2 10 83 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/6c1118241203eee8e57b334de903ce91.jpg 249c487fee514a0aaf0cdfbc452d978f https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/4343500fa6cf2f9c4b659b7312bed63a.jpg 0b6d893c84bd1c935436cb5f2cabbd67 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/4e43d5c8a7ea644a3a3de7071675574f.jpg 3eed21dc7c8a7fcd2884abf9bbc03f66 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/7087b8c44bc180dabe97a3cfddd28347.pdf fcb002bf9d722701a713efa176848283 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Description An account of the resource Beyond the toll it took on the nation, the Great Depression helped to shape modern-day America, especially in expanding the role of government in citizens' everyday lives. The circumstances of the Depression spurred President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal initiatives that included the Works Progress Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps, Farm Security Administration, and the Social Security Administration to assist the unemployed, farmers, and the elderly. World War II helped not only to bring the nation out of the Depression, but also put the United States on the world stage as a superpower. Unlike previous administrations, both Roosevelt and President Harry S. Truman placed the United States on a path to leadership in worldwide conflicts and reform movements. The war changed the role of women as they entered the workforce while American men went to war. Events such as the bombing at Pearl Harbor, liberation of concentration camps, the use of atomic bombs, and the rise of the Soviet Union as a superpower shaped future American foreign policy. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Title A name given to the resource The Great Depression and World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1929 - 1945 Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context The legislation authorizing Virginia’s first statewide public school system in 1870 required that schools be racially segregated. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld southern segregation laws as long as facilities were “separate but equal.” Public education throughout Virginia and other southern states was certainly separate, but it was far from equal. Rural schools often revealed the most stark disparities. Hampered by a general lack of state funding, white local officials were reluctant to adequately support educational facilities for Black students. Amelia County was typical of rural school districts in the Commonwealth. The annual reports published by the Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction illustrate the inequalities. These documents are excerpts from the published tables documenting the number of public school teachers and their salaries in 1930–1931. According to the annual report, the school-age population (ages 7 to 19) in Amelia County was 59% Black. However, the schools for Black students were funded at a significantly smaller amount. White students could attend Amelia County High School (built in 1911), but African American students had no similar facility until 1933, which is reflected in the annual report's census of teachers that records no high school teachers in Amelia. Teacher salaries also reflected the race and gender hierarchy in Virginia. Black teachers were paid less than white teachers, even when they had more experience and education. The average salary in Amelia County for white elementary teachers was $620, while Black teachers—all women in Amelia—averaged only $412. In the 1930s and 1940s, Black teachers in some Virginia localities filed lawsuits to equalize salaries that gradually led to improvements in teachers' pay. Citation: Tables excerpted from the Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the Commonwealth of Virginia with Accompanying Documents, School Year 1930–1931 (1932). Related Document Bank entry: <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/items/show/321">Segregation in Amelia County Schools, Newspaper articles</a> <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/oc/stc/entries/aline-black-fought-for-equal-pay-for-african-american-teachers-1938">For information on teacher salary equalization, see Aline Black fought for Equal Pay for African American Teachers, 1938 in Shaping the Constitution.</a> Suggested Questions Preview Activity Scan It: Choose a county on the Teacher Census page. What stands out to you about the numbers? Post-Activities Map It: Print out the <a href="https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/36797/638059683694130000">Geographic Regions with Counties Map</a> from the Department of Education website. Find your city/county and surrounding counties. Using the data from the Teacher Census in the 1930 State Superintendent’s Annual Report (<a href="https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015076553497?urlappend=%3Bseq=162%3Bownerid=13510798892551337-168">find all localities on pp. 160-163 in the report online at HathiTrust</a>), shade the counties green that offered high school classes to African American students in 1930. On the map, shade the counties red that did not offer high school classes to African American students. What stands out to you? Dig Deeper: Find Virginia population data in the <a href="https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1930/population-volume-3/10612982v3p2ch10.pdf">1930 census</a> (data by county/city begins on p. 1161 of the linked document). Look at the numbers of white and Black inhabitants in your county/city. Compare these numbers to the <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015076553497?urlappend=%3Bseq=162%3Bownerid=13510798892551337-168">Census of Teachers</a> in the Superintendent of Public Instruction's annual report for 1930. What does this suggest about the equality of educational opportunities in your county/city or the entire state at that time? Standards VS.8, VS.10, VS.11, USII.2, USII.5, USII.8, VUS.8. VUS.16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Report, Teacher Census Excerpt, 1930 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930 African American History https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/d63a3a0521e3b3b7f9bc6c7ed40f51ef.jpg bfb340cdf959a07d77458e726f5fd582 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/de31d1c5ae5afe159ad8dbd182180caa.pdf 492bee6e57c32832bab34179850399f9 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/769de120780469113b440873670cabb2.pdf 6a0092ee4a54d037a9bba4c762b10c44 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Description An account of the resource Beyond the toll it took on the nation, the Great Depression helped to shape modern-day America, especially in expanding the role of government in citizens' everyday lives. The circumstances of the Depression spurred President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal initiatives that included the Works Progress Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps, Farm Security Administration, and the Social Security Administration to assist the unemployed, farmers, and the elderly. World War II helped not only to bring the nation out of the Depression, but also put the United States on the world stage as a superpower. Unlike previous administrations, both Roosevelt and President Harry S. Truman placed the United States on a path to leadership in worldwide conflicts and reform movements. The war changed the role of women as they entered the workforce while American men went to war. Events such as the bombing at Pearl Harbor, liberation of concentration camps, the use of atomic bombs, and the rise of the Soviet Union as a superpower shaped future American foreign policy. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Title A name given to the resource The Great Depression and World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1929 - 1945 Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context Virginia did not have a statewide system of public schools until after the Civil War. Before this, private academies and common schools were all that existed, but the Virginia General Assembly did authorize a “literary fund” that supplied counties with a limited amount of funding to educate white children whose parents could not afford to do so. For many Virginians, education was illegal because providing instruction to African Americans, whether slave or free, violated the law. During the convention that met in 1867–1868 to write a new state constitution, Black and white delegates authorized the creation of a public school system. One of the delegates was John Robinson, a free Black entrepreneur before the Civil War who rose to prominence in Cumberland and Amelia Counties as a landowner, enslaver, and tradesman. Elected to the State Senate in 1869, he served on the Committee on Public Institutions, which wrote the law establishing the new school system. Despite the protests of Black legislators, the law required that the public schools be racially segregated. For decades, schools for Black students were funded at a far lower rate than those for white students. Black parents often had to raise money themselves to acquire land, build schools, and pay teachers. As was the case in many other counties in Virginia, Black students in Amelia County did not have a school to attend after the elementary grades. In the 1920s, the county's Board of Education instituted a Training School for Black students in grades one through nine, but the school operated for only a few