Patrician and Plebeian / Or The Origin and Development of the Social Classes of the Old Dominion

Name: Patrician and Plebeian / Or The Origin and Development of the Social Classes of the Old Dominion
Author: Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker

By Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker

Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

History - American

About This Book

The work traces the origin and evolution of elite and popular social orders in early Virginia, arguing that local economic, geographic, and legal conditions produced a distinctive planter hierarchy rather than a direct transplant of English aristocracy. Drawing on contemporary documents and legislative records, it examines settlement patterns, the tobacco-based economy, the preference for dispersed plantations over towns, landholding and inheritance practices, and the social and political interactions between wealthy landholders and ordinary settlers, showing how these forces combined to shape enduring class structures in the colony.

About the Author

Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker

Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker was an American historian and author known for his in-depth studies of colonial Virginia and its social structures. His notable works include "Bacon's Rebellion, 1676," which examines the causes and consequences of this pivotal uprising, and "Give Me Liberty: The Struggle for Self-Government in Virginia," where he explores the evolution of governance in the colony. Wertenbaker's scholarship provides valuable insights into the complexities of early American society, particularly the dynamics between different social classes, as seen in his work "Patrician and Plebeian." His contributions have significantly enriched the understanding of Virginia's historical landscape during the colonial period.