When the United States was formed, the division between the North and South on the basis of slavery was not as evident as it would later become. Virginia, as a Southern state, did experience a...Show moreWhen the United States was formed, the division between the North and South on the basis of slavery was not as evident as it would later become. Virginia, as a Southern state, did experience a moment where slavery was questioned. This questioning mounted in the 1782 Virginia Manumission Law. This thesis investigates how Virginia dealt with the question of slavery in the Revolutionary Era.Show less
Between January and April 1861, in the wake of Abraham Lincoln's election, the seceding lower South states sent five secession commissioners to Virginia to persuade the Virginians to secede and...Show moreBetween January and April 1861, in the wake of Abraham Lincoln's election, the seceding lower South states sent five secession commissioners to Virginia to persuade the Virginians to secede and join in forming the Confederacy. This study examines why all but one failed to achieve their goal. While this thesis only gives a partial answer, it sheds light on a number of complexities regarding both the commissioners' efforts and Virginia's secession crisis.Show less
The main question of this thesis is how marronage can be conceptualized in the context of Colonial Virginia and to what extent a runaway’s social network and location can enable a further...Show moreThe main question of this thesis is how marronage can be conceptualized in the context of Colonial Virginia and to what extent a runaway’s social network and location can enable a further subdivision of marronage. It will be argued that by considering marronage as a relationship characterized by liminality; a relationship between slave and society that bordered between freedom and slavery, one can distinguish rooted marronage from wilderness marronage without losing the underlying similarities. The first chapter will set up a theoretical framework by giving an overview of current conceptualizations of marronage. Furthermore, it will explain why this thesis considers marronage as a type of relationship that can be divided into rooted marronage and wilderness marronage. The second chapter will explore the concept of rooted marronage; the appropriation by a runaway of a liminal identity on the basis of a runaway’s social network. The third chapter will then compare this concept with wilderness marronage; the appropriation of a liminal space at a inaccessible location by either a group or an individual runaway that depended on remaining unseen.Show less
