Bound Away: Virginia and the Westward Movement

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding history of migration to, within, & from Virginia
Review: A fascinating history of migration to, within, and from Virginia, the Old Dominion. The "to" begins with the English colonization at Roanoke (the lost colony) and Jamestown. "Within" is movement of colonists to various parts of the region, including the tidewater, piedmont, southside, northern neck, and "the valley" (Shenandoah). And "from" is the movement of Virginians to all parts of the country, south, north, but mainly west. What happened to Virginia, the most populous and prosperous of states during the early U.S. Republic? Why the decline after four of the first five presidents were Virginians (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe)? Part of the reason was a great migration west, both northwest and southwest. Why? The land was depleted from generations of farming, and there wasn't enough land for the growing population. But Virginia's emigrants and their descendants had great impacts on other territories and U.S. history: Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton, William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, Stephen Austin and Sam Houston. The authors use Turner's theory of the frontier as the backdrop for a vivid portrayal of Virginia and U.S. history. One weakness is a section of name-dropping about now unknown families who migrated west. Other than that, a lively story recommended for those interested in Virginia and U.S. history. Plenty of pictures and maps--the book accompanied an exhibit at the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding history of migration to, within, & from Virginia
Review: A fascinating history of migration to, within, and from Virginia, the Old Dominion. The "to" begins with the English colonization at Roanoke (the lost colony) and Jamestown. "Within" is movement of colonists to various parts of the region, including the tidewater, piedmont, southside, northern neck, and "the valley" (Shenandoah). And "from" is the movement of Virginians to all parts of the country, south, north, but mainly west. What happened to Virginia, the most populous and prosperous of states during the early U.S. Republic? Why the decline after four of the first five presidents were Virginians (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe)? Part of the reason was a great migration west, both northwest and southwest. Why? The land was depleted from generations of farming, and there wasn't enough land for the growing population. But Virginia's emigrants and their descendants had great impacts on other territories and U.S. history: Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton, William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, Stephen Austin and Sam Houston. The authors use Turner's theory of the frontier as the backdrop for a vivid portrayal of Virginia and U.S. history. One weakness is a section of name-dropping about now unknown families who migrated west. Other than that, a lively story recommended for those interested in Virginia and U.S. history. Plenty of pictures and maps--the book accompanied an exhibit at the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding history of migration to, within, & from Virginia
Review: A fascinating history of migration to, within, and from Virginia, the Old Dominion. The "to" begins with the English colonization at Roanoke (the lost colony) and Jamestown. "Within" is movement of colonists to various parts of the region, including the tidewater, piedmont, southside, northern neck, and "the valley" (Shenandoah). And "from" is the movement of Virginians to all parts of the country, south, north, but mainly west. What happened to Virginia, the most populous and prosperous of states during the early U.S. Republic? Why the decline after four of the first five presidents were Virginians (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe)? Part of the reason was a great migration west, both northwest and southwest. Why? The land was depleted from generations of farming, and there wasn't enough land for the growing population. But Virginia's emigrants and their descendants had great impacts on other territories and U.S. history: Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton, William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, Stephen Austin and Sam Houston. The authors use Turner's theory of the frontier as the backdrop for a vivid portrayal of Virginia and U.S. history. One weakness is a section of name-dropping about now unknown families who migrated west. Other than that, a lively story recommended for those interested in Virginia and U.S. history. Plenty of pictures and maps--the book accompanied an exhibit at the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond.

Rating:
Summary: Great extension of the English Folkways
Review: After reading Albion's Seed I was eager to read more about the English folkways. This book expands on that with information about German folkways and African folkways. This books gives a sense the people that expanded westward. There is also a philosophical current about the nature of historial inquiry. He addresses various ideas about frontiers and shows that the process of expansion is not open to one-size-fits all explainations. Though Fischer depricates purely materialist explainations of history, the interplay between the cultural values of the Virginians and the physical limitations of the land is a compelling explaination of the westward expansion.

Rating:
Summary: Great extension of the English Folkways
Review: After reading Albion's Seed I was eager to read more about the English folkways. This book expands on that with information about German folkways and African folkways. This books gives a sense the people that expanded westward. There is also a philosophical current about the nature of historial inquiry. He addresses various ideas about frontiers and shows that the process of expansion is not open to one-size-fits all explainations. Though Fischer depricates purely materialist explainations of history, the interplay between the cultural values of the Virginians and the physical limitations of the land is a compelling explaination of the westward expansion.

Rating:
Summary: Maintains his high standard!
Review: Fischer wrote _Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America,_ which is one of the best works published in several decades in comparative and local U.S. history, and in many ways this is a continuation of the "Virginia" section of that book. Which is a bit surprising, since the author is a New Englander and previously showed considerable preference for the folkways of Massachusetts over those in the South. Since I have numerous forebears in Virginia, I was particularly interested in the first three chapters: "Migration to Virginia," "Migration in Virginia," and "Migration beyond Virginia." All of those apply to my people and Fischer's coverage of the in-through-and-out process is first-rate. As before, he's an old-fashioned historian, spending a lot of time describing the concrete experiences of particular individuals and families, not spinning out historiographical theory. This is a must-read for anyone interested in Virginia's first couple of centuries.

Rating:
Summary: Reads like a museum catalogue
Review: I was terribly disappointed in this book, not because it was bad or not enlightening, but really because I had such high expectations for it. You see, Dr. Fischer was a professor of mine at Brandeis, many years ago, by far my best & most personally influential professor of either my college or grad school years. So I eagerly, too eagerly in this case, await each volume he produces. This book has alot of great information in it, and it is beautifully produced, with well chosen, well reproduced paintings, maps & photographs throughout. But in narrative style, it is sorely lacking. If you are looking for traditional narrative history, this is not it. If you are looking mainly for sparklingly new insights about the history of the colonies & the early-republic, this is a great place to find those (as long as you don't mind sloughing through the text).

Rating:
Summary: Virginia Is For Lovers (Of History)
Review: What an excellent book! The last I knew Fischer was working on a big book concerning plantation life in the south and I assume this is a book that developed out of the research he is doing for that book. This book concerns migration from Britain to Virginia, migration within Virginia and then migration from Virginia to other states. Most of the book deals with the 1700's up until just before the Civil War. I can't do justice to all the interesting information that is in this book during the course of a brief review. The authors explain how people migrated from different parts of Britain and settled in different areas of Virginia. For example, people from Northern England and the Scottish border area tended to settle in southern Virginia. They brought their customs with them which tended to make southern Virginia different from other areas settled by different people. For instance, the Tidewater area was settled by younger sons of the English nobility. These people came over to Virginia because under English law they were not going to inherit estates back home as the first born sons had that right. Different speech patterns developed in different areas as well as different ways of cooking and different forms of architecture, etc. The book also deals extensively with the lives of slaves and the institution of slavery and how the mass migrations out of Virginia involved many, many slaves being taken to other states with their masters or being sold. When the Virginia tobacco based economy began to falter in the late 1700's the sale of slaves to settlers in other states was a great source of income to the white people in Virginia who had fallen on hard times. Many famous people had ancestral origins in Virginia, such as Lincoln, Henry Clay, Stephen Austin, Sam Houston and General Patton amongst countless others. There are many firsthand accounts quoted in the book from the settlers so you get a real feel for the times and there are a number of wonderful black and white photos, also. This short book is packed with fascinating details. Thank you Mr. Fischer and Mr. Kelly.