years. It was not until 1933 that Black students in Amelia County could attend high school. These newspaper articles published in the Southside Virginia News and the Richmond Times-Dispatch describe the efforts by Amelia County’s Black community to open a high school for their children, which included purchasing the land and paying for part of the building's construction. Classes first met at Russell Grove Presbyterian Church, and in 1935 the Russell Grove High School building was completed. It was not until 1969 that Russell Grove desegregated. John Robinson's family exemplified his belief in the importance of education. His son John W. Robinson was an advocate for establishing a high school for Black students. His daughter-in-law Lettie Robinson used her own car to transport students and is recognized Russell Grove's first bus driver. The first graduating class in 1937 included John and Lettie's daughter, Sarah (Sallie) Courtny Robinson, who was the school’s first valedictorian, as well as Lettie Robinson's granddaughter, Virginia Walton, who later became a teacher. Citations: "26 Negroes Finish Amelia High School," Virginia Southside News, May 20, 1937, Library of Virginia, <a href="https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=SVNS19370520.1.14">online at Virginia Chronicle</a>. and "Woman Still Makes Quilts as her Grandmother Did," Richmond Times-Dispatch, Dec. 28, 1955. Related Document Bank entry: <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/items/show/322">Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction, Teacher Census Except, 1930</a> <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/robinson-john-1825-or-1826-1908/">Learn more about John Robinson</a> in his Dictionary of Virginia Biography entry online at Encyclopedia Virginia. <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/public-school-system-in-virginia-establishment-of-the/">Learn more about the Establishment of the Public School System in Virginia</a> at Encyclopedia Virginia. Standards VS.7, VS.8, USII.2, USII.3, VUS.9, VUS.10 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Scan it: Scan the articles for numbers. What information stands out to you? Why? Post Activities Think about it: The amount of money raised by the Black community may not seem like much today, but go to the <a href="https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/uscompare/" target="_blank" title="this link opens in a new tab" rel="noreferrer noopener">Measuring Worth website</a> and plug in the dollar amounts mentioned in the articles. The purchasing power of the amount in today's dollars is rendered in several ways, including "as spent on a construction project." What is the equivalent cost for the amount that you entered? How do you think the Black community raised that amount of money? How much of an undertaking would that have been? What do you think the county was doing with the tax money paid by these families? Dig Deeper: Read about the creation of the Jeanes Teachers program in the <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/dillard-j-h-1856-1940/">Dictionary of Virginia Biography entry of J. H. Dillard online at Encyclopedia Virginia</a>. What was the program's connection with Virginia? How important do you think the Jeanes program was to the Black community in Amelia County, and why? How can you gauge the impact of the program on Black communities across the state? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Segregated Schools in Amelia County, Newspaper articles Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1937 African American History https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/fd411fd20320c44811337a5a35a8524c.jpg 91722bbeef0f1cd5a6ae80827e4667f2 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/dc24c0615807d7799fa811df925f93fe.pdf c16cbd86b2d876cb28e03321c9b3a45d https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/e14f90edb25e403a2112f8bcda9b67b2.pdf 1c8b6909c14f372aa707f31309396adb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Civil War and Reconstruction Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1850-1877 Description An account of the resource The Civil War was undoubtedly one of the most important events in American history. The war challenged not only the issue of slavery, but the also the balance of federal versus state powers and the power of constitutional government. In the end, not only did the war preserve the Union as Abraham Lincoln had spoken of, but it also freed nearly four million African Americans from enslavement. The war also highlighted stark differences in regions of the country. These differences ranged from political to religious to economic. The war saw an increase in battlefield news coverage and photography that visually presented military carnage in a way not seen before. The Civil War's outcome brought the first assassination of an American president. During the postwar period known as Reconstruction the nation faced the challenges of readmitting formerly Confederate southern states back into the Union as well as integrating African Americans into the political, economic, and social fabric of the country. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were aimed towards providing full equality for African Americans, but faced opposition on many levels. Despite headway, the North and the South both had strong objections to Radical Reconstruction and full social and racial democratization. Many Americans opposed the idea of redistributing wealth and were still in favor of strong local rights and government. In some cases, Reconstruction increased the racial divide, giving rise to groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and spurring violence against African Americans. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National History Content Standards</a>. Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context From the beginning of the Civil War, the Confederate government attempted to requisition needed goods and services from private citizens. In March 1863, the Confederate Congress passed an Impressment Act that allowed them to requisition crops, livestock, and other property—including enslaved people—needed for the war effort. Enslaved men generally worked as laborers on fortifications, often around Richmond, but they also worked as teamsters, gravediggers, carpenters, blacksmiths, tanners, and mechanics, generally for a period of two to three months. The Confederate army also regularly impressed free Black men to serve in the same capacities as enslaved workers. The impressed men faced sickness, disability, and death as they labored for a government that sought to retain slavery as the law of the land. Some enslaved men were able to use their impressment as an opportunity to escape to Union lines. Even before the Confederate legislation, Virginia's General Assembly passed "An Act to Further Provide for the Public Defence" in October 1862. It authorized the impressment of "male slaves between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years" at the request of the Confederate president to work on fortifications and other defenses for up to sixty days. According to the act, the Confederate government was to pay the owners of the men $16 per month with additional compensation if the enslaved man was injured, killed, seized by the U.S. army, or escaped during their service. Government requisitions of crops, supplies, and labor was unpopular. Agricultural producers believed that prices for their goods were set too low, if they were paid at all. Many enslavers needed laborers to harvest crops, and others challenged the right of the government to seize their property. To some, it appeared hypocritical that a government founded on slaveholder rights would requisition these men from their enslavers. This order for enslaved laborers by Virginia's governor was printed in the Abingdon Virginian in February 1863. It lists every slaveholder in the county, as well as how many enslaved people they were to provide to the Confederacy. The law required that no more than 5% of a city or county's population of enslaved people could be impressed and that the total number be apportioned among the locality's owners of slaves. Slaveholders who did not deliver their required number of enslaved people to the designated meeting location risked having the sheriff "seize all slaves not so delivered” for up to ninety days. Citation: Abingdon Virginian, <a href="https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=AV18630220.1.3">February 20, 1863, pg 3</a>, Library of Virginia. