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Freedmen's Schools
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In the antebellum South, African Americans were generally prevented from receiving education. After Appomattox...
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Glee Clubs
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The VMHC has several glee club items in its collection. The earliest item, an 1848 broadside entitled “Rally Whigs”...
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Grace Sherwood: The "Witch of Pungo"
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On July 10, 1706, a forty-six-year-old Princess Anne County woman named Grace Sherwood faced an unusual legal procedure...
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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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How Did Enslaved People Support the Confederacy?
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Enslaved and free black people provided even more labor than usual for Virginia farms when 89 percent of eligible white...
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James Jones Archive (1870s-1960s)
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With a coat of faded red paint and a crude hand-forged hasp to secure its lid, the simple pine chest – once used to...
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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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Liberated Books
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During the Civil War, looting by soldiers was a common practice. The hungry soldier usually confiscated food and...
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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...
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Mary-Cooke Branch Munford
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Learn how Mary-Cooke Branch Munford helped improve education in Virginia.
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Men of Color To Arms?
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When the war began, many black Americans—North and South—volunteered to serve as soldiers. United by a belief in black...
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Murals Inspired by the Story of Virginia
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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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Nancy Langhorne Shaw Astor
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Viscountess Astor (1879–1964) was the first woman to take a seat in the British House of Commons. Nancy was born in...
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New Normals for the Old Dominion
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The State Normal Schools for Women, so called because they set the norms (or standards) for teaching, were born out of a...
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Offense or Defense?
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To win the war, United States troops needed to invade and control an unfriendly South and subdue Confederate armies.
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Opiate Addiction in the Civil War's Aftermath
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In the Civil War’s wake, thousands of veterans became addicted to morphine and opium, medicines used to treat painful...
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Phyllis Galanti: A Life of Personal Activism
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Phyllis Galanti's comprehensive collection of documents reveals her belief that the cooperative actions of private...
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Political Sheet Music
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Politicians have long appreciated the value of a campaign song during an election year. A popular tune can rally the...