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George Washington Portrait by Charles Peale Polk
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![VHE_GeorgeWashington.1905.10_teaser.jpg VHE_GeorgeWashington.1905.10_teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_GeorgeWashington.1905.10_teaser.jpg.webp?itok=zW_zU62S)
This depiction of George Washington (1732–1799) as commander of the Continental army was painted in the 1790s by Charles...
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Jefferson’s Desk
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![Jefferson's Writing Desk A rectangular wooden desk, with writing surface propped at an angle and drawer opened](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Desk.1956.1_Open_SLIDE.jpg.webp?itok=TN1yHIPN)
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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![John Marshall letters Two sepia toned handwritten letter pages](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/John%20Marshall%20letter%20to%20son%20about%20bank.JPG.webp?itok=mi5rOD9Q)
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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John Marshall's Robe
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![John Marshall's Robe Painting of John Marshall](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/JohnMarshallsRobe_VHC_FW21_JohnMarshall.1988.jpeg.webp?itok=mRNB0pPr)
The only surviving judicial robe from John Marshall’s 34 years of service as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court...
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John Randolph Dueling Pistols (c. 1820)
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![John Randolph Dueling Pistols John Randolph's Dueling Pistol](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/JohnRandolphDuelingPistols_DuelingPistols_1961.35_v1.jpeg.webp?itok=lHDss51V)
The death of former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton — resulting from his famous 1804 duel with Vice President...
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Mark Catesby
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![VHE_Catesby_QH41.C292.1754.Rare_.OS_.Bluejay.jpg VHE_Catesby_QH41.C292.1754.Rare_.OS_.Bluejay.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Catesby_QH41.C292.1754.Rare_.OS_.Bluejay.jpg.webp?itok=92Ar1teT)
The first accounts of the strange flora and fauna of the New World created a great demand among European scientists for...
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Martha (Dandridge) Custis Washington
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![VHE_MarthaWashington.1857.3_teaser.jpg VHE_MarthaWashington.1857.3_teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_MarthaWashington.1857.3_teaser.jpg.webp?itok=MvRERM1q)
This portrait of Martha Washington (1731–1802) is the work of Charles Willson Peale, who also painted the sitter several...
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Mexican-American War: 175 Years Later
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![Mexican-American War: 175 Years Later A photograph of a gold medal.](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Mexican-AmericanWar175YearsLater_VHC_SU21_WScottMedal.1939.1_type.jpeg.webp?itok=sKovdnOq)
Of the five Americans who were most involved in the War with Mexico, four were Virginians. They were politicians and...
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Murals Inspired by the Story of Virginia
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![Still Relevant by Ed Trask Ed Trask paints a mural of flowers](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/FreshPaint_StillRelevant_DSC0887_e1%20copy.jpg.webp?itok=vx9S_GnP)
Richmond is now home to more than 100 outdoor murals, and this popular form of artwork reflects the city’s modernity and...
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On Dueling
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In the United States and elsewhere, traditional and patriarchal conceptions of honor prescribed that men could respond...
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Oysters in Virginia
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![VHE_Oysters_OysterCan_Teaser.jpg VHE_Oysters_OysterCan_Teaser.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Oysters_OysterCan_Teaser.jpg.webp?itok=2BC7sR7V)
Learn about the history of oyster in Virginia's food culture, tourism, and economy.
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Patrick Henry Arguing the Parsons’ Cause
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![79295e56bc070b2a46410264f019e5ec.jpg 79295e56bc070b2a46410264f019e5ec.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/79295e56bc070b2a46410264f019e5ec.jpg.webp?itok=2gN652fQ)
The Parsons’ Cause was a legal conflict rooted in the volatility of the tobacco-based economy and the state-sponsored...
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Political Sheet Music
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![Never Swap Horses When You're Crossing a Stream Never Swap Horses When You're Crossing a Stream](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Political%20music_NeverSwapHorses.jpg.webp?itok=wXxa00If)
Politicians have long appreciated the value of a campaign song during an election year. A popular tune can rally the...
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Silver in Virginia
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![SilverService.2003.390.57.A_C.jpg SilverService.2003.390.57.A_C.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/SilverService.2003.390.57.A_C.jpg.webp?itok=3h2z90ki)
Colonial Virginians acquired much of their important silver from London. After the Revolution, population growth, a...
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The History of Virginia's Natural Bridge: "So Beautiful an Arch"
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![The History of Virginia's Natural Bridge Hand-colored Lithograph of Natural Bridge](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/TheHistoryOfVirginia%27sNaturalBridge_VHC_SU21_NaturalBridge.199.161.jpeg.webp?itok=EUIe6WK1)
In the late eighteenth century, when Thomas Jefferson “discovered” Natural Bridge and purchased it from the King of...
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The Peaceful Transfer of Power: Oaths and Inaugurations
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Transportation in Virginia
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![VHE_Transportation_CarMudDumfries.2000.186.454.B.jpg VHE_Transportation_CarMudDumfries.2000.186.454.B.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VHE_Transportation_CarMudDumfries.2000.186.454.B.jpg.webp?itok=Mw4GtQx7)
Transportation began to change early in the nineteenth century with the introduction of steam power and the development...
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Virginia Landscapes: Sublime & Picturesque
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![Virginia Landscapes A painting titled "Near Harpers Ferry" by Andrew Melrose](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/VirginiaLandscapes_SublimeLandscape_nearharpersferry-2013-86-5.jpeg.webp?itok=mg9wVGwu)
Thomas Jefferson wrote that Natural Bridge is “the most sublime of nature’s works”: “It is impossible for the emotions...
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Washington's Mentor: Governor Dinwiddie's Correspondence, 1751-58
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![dinwiddie.jpg dinwiddie.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/dinwiddie.jpg.webp?itok=Z-NRHb1o)
Robert Dinwiddie's name is little known today, but this Scottish merchant-turned-government official played a key role...