Dissertation Information for Marie Morris Nitschke NAME: - Marie Morris Nitschke
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- History
SCHOOL:
- Emory University (USA) (1987)
ADVISORS: - Dan T. Carter
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - None
MPACT Status: Incomplete - Inspected
Title: VIRGINIUS DABNEY OF VIRGINIA, PORTRAIT OF A SOUTHERN JOURNALIST IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Abstract: Virginius Dabney, who could trace his ancestry back to some of the most revered names in Virginia history, began his career with the Richmond newspapers in 1922 and quickly made his reputation as a liberal spokesman for the South. Like other journalists of the period, he admired H. L. Mencken, and his early writings reflect this influence. In Virginia, however, his barbed criticisms of the region came under attack, and he soon developed his own more genteel, cool, and rational tone, pressing for liberal reforms, but justifying them with conservative, pragmatic reasoning.
While he praised the integrity of Harry F. Byrd, head of the political organization which dominated Virginia politics from the twenties through the sixties, he frequently criticized some of the strategic props through which this organization maintained its control. He urged Virginians to abolish the poll tax and to establish a strong two-party system. Thoughout the thirties, he also criticized Byrd's opposition to Roosevelt's New Deal.
He fought prohibitionists (especially Bishop James Cannon), religious fundamentalists, political demagogues, and the Ku Klux Klan. He was a strong advocate of civil liberties, and an early defender of civil rights for blacks in the South. During World War II, however, his attitude began to become more conservative, and in 1944, with the death of his publisher, John Stewart Bryan, his support of liberal causes at the Times Dispatch was seriously jeopardized.
Troubled by ill health and death in his family, and hostile Times Dispatch management, Dabney faced the most crucial period of his career. As the pressure for integration in the South mounted, he attempted to maintain a middle-of-the-road position, but he was soon forced to choose sides. He acquiesced to the state's policy of massive resistance, and in doing so, not only lost his reputation as a liberal, but also found his earlier courageous stands for black civil rights minimized. Yet, once massive resistance was overruled by the courts, Dabney urged peaceful compliance with the law, and his earlier advocacy of civil rights probably helped integration to come about more peacefully in Virginia than in other Southern states.
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MPACT Scores for Marie Morris Nitschke A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-06-02 10:55:36
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