Gentlemen and freeholders

by John Gilman Kolp

Previous attempts to understand eighteenth-century Virginia's local politics have portrayed a stable, consistent, and uniform public culture extending from 1725 to 1815 and variously described as aristocratic, oligarchic, democratic, or ritualistic. Kolp, by contrast, proposes a dynamic model of a local political culture, one broadly shaped by regional, provincial, and imperial influences but primarily conditioned by local personalities and issues. Drawing on a wide variety of primary sources, he reveals who ran for office, who voted and with what frequency; he explains how candidates jostled for position before running for office, how they appealed to freeholders, how public issues and private considerations influenced voter behavior, and whether levels of competition can contribute to a better understanding of social stability and unrest.