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Becoming Free and Independent States: Virginia in the Revolutionary Era
Some historians have argued that the American Revolution, beyond being just a military action or a political break was an ideology that infused the nation and influenced all parts of life for the early citizens of the United States. The ideas of revolution were formed as the… more »
Forming a More Perfect Union: Virginia and the Debate over the U.S. Constitution
In the years following the American Revolution, crises faced the new nation that threatened to endanger the hard-won independence of the former British colonies. They centered on the structure and operation of the new American government. Not officially adopted until March 1… more »
Securing the Blessings of Liberty: Virginia and the Road to the U.S. Bill of Rights
During the American Revolution, Virginians produced some of the cardinal texts of American liberty and made important contributions to the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. Among the most important rights of Americans that received protection are free… more »
The Thirteenth Amendment
The first time that slavery is referred to explicitly in the United States Constitution is in the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished the practice. While the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery throughout the nation, it did not provide for the rights of the newly-freed Afri… more »
The Nineteenth Amendment
Women in the United States began agitating in the 1840s for the right to vote, long before all men in Virginia had gained the right to vote. The woman suffrage movement, which succeeded in 1920 with the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment, coincided with major national refo… more »