2
10
14
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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
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 Lincoln had spoken of, but it also freed nearly four million African Americans from slavery. The war also highlighted stark differences in regions of the country. These differences ranged from political to religious to economic. There were many cases of brother fighting brother, neighbor fighting neighbor, and men who had previously been in the United States military service choosing to fight for the Confederacy, most notably, Robert E. Lee. The war also saw an increase in battlefield news coverage and photography, along with the first assassination of an American President.
Following the war, the nation was faced with the problem of Reconstruction. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were aimed towards providing full equality for African Americans, but did face 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 movements such as the KKK.
Learn more in the National History Content Standards.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1850-1877
Person
An individual.
Birth Date
ca. 1817
Birthplace
Richmond and Alexandria
Death Date
1897
Occupation
Baptist Minister and Republican Party Leader
Biographical Text
Fields Cook (ca. 1817-January 21, 1897) was born into slavery in King William County and rose to become a prominent African American leader in Richmond and Alexandria. In 1847 he began writing a narrative of his life, one of the longest manuscripts known to have been composed by an enslaved Virginian. Part of the memoir survives at the Library of Congress. He received permission about 1834 to live in Richmond, where he presumably participated in the illegal but common system of self-hiring. He married an enslaved domestic servant named Mary and became the father of at least three children. Gaining his freedom by 1850, he had managed by 1860 to free most of his family. <br /><br />After the Civil War, Cook became a Baptist minister and emerged as one of the most important African American leaders in Richmond. In 1865 when federal military authorities imposed harsh regulations on freedpeople, Cook and other leaders collected evidence of military and civilian misbehavior and called a mass meeting. Cook chaired the delegation chosen to present their case to the governor and to the president of the United States. <br /><br />Cook represented Richmond in the first state convention of African Americans. He wrote the convention's address to the public in which he argued that African Americans deserved full equality and must have the vote for their own protection. Cook's radical vision was at variance with ideas of subservience that the state's white leaders offered. In 1869 Cook attended the National Convention of the Colored Men of America in Washington, D.C., and was elected to its national executive committee. From 1867 to 1869 Cook worked for the Republican Party. He had an uneasy relationship with the Radical Republican leaders, as he favored a more inclusive party than they did. As an independent candidate for a seat in Congress in 1869 Cook received less than 1 percent of the vote. <br /><br />In 1870 Cook and his wife moved to Alexandria. As prominent there as he had been in Richmond, Cook remained in the Baptist ministry and was active in politics, supporting the Readjusters during the 1880s. He died in 1897, five years before Virginia stripped African American men of the vote, the franchise for which Cook had fought for three decades, claiming it as a right and a necessity. He was buried in Alexandria's Bethel Cemetery.<br /><br /><br /><span><a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/trailblazers-2008" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2008</span></a></span><span> African American Trailblazers honoree, Library of Virginia.</span>
Bibliography
Image Courtesy of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Alexandria.
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
Fields Cook
Subject
The topic of the resource
African American Trailblazers
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2008 African American Trailblazers Honoree
Description
An account of the resource
Born into slavery, Fields Cook became a prominent African American leader in Richmond and Alexandria in the aftermath of the Civil War.
Arts and Literature
Government and Law
Religion
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8d67daf62263e71f3afab6e1cf4b205d
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
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 they viewed as necessary after drastic increases in industrialization, immigration, urbanization and corruption in the business and political realms. One of the most successful reform movements of the time periods is the women’s suffrage movement. 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 and northward migration of the African American population. The time also saw a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in direct retaliation to increased immigration and shifting roles for African Americans.
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 United States against a European power other than Great Britain for the first time, and battles spanned the Atlantic and Pacific. The war also led to the rise of Theodore Roosevelt, an increase in propaganda and marketing of a war, both through yellow journalism and war slogans and ephemera encouraging citizens to “Remember the Maine!” Soon after, the United States would come to find 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 “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 National U.S. History Content Standards.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1890-1930
Person
An individual.
