Petition from Inhabitants of Fauquier County (December 7, 1831)
In this petition to the General Assembly, dated December 7, 1831, citizens of Fauquier County request that all African Americans in Virginia be removed to Africa.Wed, 10 Jun 2015 14:56:46 EST
View ArticlePetition from Citizens of Hanover County (December 11 and 14, 1831)
In a petition to the General Assembly, dated December 11 and 14, 1831, a group of Hanover County slaveholders warns lawmakers of the increasing black population and asks them to pursue a project to...
View ArticlePetition from Women of Fluvanna County (November 24, 1831)
In a petition to the General Assembly, dated November 24, 1831, women of Fluvanna County exhort lawmakers on the dangers of slavery.Wed, 10 Jun 2015 14:59:52 EST
View ArticleSpeech by Samuel McDowell Moore to the House of Delegates (January 11, 1832)
In a speech of the House of Delegates on January 11, 1832, Samuel McDowell Moore, of Rockbridge County, argues that slavery in Virginia inhibits economic growth and safety against foreign aggressors....
View ArticleBlack Baptists in Virginia (1865–1902)
Most religious African Americans after the American Civil War (1861–1865) belonged to Baptist churches. Even prior to the abolition of slavery, Baptists, black and white, came closer to the principle...
View Article"The Press on the Danville Riot," Richmond Dispatch (November 6, 1883)
In "The Press on the Danville Riot," published on November 6, 1883, the Richmond Dispatch publishes excerpts of press coverage of the racial violence in Danville that on November 3 left at least five...
View ArticleExtract from Readjuster Governor William Evelyn Cameron's annual message to...
In the following excerpt from Governor William Evelyn Cameron's annual message to the General Assembly, dated December 5, 1883, Cameron discusses the Readjuster Party position on the school debt, a...
View ArticleGovernor Fred W. M. Holliday's message vetoing the Barbour Bill (February 27,...
In his message to the General Assembly, dated December 5, 1883, Governor Fred W. M. Holliday explains his veto of the so-called Barbour Bill and the Funder position on the school debt, a major...
View ArticleAddress to the General Assembly by Governor James L. Kemper (December 5, 1877)
In the following address to the General Assembly, dated December 5, 1877, Governor James L. Kemper asserts Virginia's obligation to pay its debt.Mon, 22 Jun 2015 13:50:17 EST
View ArticleDebts and Taxes, or Obligations and Resources of Virginia by John E. Massey...
In this pamphlet of 1875, later republished in his Autobiography (1909), John E. Massey, member of the House of Delegates, lays out the reasons he believes Virginia is not responsible for the full...
View Article"The Richmond Freedmen," New-York Tribune (June 17, 1865)
"The Richmond Freedmen," published in the New-York Tribune on June 17, 1865, describes the meeting between five prominent African American men from Richmond and President Andrew Johnson, which took...
View ArticleTestimony of R. W. Glass (February 15, 1884)
In testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections, given on February 15, 1884, R. W. Glass explains his role in the so-called Danville Riot of November 3, 1883, which left at...
View ArticleTestimony of George A. Lea (February 15, 1884)
In testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections, given on February 15, 1884, George Lea explains his role in the so-called Danville Riot of November 3, 1883, which left at...
View ArticleTestimony of Hense Lawson (February 18, 1884)
In testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections, given on February 18, 1884, Henderson "Hense" Lawson explains his role in the so-called Danville Riot of November 3, 1883,...
View ArticleTestimony of Robert J. Adams (February 19, 1884)
In testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections, given on February 19, 1884, Robert J. Adams, an African American police officer in Danville, explains his role in the...
View ArticleTestimony of Charles D. Noel (November 13, 1883)
The following testimony, given on November 13, 1883, by Charles D. Noel (sometimes Noell), a white clerk in his early twenties living in Danville, provides Noel's version of a street fight on November...
View Article"Coalition Rule in Danville" (October 1883)
In this broadside, titled "Coalition Rule in Danville" and published in various places in October 1883, a group of twenty-eight white businessmen complain about Readjuster rule in the city in general...
