Preview Activity
Look at the photograph and read the caption. If you were one of the “knights of the golden horseshoe” how would you describe the land? What purposes would you envision for how the land could be used?
Post Activities
STEM STAT: Identify your region and list its attributes. How are those attributes similar or different to those of the Shenandoah Valley? How does geography impact land use for farming and immigration purposes?
Using Context Clues: Write a one-page diary entry detailing the journey to discover the Shenandoah Valley. Include at least three facts from your knowledge based on the image, context section, and other sources.
Social Media Spin: Compose a post or tweet that one of the men on the journey could have written when seeing the Shenandoah Valley for the first time.
Alexander Spotswood served from 1710 to 1722 as lieutenant governor of Virginia, in the place of the royal governor who never came to the colony. During his tenure Spotswood sought to improve the colony's security and economy and relations with Virginia Indians. He pressed the General Assembly to pass several important acts, including the Tobacco Inspection Act (1713) and the Indian Trade Act (1714). Under the Tobacco Inspection Act, Spotswood hoped to increase the prices that planters received for their tobacco by improving its quality. He appointed men, some of whom were members of the House of Burgesses, to well-paid positions as inspectors of tobacco before it was sent to Europe. But planters did not approve of the new policy and, with the help of English merchants, convinced the king to veto the law. To improve relations with Virginia Indians, Spotswood sought to regulate trade, but that act was also unpopular with many colonists.
In 1716 Spotswood led an expedition across the Blue Ridge Mountains and into the Shenandoah Valley. He claimed the land for the King of England, which was eventually used as a buffer against Indigenous Peoples and white settlers during the 1730s. Spotswood also used land grants in the Shenandoah Valley to persuade Europeans to immigrate to Virginia, and he established a settlement of German colonists on the Piedmont region frontier that became known as Germanna.
As the result of his unstable relationship with the Governor's Council and the House of Burgesses, Spotswood was replaced in 1722 by Hugh Drysdale. Among his political achievements, Spotswood left behind an architectural influence, having introduced the Georgian style to portray wealth and power when he designed the Governor's Palace and rebuilt the College of William and Mary. Alexander Spotswood served as deputy postmaster general for North America from 1730 until his death in 1740.
Citation: Alexander Spotswood oil on canvas painting by Charles Bridges, 1736, State Art Collection, Library of Virginia.
Learn more about Alexander Spotswood at Encyclopedia Virginia.
Preview Activity
Artistic Exploration: Look at the portrait of Alexander Spotswood. Briefly describe three things you notice about his portrait. Use the following to guide your observations: what can we infer from Spotswood's posture, his clothes, his facial expression, what he holds in his left hand, what is in the background of his portrait? Write a short paragraph describing Spotswood and what role he may have played in Virginia history.
Post Activities
Political Plans: Alexander Spotswood tried to improve his relationship with the House of Burgesses and the Governor's Council by passing certain acts, such as the Tobacco Inspection Act of 1713. What are other areas he could have improved to make positive changes in the lives of ordinary Virginians during this time period?
Virginia Validation: In a time when colonists were becoming unhappy with British control, Alexander Spotswood attempted to appease the King. If he wanted the colonists' support, why would he conform so closely with the British government?
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 that emerged in the colony. In 1619, the General Assembly was composed of the governor, six councilors, and twenty-two burgesses who represented eleven settlements. Exactly how the burgesses were chosen is not known.
At the first assembly, members proposed amendments to the charter, passed laws on issues related to tobacco prices and relations with Indigenous Virginians, and adjudicated several criminal cases. The assembly was meant to provide the English settlers with a way to bear responsibility for decisions that affected them on a daily basis and to respond to emergency situations. It was not anticipated that the General Assembly would grow into a representative legislature that influenced the political culture of Virginia and the future United States.
Since its inception, Virginia's General Assembly has continued to meet regularly to debate and legislate. At first the assembly was unicameral, meaning that all members met together as a single body. In 1643, the burgesses began meeting separately from the governor and the members of his council and has remained bicameral since that time. The Virginia Constitution of 1776 created two houses of the assembly: the House of Delegates and the State Senate. Terms and numbers for both groups differ, and today the Senate is comprised of 40 senators who serve four-year terms while the House of Delegates has 100 members who serve two-year terms.
The significance of the work of the men who met at Jamestown in 1619 was memorialized with an obelisk monument that was unveiled during the 300th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement and was a gift of the Norfolk branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia). This photograph of the monument was part of a collection of albums prepared by the state Chamber of Commerce for display in the Virginia Room at the 1939 World's Fair in New York.
Citation: Monument Listing Names of the Members of the First Legislative Assembly in America, 1939 World's Fair Photograph Collection, Visual Studies Collection, Library of Virginia.
VS.1, VS.3, VS.10, USI.1, USI.5
Preview Activity
Artistic Exploration: If you were hired to redesign this monument, how would you design it differently? Why?
