Life In 1760's Alexandria Virginia example essay topic

Life in 1760's Alexandria Virginia was bustling with great opportunities for a new life. It was a young settlement but many Alexandrian's entered this decade with high expectations. There were also many young men in Virginia who were quickly rising as pillars of this young settled area who would later become our founding fathers. Great Britain had all but won the war against France, the frontier was relatively secure, and the local industry and trade was picking up. Alexandria was making quick progress in achieving it's own mark as a new and separate market town from Mother England. Besides the Economy in Alexandria, the politics, social Life, religion, and education were being molded by the Great Virginians of this time.

While Virginians were complaining about adequate representation in Parliament, locally this was also the case. Only an elite few were involved. The only people who could vote were the wealthy few white men. The Virginia Gentry decided the only ones who should rule were those with the most education and best upbringing, and with the most to lose, who obviously had the most to gain. Because of this inherited power, it is no wonder men like George Washington were given so many successive responsible positions so early in his life. In October of 1760 George the was crowned king of England.

Immediately afterward the town of Alexandria invested William Ramsay as their "Lord Mayor" ", this title obviously suggests the conservatism and hierarch modeled after the mother country. Economically, Alexandria was doing quite well. In 1762 The Virginia House of Burgess passed an act authorizing the enlargement of the town of The merchants of Alexandria were buying primarily tobacco, wheat and corn in the countryside and then selling the farmers and townspeople manufactured goods from England or rum and sugar from the West Indies. The earliest industry here was shipbuilding. Tobacco which could only legally be sold in England was starting to lose as the primary choice of crop by farmers due to continued low prices in England.

Because of this farmers started turning to the grain and flour trade which was becoming more profitable. With all this work, the demand for labor was great. With a wide open frontier, free white workers could establish their own farms on the edge of wilderness instead of work for an employer in town. The scarce white labor was "supplemented by a truly captive labor force". These were obviously black slaves and white convict servants.

By 1762 twenty-five percent of Alexandria's population were slaves. Most slaves in Alexandria came from Gambia. The local newspaper contained many advertisements for slaves to be sold or even rented. There were even rewards offered for the capture of run away slaves.

George Washington himself posted an ad in this paper for the return of three of his slaves named Jack, Neptune and Cupid. Alexandria was not just a place for work. There were many horse races which were arranged by George Washington at two nearby tracks. There were many balls held by the wealthy elite with music and dancing. There was also a few taverns where one could grab a beer and butter bread. The Virginia elite and tobacco plantations on Virginias rivers held huge events that could last a few days.

Most of these plantations were isolated along the rivers but were situated there for ease of transporting their crops. Because of this isolation The Plantation owners would invite people from far away to help subside this felt isolation or loneliness. This can arguably be called the start of the renowned "Southern Hospitality". The slaves on this plantation would work an inhuman amount of hours and had to socialize in secret. Many African families were separated as the slave auctions took place in the Alexandria market so they would travel through the Virginia woods at night to visit relatives and to party all night long just to return to work the next morning without any sleep. The Sabbath day was of no rest for the slaves either.

Although the owners gave them a day off, those who were religious, they had to work hard on their own plots which were mostly gardened in secret to make more money for a passage to freedom. In 1760 the Virginia authorities had started to tolerate some small numbers of dissenters from the Church of England who agreed to register with the courts and obtain required licenses to practice their religion. Soon Presbyterians and Baptists became less willing to follow the rules of the Anglican Church of England. This struggle for religious freedom evolved even before the Stamp Act Crisis of 1765 and 1766 gave evidence that the political landscape in Virginia was changing. These religious dissenters actually became coupled with the aims of the Virginia Patriot leaders who were influenced by the period of Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution. Locally, this eventually led to the disestablishment of the Church in Virginia in 1786.

In terms of education, it is evident that Virginia life began the Period of Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution. Virginia was quickly becoming a hotbed for free-will political activists. Williamsburg which is home of William and Mary college, one of the nations oldest Universities and second only to Harvard. In 1760 Thomas Jefferson began his first year there while apprenticing as a lawyer.

The two other learning institutes of note are a school established for American Indians to learn how to read and write with the states hidden agenda of converting these children to Christianity. The second institute is the Bray School for African-American children which served the same purpose. This early life in Alexandria and Virginia is clearly an example of early transformation. Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were three of the nations great Patriots who are also known as some of our founding fathers. The people, politics, society and economy in 1760's Virginia provided our nation the cornerstone or basis for the country we are today, The United States of America.