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A Beardless Boy of Seventeen Years
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Even before Aristophanes wrote of Lysistrata’s plan to end the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE) by convincing the women...
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A House Built of Virginia Stone
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Approximately forty miles south of Washington, D.C., the Aquia sandstone quarry on Government Island sits quietly in the...
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Arming the Commonwealth
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From providing protection from enemy combatants to finding dinner for a family, weapons have played a significant role...
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Camp Greble: A Union encampment near Norfolk, Virginia
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This poignant, detailed plan was drafted in February 1862 by Private Frank Maynicke of the 99th New York State...
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Céloron Plate
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One of the most important artifacts to survive from Virginia’s colonial period, this lead plaque was placed at the...
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Clementina Rind
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Clementina Rind was Virginia’s first female printer and newspaper publisher, publishing important official documents for...
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Colored Knights of Pythias Helmet (c. 1890)
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Race has been a divisive issue throughout American history, and this impressive helmet tells part of the story.
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Diary of William Gwathmey, 1859
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On October 16, 1859, John Brown led eighteen followers in a raid on the federal arsenal and armory at Harpers Ferry...
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Dolley Madison
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Dolley (Payne) Todd Madison (1768–1849) lived through three wars, knew eleven presidents, and was a gracious and...
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Founding Frenemies: Hamilton and The Virginians
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This exhibition examined how critically important relationships between Alexander Hamilton and three Virginians shaped...
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George Washington Portrait by Charles Peale Polk
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This depiction of George Washington (1732–1799) as commander of the Continental army was painted in the 1790s by Charles...
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How Did Civilians Suffer?
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White women and children were left to fend for themselves, and many became widows and orphans when one in five...
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Industrialization in Virginia
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The 1920 census revealed that, for the first time, more Americans were living in urban areas than rural ones. However...
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Jefferson’s Desk
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There are many reproductions of the desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Some have even...
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John Marshall Speculates on America’s Second Bank
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A question on the minds of politicians and voters in 1832 America was whether the Second Bank of the United States, the...
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Juneteenth
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Pop Civ is a series developed by the John Marshall Center for Constitutional History & Civics at the VMHC. By connecting...
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Letterhead
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Correspondence between individuals plays an important role in our understanding not only of how people communicated in...
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Love and War
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Though it has torn many asunder, war has also brought people together.
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Maggie Lena Walker
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Maggie Lena Walker (1864–1934) was the daughter of Elizabeth Draper, a former kitchen slave and then cook in the Civil...
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Martha (Dandridge) Custis Washington
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This portrait of Martha Washington (1731–1802) is the work of Charles Willson Peale, who also painted the sitter several...