The golden age

the long version

The years 1732-1775 saw the culmination of Virginia's 'golden age.' It was a time when the Virginian aristocracy, now in the fullness of its power, gave birth to a generation of democrats and revolutionaries -- who in turn played a major part in establishing the first principles of the American republic. Vast changes were taking place in the colonies, and nowhere was this more evident than in the explosive atmosphere of Virginian politics. Greater and greater rifts were appearing between the thinkings of Crown and colony, and everywhere new, urgent voices were being heard, demanding equal rights and denouncing the unjust taxes imposed upon them by Parliamentary politics. The author focuses on Williamsburg in the mid-1700s and the extraordinary society that was able to generate such remarkable leaders as Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, as well as sustain the great dynasties themselves -- the Byrds, Randolphs, Carters, and Lees -- in the years of spiraling tensions between Britain and France, between colonists and Indians, between the colonies and the Crown, and even among the colonists themselves.