregate the public schools of Virginia from 1954 to 1972. The Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education attacked the social foundation of eleven southern states when it declared that racially segregated schools were "inherently unequal." Brown I,, in fact, was one of many controversial decisions made by the Supreme Court as it reflected the egalitarian spirit of the 1950's and 1960's. By 1970, however, a growing list of legal scholars questioned the wisdom and effectivemess of the Warren Court's judicial activism. My major objective was to trace the tortuous …

Jonathan Boucher: Moderate Loyalist And Public Man, Anne Young Zimmer

Wayne State University Dissertations

This inquiry began then, with an attempt to understand Jonathan Boucher, the Tory of Tories, the adversary of Locke and egalitarian principles, the spokesman for Filmer in America, and the divine rights advocate. The whole complex of Boucher's life has been examined, with particular emphasis on the pre-Revolutionary years of crisis in Virginia and Maryland between 1765 and 1775, together with the milieu of the two colonies, in order to discover what factors may have contributed to Boucher's High Tory role, if, indeed, he was a High Tory. And it has been an effort to understand all of the circumstances …

Important Developments In The Grand Jury System In Virginia During The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries, Melvin Dean Snead

Master's Theses

By March of 1658 tho grand jury system in Virginia was found to be sadly lacking. It had scarcely lasted ten years. Probably the reason for this failure was that the county justices failed to carry out the details of establishing grand juries. Because or Virginia's rural setting, this system would surely have been a worthwhile one. It seems to be quite evident that here we had a powerful instrument for aiding in criminal detection, and at the same time an instrument for protecting the innocent. However, it was not used to its best advantage and as a result it …

A Study Of Political Parties In Virginia During The Civil War, David Mason Armbrister

Master's Theses

The purpose in writing this paper is to advance an opinion, one cushioned by actual factual findings brought forth in the course of research and study . This opinion holds that with the emergence of the Confederate States of America, and the ultimate inclusion of the state of Virginia in this confederation, political parties, as such, were stamped beneath the feet of marching soldiers and a patriotic, zealous citizenry, which was too concerned with the immediate state of war and their desire to secure independence from the "yankee" tyrants under their "dictator" Lincoln, to devote attention to matters of political …

The Election Of 1928 In Virginia, Hal James Bonney

Master's Theses

The desire to discover the unknown is a characteristic within us all and, at times, it calls just a little louder than usual. There is no enjoyment in the reading of these pages other than than enjoyment of finding, thinking, and understanding that some of us seek.

Af ter studying the election of 1928, I have not only found items of history and political science, but all of the elements of social life narrowed down to the actions of people during a political campaign. Far beyond the reach of history we find in this story the actions of Americans and …

The Public Campaign Of The 1949 Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial Primary, William O. Hester

Master's Theses

That the South possesses a one-party system of choosing its state and national representatives is an axiom of Anericnn politics . On only three occasions since 1880 have Southern presidential electors cast their votes for any nominee other than that of the Democratic Party. On only four occasions in this period has a Governor of a Southern State been elected on any but a Democratic ticket. This record is convincing testimony that in the States of the late Confederacy the nominees of the Democratic Party are in reality the only candidates having any probability of election.

It would therefore behoove …