Creating a Progressive Commonwealth - (Making the Modern South) by Megan Taylor Shockley (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In her innovative study of women activists in late twentieth-century Virginia, Megan Taylor Shockley argues that feminists challenged the traditional patriarchal system in the state by engaging directly with the legislature and mobilizing grassroots educational and lobbying efforts on the issues of the Equal Rights Amendment, abortion rights, and violence against women. Shockley suggests that feminists' work fundamentally changed Virginia, making it a better place for women, and helping to create a more progressive commonwealth. Using both archival sources and oral histories, her study examines who these activists were, what their motivations were in trying to battle recalcitrant legislators and conservative citizens, and what kinds of issues they gained ground on"--

Book Synopsis

Building upon the work of late twentieth-century scholars in the field of feminist studies, Megan Taylor Shockley provides an in-depth look at feminism in the modern U.S. South. Shockley challenges the monolithic view of the region as a conservative bastion and argues that feminist advocates have provided crucial social progressive force, particularly in Virginia, between 1970 and 2010. An innovative study, Creating a Progressive Commonwealth illustrates how feminists in the state challenged the traditional patriarchal system and engaged directly with the legislature through grassroots educational efforts on three major initiatives: passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, protection of abortion rights, and pursuit of legal and social rights for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

Shockley suggests that advocates for gender equality fundamentally changed Virginia, improving the state's support for women both personally and professionally as well as fostering an environment more conducive to additional progressive reform. In sharing the stories of these activists, the author discusses their initial choices to participate in the movement, the challenges they faced in promoting a progressive agenda, as well as their successes and failures. Throughout, Shockley emphasizes the need for scholars to look beyond the history of state legislatures in order to fully understand the nature of southern progressivism and feminism.

Using both archival sources and oral histories, Creating a Progressive Commonwealth examines the individual women and their motivations as they battled recalcitrant legislators and conservative citizens to achieve social reforms.

Review Quotes

A fascinating account of the campaigns of 1970s feminists in a state which played a major role in the history of modern feminism and antifeminism. Shockley's book, showing the activities of a diverse group of Virginia feminists, will be of interest to students, scholars, and activists. It is an important story and inspirational for today's advocates of women's rights.--Marjorie J. Spruill, author of Divided We Stand: The Battle Over Women's Rights and Family Values That Polarized American Politics

In its geographic and chronological scope, Shockley's book offers a pathbreaking new way to think about late twentieth-century feminism. This book will be a valuable resource for both scholars and activists for years to come.--Melissa Blair, author of Revolutionizing Expectations: Women's Organizations, Feminism, and American Politics, 1965-1980

Shockley's deft use of oral histories as well as traditional archival research adds to the growing body of literature about feminism in the South. The book enhances understanding of the local and grassroots nature of modern feminism by examining how activists reshaped Virginia's political and social communities to benefit and empower women. A must-read for all who are interested in the history of feminism and of the modern South.--Janet Allured, author of Remapping Second-Wave Feminism: The Long Women's Rights Movement in Louisiana, 1950-1997

Virginia feminists fought tirelessly from the 1970s onward to pass the ERA, to maintain hard-won abortion rights, and to secure protections for victims of violence. While they often encountered insurmountable resistance, Shockley's account shows that their activism made a difference, especially at the local level. Meticulously researched, Creating a Progressive Commonwealth demonstrates how women's activism profoundly changed Virginia and points a new generation to the work that still remains undone.--Sandra G. Treadway, coeditor of Virginia Women: Their Lives and Times: 1

About the Author

Megan Taylor Shockley, research professor of history at Clemson University, is the coauthor of Changing History: Virginia Women Through Four Centuries and the author of "We, Too, Are Americans" African American Women in Detroit and Richmond, 1940-1954 and The Captain's Widow of Sandwich: Self-Invention and the Life of Hannah Rebecca Burgess, 1836-1917.