Browse Items (29 total)

On 6 May 1776, during the sixteenth year of the reign of King George III, assistant clerk Jacob Bruce made the last entry recorded in the official journals of the Virginia House of Burgesses, an assembly of elected representatives from Virginia that…

Throughout much of the nineteenth century, women of wealthy backgrounds were involved in the public sphere, most often in the areas of religious- based or charitable work. Such activities were considered socially appropriate for women as extensions…

This engraving, attributed to Harry C. Mann, depicts the burning of Jamestown during Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676.Bacon’s Rebellion was named after its leader, Nathaniel Bacon, who was an outspoken opponent of Governor Sir William Berkeley. While the…

The Federalist (the Federalist Papers as they were later known) were published in New York State newspapers between October 1787 and May 1788. The Federalist would be reprinted in other states, including Virginia. The Federalist is composed of 85…

Free and enslaved Black people were on both sides of the American Revolutionary War. Many leaders, including George Washington, were largely lukewarm to the thought of recruiting enslaved people for the war, whereas the British side fully embraced…

The painting entitled “Adoption of the Virginia Declaration of Rights” was produced in 1974 by Jack Clifton. Clifton was commissioned by the Jamestown- Yorktown Foundation to paint a depiction of the first legislative assembly at Jamestown and was…

When the first English settlers arrived in 1607, the Church of England served as the official state church of the Virginia Colony. Under the 1689 English Act of Toleration, Protestants who were not members of the Church of England were still required…

In 1790 the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society, led by Benjamin Franklin, submitted a plea to Congress to end slavery. Congress considered the petition and formed a committee for further examination. They debated what was and was not within their…

During the Revolutionary War in 1781, an enslaved Black man named Billy, owned by John Tayloe, was indicted for "feloniously and traitorously" joining the British. He was captured and tried for treason, and pled not guilty, testifying that he had…