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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 Connected Legacy: John Marshall and George Washington

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Both the first object acquired by the Virginia Historical Society and arguably one of the best objects in the VMHC...

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A Life Rediscovered: The Story of Emily Winfree

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Emily Winfree, an African American woman who lived through slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow, never...

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Abolitionist Pitcher

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Learn about how this pitcher based on Uncle Tom's Cabin was used as propoganda in the mid-1800s.

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Arthur Ashe Jr.’s Family Tree: Tracing the Blackwell Family to 1735

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See a rare family tree, drawn by hand on canvas, tracing Arthur Ashe, Jr.’s family.

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Booker T. Washington

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Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) was born enslaved on April 5, 1856, in Franklin County, Virginia. After emancipation...

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Clarise Sears Ramsey

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Charlotte Clarise Sears Risley Harrold Ramsey (1867–1922), whose parents were Joseph Henry Risley and Mary Elizabeth...

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Convict Leasing

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For much of the twentieth century, convicts worked on Virginia’s roads. This practice grew out of the convict lease...

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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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Elizabeth Keckley

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Born a slave in Dinwiddie County, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (1818–1907) purchased her freedom in 1855 and supported...

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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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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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John Marshall's Robe

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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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The death of former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton — resulting from his famous 1804 duel with Vice President...

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Mexican-American War: 175 Years Later

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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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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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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...