Character Scenarios

Burgess and his Family
Storyline: Choosing Revolution

A just-elected burgess—what we would call a representative or delegate—sets out on horseback from his Shenandoah Valley farm for Williamsburg, the Virginia colony's capital. There he will take his seat in the lower chamber of the General Assembly, the House of Burgesses. Traveling with him in a small carriage are his bride, and a slave who drives, cares for the horses, and waits on his master and mistress. The bride is eager to get away from their remote plantation and to get to town for an extended visit with her brother and his wife. Moreover, she is anxious about her sister-in-law, who is expecting her first child this month. The long journey is torture to her—trying her body and her nerves. Why must it take so long?

The new burgess is of the respectable middle rank of Virginia society. Like many residents of the Valley, he is of Scottish descent. He and his wife attend services at their state-sponsored Anglican church, as well as occasional services at the non-conformist Presbyterian meeting house. They and four slaves live on a modest freehold of about 400 acres on which they cash-crop corn and wheat, and grow produce for their consumption.

Trade among Williamsburg's stores and shops is more convenient than dealing with back-country factors and craftsmen, and makes the journey worthwhile. But the young woman is mainly concerned with family matters. The new burgess’s mind wrestles with political questions of importance to his countryside counterparts. What is the best way to deal with England’s recent severe treatment of her colonies? How will he fit in with the other burgesses? Can he forge political alliances? Is this the time and place to address the plight of ordinary men? What can he do to improve the prospects of his heirs?

Your students will enjoy an illustrated version of this Character Scenario in the KIDS ZONE.