Browse Items (222 total)

After the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that school segregation was unconstitutional in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, Virginia's white political leaders at the state and local levels led a Massive Resistance movement,…

William Berkeley (1605–1677) was the longest-serving royal governor of Virginia. He served as a Crown governor (an appointee of the King) between 1642 until 1652 and again from 1660 until his death in 1677. In his late twenties, Berkeley was a part…

After John Rolfe's successful experimentation with the West Indies tobacco plant, Nicotaiana tabacum, the Virginia Company of London realized that it had found a profitable product to export from the colony. Tobacco cultivation spread widely through…

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declared freedom to enslaved people within states that were in rebellion against the United States. All enslaved people in areas of Virginia that were not…

Virginia's General Assembly first met in July–August 1619. At that time twenty-two burgesses representing eleven settlements assembled in Jamestown with the royal governor and his councilors, or advisors. They approved legislation related to tobacco…

The first representative assembly in English North America met in the church at Jamestown on July 30, 1619.  Following instructions from the Virginia Company of London, the governor was empowered to call a general assembly to handle public matters…

By 1775 more than half a million Black Americans, most of them enslaved, were living in the thirteen colonies. Thousands participated in the American Revolution. They often gave their loyalty to the side which offered the best path to freedom from…

During the 19th century, local and state governments provided few social programs and women's benevolent activities provided food, shelter, education, and alms for the poor. Often, wealthy white women established charitable or religious-based…

Virginia's Fifth Revolutionary Convention met at the Capitol in Williamsburg from May 6 to July 5, 1776, and declared independence from Great Britain. The delegates also voted to prepare a constitution for Virginia as well as a statement of rights.…

James Madison (1751–1836) was one of the most influential and successful Virginians of the Revolutionary generation. His service in the House of Delegates and in the Continental Congress taught him to be a pragmatic politician, something that served…