http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/img/EV_Logo_sm.gif This is the url http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org The first and ultimate online reference work about the Commonwealth /Daniel_Raleigh_Travers_1805-1877 Wed, 15 May 2013 14:35:05 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Daniel_Raleigh_Travers_1805-1877 Wed, 15 May 2013 14:35:05 EST]]> /Curtiss_Gaston_G_1819-1872 Tue, 14 May 2013 17:20:38 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Curtiss_Gaston_G_1819-1872 Tue, 14 May 2013 17:20:38 EST]]> /Carr_David_Green_1809-1883 Tue, 14 May 2013 17:17:51 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Carr_David_Green_1809-1883 David Green Carr served as a member of the Convention of 1867–1868 and the Senate of Virginia (1869–1871). He was born in Otsego County, New York, in 1809 and purchased a Dinwiddie County farm in 1853. He became active in Virginia's Republican Party after the American Civil War, and in 1867 Dinwiddie and Prince George county voters elected him as one of their two representatives to the state constitutional convention. He voted in favor of the new constitution, which included such reforms as universal manhood suffrage and the establishment of a public school system. In 1869 Carr, a member of the party's radical faction, won a seat in the state senate. He became Petersburg's collector of customs in 1870. He left the position by 1874, but he reacquired the job in 1877 and held it until his death in 1883.
Tue, 14 May 2013 17:17:51 EST]]> /Daniel_John_Warwick_1842-1910 Tue, 14 May 2013 10:41:22 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Daniel_John_Warwick_1842-1910 Tue, 14 May 2013 10:41:22 EST]]> /Daniels_Edward_Dwight_1828-1916 Fri, 10 May 2013 11:23:32 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Daniels_Edward_Dwight_1828-1916 Fri, 10 May 2013 11:23:32 EST]]> /Blair_Francis_Simpson_1839-1899 Thu, 09 May 2013 16:39:12 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Blair_Francis_Simpson_1839-1899 Thu, 09 May 2013 16:39:12 EST]]> /Bolling_Stith_1835-1916 Wed, 08 May 2013 13:20:35 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Bolling_Stith_1835-1916 Wed, 08 May 2013 13:20:35 EST]]> /Commodore_Aaron_1819_or_1820-1892 Wed, 08 May 2013 13:18:10 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Commodore_Aaron_1819_or_1820-1892 Wed, 08 May 2013 13:18:10 EST]]> /Coleman_Asa_d_after_February_24_1893 Wed, 08 May 2013 13:07:41 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Coleman_Asa_d_after_February_24_1893 Wed, 08 May 2013 13:07:41 EST]]> /Allan_Edgar_1842-1904 Wed, 08 May 2013 11:51:41 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Allan_Edgar_1842-1904 Wed, 08 May 2013 11:51:41 EST]]> /Branch_Tazewell_1828-1925 Wed, 08 May 2013 11:15:29 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Branch_Tazewell_1828-1925 Wed, 08 May 2013 11:15:29 EST]]> /Carter_James_B_ca_1816-1870 Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:21:06 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Carter_James_B_ca_1816-1870 Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:21:06 EST]]> /Brown_Edward_Wellington_d_1929 Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:00:40 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Brown_Edward_Wellington_d_1929 Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:00:40 EST]]> /Bryan_Daniel_ca_1789-1866 Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:21:59 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Bryan_Daniel_ca_1789-1866 Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:21:59 EST]]> /Baldwin_John_Brown_1820-1873 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:33:43 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Baldwin_John_Brown_1820-1873 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:33:43 EST]]> /Anderson_Joseph_Reid_1813-1892 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:57:06 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Anderson_Joseph_Reid_1813-1892 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:57:06 EST]]> /Mahone_William_1826-1895 Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:57:08 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Mahone_William_1826-1895 Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:57:08 EST]]> /Constitutional_Convention_Virginia_1901-1902 Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:36:53 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Constitutional_Convention_Virginia_1901-1902 Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:36:53 EST]]> /Disfranchisement Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:57:43 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Disfranchisement Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:57:43 EST]]> /Montague_Andrew_Jackson_1862-1937 Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:46:18 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Montague_Andrew_Jackson_1862-1937 Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:46:18 EST]]> /Democratic_Party_of_Virginia Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:31:12 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Democratic_Party_of_Virginia Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:31:12 EST]]> /Poll_Tax Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:53:00 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Poll_Tax Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:53:00 EST]]> /Clark_Matt_ca_1844-after_1892 Mon, 19 Nov 2012 09:43:25 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Clark_Matt_ca_1844-after_1892 Mon, 19 Nov 2012 09:43:25 EST]]> /Attorneys_General_of_Virginia Thu, 20 Sep 2012 