Browse Items (31 total)
- Collection: Emergence of Modern America
Home Rule and Local Self Government During Prohibition, 1914
After the Civil War, the temperance movement swept the nation. Starting with Maine in 1851, states and localities around the country held referendums to let its citizens vote on whether or not to ban alcohol. In 1886, Virginia adopted the “Local…
Application for Marriage License Under the Racial Integrity Act, 1924
This application for a marriage license was used after Virginia's General Assembly passed the Racial Integrity Act in 1924. On the form, individuals had to indicate that he or she was not "a habitual criminal, idiot, imbecile, hereditary epileptic or…
Richmond Federal Reserve Headquarters on Capitol Square, 1939.
The Federal Reserve System, sponsored by Virginia Senator Carter Glass, was signed into law on December 23, 1913, by President Woodrow Wilson. In 1914, the city of Richmond was selected to be the home to one of 12 central bank locations and was to…
State Conference to Complete Organization of Virginia League of Women Voters, Broadside, 1920
The woman suffrage movement coincided with major national reform movements seeking to improve public education, create public health programs, regulate business and industrial practices, and establish standards to ensure safety in food and public…
Women Do Want the Vote, Broadside, 1916
This broadside was one of many produced by the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia (ESL) to advocate voting rights for women during the 1910s. About twenty women met in Richmond in 1909 to establish the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. Many of the…
Appeal of the Women of Staunton, Broadside, c. 1910
Circulated in Staunton, Virginia, the broadside dates to sometime between 1900 and 1919. In it, the women of Staunton asked the men in their community to vote in favor of prohibition or the legal elimination of alcohol consumption and sale. The…
Anti-Suffrage Arguments, Broadside, circa 1912
The Equal Suffrage League of Virginia was founded in 1909 in Richmond. Members of the league sought to win the right to vote for women. A this time, many men—and women—believed that voting women were a threat to marriage and families because…
Salem, Roanoke County, Map, 1878
Salem, Virginia, is an independent city within the boundaries of Roanoke County. The first known European exploration of the area occurred in 1671. Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam gave the area its first recorded name: Totero Town, after the local…
Virginia Association Opposed to Woman's Suffrage, Broadside, c. 1910's
For a significant portion of American history, women were not allowed to vote. Although they were considered citizens, voting was considered a privilege and not a right and thus not extended to women. In the the 19th century, a small number of women…
Card Advertising a Lila Meade Valentine Suffrage Lecture, 1914
Richmond native Lila Meade Valentine (1865-1921) devoted much of her life to advocating reforms in public education and health care. She also supported voting rights for women and she co-founded the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia in 1909. Serving…