View Article"The Danville Massacre," Chicago Tribune (February 16, 1884)
In "The Danville Massacre," published on February 16, 1884, the Chicago Tribune reports on U.S. Senate hearings into the so-called Danville Riot, which took place on November 3, 1883, and left at least...
View ArticleCornerstone Speech by Alexander H. Stephens (March 21, 1861)
In his so-called Cornerstone Speech, delivered on March 21, 1861, in Savannah, Georgia, the Confederate vice president Alexander H. Stephens described the new Confederate constitution. Slavery, he...
View ArticleDanville Riot (1883)
The so-called Danville Riot, which took place on November 3, 1883, in Danville, was a racially motivated street fight that ended in the gun deaths of at least five people. It came at a time of high...
View ArticleDepositions for the Claim of Benjamin Summers (February 6, 1872)
In these depositions before an agent of the Southern Claims Commission, dated February 6, 1872, Benjamin Summers and two acquaintances report the loss of a horse to Union cavalry during the American...
View Article"The Riot in Danville," Staunton Spectator (November 6, 1883)
In "The Riot in Danville," published on November 6, 1883, the Staunton Spectator reports on racial violence in Danville that left at least five people dead. The paper assigns partial blame for the...
View Article"The Danville Massacre," New York Times (November 10, 1883)
In "The Danville Massacre," published on November 10, 1883, the New York Times reports on the racial violence in Danville that left at least five dead on November 3, 1883.Thu, 25 Jun 2015 11:38:39 EST
View Article"The Danville Riot," Richmond Dispatch (November 4, 1883)
In "The Riot in Danville," published on November 4, 1883, the Richmond Dispatch reports on racial violence in Danville that left at least five people dead.Thu, 25 Jun 2015 11:53:11 EST
View ArticleAffidavit of Powhatan Bouldin (November 14, 1883)
This affidavit by Powhatan Bouldin, editor of the Danville Times, was submitted on November 14, 1883. It reproduces a story Bouldin published in the Times about a speech given by W. E. Sims, chairman...
View ArticleLetter to Fields Cook and the Colored State Convention (1865)
The following excerpt from the Proceedings of the Convention of the Colored People of VA., Held in the City of Alexandria (1865) describes Fields Cook's reaction to a threatening letter addressed to...
View ArticleSpeech by James H. Gholson to the House of Delegates (January 12, 1832)
On January 12, 1832, the second day of what is now known as the Virginia Slavery Debate of 1831–1832, James H. Gholson, of Brunswick County, gave an appeal to the rights of property owners as...
View ArticleVagrancy Act of 1866
The Vagrancy Act of 1866, passed by the General Assembly on January 15, 1866, forced into employment, for a term of up to three months, any person who appeared to be unemployed or homeless. If...
View ArticleClark, Adèle (1882–1983)
Adèle Clark was a founding member of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia, the chair of the Virginia League of Women Voters (1921–1925, 1929–1944), the social director of women at the College of...
View ArticleSpeech by William H. Brodnax to the House of Delegates (January 19, 1832)
On January 13, 1832, the third day of what is now known as the Virginia Slavery Debate of 1831–1832, William H. Brodnax, of Dinwiddie County, pointed out the deleterious economic effects of slavery and...
View ArticleSpeech by William B. Preston to the House of Delegates (January 16, 1832)
On January 16, 1832, the fifth day of what is now known as the Virginia Slavery Debate of 1831–1832, William B. Preston, of Montgomery County, argues that enslaved men and women were born with the...
View ArticleAfrican Americans and Politics in Virginia (1865–1902)
African Americans were deeply involved in Virginia politics from the American Civil War (1861–1865) until the first years of the twentieth century. Prior to 1865, Virginia law had restricted the vote...
View ArticleBigelow v. Forrest (December 1869)
In the case of Bigelow v. Forrest, decided in December 1869, the U.S. Supreme Court rejects John C. Underwood's interpretation of the Second Confiscation Act (1862).Mon, 26 Oct 2015 11:40:40 EST
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Southern Claims Commission in Virginia, The
The Southern Claims Commission was created by Congress on March 3, 1871, to compensate southern Unionists for property appropriated by the Union army during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Although...