08:35:15 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Attorneys_General_of_Virginia Thu, 20 Sep 2012 08:35:15 EST]]> /Members_of_the_Virginia_State_Corporation_Commission Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:23:35 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Members_of_the_Virginia_State_Corporation_Commission Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:23:35 EST]]> /Virginia_Statute_for_Establishing_Religious_Freedom_1786 Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:30:30 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Virginia_Statute_for_Establishing_Religious_Freedom_1786 The Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom was drafted by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the General Assembly on January 16, 1786, before being signed into law three days later. The statute affirms the rights of Virginians to choose their faiths without coercion; separates church and state; and, while acknowledging the right of future assemblies to change the law, concludes that doing so would "be an infringement of a natural right." Jefferson's original bill "for establishing religious freedom," drafted in 1777 and introduced in 1779, was tabled in the face of opposition among powerful members of the established Church of England. Then, in 1784, a resolution calling for a tax to support all Christian sects excited such opposition that James Madison saw an opportunity to reintroduce Jefferson's bill. It passed both houses of the General Assembly with minimal changes to its text. One of the most eloquent statements of religious freedom ever written, the statute influenced both the drafting of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the United States Supreme Court's understanding of religious freedom. Jefferson considered it one of his crowning achievements and a necessary bulwark against tyranny.
Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:30:30 EST]]> /Reynolds_J_Sargeant_1936-1971 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:07:40 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Reynolds_J_Sargeant_1936-1971 J. Sargeant Reynolds was a member of the House of Delegates (1966–1967) and the Senate of Virginia (1968–1969) and was the lieutenant governor of Virginia (1970–1971). The son of industrialist Richard S. Reynolds Jr., he enjoyed the advantages of wealth and social position, but used his privilege to advocate for the less fortunate. Reynolds positioned himself as a moderate and won support across the political spectrum despite his more liberal goals, which included education improvement, economic development, and equal opportunity regardless of race. The Virginia Democrats' most promising candidate for the 1973 gubernatorial race, Reynolds was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in the summer of 1970. After undergoing radiation treatments, he was able to preside over the state senate in January 1971. That April, at a whites-only political gathering in Southside Virginia, he denounced the Byrd Organization's Massive Resistance policy and defiance of United States Supreme Court decisions such as Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina (1971), which upheld the busing of schoolchildren for the purpose of desegregation. Thereafter, his health declined: further radiation treatments weakened his immune system, and he contracted pneumonia. He died on June 13, 1971, at age thirty-four.
Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:07:40 EST]]> /Peery_George_Campbell_1873-1952 Tue, 26 Jun 2012 12:04:45 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Peery_George_Campbell_1873-1952 George Campbell Peery, a Democratic ally of Harry F. Byrd Sr., served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1923–1929) and as governor of Virginia (1934–1938). Peery made his first mark on Virginia's political map and brought a great victory to the Democratic Party when he wrested control of Southwest Virginia's "Fighting Ninth" Congressional District from two decades of Republican occupation. As Byrd's handpicked choice to replace outgoing governor John Garland Pollard, Peery instituted a number of reforms and policies of lasting impact. A Byrd Organization disciple, Peery valued economic thrift and small government, but was not afraid to support more progressive policies when they were politically and economically advantageous. He advocated, for instance, increased funding for public education and recommended that the state adopt an unemployment insurance plan. Peery also created the Department of Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control to regulate alcohol sales and consumption in a post-prohibition Virginia.
Tue, 26 Jun 2012 12:04:45 EST]]> /Antilynching_Law_of_1928 Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:32:24 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Antilynching_Law_of_1928 The Virginia Anti-Lynching Law of 1928, signed by Virginia governor Harry Flood Byrd Sr. on March 14, 1928, was the first measure in the nation that defined lynching specifically as a state crime. The bill's enactment marked the culmination of a campaign waged by Louis Isaac Jaffé, the editor of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, who responded more forcefully than any other white Virginian to an increase in mob violence in the mid-1920s. Jaffé's efforts, however, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 1929, came to fruition only after the state's political and business leadership recognized that mob violence was a threat to their efforts to attract business and industry. Ironically, no white person was ever convicted of lynching an African American under the law.
Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:32:24 EST]]> /Lee_Richard_Henry_1732-1794 Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:27:01 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Lee_Richard_Henry_1732-1794 Richard Henry Lee was a planter, merchant, politician, and a member of the prominent Lee family of Virginia. Son of Thomas Lee, Richard Henry Lee pursued his father's interest in westward expansion and was a key political figure during the American Revolution (1775–1783): it was Lee who, at the Second Continental Congress in 1776, made the motion to declare independence from Britain. Lee began his career as a justice of the peace for Westmoreland County (1757); he later served as a member of the House of Burgesses (1758–1775), the House of Delegates (1777, 1780, 1785), and the United States Senate (1789–1792). He also represented Virginia at the two Continental Congresses (1774–1779, 1784–1787) and served as president of Congress in 1784. In 1792 Lee retired from public service, citing his poor health. He passed away two years later at Chantilly-on-the-Potomac, his estate in the Northern Neck of Virginia. Lee was mired in controversy throughout his political career, and his legacy has been influenced in part by his enemies. But Lee's prominent role in the events that shaped Virginia and the nation in the mid- to late seventeenth century cannot be denied; it places him high on the list of America's forgotten founders.
Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:27:01 EST]]> /A_Memorial_and_Remonstrance_by_James_Madison_1785 Mon, 14 May 2012 11:49:55 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/A_Memorial_and_Remonstrance_by_James_Madison_1785 "A Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments," anonymously authored by James Madison and published on or about June 20, 1785, argues against a resolution by the House of Delegates, adopted on November 11, 1784, to levy a so-called General Assessment to benefit all Christian sects, including dissenters against the established Church of England. The resolution excited such opposition, and petitions like Madison's such support, that Madison was emboldened to reintroduce Thomas Jefferson's Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, which passed the General Assembly on January 16, 1786.
Mon, 14 May 2012 11:49:55 EST]]> /An_Act_for_establishing_religious_Freedom_1786 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:31:15 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/An_Act_for_establishing_religious_Freedom_1786 "An Act for establishing religious Freedom" was drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1777, introduced into the House of Delegates in 1779, reintroduced in 1785, and finally adopted by the full General Assembly on January 16, 1786. This manuscript version of what has come to be known as the Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom was signed alongside three other laws on January 19. Some spelling has been modernized.
Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:31:15 EST]]> /Tax_on_Religion_an_excerpt_from_the_Journal_of_the_House_of_Delegates_1784 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:10:12 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Tax_on_Religion_an_excerpt_from_the_Journal_of_the_House_of_Delegates_1784 In this excerpt from the Journal of the House of Delegates, the House adopts a resolution supporting "a moderate tax or contribution, annually," to benefit all Christian sects, including dissenters from the established Church of England. The resolution, which eventually failed, excited such opposition that James Madison was emboldened to reintroduce Thomas Jefferson's Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, which was passed by the General Assembly on January 16, 1786.
Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:10:12 EST]]> /Debate_and_Passage_of_An_act_for_establishing_religious_Freedom_in_the_House_of_Delegates_and_the_Senate_of_Virginia_1785-1786 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:37:32 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Debate_and_Passage_of_An_act_for_establishing_religious_Freedom_in_the_House_of_Delegates_and_the_Senate_of_Virginia_1785-1786 In these excerpts from the Journal of the House of Delegates and the Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the General Assembly debates and finally passes the Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom, originally drafted by Thomas Jefferson.
Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:37:32 EST]]> /Robertson_A_Willis_1887-1971 Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:33:51 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Robertson_A_Willis_1887-1971 A. Willis Robertson served in the Senate of Virginia (1916–1922), the United States House of Representatives (1933–1946), and the United States Senate (1946–1966). His career closely paralleled that of his friend and mentor, Harry F. Byrd, the leader of the Democratic Party in Virginia. They were born within two weeks of each other and only a few streets apart in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in 1887. They began their service in the Virginia state senate on the same day in 1916, and arrived at the United States Congress—Byrd to the Senate, Robertson to the House—on the same day in 1933. Though he stood with Byrd on many issues, including civil rights, Robertson asserted his independence from Byrd's political machine, the Byrd Organization, throughout his twenty-year senatorial career. Robertson differed from Byrd in his views on foreign policy and in his support of Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson in 1952 and 1956; in addition, Robertson was not a strong supporter of Byrd's Massive Resistance policy. In 1966 Robertson lost his Senate seat to William B. Spong, a more liberal Democrat from Portsmouth.
Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:33:51 EST]]> /Governors_of_Virginia Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:43:51 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Governors_of_Virginia Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:43:51 EST]]> /A_Bill_for_Establishing_Religious_Freedom_1779 Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:17:28 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/A_Bill_for_Establishing_Religious_Freedom_1779 A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1777, was introduced to the House of Delegates on June 12, 1779, but eventually tabled. James Madison reintroduced a slightly different version in 1785, which was passed by the General Assembly on January 16, 1786.
Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:17:28 EST]]> /Francis_Lightfoot_Lee_1734-1797 Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:55:33 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Francis_Lightfoot_Lee_1734-1797 Francis Lightfoot Lee, known as Frank, was a member of the House of Burgesses (1758–1774), the Continental Congress (1775–1779), and the Senate of Virginia (1778–1782). Born into the Lee family of Stratford Hall, Lee was a dedicated if reluctant public servant for most of his life. He is best known for signing the Declaration of Independence and for representing Loudoun and Richmond counties in the House of Burgesses; he also provided political and emotional support to his controversy-prone brothers, Richard Henry Lee and Arthur Lee, throughout their careers. (Arthur Lee wrote of Francis Lee, "He was calmness and philosophy itself.") He died on January 17, 1797, at his estate, Menokin, in present-day Warsaw, Virginia.
Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:55:33 EST]]> /Spong_William_Belser_Jr_1920-1997 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:15:52 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Spong_William_Belser_Jr_1920-1997 William Belser Spong Jr. was a Virginia lawyer and politician who served in the House of Delegates (1954–1955), the Senate of Virginia (1956–1966), and the United States Senate (1966–1973). He was born in Portsmouth on September 29, 1920, to William Belser Spong and Emily Nichols Spong. He attended public schools in Portsmouth and attended Hampden-Sydney College before receiving a law degree from the University of Virginia in 1947. Spong served in the 93rd Bomber Group of the Eighth Air Force during World War II (1939–1945). He was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1947 and practiced law in Portsmouth. At the same time he lectured in law and government at the College of William and Mary.
Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:15:52 EST]]> /Seal_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Virginia Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:26:33 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Seal_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Virginia The Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia—called for at the Convention of 1776 and designed by George Wythe—pictures on the front the Roman goddess of virtue, the word "Virginia," and the Commonwealth's motto, Sic Semper Tyrannis, or "thus always to tyrants." On the reverse side are three more goddesses and the word Perseverando ("by persevering"). The seal has remained largely unchanged since 1779, although at the start of the American Civil War (1861–1865), Unionists in western Virginia established the Restored government of Virginia, adding the words "Liberty and Union" to both sides of the seal. In 1873, the General Assembly removed the words, and in 1903, another ordinance described the seal in essentially the same language as in 1776. The Virginia Convention of 1861, which adopted the Ordinance of Secession, also adopted a state flag that featured the front, or obverse, side of the seal against a background of deep blue.
Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:26:33 EST]]> /Daniel_Wilbur_Clarence_Dan_1914-1988 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:27:00 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Daniel_Wilbur_Clarence_Dan_1914-1988 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:27:00 EST]]> /Chilton_Samuel_1805-1867 Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:18:11 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Chilton_Samuel_1805-1867 Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:18:11 EST]]> /Massive_Resistance Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:09:35 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Massive_Resistance Massive Resistance was a policy adopted in 1956 by Virginia's state government to block the desegregation of public schools mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1954 ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Advocated by U.S. senator Harry F. Byrd Sr., a conservative Democrat and former governor who coined the term, Massive Resistance reflected the racial views and fears of Byrd's power base in Southside Virginia as well as the senator's reflexive disdain for federal government intrusion into state affairs. When schools were shut down in Front Royal in Warren County , Charlottesville , and Norfolk to prevent desegregation, the courts stepped in and overturned the policy. In the end, Massive Resistance added more bitterness to race relations already strained by the resentments engendered by the caste system and delayed large-scale desegregation of Virginia's public schools for more than a decade. Meanwhile, Virginia's defiance served as an example for the states of the Lower South, and the legal vestiges of Massive Resistance lasted until early in the 1970s.
Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:09:35 EST]]> /Letcher_John_1813-1884 Thu, 26 May 2011 16:41:48 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Letcher_John_1813-1884 John Letcher was a lawyer, newspaper editor, member of the United States House of Representatives (1851–1859), and governor of Virginia (1860–1864) during the American Civil War (1861–1865). In a career that lasted decades, he weathered radical shifts of opinion and power by consistently positioning himself as a moderate, supporting, for instance, increased commercial ties between the eastern and western portions of the state and more political representation for western counties, codified in the Convention of 1850–1851. He advocated for a gradual emancipation of slaves and resisted the entreaties of radical secessionists while still arguing on behalf of states' rights. Western support and a divided Whig Party helped him narrowly win the governorship as a Democrat in 1859, but his term was often a difficult one. He ably mobilized Virginia for war and then threw the state's tremendous resources behind the Confederacy. But his willingness to requisition for the Confederacy needed supplies such as salt caused controversy at home, as did his support of impressments. Letcher returned to Lexington in 1864, ran for the Confederate Congress and lost, and was briefly imprisoned at the conclusion of the war. After his release, he resumed his law career, returning to state politics before dying in 1884.
Thu, 26 May 2011 16:41:48 EST]]> /Tucker_George_1775-1861 Mon, 16 May 2011 13:01:57 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Tucker_George_1775-1861 Mon, 16 May 2011 13:01:57 EST]]> /Republican_Party_of_Virginia Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:10:52 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Republican_Party_of_Virginia The Republican Party is one of two major political parties in Virginia. Although founded in 1854 in opposition to the spread of slavery, the party did not take hold in Virginia until after the American Civil War (1861–1865). Even then, for nearly a century the Republicans were an ineffectual, minority party with only pockets of regional strength. During this period, the conservative Democratic Party dominated politics in Virginia and the rest of the South. After World War II (1939–1945), economic growth, demographic trends, electoral reforms, and policy debates combined to spur a realignment that gradually brought the Virginia parties into line philosophically with their national counterparts. As the center-right party in a conservative-leaning state, the Virginia Republican Party became consistently competitive. Following the mid-1970s, Virginia politics settled into a pattern characterized by active competition between the two major party organizations and their candidates. Partisan fortunes ebbed and flowed, but neither party established durable majority support on a statewide basis. In the twenty-first century Republican candidates in Virginia routinely compete with their Democratic rivals for the support of nonaligned voters (generally called "independents") in addition to mobilizing fellow partisans.
Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:10:52 EST]]> /Wilder_Lawrence_Douglas_1931- Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:22:17 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Wilder_Lawrence_Douglas_1931- L. Douglas Wilder was governor of Virginia from 1990 until 1994. His was a political career of many firsts: the grandson of slaves, he was the first African American elected governor of any state in America. He was the first black member of the Virginia Senate in the twentieth century. And he was the first African American to win statewide office in Virginia when he was elected lieutenant governor in 1985. A Democrat, he ran briefly for United States president in 1991 and in 2004 was elected mayor of Richmond, serving until 2008.
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:22:17 EST]]> /Holton_A_Linwood_1923- Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:18:52 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Holton_A_Linwood_1923- A. Linwood Holton was a governor of Virginia (1970–1974) and the first Republican to hold the office since Reconstruction (1865–1877). Hailing from Big Stone Gap in southwest Virginia, Holton was among the "Mountain and Valley" Republicans who began to gain statewide support in the 1950s in opposition to the Byrd Organization and in support of public school desegregation. Holton won a narrow race for governor in 1969 with a coalition that included a substantial number of African American and white working-class voters. As governor, he declared an end to Massive Resistance, the state's anti–desegregation policy, announcing, "The era of defiance is behind us." In 1970, he was photographed escorting his daughter Tayloe into a nearly all-black high school in Richmond. In addition, Holton reorganized the executive branch, worked to clean Virginia's polluted waters, and helped create a unified Ports Authority in Hampton Roads. He was not able to overcome increasing factionalism among state Republicans, however, and the party lost a series of statewide elections in the 1970s. A bold and decisive progressive on matters of race relations, he did much to break the Democrats' one-party dominance of Virginia's political life. He was less successful at imprinting his own moderate conservative philosophy on the Virginia Republican Party.