Post Activities
Current Connection: Given the current debate over monuments, do you feel that a monument to the first General Assembly is necessary? Explain.
State Your Case: If you were to testify on a bill or amendment currently at the General Assembly, what types of arguments would you use to make your case? Can you think of any current or recent bills or amendments that you could speak about?
In the 17th Century, Anthony Johnson of Northampton County, was one of only a few documented Black landowners in the Virginia Colony. Anthony arrived in the Virginia Colony in 1621. He was likely from Angola and was renamed “Antonio” after he was captured. The renaming of Africans to Portuguese, Spanish, and, later, English names was not an uncommon practice. Anthony became an indentured servant after reaching the Virginia Colony. He was, like all indentured servants at that time, required to serve a landowner for a specific length of time before being granted freedom.
In the early 17th Century, Indentured servants were able to earn money, own livestock, and raise their own crops. The early English settlers were not opposed to the idea of freeing their indentured servants and many saw it as a goal for the colony. Once freedom was given, the person could acquire land and make a profit off their land. The concept of indentured servitude was broad in that time and was not based strictly on race. Indentured servants could be granted their freedom, or they could self- purchase or buy their freedom. Anthony Johnson was one such individual.
In 1651, Anthony purchased his freedom from the Bennet family. With his wife, Mary, and their children, they would become a landowner on the Eastern Shore. Records show that the Johnson owned at least one indentured servant. In 1655, John Casar had a disagreement with Johnson over his indentured status. Casar claimed that the terms of his contract had run the agreed to seven or eight years and that he had served another seven years beyond his original obligation to Johnson. He argued that he met the terms of the contract and should be set free. The Northhampton County Court ruled in favor of Johnson finding that Casar had run away and claimed to be an indentured servant, but he was Johnson’s slave for life. In the same court case, Johnson’s neighbor, Robert Barker, a white planter, was charged with helping Casar with his petition to be freed from his indenture. The court ordered Parker to pay Johnson’s court costs.
By the 1660’s, the circumstances of being a free Black person in the Virginia Colony became more difficult. The Johnson family decided to sell their farm and relocate to Somerset County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. There they owned land and restarted their farm. Anthony Johnson died in 1670. Casar's status remains unknown.
Preview Activity
Scan It: Scan the document. What phrases stand out to you? What do you think is the purpose of this document?
Post Activities
Form an Opinion: Based on your understanding of the case, how do you feel about the outcome? Was the court’s decision correct? Explain.
Social Media Spin: Write a social media post in which you describe the circumstances of the case to a modern audience. Keep in mind the differences in 17th Century and 21st Century terminology. For example, the differences between an indentured servant and an enslaved person.
Among his many skills, George Washington was a well-respected land surveyor. After the death of his father in 1743, eleven-year-old George Washington did not attend school in England like his older half-brothers, but had private tutors and may have attended school in Fredericksburg. The subjects he studied included geometry and trigonometry, which prepared him to become a surveyor, a skilled profession that could be financially lucrative. Becoming a surveyor was no small accomplishment in Washington’s day as surveyors were responsible for determining the legal boundaries of property claimed by European settlers in colonial Virginia.
Early in 1748, having completed only a small number of practice surveys, Washington accompanied his neighbor George William Fairfax and a county surveyor on a month-long surveying expedition west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1749, Washington was appointed surveyor for the newly established Culpeper County, probably as a result of his connections to the powerful Fairfax family. Between 1750 and 1752, he continued to survey land near the western area of Lord Fairfax's Northern Neck Proprietary. As a surveyor, Washington earned a reputation for fairness, honesty, and dependability.
Washington produced almost 200 surveys, but only about 75 are known to exist today. On November 1, 1749, he completed this survey for Edward Hogan of 330 acres on the Cacapon River (now in West Virginia) in what was then part of Augusta County. Washington would have used a surveying compass and chain to determine the distances and the boundary lines. An assistant would notch, or mark, the trees that were identified in the survey to show the boundaries (in this survey, Edward Hogan was the marker). The distances were measured in poles. One pole equaled 16 1/2 feet and corresponded to 25 links on the surveyor's chain (known as a Gunters chain). A full chain with 100 links equaled 66 feet (4 poles).
Citation: Survey of 330 Acres in Augusta County for Edward Hogan, 1 November 1749, George Washington (1732–1799), Northern Neck Surveys, Land Office Records, Record Group 4, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
History: USI.1, USI.6, VS.1, VS.6
Earth Science: ES 1, ES 8
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the land survey. What do you notice about it? Why would land surveys be important in 1749?
Post Activities
Think About It: Research and create a list of the skills needed to be a good surveyor. From that list, suggest how those surveying skills might relate to Washington’s military career and that of being President.
STEM Stat: Using the measurements for poles (noted above), calculate the amount of land that is shown on Washington’s survey.
