Navigating democracy in America: a Virginia family’s journey through the changing political and social landscape of the antebellum era

Randall S Gooden

doi:10.24240/23992964.2018.1234515

Abstract

A sense of increased security in the aftermath of the War of 1812, a wave of economic expansion and opportunity, and a firmer sense of nation in the second generation of the United States combined to create a surge in democratic spirit. These trends keenly affected the state of Virginia, with its geographic position between the northern and southern regions and as a stepping-off point for westward expansion. The history of Virginia farmer and entrepreneur Thomas Goodwin and his family traces the ways in which an ordinary family navigated the changing political, social, and economic landscape with new opportunities for inclusion as well as obstacles to full participation in the evolving nation. For Goodwin, inclusion came with marriage into a rooted family with its ethnic connections to community, his military service, land ownership and the associated status as a freeholder, and the industriousness of him and his family. Yet, the Goodwins faced problems because of both old rules and institutions and new expectations in a society where expanded political participation meant increased responsibilities. These problems included ethnic prejudice, conflicts over slavery, and the disadvantages of illiteracy.

Highlights

In the aftermath of the War of 1812, Americans strived for a clearer meaning of nation and citizenship within it and for the prosperity which their new nation offered
The state legislature created Page County, with its seat at Luray, and the Goodwins found themselves within its borders. This meant the reduction of the size and influence of Shenandoah County, but residents east of Fort and Massanutten Mountains had long petitioned for their own county because of political, economic, and cultural differences with the people in the broader valley of the North Fork of the Shenandoah.[62,63]
Thomas’s death and the legal turmoil of the 1850s put his family over the edge legally and financially, but it marked the beginning of the Civil War generation as the family and other Virginians fell into the darkness of the sectional gulf

Summary

Introduction

In the aftermath of the War of 1812, Americans strived for a clearer meaning of nation and citizenship within it and for the prosperity which their new nation offered. The state legislature created Page County, with its seat at Luray, and the Goodwins found themselves within its borders This meant the reduction of the size and influence of Shenandoah County, but residents east of Fort and Massanutten Mountains had long petitioned for their own county because of political, economic, and cultural differences with the people in the broader valley of the North Fork of the Shenandoah.[62,63] The internal improvements and accessibility to local government fueled the economy of the new county. Morica recalled that a tree had once fallen on the island in Naked Creek and that the Goodwin sons had wanted to cut up the tree for

Crafts People Farmers Laborers

Findings

Conclusion