The search results below contain listings from our website. To search our library and museum collections catalogs, please visit the Collections page.
Time Period
1764 to 1824
Image
British taxation—introduced to pay for a British military presence in America—was unexpected by the Virginia gentry and resented. Those Americans began to view British policy as a plot against their liberty. They played leading roles in the Continental Congresses that debated independence, in the fighting of the American Revolution, and in the conception and implementation of a new government. Virginia also provided four of the new nation’s first five presidents. Virginia leaders advocated equality for all but they never considered extending it to women and African Americans.
Time Period
1925 to Today
Image
A century of foreign wars expanded the presence of both the federal government in Northern Virginia and the military in the Hampton Roads area. Growth in those regions helped transform the state from a rural to a primarily urban one, from a poor to a relatively affluent one, and from a state with few non-natives to one with many. Only painstakingly, however, have minorities gained equality. Since 1960, the population has doubled. The largest employer now is the government, next is agriculture, which adds billions of dollars to the state’s economy.
Time Period Chapter
A Century of Foreign Wars
Image
Virginians were engulfed by the many wars that spanned the twentieth century and touched every generation.
Time Period Chapter
Causes of the Revolution
Image
After 1763, Great Britain underestimated the economic and political maturity of the Americans
Time Period Chapter
Establishing a Nation
Image
Three of Virginia’s Revolutionary era leaders played critical roles in the successful establishment of the nation’s...
Time Period Chapter
Made in Virginia
Image
For more than 400 years, Virginians have been part of a global community—exporting ideas, products, and culture to the...
Time Period Chapter
The Revolutionary Era in Virginia
Image
Virginia—the largest and most populous colony—played a major role in winning independence and determining the values and...
Time Period Chapter
The Struggle for Equality
Image
The American concept that all people are equal and all have unalienable rights was introduced by Virginians George Mason...