Filters  

Article

A Beardless Boy of Seventeen Years

Image

Even before Aristophanes wrote of Lysistrata’s plan to end the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE) by convincing the women...

Article

A Connected Legacy: John Marshall and George Washington

Image

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

Article

Audubon's The Birds of America

Image

In the VMHC collections are several rare editions of his work, including a first edition of Viviparous Quadrupeds and...

Article

Audubon's Viviparous Quadrapeds

Image

Following the success of his Birds of America, John James Audubon began to gather material for an equally ambitious...

Article

Convict Leasing

Image

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

Article

Diary of William Gwathmey, 1859

Image

On October 16, 1859, John Brown led eighteen followers in a raid on the federal arsenal and armory at Harpers Ferry...

Article

Dolley Madison

Image

Dolley (Payne) Todd Madison (1768–1849) lived through three wars, knew eleven presidents, and was a gracious and...

Article

Freedmen's Schools

Image

In the antebellum South, African Americans were generally prevented from receiving education. After Appomattox...

Article

Jefferson’s Desk

Image

There are many reproductions of the desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Some have even...

Article

John Marshall's Robe

Image

The only surviving judicial robe from John Marshall’s 34 years of service as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court...

Article

John Randolph Dueling Pistols (c. 1820)

Image

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

Article

Mexican-American War: 175 Years Later

Image

Of the five Americans who were most involved in the War with Mexico, four were Virginians. They were politicians and...

Article

Murals Inspired by the Story of Virginia

Image

Richmond is now home to more than 100 outdoor murals, and this popular form of artwork reflects the city’s modernity and...

Article

On Dueling

Image

In the United States and elsewhere, traditional and patriarchal conceptions of honor prescribed that men could respond...

Article

Oysters in Virginia

Image

Learn about the history of oyster in Virginia's food culture, tourism, and economy.

Article

Political Sheet Music

Image

Politicians have long appreciated the value of a campaign song during an election year. A popular tune can rally the...

Article

The History of Virginia's Natural Bridge: "So Beautiful an Arch"

Image

In the late eighteenth century, when Thomas Jefferson “discovered” Natural Bridge and purchased it from the King of...

Article

The Peaceful Transfer of Power: Oaths and Inaugurations

Article

Virginia Landscapes: Sublime & Picturesque

Image

Thomas Jefferson wrote that Natural Bridge is “the most sublime of nature’s works”: “It is impossible for the emotions...