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101073363325?urlappend=%3Bseq=12%3Bownerid=27021597768417635-16">Read the 1862 act</a> in the Acts Passed at the General Assembly of the State of Virginia Passed at Called Session 1862 (1863). <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/oc/union-or-secession/entries/pay-roll-of-slaves-employed-by-the-commonwealth">See an 1861 pay roll for impressed slaves in Virginia</a> at Union or Secession: Virginians Decide. For additional information, <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/confederate-impressment-during-the-civil-war/">see the Confederate Impressment during the Civil War entry</a> at Encyclopedia Virginia. Standards VS.7, USI.9, VUS.8, VUS.9 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Analyze: Look at the list of enslavers. Based on this list, who are the largest slaveholders in Washington County? How do you know? Does anything surprise you about this list of enslavers? Why or why not? Post Activities STEM Stat/Analyze: According to the 1860 census, Washington County had a total population of 16,891, including white people, free people of color, and enslaved people. The Confederate government announced that it would requisition no more than 5% of a county’s total enslaved population. What do the numbers on this list tell you about the enslaved population of Washington County in 1863? What does the list tell you about the local economy? Make a graph or pie chart depicting your findings. Another Perspective: In addition to the enslaved men and their enslavers directly affected by this act, other Washington County residents probably reacted to this requision. For example, how do you think the families of the enslaved men felt when they heard their loved one would be sent away with less than a week’s notice? What new responsibilities might they have in the men’s absence? Choose one group and write a journal entry from their perspective. Explain their opinion on the impressment of enslaved laborers and why they feel this way. Dig Deeper: <a href="https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=AV18630220.1.3">Go to this page of the Abingdon Virginian on Virginia Chronicle</a>. Read some of the other notices around the requisition order. What can you infer about the war effort in this community at this time? Why? Give two examples. How would you do more research to determine whether your conclusion is correct? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Requisition Order to Washington County Slaveholders, Abingdon Virginian, Feb. 20, 1863 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1863 African American History Military History https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/a16770abd5a76437ababfbb7007f5673.jpg a3437086ac2a1ed6c8add70c017077c2 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/7ed6e6f4f9bc59fffc6f1650dfd222d5.pdf 1cf657d840596a414cbcd5d33fccdd17 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/86a1c5bd098479cf0eba661e8816eb98.pdf a4923acdb3ab3644bc64a64790d8cfe4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Development of the Industrial United States Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1870-1900 Description An account of the resource From Reconstruction to the end of the 19th century, the United States went through a dramatic shift in its economic landscape. Industrialization changed not only the nature of business, but also brought technological advances and demand for an ever-increasing workforce. A rapid expansion of the power of big business was countered with the rise of labor movements, and often resulted in conflict, sometimes violent in nature. In contrast to the positive outcomes of technological developments, there were ecological effects not understood at the time, and unhealthy working conditions that often sparked labor disputes and strikes. This shift was felt not only in the industrial big cities of the North and Midwest, but also in the realm of farming, where the United States was now put into the role of the world’s premier food producer. This era is defined largely by migration of African Americans from the South to the Midwest and North; immigration to the U.S. from other countries; and growing urbanization, all of which fed the industrial system. The rapid influx of Black southerners heightened racial tensions as they fought for equality and opportunity. Immigrants, for the first time, were less likely to come from Western Europe, but rather from Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, Mexico, and Central America. Along with the need for expanding educational systems, which were often structured to push assimilation, the rise in immigration also led to religious tensions as Protestantism was no longer the dominating faith of those immigrating to the United States. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a>. Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context After the Civil War and the enfranchisement of Black men, political contests in Virginia were often heated. In 1879, a biracial coalition known as the Readjuster Party won control of the General Assembly and two years later won the governor’s race, thereby controlling state government for a short period between 1881 and 1883. The party, led by former Confederate general William Mahone, sought to “readjust” the repayment of Virginia’s public debt because the state lacked money for public schools and other services. The Readjusters included disaffected white and Black Democrats and Republicans and many small business owners and farmers who were unhappy about the effects of policies enacted by “Funders” who prioritized paying (or “funding”) the debt instead of providing services to Virginians. The Readjuster Party was successful in securing more money for the public schools and enacted other legislation benefiting African Americans, such as abolishing the whipping post as punishment for crimes, establishing Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (now Virginia State University), and repealing the poll tax as a requirement for voting. White supremacist politicians wanted to ensure that a biracial party of Black and white men working together like the Readjusters could not control Virginia’s government in the future. To that end, some party officials engaged in a variety of electoral fraud to defeat Readjuster and Republican candidates. Some tampered with ballot boxes by adding extra or removing ballots while election officials turned a blind eye. Sometimes white and Black voters were forced to stand in separate lines and the line for Black voters always moved at a much slower rate and prevented some voters from casting ballots. In this August 1885 letter, Readjuster Party leader William Mahone (1826–1895) is writing to Samuel M. Yost (1829–1915), the editor of a Republican newspaper in Staunton who supported the Readjuster cause. Mahone urges Yost to be vigilant during the upcoming election for state offices and members of General Assembly and to guard against the “foul methods” used by the conservative Democratic Party. He was particularly concerned about fraud in “black counties,” where the population of Black voters was high. William Mahone was an interesting political figure. A Virginia Military Institute graduate, enslaver, and secessionist, he served as a Confederate general. After the railroad that he founded went into receivership, he focused on politics and built a biracial coalition to support readjusting payment of Virginia’s debt and funding education and the building of Virginia’s infrastructure. Mahone, who served as a United States Senator from 1881 to 1887, joined the Republican Party after the demise of the Readjuster Party. Citation: William Mahone Letterbook, 1885, Accession 45013, Misc. Reel 5960, Library of Virginia. <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/readjuster-party-the/" target="_blank" title="link opens in a new tab" rel="noreferrer noopener">Learn more about the Readjuster Party</a> online at Encyclopedia Virginia. Standards VS.8, USII.2, USII.5, VUS.9 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Looking at language: In the letter to Yost, Mahone uses dramatic language to stress his concern about possible election fraud. He also shows optimism and praises Yost. Pick out two or three phrases from the letter and describe how each phrase is used to emphasize Mahone’s points. Post Activities Think about it: Democracy depends on the integrity of elections. <a href="https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title24.2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Visit the Virginia Legislative Information System website</a>, and select one or two election regulations (such as voter registration, absentee ballots, ballot counting, or vote reporting). What is the regulation and how do you think it helps ensure a fair election? Dig Deeper: William Mahone feared that election fraud would suppress the votes of Black men. After the Democratic Party regained control of state government, legislation was passed making it harder for Black men to vote, which culminated in a new state constitution in 1902 that disfranchised almost 90% of Black voters as well as many poor white voters (at this time women did not have the right to vote). Read the entries in Shaping the Constitution on <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/oc/stc/entries/voting-requirements-of-the-constitution-of-virginia-1902">Voting Requirements of the Virginia Constitution of 1902</a> and <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/oc/stc/entries/voter-registration-in-portsmouth-virginia-september-29-1964">Voter Registration in Portsmouth, Virginia, 1964</a>. How did the 1902 Constitution disfranchise voters? How long did these tactics remain in effect? How were these voter suppression tactics ended? Why do you think these federal government actions were necessary? