Harry Byrd and the Changing Face of Virginia Politics 1945-1966 by J. Harvie Wilkinson III (1968-05-03) - Hardcover

Currently, as Virginia is preparing a decisive turn away from many policies of the Byrd years, the University Press of Virginia is happy to present a study of the Virginia political system of the past two decades and of the founder and "boss" of that system, Harry Flood Byrd, Sr.

The organization of Virginia politics around the county courthouse cliques; the conservative, even niggardly, attitude toward expenditures by the state for high- ways and schools; "golden silence"; and other Virginia political phenomena are closely examined. The rise and fall of massive resistance with the sudden turnabout of a hitherto loyal and obedient Byrd lieutenant is dramatically portrayed. Clearly traced are the effects on voting patterns of such recent trends as urbanization, the growth of black voting power, and the revivification of Republicanism in the state.

The text is generously illustrated with charts, tables, maps, and photographs of Virginia politicians.