FROM FRONTIER TO PLANTATION IN TENNESSEE A STUDY IN FRONTIER
DEMOCRACY BY THOMAS PERKINS ABERNETHY RICHMOND ALUMNI ASSOCIATE
PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CHAPEL HILL THE
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS 1932 TO FREDERICK JACKSON TURNER
PREFACE narrative histories of the United States give but a
fragmentary idea of the development of Jl democracy in this
country. This is due primarily to the fact that our Federal system
is a government of limited powers, and its activities touch the
lives of the people at only a few points. Narrative histories of
the individual states, on the other hand, have ordinarily dealt
with local politics in a local way. Science is studied by the
examination of specimens, and general truths are discovered through
the investiga tion of typical forms. History has been studied
mainly by national units, and the field is too broad to allow of
minute examination. It would seem, therefore, that the study of a
single state, not with an eye to its local politics but
concentrating on its development as a com munity, should throw new
light upon die growth of our democracy. For the purposes of such a
study, Tennessee offers unique advantages. It was the first state
to undergo the territorial status, and was without precedent to
guide it on its way. Its boundaries include the earliest organized
transmontane settlements. The frontiersmen planting these
settlements were therefore shackled neither by powerful precedent,
nor crystallized opinion, nor petri fied institutions in developing
their community life. Not only were these settlements planted under
striking con ditions, but they were established under famous
leaders. Certainly the frontier history ofno western state is
richer or more significant than that of Tennessee. It is also
important for the purposes of this study that x PREFACE the forms
of economic life to be found during the ante bellum period were
varied. The state was a part of the West and a part of the South.
Its eastern section had a self-sustaining, small-farmer population.
Its Cumberland basin was largely a grain-growing, stock-raising
area, while its western section was, in all respects, a part of the
cotton kingdom. It therefore affords a rare oppor tunity to study
the political effects of these several types of agricultural
economy. Land was in the early days the chief form of wealth in the
United States, and Tennessee is almost unique among western states
in having had a land problem of her own. The laws passed in
disposing of the public domain constitute the most significant
economic legisla tion with which the state government had to deal,
and through such legislation may be tested the living pulse of the
body politic. We have been accustomed, in studying our history, to
pay too much attention to what the politicians have said and too
little to what they have done. It is possibly accidental, yet no
less significant, that Tennessee furnished far more than her due
share of the leaders of that western democracy which grew in
importance so astoundingly between the outbreak of the Revolution
and the War of Secession. The activities of these men in the
politics of the state give its history an importance and a
significance which it would otherwise lack. Taken together these
factors render Tennessee an admirable spedimen for such a type
study as that which is here presented. Periods of changing
conditions have beengiven special attention static periods have
been passed more rapidly in review. PREFACE xi An expression of
appreciation is due to Professor Ulrich B. Phillips, of Yale
University, for valuable suggestions, and to Professor J. B.
Sanders, of the University of Alabama, for a critical reading of
the manuscript. It is fitting that I should acknowledge here my
indebtedness to Ida Robertson Abernethy, my wife, who edited and
typed the entire work. THOMAS PERKINS ABERNETHY THE UNIVERSITY OP
VIRGINIA DECEMBER, 1931 TABLfe OF CONTENTS PREFAClE IX I. WATAUGA i
II...
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