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource William Mahone Writes About Election Fraud, Letter, 1885 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1885 African American History Government and Civics https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/fdfc57b0975c4f6cf81f173bea674f29.jpg 0422525064755afbc27d3d91b449d64f https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/827172144cf7d254bbc4aad0c5fb8047.jpg 678e1fb62304680ae050671f995ca115 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/6b2b0ceae3c77b4665236213b3effb1a.pdf 5c555bafb7404325e8e1b2b367aa7ed9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Civil War and Reconstruction Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1850-1877 Description An account of the resource The Civil War was undoubtedly one of the most important events in American history. The war challenged not only the issue of slavery, but the also the balance of federal versus state powers and the power of constitutional government. In the end, not only did the war preserve the Union as Abraham Lincoln had spoken of, but it also freed nearly four million African Americans from enslavement. The war also highlighted stark differences in regions of the country. These differences ranged from political to religious to economic. The war saw an increase in battlefield news coverage and photography that visually presented military carnage in a way not seen before. The Civil War's outcome brought the first assassination of an American president. During the postwar period known as Reconstruction the nation faced the challenges of readmitting formerly Confederate southern states back into the Union as well as integrating African Americans into the political, economic, and social fabric of the country. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were aimed towards providing full equality for African Americans, but faced opposition on many levels. Despite headway, the North and the South both had strong objections to Radical Reconstruction and full social and racial democratization. Many Americans opposed the idea of redistributing wealth and were still in favor of strong local rights and government. In some cases, Reconstruction increased the racial divide, giving rise to groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and spurring violence against African Americans. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National History Content Standards</a>. Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context During the secession crisis of 1860–1861, attitudes about leaving the United States varied widely throughout Virginia. While the majority of white men supported the secession referendum that was approved in a vote on May 23, 1861, many white Virginians remained ambivalent about or even hostile to the Confederacy. The northwestern part of Virginia split off to form the new state of West Virginia in 1863 over the issue of secession. Culturally and geographically, the far western part of Virginia differed dramatically from other regions of the state. In the western region, smaller farms with few enslaved laborers predominated. In the southwestern region, completion of the railroad during the 1850s transformed commercial and political connections for residents and increased the importance of slavery there. East of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the climate and topography of the piedmont and tidewater regions supported larger farms that relied heavily on enslaved laborers. The central and eastern parts of Virginia had greater population and wealth than the west, and residents from those regions dominated the political landscape of the Commonwealth. More remote and removed from the capital city of Richmond by hundreds of miles, the residents in the mountainous regions of the far west were outnumbered and outranked when it came to having a political voice. While most western residents were not abolitionists, many did not support the Confederacy. Unionist activities were more pronounced in all the mountainous regions of the South, including in Tennessee and North Carolina, although it was only the residents of the far northwest quadrant of Virginia who went so far as to secede from their own state after Virginia seceded from the union. The first map, Frank A. Gray’s “Gray’s New Topographical Map of Virginia and West Virginia,” was created in 1877. It depicts Virginia's and West Virginia’s topography (the natural physical features, such as mountains and rivers). The map also labels the counties as well as some cities and towns. Notice that the majority of Lee County is cut off from the main map, but it appears in a small box at the top left of the map. The other map, E. Hergesheimer’s “Map of Virginia Showing the Distribution of its Slave Population from the Census of 1860,” was created in 1861. It shows the distribution of enslaved people in Virginia based on slave schedules and census records from 1860. At that time, almost half a million enslaved people lived in Virginia. More enslaved people and more owners of slaves lived in Virginia than in any other state in 1860. The darker shaded counties indicate where the greatest number of enslaved people lived. Citations: Frank A. Gray, Gray's new topographical map of Virginia and West Virginia, ca. 1877 and E. Hergesheimer, Map of Virginia Showing the Distribution of its Slave Population from the Census of 1860, Washington, D.C., 1861, both Library of Virginia. High resolution images of <a href="https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990016150560205756">Gray's new topographical map</a> (1877) and the <a href="https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990015151140205756">Map of Virginia</a> (1861) are available in the Library of Virginia's online catalog. For more information and to view documents related to the secession crisis, <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/oc/union-or-secession">see the Library's online resource Union or Secession: Virginians Decide</a>. Standards VUS.7, USI.9, VUS.7, WG.14 Suggested Questions Preview Activites Take a Look: On first glance, what stands out to you about each map? How is each map labeled? How does color and/or shading help you interpret each map? What is in the small boxes around the main map? Why do you think those locations appear there? Analyze: How can topographical maps be useful? What might be the purpose of creating a map showing the distribution of enslaved people in Virginia? Who is the imagined audience for these maps? Think about the years each were created. Note that on the bottom of the "Slave Population" map, there is a notation: “Sold for the benefit of the sick and wounded of the U.S. Army.” Why do you think this map was used as a fundraiser to support the Union’s soldiers? Post-Activities Analyze: How do the geographical features of the land influence where state borders are drawn? Point out at least two examples where the border is shaped by the physical features of the land. Analyze: What do these maps help us understand about how geography influenced white people’s attitudes toward slavery in Virginia? Why is it better to use both maps rather than just one when exploring this topic? Artistic Exploration/Current Connections: These maps help us see how the natural environment affects the local economy, which in turn influences people’s attitudes and behaviors. Think about the features of your local environment, those natural and those artificially created by humans. What features of your landscape influence how you live your life? Create a map showing the major physical features (buildings, lakes, caves, plains, hills, beaches, etc.) that shape your lifestyle and/or beliefs. Use labels, shading, and/or color to help your audience interpret the map. Map It: Map scale is the relationship between distance on the map and distance on the ground and is usually given as a ratio or a fraction. Find the scale on this map and use it to calculate the distance from the county where you live to the state capital in Richmond. The topographic map is a small-scale map showing a large area with less amount of detail than a large-scale map would. Would this map scale be appropriate for drawing a map of your classroom or your town? Why or why not? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mapping Attitudes About Secession, 1861 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1861 African American History Economics https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/6314ae3496ae362a9dc6c50ed93d2072.jpg 088634aff1eb550f7a6e01d141f5cf63 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/bd86c820b183b6a4a6d9a04134766efe.pdf 47f7c2728dd678a7c4f9d34aa3547c29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Civil War and Reconstruction Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1850-1877 Description An account of the resource The Civil War was undoubtedly one of the most important events in American history. The war challenged not only the issue of slavery, but the also the balance of federal versus state powers and the power of constitutional government. In the end, not only did the war preserve the Union as Abraham Lincoln had spoken of, but it also freed nearly four million African Americans from enslavement. The war also highlighted stark differences in regions of the country. These differences ranged from political to religious to economic. The war saw an increase in battlefield news coverage and photography that visually presented military carnage in a way not seen before. The Civil War's outcome brought the first assassination of an American president. During the postwar period known as Reconstruction the nation faced the challenges of readmitting formerly Confederate southern states back into the Union as well as integrating African Americans into the political, economic, and social fabric of the country. