The search results below contain listings from our website. To search our library and museum collections catalogs, please visit the Collections page.
Time Period
1825 to 1860
Image
The decades following the presidency of Virginian James Monroe (1817–1825) saw populations shift, the economy expand, and attitudes about slavery harden. More and more families migrated from the soil-depleted Tidewater and Piedmont, while new and diverse peoples in the Shenandoah Valley prospered. The beginnings of the Industrial Revolution encouraged the growth of industry, urban centers, and “internal improvements” (transportation by road, rail, and canal). Those “improvements”––funded by taxes––became a subject of political debate. Slavery was as vehemently attacked by abolitionists as it was defended by proponents.
Time Period
1861 to 1876
Image
If Virginians were instrumental in creating the Union in 1776, they were also pivotal in breaking it apart eighty-five years later. Most Virginians rejected secession until they were called upon to provide troops after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter. The far northwestern counties refused to secede and instead formed West Virginia. Virginia became the bloodiest battleground of the war. At its conclusion, slavery was ended and black males could vote, but the daily lives and standard of living of African Americans changed little. Virginia was put under military rule for three years.
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.
Exhibition
A Better Life for Their Children
Image
From 1912-37, the Rosenwald schools program built thousands of schools, shops, and teacher’s homes across 15 Southern...
Exhibition
A Landscape Saved
Image
This exhibition celebrated the efforts in preservation and horticulture made by the Garden Club of Virginia during its...
Exhibition
A Material World
Image
Featuring 43 iconic images from the archives of the Richmond Times-Dispatch and accompanied by historical objects that...
Article Set - Chapter
Acknowledgements
An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia is a signature program of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American
Article Set - Chapter
Aftermath
"From the political point of view, the murder of John Brown . . . would impart to the Union a creeping fissure that at the
Exhibition
Agents of Change
Image
Organized in conjunction with the statewide Women’s Suffrage Centennial, this exhibition featured artifacts from the...
Article Set - Chapter
An Eyewitness Account of Stonewall Jackson's Wounding
On the second day of the battle of Chancellorsville, May 2, 1863, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia experienced its
Exhibition
Apollo: When We Went to the Moon
Image
Through objects and artifacts from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s archives, this exhibition explored the social and...
Exhibition
Artists4ERA
Image
Artists4ERA is part of ongoing efforts to ensure that the ERA becomes the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution...
Article Set - Chapter
Before the War
Born into a Virginia family whose members had for generations assumed public leadership roles, Robert E. Lee followed the
Article Set - Chapter
Beginnings of Black Education
Few black Virginians received a formal education until public schools were widely established during Reconstruction. Public
Article Set - Chapter
Brown I and Brown II
In 1950 the NAACP decided that it would no longer file lawsuits seeking equal educational facilities, but only those that
Exhibition
Coming Out, Affecting Change
Image
For centuries, social and legal discrimination forced most lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+)...
Article Set - Chapter
Conclusion
Throughout the twentieth century and during the past decade, apologists for John Brown have turned out imagery and
Article Set - Chapter
Conclusion - Did the Civil War End at Appomattox?
Lee’s army had become the embodiment of Confederate nationalism, and after its surrender other southern forces soon gave up
Article Set - Chapter
Danville
The most violent episode of the civil rights movement in Virginia occurred in Danville during the summer of 1963—at about the
Exhibition
Determined
Image
This exhibition examined the long history of black Americans in North America as they have fought for freedom, equal...