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:18:52 EST]]> /Stanley_Thomas_Bahnson_1890-1970 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:46:24 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Stanley_Thomas_Bahnson_1890-1970 Thomas B. Stanley served as governor of Virginia (1954–1958) during the turbulent first years of Massive Resistance to school desegregation. His initial reaction to the 1954 Supreme Court of the United States decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas was moderate, but Stanley, a politician of few gifts, was unable to curb increasing calls for a defiant stance to school desegregation. Stanley eventually followed the lead of more conservative Democrats and backed legislation designed to maintain what supporters called "separate but equal" schools.
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:46:24 EST]]> /Price_James_Hubert_1878-1943 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:36:10 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Price_James_Hubert_1878-1943 James H. Price was a governor of Virginia (1938–1942) who advocated for a series of progressive policies designed to help those hurt by the Great Depression of the 1930s. His most notable achievement came in 1938 with the enactment of an Old Age Assistance Plan that enabled Virginians to receive federal Social Security benefits. Throughout his term, Price battled with United States Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. and members of his political machine over policy and patronage issues. While Price won some of these battles, by 1940 Byrd and the Byrd Organization had derailed his legislative agenda, leaving a defeated Price to spend most of his last two years in office helping to mobilize Virginia for war.
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:36:10 EST]]> /Henderson_Helen_Timmons_1877-1925 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:29:55 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Henderson_Helen_Timmons_1877-1925 Helen Timmons Henderson, from the town of Council in Buchanan County, served in the Virginia House of Delegates (1924–1925), one of the first two women elected to that body (the other was Norfolk's Sarah Lee Fain). She die before having the opportunity to run for a second term.
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:29:55 EST]]> /Fain_Sarah_Lee_1888-1962 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:23:37 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Fain_Sarah_Lee_1888-1962 Sarah Lee Fain was one of the first two women elected to serve in the Virginia General Assembly following ratification in 1920 of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave American women the right to vote. When she took her seat as a delegate from Norfolk in January 1924, Fain and her legislative colleague Helen Timmons Henderson, of Buchanan County, became pioneers whose presence in the Virginia State Capitol signaled the start of women's full participation in the political life of the state. Virginia changed slowly, however, and six more decades would pass before women served in the state's legislature in appreciable numbers.
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:23:37 EST]]> /Byrd_Harry_Flood_Sr_1887-1966 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:47:14 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Byrd_Harry_Flood_Sr_1887-1966 Harry F. Byrd served as a Virginia state senator (1915–1925), governor (1926–1930), and United States senator (1933–1965), was the father of a U.S. senator, and for forty years led the Democratic political machine known as the Byrd Organization. By virtue of both his service and power, he was one of the most prominent Virginians of the twentieth century. But much of that power was wielded in mostly vain opposition to the New Deal's big-government programs and the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. As governor he instituted a popular downsizing of state government that increased efficiency, but the end of his career was marked by his now-infamous "massive resistance" to federally mandated school desegregation.
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:47:14 EST]]> /Byrd_Organization Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:46:00 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Byrd_Organization The Byrd Organization was a state political machine headed by Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966), a Democratic state senator, governor, and United States senator who, for more than forty years, used his power and influence to dominate the political life of Virginia. Inheriting an already tight party organization that for decades had emphasized small government and a limited franchise, Byrd prioritized fiscal conservatism—a policy he pithily dubbed "pay as you go"—and, on those grounds, opposed many of fellow Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal programs. Byrd and his organization are perhaps best known, however, for their fierce opposition to a 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that mandated the desegregation of public schools. The resulting Massive Resistance movement led to the shutdown of schools in Charlottesville, Front Royal, and Norfolk before the federal and state courts overturned state antidesegregation policies. It also effectively ended the organization's decades-long hold on power in the state.
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:46:00 EST]]> /Battle_John_Stewart_1890-1972 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:34:41 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Battle_John_Stewart_1890-1972 John Stewart Battle was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates (1930–1934) and the Senate of Virginia (1934–1950), and served as governor of Virginia (1950–1954). A loyal Democrat in line with the Byrd Organization, the state machine run by U.S. senator Harry F. Byrd Sr., Battle overcame a spirited challenge by three fellow Democrats to win the 1949 gubernatorial primary. His greatest achievement as governor was a massive school construction program to accommodate the first wave of the baby boom. Battle gained national recognition when he addressed the 1952 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, in an effort to prevent the Virginia delegation from losing its vote due to a disagreement over a loyalty oath. Although the U.S. Supreme Court did not announce its 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas—which mandated the desegregation of public schools—until after Battle left office, civil rights issues were emerging during his term. In a somewhat ironic end to his public service, Battle, a segregationist, was appointed by U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in 1957.
