Chapter XIV

SOCIETY IN THE OLD DOMINION. How the history of tobacco has been connected with the history of liberty 174 Rapid growth of tobacco culture in Virginia 175 Legislative attempts to check it 176 Need for cheap labour 176 Indentured white servants 177 How the notion grew up in England that Virginians were descended from convicts; Defoe's novels, a comedy by Mrs. Behn, Postlethwayt's Dictionary, and Gentleman's Magazine 178-180 Who were the indentured white servants 181 Redemptioners 182 Distribution of convicts 183 Prisoners of war 184 Summary 185 Careers of white freedmen 186 Representative Virginia families were not descended from white freedmen 187 Some of the freedmen became small proprietors 187 Some became "mean whites" 188, 189 Development of negro slavery; effect of the treaty of Utrecht 190 Anti-slavery sentiment in Virginia 191x Theory that negroes were non-human 192 Baptizing a slave did not work his emancipation 193 Negroes as real estate 194 Tax on slaves 194 Treatment of slaves 195, 196 Fears of insurrection 196 Cruel laws 197, 198 Free blacks a source of danger 199 Taking slaves to England; did it work their emancipation? 200 Lord Mansfield's famous decision 201 Jefferson's opinion of slavery 201 Immoralities incident to the system 202, 203 Classes in Virginia society 204 Huguenots in Virginia 204, 205 Influence of the rivers upon society 206 Some exports and imports 207 Some domestic industries 208 Beverley complains of his countrymen as lazy, but perhaps his reproachful tone is a little overdone 210 Absence of town life 210, 211 Futile attempts to make towns by legislation 212 The country store and its treasures 213, 214 Rivers and roads 215 Tobacco as currency 216 Effect upon crafts and trades 217 Effect upon planters' accounts 218 Universal hospitality 219 Visit to a plantation; the negro quarter 220 Other appurtenances 221 The Great House or Home House 222 Brick and wooden houses 222, 223 House architecture 223, 224 The rooms 224 Bedrooms and their furniture 225 The dinner table; napkins and forks 226 Silver plate; wainscots and tapestry 227 The kitchen 228 The abundance of wholesome and delicious food 228, 229 The beverages, native and imported 229, 230 Smyth's picture of the daily life on a plantation 230, 231 Very different picture given by John Mason; the mode of life at Gunston Hall 232-234xi A glimpse of Mount Vernon 235 Dress of planters and their wives 236 Weddings and funerals 237 Horses and horse-racing 237-239 Fox-hunting 239 Gambling 239, 240 A rural entertainment of the olden time 240, 241 Music and musical instruments 242 The theatre and other recreations 243 Some interesting libraries 243-245 Schools and printing 245, 246 Private free schools 246 Academies and tutors 247 Convicts as tutors 248 Virginians at Oxford 249 James Madison and his tutors 250 Contrast with New England in respect of educational advantages 251 Causes of the difference 252, 253 Illustrations from the history of American intellect 254 Virginia's historians; Robert Beverley 255 William Stith 255, 256 William Byrd 256-258 Jefferson's notes on Virginia; McClurg's Belles of Williamsburg; Clayton the botanist 259 Physicians, their prescriptions and charges 260 Washington's last illness 260 Some Virginia parsons, their tricks and manners 261, 263 Free thinking; superstition and crime 264 Cruel punishments 265 Lawyers 266 A government of laws 267 Some characteristics of Maryland 267-269