The Vermont Way: Recent Episodes…

...and more on the way in 2013

The Vermont Way: Restless Spirits and Popular Movements tells the state’s unique story from the time before European settlers to the present day, with a special emphasis on movements and memorable people. It's a popular multi-media history and an exploration of the qualities, contradictions and traditions that have shaped Vermont’s path.

     More than a dozen episodes have been released to date, along with a live presentation that includes rare photos, dramatic stories and new film. The following excerpts are currently available:

The Vermont Way Is Hard to Define 

The Path to Marriage Equality   VTDigger version
How Vermont Was Born

After the Revolution: The Road from Republic to State  VTD

Mormons and the Presidency  (with audio)  VTD

How Vermont Went Republican  VTD

Vermonters Go to the White House  VTD

Out of This World: The Chittenden Mysteries

Burlington: The Public Power Story  VTD

A Progressive Censors Red Emma  VTD

Boom and Bust in the Quarry Towns  VTD

The Parkway That Never Was  VTD  (also see The Vermont Movie)
The Road Not Taken (UVM talk) on Video

Voting Equality and the Hoff Effect  VTD

Local Control, Shorter Terms and Vermont’s Citizen Legislature  VTD

What is the Vermont Way? The term has been used to describe everything from the traditional way to make maple syrup and smart farming in general to a political campaign agenda and the ability to make something out of almost nothing. Sometimes it extends into the phrase “the Vermont way of life.” 

     

When he left the Republican Party Jim Jeffords said, “Independence is the Vermont Way.” In her autobiography Consuelo Northrup Bailey, the first female attorney admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court and the first female lieutenant governor in the nation, said the character of Vermont was defined by “everyday, common, honest people who unknowingly salted down the Vermont way of life with a flavor peculiar only to the Green Mountains.”

     The subtitle refers to the focus on major political, economic and social events, trends and personalities. The Vermont Way describes the state’s delicate dance of sovereignty and solidarity, independence and mutual aid. Covering centuries, this cross-platform production includes unique stories, sketches of dozens of key figures, and original analysis that explains how the Vermont Way has evolved.

     Excerpts from Maverick Chronicles, a Vermont memoir in progress, are also available:

Coming to Vermont 

Bennington Holds a Culture War

Living with Polarities

Bennington Breakdown

The Years of Living Bureaucratically

The Mayor and the Connector

Alternative Voices

In a Time of Democratic Distemper

Teachers and a School Without Walls

Signs of Change (2011)

Democrats Rising, Progressives in Eclipse

A comprehensive print edition is in development, featuring revealing insights about influential Vermonters, including revolutionary era leaders Matthew Lyon and Ethan Allen, Anti-Mason Governor William Palmer and feminist Clarina Nichols; railroad and marble tycoons, anti-slavery activists, major strikes and labor protests; Vermont-born Presidents Chester Arthur and Calvin Coolidge and progressive politicians James Burke and Ernest Gibson; portraits of Governors Phil Hoff, Tom Salmon, Richard Snelling, and Madeleine Kunin, as well as recent leaders like Bernie Sanders, Howard Dean, James Jeffords and Peter Clavelle. Plus, the story of the Vermonter who rescued America from McCarthy.

Subscribe to The Vermont Way for articles and event announcements. 

See excepts at VTDigger.org