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were aimed towards providing full equality for African Americans, but faced opposition on many levels. Despite headway, the North and the South both had strong objections to Radical Reconstruction and full social and racial democratization. Many Americans opposed the idea of redistributing wealth and were still in favor of strong local rights and government. In some cases, Reconstruction increased the racial divide, giving rise to groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and spurring violence against African Americans. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National History Content Standards</a>. Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context Even before the end of the Civil War, newly freed Black people called on the government to grant them equal suffrage (the right to vote). A committee of Black residents in Norfolk made this demand in June 1865, shortly after the war ended. Norfolk’s situation differed from most other areas of Virginia. Since 1862 the United States Army had controlled the city. and many men and women had flocked to Norfolk during the war to seek freedom behind Union lines. It is not surprising that early calls for equal suffrage came from the region. Some of the leaders of this movement had moved or escaped to the North, including Norfolk native Joseph T. Wilson, who had lived in Massachusetts, worked on a whaling ship and Chilean railroad crew, and served in two divisions of the United State Colored Troops, including the famed Massachusetts 54th. The men who organized the Colored Monitor Union Club wanted to advance and protect their interests and those of their families. They published Equal Suffrage: Address from the Colored Citizens of Norfolk, Va., to the People of the United States in 1865 as a pamphlet to publicly express their desire for full citizenship. Think of this document as an “open letter” to anyone who might read it, rather than a direct demand of a specific person or group. Through their language, the men refute many stereotypes that white men and women held towards Black people. In the address, they point out ways in which freedpeople sought a better life through education and fair wages for their labor. They were careful to reassure whites that their intentions were peaceful. The men also asserted that newly-freed Black people deserved the right to vote as law-abiding citizens who had fought for their country. Ultimately, the United States government had to take action to enable Black men to vote. In Virginia, they voted for the first time in 1867 as the result of Congressional legislation that required former Confederate states to hold conventions to write new state constitutions and also required that Black men be able to vote and be candidates for those conventions. In 1870 the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States guaranteed Black men the right to vote as citizens. No women could vote in Virginia until 1920, when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified. Citation: Excerpt from Equal Suffrage: Address from the Colored Citizens of Norfolk, Va., to the People of the United States (1865), reprinted 1969 by Rhistoric Publications, Philadelphia, JK1929.V6 E6 1969, Library of Virginia. Related Document Bank entries: <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/items/show/102">The First Vote, Engraving published in Harper's Weekly, 1867</a> <div class="field two columns alpha"><a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/items/show/302">Racial Violence Reported in Norfolk Newspapers, 1866</a></div> <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/wilson-joseph-t-1837-1890/">Learn more about Joseph T. Wilson in his Dictionary of Virginia Biography entry online at Encyclopedia Virginia.</a> Standards VS.8, USI.9, VUS.9, USII.2, GOVT.6 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Look at it: Look at the document. What phrases or words stand out to you? Why? Post-Activities Analyze: Based on the language the authors use in their Address, what stereotypes did they face? Why do you think Black men had to justify their right to vote? Why wouldn’t they just be able to claim these rights based on the Declaration of Independence? (Note that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were not yet part of the U.S. Constitution.) Artistic Expression: Design a campaign poster promoting the equal rights of African Americans using the information found in the address. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Equal Suffrage Address, Norfolk, 1865 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1865 African American History Government and Civics https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/a91c1fb7ba1eff0cb4e6e0f7a9c41670.jpg 35315b6df04220e4af1d912475192bee https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/a281e79b33614d166257be0522de9351.jpg 6771c77e6d8d824e67dd18e4eb8a37b2 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/58fbd8d1f7928421da04049a914b00d6.pdf 06618cbedf383f305d58f931433eda27 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Civil War and Reconstruction Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1850-1877 Description An account of the resource The Civil War was undoubtedly one of the most important events in American history. The war challenged not only the issue of slavery, but the also the balance of federal versus state powers and the power of constitutional government. In the end, not only did the war preserve the Union as Abraham Lincoln had spoken of, but it also freed nearly four million African Americans from enslavement. The war also highlighted stark differences in regions of the country. These differences ranged from political to religious to economic. The war saw an increase in battlefield news coverage and photography that visually presented military carnage in a way not seen before. The Civil War's outcome brought the first assassination of an American president. During the postwar period known as Reconstruction the nation faced the challenges of readmitting formerly Confederate southern states back into the Union as well as integrating African Americans into the political, economic, and social fabric of the country. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were aimed towards providing full equality for African Americans, but faced opposition on many levels. Despite headway, the North and the South both had strong objections to Radical Reconstruction and full social and racial democratization. Many Americans opposed the idea of redistributing wealth and were still in favor of strong local rights and government. In some cases, Reconstruction increased the racial divide, giving rise to groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and spurring violence against African Americans. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National History Content Standards</a>. Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context Emancipation at the end of the Civil War did not bestow citizenship or legal protections on formerly enslaved men and women. Concerned that the newly freed African Americans would not be treated equally in courts of law, Congress passed a Civil Rights Act in April 1866 to define citizenship and guarantee equal rights under the law for freedpeople. President Andrew Johnson, a native of Tennessee, disapproved of the law, believing that the federal government was overstepping its jurisdiction. However, members of the “radical” wing of the Republican Party convinced enough moderate members of Congress to override the veto. When news of the Act's passage reached Norfolk, members of the Black community organized a celebration that began with a peaceful march through the city on April 16. They were accompanied by members of the US Colored Troops (USCT), who were carrying their weapons as part of their government-issued uniforms. Anxious white residents watched as the men paraded through the streets. An unknown person fired a gun, which resulted in a chase through the streets and a white Confederate veteran was shot and killed. This sparked a white-led riot that ended in at least two Black citizens dead and six severely wounded. Whites also destroyed Black property in the melee, which continued overnight before US Army troops quelled the violence. This episode is an example of the kinds of racialized violence Black people faced throughout the South when exercising their rights as citizens of the United States. Norfolk’s Black citizens could not count on the local police to protect them and had to turn to federal protection to secure their rights during Reconstruction. While white-owned newspapers across Virginia such as the Norfolk Daybook blamed the Black participants for the violence, the Black-edited True Southerner told a different story. The newspaper's editor, Joseph T. Wilson, was a free-born Norfolk native who had served in the USCT during the Civil War, including with the famed Massachusetts 54th. In this newspaper, Wilson argued for federal protection of Black citizens, who were daily harassed and preyed upon by whites. This article was from the last edition of the paper; after it was published, white men attacked the printing office and destroyed the press. These two documents describe the same incident: the march to celebrate the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the ensuing violence. Citations: "Insubordination and Crime" (excerpt), Norfolk Day Book, April 17, 1866, and "Opposition To a Lawful Celebration," True Southerner, 19 April 19, 1866, Library of Virginia. <a href="https://www.virginiamemory.com/online-exhibitions/exhibits/show/remaking-virginia/violence">Learn more about violence in post-Civil War Virginia in the Library's online exhibition Remaking Virginia.