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Time Period Chapter
A Century of Foreign Wars
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Virginians were engulfed by the many wars that spanned the twentieth century and touched every generation.
Time Period Chapter
Causes of the Revolution
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After 1763, Great Britain underestimated the economic and political maturity of the Americans
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Contact and Conflict
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The first settlers were welcomed by the Indians with ceremony. However, following Capt. John Smith’s return to England...
Time Period Chapter
Establishing a Nation
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Three of Virginia’s Revolutionary era leaders played critical roles in the successful establishment of the nation’s...
Time Period Chapter
Exploration of the New World
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Initially, European nations were searching for a water route to the Far East, not a New World.
Article Set - Intro
Eye of the Storm: The Civil War Drawings of Robert Knox Sneden
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Through his 5,000-page personal memoir, Robert Knox Sneden takes us to the front lines of the Civil War.
Article Set - Intro
General Orders No. 61
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On May 2, 1863, during the battle of Chancellorsville, friendly fire struck Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson while he and others rode amid the chaos of the still-forming Confederate lines. Thus began the series of events that led eventually to Robert E. Lee composing General Orders No. 61, which announced to his army the death of Jackson.
Article Set - Intro
Great things are expected from the Virginians
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Capt. John Chilton of the 3rd Virginia Infantry described his experiences in New York and New Jersey in 1776–77 in letters home to family and friends. Located in the society's manuscripts collection, Chilton's letters offer a fascinating glimpse of one Virginian's thoughts and experiences during a pivotal time in the Revolutionary War.
Article Set - Intro
Lee and Grant
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By the end of the Civil War, most Americans considered either Robert E. Lee or Ulysses S. Grant to be a hero. The time has come for a reassessment of these two men, on whom fell the greatest responsibility for the survival or disintegration of the United States.
Time Period Chapter
Made in Virginia
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For more than 400 years, Virginians have been part of a global community—exporting ideas, products, and culture to the...
Time Period Chapter
Political Decline and Westward Migration
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The political stature of Virginia declined on the national stage when no successors of ability emerged to replace the...
Time Period Chapter
Reconstruction
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During the decade following the Civil War, former Confederate states were required to “reconstruct” their state...
Time Period Chapter
Slavery
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Virginia’s 550,000 slaves constituted one third of the state’s population in 1860.
Time Period Chapter
The Battlefront in Virginia
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Home to the Confederate capital, Virginia became a battleground.
Time Period Chapter
The French and Indian War
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To shield against Indian attacks and French expansion, and to deter runaway slaves from establishing colonies in the...
Time Period Chapter
The Revolutionary Era in Virginia
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Virginia—the largest and most populous colony—played a major role in winning independence and determining the values and...
Time Period Chapter
War on the Home Front
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For some, the war brought deprivation, horror, and loss right to their very doorsteps.