Edmund Pendleton, 1721–1803: Volume I Edmund Pendleton, 1721–1803: A Biography, Volume I

E dmund PENDLETÖN was, m the considered opinion of Jefferson, one of the greatest men of his age; and the tribute was deserved, since Pendleton's high character and conspicuous abilities were devoted throughout his long life to the problems of his fellow citizens, and he contributed mightily to the history of Virginia and the Nation. As time went on, however, his name was almost forgotten; his papers were destroyed or widely scattered; and for more than a century after his death almost nothing was written about him. When, in 1924, I undertook this biography, it was at once apparent that a long search would be required in order to gather the necessary materials. One who undertakes a life of Washington, or Jefferson, or Madison, finds large collections of papers ready at hand and volumes of indexed correspondence standing in serried rows; but, in Pendleton's case, the only known collection of any size was made up of transcripts of some of his letters to Madison, and it was only after long search that a considerable number of his letters could be located, copied, and indexed. The time required for the preparation of this work was considerably extended because of my desire to study Pendleton's contemporaries and the conditions under which they lived, for, throughout, every effort has been made to have Pendleton move against a background which, it seemed to me, had not been sufficiently explored. To the reader who is interested only in dramatic incidents, the chapters dealing with such subjects as the county court system, tobacco culture, and the breakdown of the plantation system may seem encumbrances, but they are necessary to any understanding of the lives of the men of that period. The time required for investigation is further explained by the fact that when research was originally undertaken, Swem's admirable Index had Preface Contents Illustrations 1. Boyhood 2. Apprenticeship 3. Deputy Attorney of Our Lord the King 4. The Gentlemen Justices of Caroline 5. Junior Burgess from Caroline 6. Disaster on the Frontier 7. The Weed Called "Sweetscented" 8. Senior Burgess from Caroline 9. The Deсlinе of the Plantation System 10. The Stamp Act 11. The Robinson Affair 12. "A Lucky Operation of Paper Money" 13. The General Court 14. Growing Resistance to Parliament 15. Three Horsemen Leave for Philadelphia 16. The First Congress 17. The Association Notes Appendixes This is the first really adequate biography of Edmund Pendleton, Virginia lawyer, patriot, and statesman. The book also gives a broad picture of Virginia’s evolution from colony to state. And it reveals in complete detail—as did Pendleton in his official investigation—Virginia’s extraordinary financial scandal, the John Robinson debacle of 1766, which involved many of the colony’s most prominent families. On all counts, here is a major contribution to American history.