</a> <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/wilson-joseph-t-1837-1890/">Learn more about Joseph T. Wilson in his Dictionary of Virginia Biography entry online at Encyclopedia Virginia.</a> Standards VS.8, USII.2, USII.5, VUS.9, VUS.10 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Compare: Compare the description of the event as described by the white and the Black newspapers. What did white southerners fear, and why? How accurate do you think the Day Book's description of the event was, and why? Post Activities: In Their Shoes: Imagine you are a Black citizen of Norfolk reading the article in the True Southerner. What tone does the article have? Why do you think it takes this tone? What do you think could have happened if the federal troops weren’t there to protect Black citizens? Social Media Spin: Imagine you are a social media editor. Write about this incident for Threads. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Racial Violence Reported in Norfolk Newspapers, 1866 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1866 African American History https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/1bccfb90f652558afba2fb332cb99cae.jpg 588313e18fa1bf21b29682dd33867859 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/b84ff649bacf3c100dc802ee79d71ddf.pdf 33852959b5a4fb2d428de7623cb46e29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Emergence of Modern America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890-1930 Description An account of the resource The idea of a “Modern United States” begins with the advent of the Progressive era. The Progressive movement focused on reforms viewed as necessary after drastic increases in industrialization, immigration, and urbanization, as well as corruption in the business and political realms. Temperance reached its peak with the 18th Amendment and the decade of Prohibition, while woman suffrage became guaranteed nationally with the 19th Amendment. Other movements that gained traction on a new scale during this era were the labor movement, including the rise of unions, and the Harlem Renaissance. Shifting roles for African Americans migrating to northern cities and unprecendented immigration to America's shores heightened racial and ethnic tensions and led to the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. With all of the changes on the home front of America, this era also saw the emergence of the United States as a major world power. The Spanish-American War pitted the U.S. against a European power other than Great Britain for the first time. Not long after, the United States found itself embroiled in World War I, despite strong isolationist tendencies. Along with a large death toll, World War I led to the development of the failed League of Nations, ultimately pushing the United States even further into an isolationist standing that would last for decades. The immediate postwar period of the Prohibition-era “Roaring 20s” saw a domination in politics and economics by big business and its supporters, which would all come crashing down in less than a decade. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a>. Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context After the Civil War, Black Virginians faced both opportunities and challenges. State law segregated public schools. As a result, a class of Black educators emerged to become leaders not only of their schools, but also of their communities whose residents highly valued and respected their teachers. At the turn of the 20th century, these educators were the vanguard of “race leaders,” who through their efforts sought to uplift their communities and fight for equality. They believed an educated Black community could better counter racism and achieve civil rights. One of these educators was Benjamin Ellis Tonsler, of Albemarle County. Born into slavery in 1852, he grew up in Earlysville and attended the segregated Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute of Hampton, Virginia. He befriended fellow student Booker T. Washington, who became a renowned national leader and the first president of Tuskeegee Institute, in Alabama. Washington’s philosophy of racial uplift through teaching Black students necessary skills to advance in society made an impression on Tonsler. Benjamin Tonsler returned to central Virginia and became a teacher at Charlottesville’s Jefferson Graded School. He was promoted to principal in 1895, a position he held for the rest of his life. He purchased a house in the segregated neighborhood known as the Four Hundreds, which was home to many middle-class Black community leaders. Tonsler left a legacy as the leader of hundreds of students. The historically Black Charlottesville neighborhood of Fifeville has a park named in his honor, and his home is protected by the city of Charlottesville. Tonsler’s obituary appeared on the front page of the white Charlottesville newspaper, which suggests his social prominence in the community. Citation: “A Colored Educator Dead,” March 7, 1917, Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia: Newspapers, Library of Virginia. Standards USII.8, VUS.10 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Looking at Language: Look at the document and read the language. How would you characterize the description of Tonsler? Post Activities Analyze: The Daily Progress was a white-owned newspaper. Why do you think Benjamin Tonsler’s obituary was printed on the first page? What did the white community think of Tonsler? Food for Thought: After reading the description of Benjamin Tonsler's work in this obituary, what can you infer about the kinds of work and the philosophy Booker T. Washington espoused? In what ways did Tonsler's work support his own community in a way that did not threaten the sensibilities of whites? Dig Deeper: <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0405.html">Read Booker T. Washington’s obituary in the New York Times.</a> Tonsler and Washington were contemporaries. How similar are the descriptions of their philosophies in these two white newspapers? In what ways were the men alike? How were they different? What do you think enabled Washington to become a national leader, while Tonsler remained in the county of his birth? Social Media Spin: Write this obituary as a modern blog entry. How might you rewrite the descriptions of Tonsler and his work, and why? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Benjamin Tonsler, Black Educator and Community Leader, Obituary, 1917 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1917 African American History https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/f0d9f6b9ffde13ffc0b74ecd42b5c3eb.jpg ff2341b49cdb922cc1b8f7454d4429a8 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/63ad60efc551f7b21e68246a07a67fe8.pdf f7e055a9587bc3906549ed970836e4d9 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/d5d2a209c9b47e1ef127ff0b22729679.pdf 548d641836714b9a12ac8c0bfb3b04de https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/6195db07d217323d69f077f6f4fc0577.pdf f574d31efb7233587432fa62b2cc00bd https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/44145c591ad4ee63b60f77144f29e4b9.pdf e23a1100b93fe9ce939a9d82690b9afb https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/853f1912fa13b141614ff22c701945e6.pdf 0bc1c4a5946b3272b146925e24458aa2 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/5a403155ed6cb49a73e35542bbb8b99c.pdf c3cf68e1ab825265d731418ff85d03db Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Postwar United States Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945 - 1970s Description An account of the resource The era following World War II brought about vast changes, not only in foreign policy, but in economics and a changing civic landscape. The liberalism of the New Deal era grew into movements towards increasing civil liberties and economic opportunities, particularly for underrepresented communities and women. Protests became more common as groups demanded equal rights and voting equality. These movements were juxtaposed with Jim Crow laws and the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan. The Cold War pitted the United States and its allies in NATO against the Soviet Union and other communist nations, particularly China, Korea, and Vietnam. During this period campaigns were fought not only on the battleground, but in the political arena and social consciousness as well. The fall of the Nazi regime opened the door to the Iron Curtain and Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan the U.S. sought to halt the spread of communism further west. The defeat of Japan enabled previously occupied counties the chance to choose new leaders, many of whom sided with communism over capitalism. The United States would spend much of this period adhering to the “Domino Theory” foreign policy to contain the spread of communism. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context In the second half of the twentieth century, many U.S. cities undertook a series of “urban redevelopment” projects with federal funds that leaders claimed would modernize and upgrade their cities’ infrastructure. These <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/urban-renewal-in-virginia/">urban renewal projects</a> often targeted Black neighborhoods and led to the displacement of thousands of citizens. In 1912 the Virginia General Assembly passed a law allowing towns and cities to physically segregate neighborhoods. City leaders in Richmond and Norfolk quickly designated Black and white sections of their cities. