Browse Items (196 total)

This world map was created by Gerhard Mercator (1512–1594) and published in 1607. It shows both western and eastern hemispheres, split into two circular halves, and includes latitude and longitude lines as a locational grid. Citation: Mercator,…

This painting depicts Thomas West, the twelfth baron De la Warr. De la Warr  was appointed by King James I in 1606 to be part of the royal council that oversaw the Virginia Company of London. He remained in England, where he helped monitor things…

Based in New York, N.Y., 1942-1946. Artists for Victory, Inc. was a non-profit organization of more than ten thousand artists formed to assist in the war effort by using their artistic abilities. Their activities included a British-American goodwill…

This map, one of several created by engraver Theodor de Bry, depicts North and South America based on information gleaned from expedition surveys and personal accounts from explorers. Four famous explorers, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci,…

This map, one of several created by engraver Theodor de Bry, depicts the coastal region from Cape Fear (North Carolina) to the Chesapeake Bay. The map includes the names and locations of Indian settlements and was oriented so that west was at the top…

"Agitate - Educate – Legislate” was the slogan of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Established in 1874 in Ohio, later became a national movement which included a group in Virginia. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) joined the fight…

The Virginia Declaration of Rights was drafted by George Mason and adopted on June 12, 1776. The Virginia Declaration of Rights was written after the members of Virginia's fifth Revolutionary Convention voted in favor of preparing a new plan of…

In the process of breaking away from England, representatives for Virginia realized they had to define the government of the new state. In 1776, the Fifth Virginia Convention ratified a document, known as the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which…

By the turn of the century, the call for Prohibition had become a national issue, espoused by many politicians and pushed by several strong organizations. The American Temperance Society, started in 1826, acted as a support group for members who took…

This map depicts the United States following a rapid territorial expansion due to the Louisiana Purchase. Completed in 1803, the Purchase gave the United States approximately 828,000,000 square miles of territory from French emperor, Napoleon…