Current Connections: Typical training for land surveyors included classes in geography, geometry, navigation, and trigonometry. In 18th century America, the typical surveying technique was the “metes and bounds” method. The surveyor and landowner would determine a starting point and use a 66 foot long Gunters Chain to indicate the boundaries of a property. The chain would be added to as needed. What issues or problems do you see with this approach? How might these potential issues be resolved using modern surveying equipment such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS) or Geographic Information System Mapping (GIS) in which multiple forms of a data are used to create and analyze accurate maps? How does Washington’s training and equipment differ from what is required today?
Preview Activity
Look at it: Look at the image and text of the pamphlet title page. What does information does it give? What so you think is the purpose of the pamphlet?
Post Activities
Artistic Exploration: Draw an advertisement or poste promoting the possibilities of investing in a joint- stock company venture in the 1600’s.
Think about it: If you were an English investor at this time, would you invest in the Virginia Company of London? Explain your answer.
Another Perspective: If you were a member of an indigenous community and saw the arrival of strangers set to colonize your lands, how would you feel? What would be your concerns? Explain.
Phillip Gowen (whose surname sometimes appears as Cowen or Corven) was the son of a freed African servant. He was bound out as an indentured servant late in the 17th century. He was, like all indentured servants at that time, required to serve a landowner for a specific length of time before being granted freedom. By the 1620s, a standard system had been put into place whereby servants negotiated the terms of their indentures with a merchant, ship's captain, or other agent before sailing to Virginia. Their indentures were then sold to planters when the servants arrived in the colony. By the 1650s, they made up half of the workforce in Virginia and the Assembly passed laws to standardize terms of service for most servants. When their contracts ended, servants were to receive a pre-determined quantity of corn and clothing and possibly other goods. Indentured servants, both white and Black, were subject to exploitation by their masters, but they retained the right to submit complaints about their treatment to the court.
In 1675, Phillip Gowen petitioned Governor Sir William Berkeley and the council for his release from servitude claiming that his rights had been violated by his master. The petition describes his situation as a servant for Anne Beazley, who transferred his indenture to her cousin by her will. After eight years of service Phillip was supposed to be freed and be given three barrels of corn and clothes. The petition documents how his indenture was transferred from the cousin to a Mr. Lucas who used threats and fraud to force Phillip into a new contract for 20 more years. The council ordered him freed and compensated with three barrels of corn and invalidated the fraudulent indenture.
This document was probably written on behalf of Phillip Gowen by someone familiar with the laws in Virginia because it follows the traditional form of petitions at the time, with which Gowen himself probably would not have been familiar. His petition illustrates the precarious situation of African Virginians as racial slavery developed in the colony during the 17th century.
Citation: Undated petition of Phillip Gowen to Governor Sir William Berkeley, ca. 1675, Colonial Papers, Folder 19, No. 2, Record Group 1, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Preview Activity
Scan it: Scan the document. What do you think is the purpose of the petition?
Post Activity
Analyze: Given the circumstances of Phillip Gowen’s case, why do you think the General Court found in his favor? What evidence was presented that might have swayed the outcome in his favor?
Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan, the powerful paramount chief of the Algonquin Indians in eastern Virginia. She was about eleven years old when the English colonists arrived at Jamestown in 1607. Although she had been named Matoaka, she has been best known for four centuries by her nickname Pocahontas. Captain John Smith later credited her as saving his life after he had been captured and taken to Powhatan's home at Werowocomoco, located in what is now Gloucester County. She became a trusted visitor to the fort at Jamestown, delivering messages and food. She was known for her high spirits and was described as turning cartwheels around the fort with English boys.
During the first Anglo-Powhatan War, English colonists kidnapped Pocahontas in April 1613 and held her in captivity for a year. She met John Rolfe, a planter, and agreed to marry him and convert to Christianity. At that time she adopted the English name Rebecca. Their wedding on April 5, 1614, resulted in an interim of general peace in the colony. When the deputy governor sailed for England in 1616 to raise funds for the Virginia Company, Pocahontas went with him along with her husband and infant son and others. While in London she attended balls, plays, and other social events, and was presented to the king. Her family planned to return to Virginia in March 1617, but Pocahontas died before their ship left and was buried on March 21, 1617, in St. George's Church, Gravesend, England. During the 19th century, the story of Pocahontas and how she saved John Smith became legendary in the history of Virginia's founding, while obscuring the life of a courageous young woman who strove to help her people through her actions.
This oil painting was done by artist William L. Sheppard in 1891. He stated that he copied an original painting of Pocahontas that was then hanging in the rectory of Booton Parish, in Norfolk, England. It reportedly dated to 1616, but the identity of the original artist and when the original artwork was painted remain unknown. The Virginia State Library purchased this portrait from the artist during the 1890s.
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the image of Pocahontas. What style of clothing is she wearing? Why might she be depicted in this way? What does her dress tell you about her status?
Post Activities
Be the Journalist: You are a journalist preparing to interview Pocahontas in London. What are the three most important questions you would ask? Why are they important?