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1917 that such laws were unconstitutional, but the ruling was not always enforced. In 1926 the Supreme Court allowed covenants in property deeds that allowed white homeowners to restrict by race who could occupy or purchase their house. In the 1930s, the Federal Housing Administration's Home Owners' Loan Corporation designated Black neighborhoods as unworthy of prime bank loans, which meant that residents could not get loans on favorable terms—or loans at all. The practice was known as <a href="https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining">redlining</a> since those neighborhoods were marked on maps with red. Jim Crow laws and government actions contributed to highly segregated neighborhoods, where Black residents with low and high incomes often lived side by side in disparate housing situations. Redlining meant that many Black people could not afford to buy homes or take out loans to upgrade and modernize their homes. This situation was exacerbated by a housing shortage during World War II, which often meant that absentee landlords refused to fix dilapidated, overcrowded housing. Many of these Black neighborhoods suffered from substandard housing, including public housing that had been erected during the Great Depression and World War II that was often built quickly with questionable construction standards. By the 1950s, these areas were often characterized by a high concentration of tenants at or below the poverty level who lived in unsafe housing rented to them by absentee landlords. In Virginia, many city developers looked to these vulnerable neighborhoods when planning new construction projects. From highway construction to the creation of new business districts, areas like Atlantic City and Branch Creek in <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/urban-renewal-in-norfolk/">Norfolk</a>, Vinegar Hill in <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/urban-renewal-in-charlottesville/">Charlottesville</a>, Jackson Ward in <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/urban-renewal-in-richmond/">Richmond</a>, and the Northeast and Gainsboro neighborhoods in <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/urban-renewal-in-roanoke/">Roanoke</a> were cleared for urban redevelopment projects. These areas did experience some depopulation after World War II as Black residents who could afford to moved away, while those who were left generally lacked the political clout to fight so-called urban renewal plans. The poll tax prevented many Black citizens from being able to vote against projects that would displace them. Urban renewal often displaced the most vulnerable residents of a town or city. Norfolk received some of the first federal funding available for “slum clearance” projects. City planners’ first phase of urban renewal in 1951 targeted dilapidated housing and included housing for some displaced residents. Their second phase was a direct attempt to stave off integration following the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated schools were unconstitutional. The second phase targeted increasingly integrated neighborhoods that included military housing that had been built during World War II with modern heating and plumbing. Another targeted neighborhood, Atlantic City, was majority white and had recently completed a code violations survey following which many owners had repaired and updated their homes. These neighborhoods were in transition as Black residents began to move in due to severe housing shortages. Rather than allow the schools in these areas to be integrated, the city council led by Mayor <a href="http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Duckworth_W_Fred_1899-1972">Fred Duckworth</a> razed neighborhoods to the ground to make way for industrial and business zones while displacing 20,000 city residents. Other urban renewal projects destroyed Black neighborhoods in favor of white business interests. Roanoke created a housing authority in 1949 to seek federal funding for redevelopment. In 1955 the city council declared the Northeast neighborhood was a slum and began a project that destroyed homes, businesses, and schools in an 83-acre area. Residents were told they would be able to return to new homes in the area, but the project widened one of the main roads into Roanoke and encouraged commercial development instead of homes. In 1954 Charlottesville’s city council created a housing authority that conducted a survey to find “substandard dwellings occupied by Negro families” in order to secure federal funding to redevelop Vinegar Hill, the heart of the city's Black business district. Many of the houses that were deemed to be “blighted” were rented by Black residents from white landowners. In 1960 Charlottesville voters narrowly approved a redevelopment referendum as a result of the disfranchisement of many Black voters by the state's poll tax. The city used eminent domain to seize the businesses and homes of Black residents. By 1964 about 600 residents had been displaced from their homes and 30 Black-owned businesses that had generated about $1.6 million in business had closed. Many residents moved into public housing, but the commercial development project stalled and the land remained vacant for well over a decade. In the 1950s, city planners in <a href="https://www.virginiamemory.com/online-exhibitions/exhibits/show/mapping-inequality">Richmond</a> literally tore apart Jackson Ward. Having already evicted more than 250 families during World War II for a housing project known as Gilpin Court, planners displaced 1,900 families—roughly ten percent of Richmond’s Black population—for four-lane highway through the neighborhood in 1957. The white city council fundamentally changed this neighborhood. Working with the state Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority, planners charted a path that ran through the heart of Jackson Ward, which had been known in the early twentieth century as the “Harlem of the South” because of its strong business community and cultural institutions. Private business development and the convention center construction from the 1970s–2000s threatened the neighborhood so much that the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Jackson Ward one of the most threatened historic districts in the country in 2001. Black neighborhoods from Roanoke to Alexandria saw the demise of businesses and the decentering of community institutions in the name of slum clearance and urban revitalization. The documents in this lesson plan include Virginia's 1912 act allowing for the creation of segregated housing districts, articles from the Norfolk Journal and Guide, a Black-owned newspaper reporting on the realities of displaced residents in Norfolk and Roanoke, articles from the Charlottesville Daily Progress, a white-owned paper that supported the Vinegar Hill redevelopment, and photographs from the records of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority with a map from the Library of Virginia's House to Highway exhibition showing the effects the highway construction had on the neighborhood. Citations: An Act to provide for designation by cities and towns of segregation districts, Acts and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Virginia...1912 (1912), 330–332; articles from the Charlottesville Daily Progress, June 9, June 13, and June 28, 1960; articles from the Norfolk Journal and Guide, March 5, 1955 and April 2, 1955; Jackson Ward photographs in Records of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority, 1954–1983, Accession 40941, State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia; map overlay created for House to Highway: Reclaiming a Community History exhibition (2025). Standards USII.5, USII.8, CE.6, CE.9, CE.10, GOVT.2, GOVT.5, GOVT.10, VUS.10, VUS.12 Goals and Guiding Principles: Students will understand how segregation, redlining, and housing pressures due to rapid urbanization and segregation made Black neighborhoods vulnerable to redevelopment plans. They will explore how Black citizens tried to protect their individual liberties in the face of majority rule, despite the roadblocks they faced in trying to secure the vote. Students will recognize how Black citizens peacefully protested by making their voices heard through the press and determine their rates of success. Suggested Questions Timeline (15 minutes) USII, CE, VUS Place all of the documents in this lesson plan in chronological order and create a timeline. Add into this timeline the following events: <ul> <li>The creation of Virginia’s 1902 Constitution that included a poll tax that required eligible voters to pay before registering to vote</li> <li>The redlining of neighborhoods across the country by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation from 1935–1940</li> <li>World War II, 1941–1945</li> <li>Federal and state poll taxes outlawed by 24th Amendment (1964) and U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1966</li> </ul> Consider the following questions: how do you think state and federal legislation affected where urban renewal efforts took place, and why? Why do you think World War II was a contributing factor in the development of “blighted” neighborhoods, and how was that tied to government policies and legislation? How do you think this story would have been different if redlining and poll taxes were not present, or do you think it would have changed at all? Philosophical Chairs (15-30 minutes) USII, CE, VUS, GOVT The prompt: People should not live