ABSTRACT
Localism, which may be defined as a preoccupation with local matters to the exclusion of any substantial involvement in the outside world, seems particularly helpful in examining the development of loyalism in the revolutionary South. Localism also shaped the Tory movement in the New River Valley, an important part of the southwestern Virginia backcountry. Since localist values were also held by many popular groups opposing the Tories, these values obviously did not cause the emergence of the movement. In the late eighteenth century the New River Valley shared the major geographic, economic, and demographic attributes of the southern portion of the Valley of Virginia and the colonial backcountry in general. In the end, New River Valley loyalism's most prominent characteristic was its deep roots in the circumstances of life in local neighborhoods. Community ties strengthened support for the movement and facilitated intimidation of the uncommitted.