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:34:41 EST]]> /Almond_James_Lindsay_Jr_1898-1986 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:20:45 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Almond_James_Lindsay_Jr_1898-1986 J. Lindsay Almond Jr. was a governor of Virginia (1958–1962) whose name became synonymous with Massive Resistance, the legislative effort used to prevent school desegregation in light of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, Supreme Court of the United States ruling in 1954. A Democrat and member of the Byrd Organization, Almond is famous for closing public schools in Charlottesville, Norfolk, and Front Royal in 1958 rather than integrating them. When the state and federal courts declared his actions illegal, Almond submitted, thus effectively ending the era of Massive Resistance to desegregation in Virginia.
Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:20:45 EST]]> /Kemper_James_Lawson_1823-1895 Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:03:55 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Kemper_James_Lawson_1823-1895 James Lawson Kemper was a Confederate general during the American Civil War (1861–1865), who later served as governor of Virginia (1874–1877). Kemper volunteered in the Mexican War (1846–1848), but returned to his civilian life as a lawyer. He served five terms in the Virginia House of Delegates (1853–1863), including time as Speaker of the House (1861–1863). There he garnered a reputation for honesty and attention to duty. Kemper volunteered for service in 1861, and with his promotion in June 1862 became the Confederacy's youngest brigade commander. Badly wounded at Gettysburg in July 1863, Kemper oversaw the Virginia Reserve Forces for the remainder of the war. He helped found the Conservative Party during Reconstruction (1865–1877). Soundly defeating the Republican candidate in the 1873 gubernatorial race, Kemper found himself, as governor, at odds with previous supporters over his progressive stance on civil rights, prison reform, and public school improvements. Still suffering from his wound, Kemper retired to his law practice, and died in Orange County in 1895.
Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:03:55 EST]]> /Highway_Bond_Referendum_1923 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 10:58:45 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Highway_Bond_Referendum_1923 The 1923 Highway Bond Referendum was defeated by voters after a long and bruising battle in the General Assembly where state senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. emerged as a real political force. At issue was how to pay for much-needed road improvement. While bonds were popular at first, Byrd had managed to muster a fierce and stubborn opposition, arguing that a gas tax, instead of bonds, would allow the state to adopt a "pay-as-you-go" policy that was more fiscally responsible. Byrd's behind-the-scenes machinations foreshadowed the political powerhouse he was about to become—as Virginia's governor, as a U.S. senator, and as head of the Byrd Organization, a statewide Democratic Party machine.
Tue, 23 Nov 2010 10:58:45 EST]]> /Carson_William_Edward_1870-1942 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:51:35 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Carson_William_Edward_1870-1942 William E. Carson, chairman of the Commission on Conservation and Development, was a Virginia businessman whose friendship with Harry F. Byrd elevated him to political prominence in Virginia in the 1920s. Disagreements with the more-powerful Byrd over commission matters and his own political ambitions, however, led to a falling out. Though Byrd declined to renew Carson's commission appointment in 1934, Carson remained chairman of the Democratic committee in the Seventh District until 1940.
Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:51:35 EST]]> /Robb_Charles_S_1939- Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:12:29 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Robb_Charles_S_1939- Charles S. "Chuck" Robb served as lieutenant governor (1978–1982) and governor of Virginia (1982–1986) and for two terms as U.S. senator (1989–2001). The son-in-law of U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson, Robb entered Virginia politics as a "celebrity" without the customary résumé of serving in lower office. A Democrat, Robb was instrumental in reviving his party's fortunes in the state after a period of Republican dominance. His election in 1981 ushered in the first of three consecutive Democratic governorships. A moderate, Robb also played a role in national politics, moving his party to the center but never seeking national office himself. His promising career was tarnished by a series of scandals and he was ultimately defeated for reelection in 2000.
