Overview

This is the first full-scale biography of Harry Byrd Sr., one of the most influential politicians of this century. His fascinating career as Virginia governor, U.S. senator, and leader of the Virginia Democratic Party enabled him to touch every important event and meet every significant political figure from the Great Depression to the Great Society. Heinemann gives us the full story of Byrd's rise to power.

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9780813923819

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This judicious biography traces the rise of Byrd from his apple orchard business through his stint as governor of Virginia in the 1920s, his construction of a highly effective (and oligarchic) 'organization' within the Virginia Democratic party, and his decades-long service in the U.S. Sente. Heinemann chronicles his rivalry with liberal national Democratic leaders from Franklin Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson. Exhaustively researched and economically written, this book places Byrd in proper perspective as a clever foe of civil rights, social programs, and federal spending, and as a courtly champion of states rights. poll taxes, and segregation. Heinemann helps illuminate an important strand of 20th-century American conservatism and Harry Byrd's not inconsiderable role in shaping it.

Author Information

Ronald L. Heinemann is Squires Professor of History at Hampden-Sidney College. He is the author of Depression and the New Deal in Virginia and a coeditor of The Governors of Virginia.

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