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Article Set - Intro
Virginia's Colonial Dynasties
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In the colonial period, portraiture proved to be a particularly useful tool in establishing and preserving family status. This exhibit presents twenty-four portraits from the Virginia Historical Society's collection. Early Virginia portraits reveal much about the families that commissioned them, as well as how these Virginians valued how they were perceived by others.
Article
Virginia’s Sweet History – Chocolate-Making in the Commonwealth
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Production methods and flavorings have changed in the 4,000 years since chocolate was consumption began, but it remains...
Media
VIRTUAL LECTURE - Escape to the City: Fugitive Slaves in Antebellum Richmond
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On September 21, 2023, Viola Franziska MĂĽller gave a virtual-only lecture about her book, Escape to the City: Fugitive Slaves in the Antebellum Urban...
Time Period Chapter
War on the Home Front
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For some, the war brought deprivation, horror, and loss right to their very doorsteps.
Article
War or Murder?
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![War or Murder? A painting of City Point.](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/WarOrMurder_VHE_ATP_CityPoint.1991.jpeg.webp?itok=zERqgA0m)
Throughout the war, both sides sought a single decisive victory long after it was clear that no such event was...
Media
Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery
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On December 9, 2021, historian Bruce A. Ragsdale presented a lecture about his book, Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of...
General Content
Washington Traveling Exhibition
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![Ferris.jpg Ferris.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/Ferris.jpg.webp?itok=xac-dSiL)
Washington: The Myths and the Man is a touring exhibition organized by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture...
Article
Washington's Mentor: Governor Dinwiddie's Correspondence, 1751-58
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Robert Dinwiddie's name is little known today, but this Scottish merchant-turned-government official played a key role...
Article
What Are the Five Physical Regions of Virginia’s Geography?
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The geography of Virginia has shaped both the history and economy of the state. It brought settlers and wars to the...
Media
Who Looks at Lee Must Think of Washington By Robert Tilton
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In his 1866 poem, “Lee in the Capitol,” Herman Melville portrays a dignified Robert E. Lee advocating reconciliation before the Congressional...
Article
Who Was American?
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![Who Was American? JEB Stuart's Revolver](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/WhoWasAmerican_VHE_ATP_JEBStuartRevolverRtSide.1983.jpeg.webp?itok=CfpLeEvC)
By 1861, the United States population was steadily growing more diverse. Most nineteenth-century immigrants settled in...
Article
Why is there a West Virginia?
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![Why is there a West Virginia? A drawing of Confederates gathering in the Shenandoah Valley.](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/WhyIsThereAWestVirginia_VHE_ATP_IrregularTroops.2000.165.3.jpeg.webp?itok=9uWgE1j1)
Secession from Virginia was the hope of some western Virginians as early as 1829. Many western Virginians felt...
Article
Why Richmond?
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![Why Richmond? Alabama Twenty-Five Cent Note](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_768x576/public/WhyRichmond_VHE_ATP_Alabama25CentNote.jpeg.webp?itok=l01ztJgD)
Once Virginia seceded, the Confederate government moved the capital to Richmond, the South’s second largest city. The...