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:12:29 EST]]> /Scott_Robert_Cortez_Bobby_1947- Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:08:41 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Scott_Robert_Cortez_Bobby_1947- Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott has represented Virginia's Third District for eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Elected to his first term in 1992, Scott was the first American of Filipino descent and only the second African American to represent Virginia in the U.S. Congress since John M. Langston left office in 1891. Before being elected to the House, he had served in both the Virginia House of Delegates (1978–1982) and the Virginia Senate (1982–1992). A moderate Democrat, Scott has chaired the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee since 2006.
Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:08:41 EST]]> /Pollard_John_Garland_1871-1937 Fri, 28 May 2010 15:13:26 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Pollard_John_Garland_1871-1937 John Garland Pollard was a progressive Democrat who served as delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901–1902, attorney general of Virginia (1914–1918), and governor (1930–1934). Handpicked by Harry F. Byrd Sr. to be his gubernatorial successor, Pollard left a legacy as governor that was clouded by the fact that he took office on the eve of the Great Depression. While independent-minded, Pollard was never able to get fully out from under the thumb of Byrd (supposedly he would remark while patting his belly that he had become so rotund by "swallowing the Byrd machine"). Byrd's control over Pollard and Virginia's political environment was particularly evident in the initiative to legalize alcohol when Byrd went around Pollard to senator William M. Tuck to gather the General Assembly together in order to push through a state referendum to repeal Prohibition and establish the state-run Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. Outside of politics, Pollard was an educator and member of several public and philanthropic commissions and organizations. As a practicing attorney, he wrote Pollard's Code of Virginia, which became an often-consulted reference work on the laws of Virginia. He also served briefly as a professor of constitutional law and history at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. In 1936 Pollard helped to found the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, the first state art museum in the United States, and served as president of the museum's board of directors.
Fri, 28 May 2010 15:13:26 EST]]> /Dalton_John_N_1931-1986 Thu, 20 May 2010 15:26:36 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Dalton_John_N_1931-1986 John N. Dalton, a successful lawyer, businessman, and farmer, was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates (1966–1972) and the Senate of Virginia (1972–1973), and served as lieutenant governor (1974–1978) and as governor (1978–1982). He was the first Republican lieutenant governor of the twentieth century. His term as governor came during a period of dramatic realignment in which the Republican Party, long overshadowed by the Democratic Byrd Organization, became competitive in state elections for the first time in nearly a century. In fact, Dalton's rapid climb from state legislator to governor paralleled Virginia's transition from a one-party, Democratic state, typical of the "Solid South," to a competitive, two-party system. The third in a trio of Republican governors of Virginia during the 1970s, Dalton stressed economic development, conservative fiscal management, and Republican party-building.
Thu, 20 May 2010 15:26:36 EST]]> /Martin_Thomas_Staples_1847-1919 Thu, 20 May 2010 15:12:58 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Martin_Thomas_Staples_1847-1919 Thomas Staples Martin was a railroad attorney, a longtime U.S. senator from Virginia (serving from 1895 until 1919), and an architect of the state Democratic Party machine that during his time was known as the Martin Organization. A quiet, behind-the-scenes political player, Martin rose through the party ranks largely due to his influence with powerful railroad interests. Under the leadership of Martin's mentor, John S. Barbour Jr., Democrats reestablished control of state politics that, since Reconstruction (1865–1877), had been in the hands of Republicans and Readjusters. Then, in 1893, in a huge and unexpected upset, Martin defeated former Confederate general and Virginia governor Fitzhugh Lee for election to Barbour's U.S. Senate seat, allowing him to take control of the party and, to a large extent, the state. Accused by his critics of bribery and corruption, Martin stayed in power and managed to rise to the position of Senate Majority Leader at least in part because of his pragmatic willingness to forge coalitions between the competing conservative and progressive wings of the Democratic Party. As a result, Martin's political machine and its successor, the Byrd Organization, dominated Virginia politics until the 1960s.
Thu, 20 May 2010 15:12:58 EST]]> /Byrne_Leslie_1946- Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:53:38 EST http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Byrne_Leslie_1946- Leslie Byrne was the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress from Virginia, serving as a Democrat for one term, from January 3, 1993, until January 3, 1995. Byrne emerged as a skilled fund-raiser and hard-nosed campaigner, but her tenure in Congress was marked by Democratic defeats over health care issues and her own sometimes difficult relationships with fellow representatives. In addition to her term in Congress, Byrne served in the House of Delegates (1986–1992) and the Senate of Virginia (2000–2003). She also served as the White House Director of Consumer Affairs under U.S. president Bill Clinton.
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