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The Rarefied Life of George Washington Parke Custis
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George Washington Parke Custis was raised at Mount Vernon by George and Martha Washington. Young “Wash” appears in Edward Savage's 1789 painting of...
The Record of Murders and Outrages: Racial Violence and the Fight over Truth during Reconstruction
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On February 10, 2022, historian William Blair delivered a lecture about the early Reconstruction era effort by Freedmen’s Bureau officers to document...
The Roads from War to Reconstruction and Beyond
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On June 22, Edward L. Ayers spoke with Paul Levengood in a Banner Lecture entitled “The Roads from War to Reconstruction and Beyond.”
Reconstruction...
The Significance and Symbolism of the Judicial Robe
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Why do American judges wear black robes? And what does it mean in our modern court system? Hear what Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Clarence...
The Story of Virginia: The Arrival of the First Africans
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In this lecture, historian and author Ric Murphy tells the fascinating story of the arrival of the first Africans in Virginia in 1619.
Based on his...
The Strange Genius of Mr. O: The World of the United States’ First Forgotten Celebrity
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On July 15, 2021, historian Carolyn Eastman delivered a Banner Lecture examining the career of James Ogilvie, a now-forgotten celebrity of the very...
“The United States of Virginia”: Jefferson’s Invention of America through a Virginian Lens
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On October 13, 2022, historian Robert Pierce Forbes took a fascinating look at Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia.
When Thomas...
Thomas Jefferson’s Enlightenment—Paris, 1785
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On September 11 at noon, James C. Thompson delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Thomas Jefferson’s Enlightenment—Paris, 1785."
In the summer of 1784...
Thomas Jefferson, Revered and Reviled
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On December 1, Robert M. S. McDonald delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Thomas Jefferson, Revered and Reviled.”
Of all the founding fathers, Thomas...
Today’s Agents of Change with the Virginia Museum of History & Culture
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In honor of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment in the United States granting women the right to vote, the Commonwealth of...
Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy (Wilkinson Lecture 2021)
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On October 20, 2021, bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick delivered the 2021 J. Harvie Wilkinson, Jr. Lecture based on his newest book, Travels with...
Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson
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On March 7, 2024, biographer Rebecca Boggs Roberts provided an unflinching look at First Lady Edith Bolling Galt Wilson.
While this nation has yet to...
Virginia and Women's Suffrage
Virginian Honor: The Ethics of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson
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On September 6, 2018, Craig Bruce Smith delivered the banner lecture, “Virginian Honor: The Ethics of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.”
Despit...
Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery
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On December 9, 2021, historian Bruce A. Ragsdale presented a lecture about his book, Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of...
Washington’s Marines: The Origins of the Corps and the American Revolution
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On October 24, 2023, Maj. Gen. Jason Q. Bohm, USMC, gave a lecture on the formation of the Marine Corps and its role in the American Revolution. The...
Werowocomoco: Finding and Investigating a Legendary Site
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On February 23 at 5:30 p.m., a panel of distinguished guests delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Werowocomoco: Finding and Investigating a Legendary...
What Made George Washington Tick
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George Washington very much wanted to be famous. Yet, he did not wish to be known, and there is a remoteness about him that will perhaps always remain...
What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life
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On July 2 at noon, Marc Leepson delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life.”
What So Proudly We Hailed...