Birth Date
1868
Birthplace
Smyth County
Death Date
1940
Occupation
Entrepreneur and Lutheran Lay Leader
Biographical Text
A confidante and mother-in-law of the writer Sherwood Anderson, Laura Lu Scherer Copenhaver (August 29, 1868-December 18, 1940) continued a family tradition of service to the Lutheran Church. She wrote fiction, poetry, and dozens of church pageants, many in collaboration with her younger sister, Katharine Killinger Scherer Cronk. One of Copenhaver's poems, "Heralds of Christ", became a well-known hymn. Her advocacy inspired the Women's Missionary Society to establish the Konnarock Training School to provide elementary-level academic and religious education for Smyth County children who did not have access to other public schools. <br /><br />As director of information for the Marion-based Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, Copenhaver advanced strategies for developing southwestern Virginia's agricultural economy. She emphasized the importance of cooperative marketing of farm products in order to improve the standard of living for farm families. <br /><br />Copenhaver practiced such cooperative strategies herself by coordinating the production of textiles out of her home, Rosemont. She hired women to produce coverlets based on traditional patterns and using local wool. Rosemont Industries expanded its offerings to include a wide variety of rugs, bed canopies and fringes, and other household items, some woven, knitted, or crocheted by hand and others manufactured by machine. Rosemont's popular textiles attracted customers from throughout the United States and from Asia, Europe, and South America. <br /><br />After Copenhaver's death, her sister Minerva May Scherer, longtime dean of Marion College, headed Rosemont Industries for two decades. In 1960 some of Copenhaver's children incorporated the business as Laura Copenhaver Industries, Inc., which continues to manufacture traditional textiles.<br /><br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/va-women-2007" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2007</a></span> Virginia Women in History honoree, Library of Virginia.
Bibliography
Image Courtesy of the Copenhaver Family.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Laura Lu Scherer Copenhaver
Subject
The topic of the resource
Virginia Women In History
Description
An account of the resource
As founder of Rosemont Industries and as a Lutheran lay leader, Laura Lu Scherer Copenhaver advocated strategies for improving educational and economic opportunities in southwestern Virginia.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2007 Virginia Women in History
Business and Entrepreneurship
Religion
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15392884c02f1202014b5190f11982af
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
The Great Depression and World War II
Description
An account of the resource
Along with events such as the Revolutionary and Civil Wars and the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression helped to shape modern-day America. The circumstances of the Great Depression enlarged the role of the government in the everyday life of Americans, particularly through FDR's New Deal initiative.
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 leader. Unlike previous administrations who subscribed to a certain level of isolationism, both FDR and Truman placed the United States on a path to strong involvement and leadership in worldwide conflicts and reform movements. Additionally, World War II changed the role of women who went into the workforce as American men went to war. Events such as the bombing at Pearl Harbor, liberation of concentration camps, and the use of atomic bombs provide images and stories that have helped to shape future American foreign policy.
Learn more in the National U.S. History Content Standards
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1929-1945
Person
An individual.
Birth Date
1890
Birthplace
Richmond
Death Date
1957
Occupation
Founder of the National Association of Ministers' Waves
Biographical Text
Elizabeth A. Coles (November 14, 1890-February 5, 1957) was born in Liberia, the daughter of missionaries. Her family returned to Virginia in 1893. After high school, Coles wanted to be a missionary, but as there was no support for unmarried female missionaries, she prepared for a career as a teacher. One day she received a letter from Edward H. Bouey, also a child of missionaries. At their first meeting, he proposed to her, and they soon married. The couple went to Liberia, where they continued her parents’ work, ran a school, and began a hospital. In 1929 they returned to Richmond with their children and an adopted African youth. Elizabeth Coles Bouey became a public school teacher but found time to study theology at Virginia Union University and to earn a master’s degree in education from Columbia University. <br /><br />Knowing of the lack of training available for ministers’ wives, Bouey proposed a national association for them. Her idea was well received in the region, and the first chapter of the National Association of Ministers’ Wives was founded in Richmond in 1939. During the next year, Bouey organized other chapters in Virginia and corresponded with ministers’ wives throughout the United States. The first national conference took place in Richmond in 1941, and Bouey was elected president, a post she held until her death. Over the next sixteen years, Bouey oversaw members from more than thirty states and from West Africa; the establishment of the organization’s journal, Ministers’ Wives Herald; and the purchase of a building in Richmond. Since Bouey’s death the NAMW has become the International Association of Ministers’ Wives and Ministers’ Widows, with more than 40,000 members.<br /><br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/trailblazers-2007" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2007</a></span><span> African American Trailblazers honoree, Library of Virginia.</span>
Bibliography
Image Courtesy of the Library of Virginia.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Elizabeth Coles Bouey
Subject
The topic of the resource
African American Trailblazers
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2007 African American Trailblazers Honoree
Description
An account of the resource
The daughter and wife of missionaries, Elizabeth Coles Bouey organized the National Association of Ministers’ Wives.
