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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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Christmas Cards
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Christmas cards are ephemeral, and this essence is the very reason they can be of interest to researchers. Scholars...
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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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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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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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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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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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Oysters in Virginia
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Learn about the history of oyster in Virginia's food culture, tourism, and economy.
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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...
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Richmond in the Midst of the Civil War
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As the Confederate capital, Richmond experienced waves of change that saw the city lurch from the untidy influx of...
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Speed or Strength?
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Early in 1862, Confederate general Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson decided to “move swiftly and strike vigorously” against...
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The First Modern War?
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The technology of the industrial revolution applied to the science of killing made the Civil War a turning point between...
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Urbanization in Virginia
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Learn about the process of urbanization in Virginia.
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Valentines
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February 14 has a long history as a day for friends and sweethearts to exchange tokens of affection. By the end of the...
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Who Freed the Enslaved People?
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Two years of fighting changed what the war was about. Beginning in 1863, the North no longer fought only to save the...
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Why is there a West Virginia?
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Secession from Virginia was the hope of some western Virginians as early as 1829. Many western Virginians felt...
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Why Richmond?
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Once Virginia seceded, the Confederate government moved the capital to Richmond, the South’s second largest city. The...
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Woodrow Wilson
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Learn about Woodrow Wilson.