I would prefer to read a biography of someone I thought admirable, but Harry Byrd is not really known to me and is key to understanding my adopted state of Virginia, so here goes.
Byrd was before my time, died about when I was born. Would I ever read a biography of a similar character within my own memory, say, Newt Gingrich? Ew. No. But Byrd is so often the answer to “why is (…random oddity/shameful thing in Virginia…)?” Byrd was an extension of the Virginia aristocracy. Though he wasn’t born into opulence, he did descend from the most connected families in Virginia and he was all about protecting the status quo. Some elements regarded him as a man of the utmost probity, the epitome of the Virginia Gentleman - rural and rich - can’t really call him a snob as he was not educated nor cultured as that word implies but still he was totally snobby and segregationist - basically an obstructionist of any change that sounded like federalism or social progress. Or that spent money. Parsimonious is a charitable word for this most uncharitable Scrooge. He had a pathological fear of the future and saw bankruptcy and ruin around every corner. Another mean stingy conservative but one who set the tone for much of what we live with today, including the Robert E Lee statue in the state Capitol in Richmond that was quietly removed early this year. I could not help but wonder when the last page reveals Byrd died of a brain tumor if that physical infirmity in some way contributed to his constant refrain of impending doom especially if money was to be spent.
Though Byrd perpetuated a lot of undemocratic and indeed oligarchic structures in Virginia, he didn’t invent them, that’s for sure. They were long established by the time he was born in 1887. And he wasn’t all bad? Was actually a progressive (relative term) early in his career, modernized roads and bureaucratic procedures (while simultaneously building a patronage network) and was not as bad as, say George Wallace or Strom Thurmond. Yay.
Having recently read books about the New Deal and other histories of the USA in roughly that era, this book helped fill in some details and told it in an engaging way. I would have never thought I would sit down and read a biography of Harry Byrd in just a few sittings, but the pandemic sets us a lot of free time plus this is well done. The book is a well told tale. I have tried to read some political history books before, particularly Katznelson’s ‘Fear Itself’ but I could not. Political science freaks me out. There’s so much meanness. I remain on the lookout for that FDR biography that’s not a bazillion pages.
Last night as I put the book down I attempted to contact the author with my thanks but sadly he passed away, only last month.
