NewsFraming the Civil War
For nearly a century the National Park Service would tell you all about the civil war battles and tactics, but meticulously avoided the most explosive word in the American lexicon: Slavery. Former National Park Service Chief Historian Dwight Picaithley says that all changed in 1998, triggering thousands of protest letters and political threats.
NewsThe Monsters Among Us
A cold, dark summer in 1816 brought an extraordinary group of young writers together on the shores of Lake Geneva—including an eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley. Andrew Stauffer (University of Virginia) tells the story of that summer and the conversations, dreams, and climate catastrophe that created Frankenstein’s magic.
NewsThe Declaration Before The Declaration
In a tumultuous season of revolutionary fervor, a Virginian took up a quill and parchment and committed words to paper that would echo across the thirteen North American British colonies and down through time, becoming one of the most imitated constitutional documents in American history. But that man wasn’t Thomas Jefferson. And the document wasn’t the Declaration of Independence.
NewsLost No More: The Life of Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson
Encyclopedia Virginia Managing Editor Patti Miller and Nicole Brown of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello uncover the life and legacy of Martha Wayles Skelton …
NewsVirginia Humanities Launches “In Common”
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — Virginia Humanities, the state’s humanities council, is proud to announce the premiere of “In Common,” a brand-new video podcast dedicated to uncovering the complex and often overlooked …
NewsHBCUs Past, Present, and Future
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are powerful and important American institutions. Cheryl Mango and Lisa Winn Bryan explore the culture, currency, and legacy of HBCUs and ask–is there space …
NewsAnnouncing Changes to Our Grants Program Structure
We’re excited to announce a new three-tier grants program structure designed to make our funding opportunities clearer, more accessible, and better aligned with the needs of organizations across the Commonwealth.
NewsLife, Liberty, Loudoun! Revolutionary Stories
We talk to Carrie Christoffersen about a new initiative by Loudoun Museum in Leesburg that explores the lives and history of both famous and lesser-known figures of the Revolutionary era.
NewsWhat Air is to Fire
A life steeped in literature fueled the rise of the nation’s first Muslim woman elected to a statewide office.
NewsTeacher’s Pet
A good teacher makes a world of difference. And the things they say and do stay with us.
NewsThe Class Tensions Simmering Beneath the Revolution
The American Revolution evokes many images—tricorne hats and fife-and-drum corps, famous battles like Saratoga and Yorktown, the Declaration of Independence and its contradictions. One thing that doesn’t spring to mind so readily is simmering class conflict. However, as our new entry on Tenant Revolts in Virginia during the American Revolution makes clear, critical battles were being fought off the battlefield, forcing us to rethink the parameters of the Revolution. Read more about: The Class Tensions Simmering Beneath the Revolution
The post The Class Tensions Simmering Beneath the Revolution appeared first on Encyclopedia Virginia.
NewsThe Harmonious Lives of Brian Grim and Debbie Grim Yates
Music runs deep in the Grim family. Fiddler Brian Grim and banjoist Debbie Grim Yates, founding members of the influential old-time band The Konnarock Critters, learned from family and local music legends before passing those traditions on to the next generation.