in dilapidated housing. Urban redevelopment ends blight. The Setup: Students move to opposite ends of the room representing agree or disagree. The debate: Read through the newspaper articles about redevelopment and split into two groups, one for and one against redevelopment. Craft arguments for and against the efforts, based on the information in the articles. Have the students look at the images in the Encyclopedia Virginia story map of Urban Renewal (<a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3eec8dec8c334953a11466a0d99b5cb3">https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3eec8dec8c334953a11466a0d99b5cb3</a>). Consider the realities of some of these neighborhoods. Have them also consider the issue of what was being built in place of the dilapidated housing, and who was making the decisions about what would be built and where. Shifting positions: if students are persuaded, they can move to different sides of the room. Reflections: Can the students find a way to compromise between large-scale displacement of residents and the need for safe housing for all citizens? What did students learn about the complicated issues here? Decision Making (15-20 minutes) USII, CE, VUS, GOVT The historical problem to address is one of housing shortages and inadequacies, which continue to be serious issues today. Housing issues can also be exacerbated by Virginia's transportation challenges that include overcrowded roads in some communities while others lack pedestrian, bicycle, and public transportation options. After reading through the documents, have the students consider both what did happen and how it could have occurred differently. Had they been city council members, what alternatives could they have proposed, and why would those have been better? FOR A DEEPER DIVE: find examples of debates over revitalization happening in areas near you today and look to see what is being done by leadership and by citizens in these examples. What do your students think of what they’re reading about today, and why? Be the Reporter (20 minutes) VS, USII, VUS Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church was slated to be demolished to make way for the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike. Founded just two years after the Civil War, Sixth Mount Zion was led for many years by Reverend John Jasper, a formerly enslaved man who was famous throughout Virginia for his sermons. Members of the church and community rallied to preserve the church building, which had been built in the 1880s. Read more about John Jasper and the church in Virginia Changemakers (<a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/items/show/12" target="_blank" title="link opens in a new tab" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/items/show/12</a>) and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (<a href="https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/127-0472/" target="_blank" title="link opens in a new tab" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/127-0472/</a>). Look at the photographs in the pdf attached to this lesson plan from March and April 1957, in which Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church is on the left side of the photograph or in the background. Imagine you are a reporter writing an article about the turnpike and its effect on the church and Jackson Ward. How do you think the church building was saved? How would you describe what you see happening around the church in the images. How would you position the images in your article to show the effects of the turnpike. Exit Ticket (10-15 minutes) USII, CE, VUS, GOVT In three to four sentences, explain what you learned about urban renewal projects in Virginia. In one sentence, explain what you would like to know more about, and why. In two sentences, explain how the knowledge you gained could be used to decide upon current issues facing communities today. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lesson Plan – Urban Renewal in Virginia Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1950s African American History Economics Government and Civics https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/f3d0bd4225764743352a5a021c8de708.jpg c045dceeff04cd49eeaad52a25bd6bd0 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/94c43a90daa9548a8c3e126329b79f28.jpg 534f624a8aca648d536b0de1246e03db https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/880629bb6a9e09e4b9146c1fc2a508cb.pdf 0797a66bb7d9136e61ebfc20859db3fc https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/3f8fcc0251cee630fbd1f32283b4b0fd.pdf 3027849d36af0b72837ead94cdab80c8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Civil War and Reconstruction Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1850-1877 Description An account of the resource The Civil War was undoubtedly one of the most important events in American history. The war challenged not only the issue of slavery, but the also the balance of federal versus state powers and the power of constitutional government. In the end, not only did the war preserve the Union as Abraham Lincoln had spoken of, but it also freed nearly four million African Americans from enslavement. The war also highlighted stark differences in regions of the country. These differences ranged from political to religious to economic. The war saw an increase in battlefield news coverage and photography that visually presented military carnage in a way not seen before. The Civil War's outcome brought the first assassination of an American president. During the postwar period known as Reconstruction the nation faced the challenges of readmitting formerly Confederate southern states back into the Union as well as integrating African Americans into the political, economic, and social fabric of the country. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were aimed towards providing full equality for African Americans, but faced opposition on many levels. Despite headway, the North and the South both had strong objections to Radical Reconstruction and full social and racial democratization. Many Americans opposed the idea of redistributing wealth and were still in favor of strong local rights and government. In some cases, Reconstruction increased the racial divide, giving rise to groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and spurring violence against African Americans. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National History Content Standards</a>. Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context In March 1865, before the Civil War had ended, Congress created the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands (generally known as the Freedmen’s Bureau) to supervise matters related to freed people as well as to distribute land "abandoned" by Confederates to formerly enslaved men and women. The land distribution did not happen, but the Freedmen's Bureau assisted freed people with housing, food, clothing, health care, education, and employment. The Bureau worked to implement a system of free labor in the former Confederate states with the goal of helping freed people become self-sufficient enough to support themselves. Bureau functions included supervising labor and apprenticeship contracts between freed people and white employers as well as managing disputes about contracts. Freedmen’s Bureau agents operated throughout Virginia between 1865 and 1869. Lieutenant Frederick M. Kimball was an agent for Brunswick County. In that capacity he supervised and signed these apprenticeship agreements (or indentures) of two children to a white farmer in 1866. According to the contracts, Mason Ann Brooks had granted permission for her children, Charles and Lucella Brooks, to be apprenticed for a period of years to Edward Clayton. Sometimes Freedmen's Bureau agents apprenticed children without their parents' knowledge or consent to keep children and their families from being entirely dependent on the Bureau. Even when a parent attempted to reclaim custody of their child, Bureau agents were reluctant to break signed contracts and family members remained separated, which was similar to the situation many faced when they were enslaved. Citation: Charles Brooks, Freedmen's Contract, and Lucella Brooks, Freedmen's Contract, 1866, Brunswick County Freedmen's Contracts and Apprentice Indentures, Library of Virginia. <a href="https://www.virginiamemory.com/online-exhibitions/exhibits/show/remaking-virginia/labor" target="_blank" title="link opens in a new tab" rel="noreferrer noopener">Learn more about freed people and Virginia's post-Civil War economy in the Library's online exhibition Remaking Virginia: Transformation Through Emancipation.</a> Standards VS.8, USII.2, VUS.9 Suggested Questions Preview Activities Think About It: Students brainstorm a list of what they know about Reconstruction before reading the contract. Scan It: Scan the contracts for any words that stand out. Why do they stand out? What do they tell you about the document? Post Activities Analyze: Compare the two contracts. How are they similar? In what ways are they different? Form a hypothesis about why these contracts differ. Form an Opinion: Read the requirements that are expected for both parties of the contract. Form an opinion about the terms of the indenture. Use two examples from the contracts to explain your opinion. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Apprenticeship Contracts, Brunswick County, 1866 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1866 African American History Economics