View Article"'Loyal' War Claims," New York Times (February 3, 1879)
In "'Loyal' War Claims," published on February 3, 1879, the New York Times turns against southern Unionists seeking claims for damage done by Union armies during the American Civil War (1861–1865),...
View ArticleResolution of the U.S. House of Representatives (January 30, 1866)
This excerpt from a summary of claims law, published in 1875, includes the text and discussion of a resolution by the U.S. House of Representatives, on January 30, 1866, instructing its Committee of...
View ArticleDepositions for the Claim of William James (March 20, 1872)
In these depositions before an agent of the Southern Claims Commission, dated March 20, 1872, William James and two of his neighbors report the loss of property to Union armies during the American...
View Article"Standing Interrogatories," Southern Claims Commission (1874)
In this version of its "Standing Interrogatories," dated 1874, the Southern Claims Commission establishes the questions to be asked of claimants and witnesses attempting to receive reimbursement for...
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Callender, James Thomson (1757 or 1758–1803)
James Thomson Callender was a partisan journalist known for attacking Federalists but also his one-time Republican ally, Thomas Jefferson. Born in Scotland, Callender was a Scottish nationalist who...
View Article"Lynch Law"; excerpt from Governor Philip W. McKinney's...
In "Lynch Law," an excerpt from his final address to the General Assembly, dated December 6, 1893, Governor Philip W. McKinney speaks out for the first time against lynching. In Roanoke, seven members...
View Article"Judge Lynch and His Victims," Richmond Planet (January 18, 1902)
In "Judge Lynch and His Victims," published on January 18, 1902, the Richmond Planet reports on a speech about lynching its editor, John Mitchell Jr., delivered in Washington, D.C.Thu, 29 Sep 2016...
View Article"Rev. Dr. Hatcher's Surprising Assertions," Richmond Planet...
In "Rev. Dr. Hatcher's Surprising Assertions," published on June 23, 1894, the Richmond Planet responds to a defense of lynching made by the Baptist minister William E. Hatcher, of Richmond. Hatcher...
View ArticleSouthern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases by Ida B. Wells (1892)
In her pamphlet Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases, published in 1892, the African American journalist Ida B. Wells reports on the rising violence of lynchings in the United States. The...
View Article"Account of Col. George Mercer's Arrival in Virginia, and his Resignation of...
In this letter to the people of Williamsburg, dated October 31, 1765, George Mercer—the appointed stamp distributer for Virginia—describes a protest against the Stamp Act.Tue, 11 Oct 2016 10:15:17 EST
View ArticleExcerpt from the Virginia Gazette (December 14, 1769)
In this article from its December 14, 1769, issue, the Virginia Gazette describes women's efforts to protest taxes on goods imported from England by not wearing clothing that was either imported or...
View Article"The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions" by Abraham Lincoln...
In what came to be known as the Lyceum Address, delivered at the Young Men's Lyceum in Springfield, Illinois, on January 27, 1838, Abraham Lincoln, then a member of the Illinois House of...
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Lynching in Virginia
Lynching involves the extralegal punishment of perceived wrongdoing by a mob. Lynching became pervasive in the American South late in the nineteenth century and, at its height, from 1880 to 1930,...
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Hemings, Sally (1773–1835)
Sally Hemings was an enslaved house servant owned by Thomas Jefferson, who, many historians believe, fathered at least six of Hemings's children. Born in 1773 at a Virginia plantation of John Wayles,...
View ArticleLetter from Kate M. Gordon to Roberta Wellford (January 11, 1916)
In this letter Kate M. Gordon, president of the Southern States Woman Suffrage Conference, writes to Roberta Wellford, field director for the Virginia League of Women Voters, about her concerns that...
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U.S. Presidential Election of 1800
The U.S. presidential election of 1800, in which Thomas Jefferson was elected the nation's third president, resulted in the first peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another in...
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