Education
Religion
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Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Contemporary United States
Description
An account of the resource
This era is, in large part, a study of the United States as a global power – politically, economically and militarily. The detente with the Communist China under Nixon begins a shift in our “Domino Theory” in Asia. The collapse of the Soviet Union, the overthrow of communist governments in Eastern Europe, and the end of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race also changed how the United States interacted with Europe. At the same time, intervention and actions increased in our own hemisphere and in the Middle East. Terrorism also became a driving force behind foreign policy.
Politically, there was a shift away from liberalism for much of this time period. Political scandals such as Watergate and Iran-Contra were treated differently than previous scandals, thanks in large part to an increase in television coverage. The governmental role in the economy, environmental protection, social welfare, and more shifted greatly during this time period and that role, and its scope, are still being debated today.
Socially, this time period saw for the first time immigration primarily from Asia and Central America. A new wave of reform movements promoted environmental, feminist, and civil rights agendas. There was also a resurgence of religious evangelicalism. Technological advances once again redefined not only the economic landscape of America, but also the lives of everyday citizens.
Learn more in the National U.S. History Content Standards.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1968-Present
Person
An individual.
Birth Date
1916
Birthplace
Arlington County
Death Date
2004
Occupation
College President
Biographical Text
An innovative educator and administrator, Sister Marie Majella Berg (July 7, 1916–April 5, 2004) served as president of Marymount University for more than thirty years and transformed the school from a small, all-female, junior college to a large, coeducational university with several campuses. Born Mae Katherine Berg in Brooklyn, New York, she entered the order of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary in 1934. As a Catholic nun, she took the name Sister Marie Majella. Sister Majella received a bachelor's degree in Latin from Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, and a master's degree in classics from Fordham University before joining the faculty of the Marymount School in New York City, where she taught for twelve years. In 1948 she became the registrar and a professor of classics at Marymount Manhattan College. <br /><br />In 1960 Sister Majella was appointed president of Marymount College of Virginia, in Arlington County. Inheriting a two-year school with 240 students, she spent her first decade as president raising the number and quality of academic offerings, attracting new faculty, and expanding the student body. Using her outstanding relationship-building and fund-raising skills, she attracted a sizable endowment that allowed for the construction of many new buildings on the college's original site and the acquisition of two new campuses in Ballston and Sterling, Virginia. The college began offering bachelor's degrees in 1973, and in 1986 it achieved university status and became fully coeducational. By the time Sister Majella retired in 1993, Marymount offered thirty-eight undergraduate programs and twenty-three graduate degree programs to a student body of nearly 4,000. Sister Majella held honorary doctorates of humane letters from Georgetown University (1970) and Marymount Manhattan College (1983). At the time of her death in 2004 she was the longestserving woman college president in the nation.<br /><br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/va-women-2006" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2006</a></span> Virginia Women in History honoree, Library of Virginia and Virginia Foundation for Women.
Bibliography
Image Courtesy of the Richmond Times Dispatch
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Sister Marie Majella Berg
Subject
The topic of the resource
Virginia Women In History
Description
An account of the resource
Sister Marie Majella Berg transformed Marymount University from a junior college for women to a coeducational university during thirty years as its president.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2006 Virginia Women in History Honoree
Education
Religion