Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia

by Dorothy Margaret Torpey

In 1918, women received special recognition in the state. For the first time, women were admitted to the College of William and Mary and to the graduate and professional schools of the state university, the University of Virginia. It is interesting to note that, in contrast to the educational status accorded women, the state refused to ratify the proposed Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Contrary to this negative attitude expressed in Virginia toward giving women the right to vote, the Constitutional Amendment was officially ratified and adopted nationwide in 1920. One of the first effects of this amendment in Virginia was a legislative enactment requiring all women to pay the poll tax.

Virginia continued to play a key role in international events during this period. For example, in 1926, Navy Lieutenant-Commander Richard Evelyn Byrd, a native of Winchester, made the first polar flight by flying over the North Pole and back in fifteen and a half hours. He then flew over the Atlantic Ocean the following year with Bert Balcher, Bert Acosta and George Noville. In 1929, he made the first return flight over the South Pole. Rear Admiral Byrd led four expeditions to the Antarctic and, just prior to his death in 1957, he was the leader of another expedition to Antarctica called "Operation Deepfreeze" at which time he was consulted concerning many ideas of importance to the safety and progress of the expedition. During World War II, he did secret work for the United States Government and furnished much valuable information concerning terrain of the land which he had mapped on his third Antarctic expedition. He wrote "Skyward," "Little America," "Discovery," "Exploring with Byrd" and "Alone" describing his various explorations. Richard Evelyn Byrd will always be remembered as one of the greatest explorers in United States history. An eight-foot high bronze statue of the late Admiral Richard E. Byrd was recently erected on the Virginia side of the Potomac River between the Arlington Cemetery and the Memorial Bridge. The statue depicts him in his middle thirties when he was at the height of his exploration career. He is clad in a fur outfit and is mounted on a four foot pedestal with fitting carved maps of the Arctic and Antarctic regions and an eagle as a background symbolizing his achievements.

In 1926, the famous project now known as the Restoration of Williamsburg began. The original purpose of the restoration was to benefit the people of the present in "That the Future May Learn from the Past." Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin, the late Rector of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, was responsible for interesting John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in such a project. To date, not only have 350 buildings been reconstructed, 82 buildings been restored and 619 buildings been torn down, but also many of the early crafts such as wigmaking, millinery-making, silversmithing, printing, shoe-making and repairing, cabinetmaking, blacksmithing and glassmaking have been revived. These craft shops are open to the public. A visit to the Wren Building at the College of William and Mary, the Bruton Parish Church (Episcopal), the Public Gaol, the Magazine, the Raleigh Tavern, the Capitol or the Governor's Palace provides an appreciation of life as it existed in the colonial period.

During the early 1920's there was much discussion within the state concerning the need for government reorganization at the state level. During the governorship of Harry F. Byrd (1926-1930), considerable effort was made to reorganize the state government with the objective of increasing its efficiency. The Reorganization Act of 1927 provided that only the executive offices of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and Attorney-General were to be elected by popular vote; that the state legislature was to have the authority to elect the auditor and that the Governor was to appoint other executive officials with confirmation by the General Assembly. The structure and functions of the various state departments were also changed by this act to make each department more effective. Twelve administrative departments were created, and, in most instances, department heads were made appointive positions rather than elective ones. The twelve departments created were: Finance, Taxation, Agriculture and Immigration, Workmen's Compensation, Corporations, Highways, Conservation and Development, Health, Public Welfare, Education, Law, and Labor and Industry.

During this same period, the "Pay-as-You-Go" system for roadbuilding was adopted. This system means that, instead of floating large bond issues to raise revenue for roadbuilding, the state pays for the roads as they are built, with some of the revenue obtained from gasoline taxes and fees from motor vehicle licenses. During the first few years of the system while adequate funds were being accumulated, the state did not have the total mileage of modern roads which would have been built more rapidly through borrowing; however, as the funds increased, the state was able to develop an excellent system of state and local highways. The "Pay-as-You-Go" system has reflected favorably on the state's financial reputation.

Virginia made national headlines in the Presidential election of 1928. For the first time since 1872, the Republican set of electors in Virginia was chosen by a majority of the Virginia voters. Consequently, the Republican Presidential candidate that year, Herbert Hoover, received the twelve electoral votes of Virginia.

Virginia was fortunate in escaping the most severe pangs of the depression years of the 1930's. The great variety of industries and occupations kept the Commonwealth from becoming severely economically stricken as was the case of states having one specialized type of economic activity. Surprisingly enough, some industries such as the tobacco industry and the rayon and cellophane industries expanded considerably. In conjunction with the federal government's construction program during the depression years as an attempt to create new job opportunities, numerous bridges, public school buildings and other structures—such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond—were built. Economy in government administration was stressed and Governor John G. Pollard (1930-1934) reduced his own salary ten per cent for one year as a part of the economy program. Virginia was one of the three states which was successful in maintaining a balanced budget in the depression years of the 1930's. Although the relief cost in Virginia was below the national average relief, at one point during the depression, over 50,000 families and single individuals had become dependent upon the dole system—especially industrial workers in the cities. Job-finding committees were organized in many sections of the state to stimulate re-employment.

After the national census of 1930 had been taken and the results had been tabulated, the state legislature of Virginia passed an act dividing the Commonwealth into nine Congressional districts instead of its previous ten districts. This decrease took place because of a smaller increase in population in Virginia in proportion to other states of the United States. This act was found to be objectionable by some residents who stated that the new seventh district was disproportionately large. After suit had been filed, the Virginia Court of Appeals declared the act invalid on the grounds that it did not provide for equal representation as required by the United States Constitution. As a result, in the 1932 national election, all the United States Representatives from Virginia were elected at-large by the whole state electorate rather than by particular districts. Subsequently, the legislature redistricted properly, and at the next election Congressmen from Virginia were chosen by, and represented, particular Congressional districts. Like a large majority of the states in the 1932 national election, Virginians gave Franklin D. Roosevelt a victory at the polls with a plurality of 114,343 popular votes.

During Governor Pollard's administration, the General Assembly passed the Optional Forms Act. Under this act, two types of county government were made available for selection according to local preference: the county-manager form, usually preferred by urban and large rural county areas and the county-executive form, generally preferred by small rural areas. As a result of this act, several county administrative offices were merged for more efficient and economical management.