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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Economic Interdependence Along A Colonial Frontier: Capitalism And The New River Valley, 1745-1789, B. Scott Crawford
Economic Interdependence Along A Colonial Frontier: Capitalism And The New River Valley, 1745-1789, B. Scott Crawford
History Theses & Dissertations
Historians have generally placed the beginning of capitalism in the United States in the early- to mid-nineteenth century. This assumes that the industrialization of the New England states fostered in a modern economic environment for the country as a whole. However, evidence of modern economic principles existed on the Virginia frontier as early as the mid-eighteenth century. As frontier settlers aspired to emulate eastern society, they not only sought to recreate a lifestyle similar to the one they left behind, but also set up similar governing practices, which in turn created social stratification similar to that which existed in the …
The Chimney Fireplace In Colonial Virginia, Catherine Howe Grosfils
The Chimney Fireplace In Colonial Virginia, Catherine Howe Grosfils
Institute for the Humanities Theses
The study of an architectural feature, the chimney fireplace, suggests changing social patterns in late colonial Virginia society. An examination of fireplace equipment in 175 room-by-room inventories, together with evidence from surviving buildings and documentary sources, reveals changes in chimney fireplaces which in turn signal deep-seated changes within this colonial society. To place the Virginia chimney within its broader context, a brief history of the chimney fireplace precedes the study of changing construction materials, fuel and fireplace equipment, and heated and unheated rooms. The social significance of the chimney fireplace, a status symbol in colonial Virginia, is discussed with relation …