VMHC Lectures

On January 19, 2016, T. H. Breen delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “George Washington’s Journey: The President Forges a New Nation.” T. H. Breen introduces us to a George Washington we rarely meet. By nature shy and reserved, the brand new president decided that he would visit the new citizens in their own states, that only by showing himself could he make them feel part of a new nation. Washing...

On December 3, 2015, Gregory D. Smithers delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Cherokee Diaspora: A History of Migration, Survival, and Pride." According to the U.S. Census, almost one million Americans self-identify as Cherokees. Wherever one travels in the United States, someone is likely to lay claim to a Cherokee ancestor somewhere in their family tree. In fact, travel as far afield...

On November 19, 2015, Gerald M. Pops will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled "Champion of War, Champion of Peace: The Leadership of George C. Marshall." George C. MarshallMore informationGeorge Catlett Marshall, recognized early on as the U.S. Army’s most capable leader, overcame a number of obstacles to become Army Chief of Staff on the very day World War II began. He served as the de fact...

On November 14, 2015, Mary Miley Theobald delivered a lecture entitled "Weird-but-True Things Most People Don't Know about the Roaring Twenties." Mary Miley Theobald thinks the Roaring Twenties is the most fascinating decade in American history. In this lecture, she touches on some of the surprising things she learned about vaudeville, prohibition, silent movies, and fashion while doin...

On October 29, 2015, Larry Denton will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled "Unionists in Virginia: Politics, Secession, and Their Plan to Prevent Civil War." Unionists in Virginia: Politics, Secession, and Their Plan to Prevent Civil WarWhether the Civil War was preventable is a debate that began shortly after Appomattox and continues today. But even earlier, in 1861, a group of Union-loyal...

On October 8, 2015, Lynn Rainville delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “God’s Acre: Why African American Cemeteries Matter.” In Hidden History, Lynn Rainville travels through the forgotten African American cemeteries of central Virginia to recover information crucial to the stories of the black families who lived and worked there for more than two hundred years. The subjects of Rainville’s researc...

On September 9, 2015, A. E. Dick Howard will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled "Magna Carta: 800 Years since Runnymede." A. E. Dick HowardIn 2015 people on both sides of the Atlantic will mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. On June 15, 1215, at Runnymede, a reluctant King John agreed to the barons' terms in a document which came to be known as Magna Carta. Though the king never...

On September 3, 2015, Barclay Rives delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “William Cabell Rives: A Country to Serve.” Defying the president and Democratic Party leaders in an 1838 Senate speech, William Cabell Rives declared, “I can never forget that I have a country to serve as well as a party to obey.” His career of public service began under the tutelage of his neighbors, Thomas Jefferson and Jam...

On August 20, 2015, Diane Kiesel delivered Banner Lecture entitled "She Can Bring Us Home: Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee, Civil Rights Pioneer." At a time when blacks faced Jim Crow segregation, menial employment opportunities, and lynch mobs, Dorothy Ferebee, a native of Norfolk, was sought after to advise presidents and Congress on civil rights matters and to assist foreign governments on...

On August 6, 2015, Peter Wallenstein delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Quest for Loving: Race, Sex, and the Freedom to Marry." Mildred Jeter was not a white woman. Richard Loving, all agreed, was a white man. So Virginia state law not only rendered their 1958 marriage illegal but also required a penalty for it of at least a year in prison. Circuit Court Judge Leon F. Bazile chose, t...

On July 2, 2015, Marc Leepson delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life.” Just about every American knows the name Francis Scott Key, but very few know anything more about him other than the fact that he wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner.” But there was much more to Francis Scott Key. One of the most famous, admired, and accomplished men in the early A...

On July 23, 2015, Eric Hall delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “A Native Son Comes Home: The Life and Legacy of Arthur Ashe.” Virginia’s own Arthur Ashe was one of the world’s best tennis players in the 1960s and 1970s, winning multiple Davis Cup titles and three Grand Slam events: the U.S. Open, the Australian Open, and Wimbledon. He was also deeply committed to human and civil rights causes, mo...

On July 9, 2015, Charles F. Bryan, Jr., delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The History Crisis in America: Myth and Reality." History occupies a paradoxical and problematic place in contemporary American culture. Numerous commentators argue that we face a growing crisis of historical amnesia, and that Americans do not value and support history as much as previous generations. They worry t...

On June 18, 2015, Rose Love Bartlett delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements." Every beautiful garden, large or small, is a composition of carefully chosen details. Although the choices can be daunting, The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements offers a guide that is both visual and practical, highlighting classic as well as innovative details to delight the ey...

On June 11, Terry Alford delivered the 2015 Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture, entitled "Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth." With a single shot from a pistol small enough to conceal in his hand, John Wilkes Booth catapulted into history on the night of April 14, 1865. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln stunned a nation that was just emerging from the chaos and calam...

On June 4, 2015, Barbara Anne Cantalupo delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Poe You May Not Know." Although Edgar Allan Poe’s name is most often identified with stories of horror and fear, Barbara Cantalupo's talk will reveal the less familiar Poe—the one who often goes unrecognized or forgotten—the Poe whose early love of beauty was a strong and enduring draw. Poe’s “deep worship...

The Virginia Environmental Endowment Oral History Project McCarthy, Gerald P. 2009 October 26 (3 of 3 interviews) Length: 1:01:10 Mss 3 V81951a FA2 The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Virginia Environmental Endowment Oral History Project McCarthy, Gerald P. 2009 October 2 (2 of 3 interviews) Length 1:56:29 Mss 3 V81951a FA2 The Virginia Historical Society The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Virginia Environmental Endowment Oral History Project. McCarthy, Gerald P. 2009 September 4 (1 of 3 interviews) The Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Va. Length: 1:38:35 Mss 3 V81951a FA2 The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On May 14, Craig L. Symonds delivered the 2015 Stuart G. Christian Jr. Lecture entitled “Leadership and Decision-Making in the D-Day Invasion.” On June 6, 1944, more than six thousand Allied ships carried more than a million soldiers across the English Channel to a fifty-mile-wide strip of the Normandy coast in German-occupied France. It was the greatest sea-borne assault in human history. The cod...

On May 12, 2015, Cokie Roberts will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled "Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington By Cokie Roberts." Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868With the outbreak of the Civil War, the small, social southern town of Washington, D.C., found itself caught between warring sides in a four-year struggle to determine the future...

On May 7, 2015, S. C. Gwynne delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson." Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall JacksonStonewall Jackson has long been a figure of legend and romance. He is considered, without argument, one of America’s greatest military figures. Jackson’s brilliance at the art of war...

On April 30, 2015, David O. Stewart will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled “James Madison’s Gift: The Power of Partnership.” Madison's Gift: Five Partnerships That Built AmericaTo reach his lifelong goal of a self-governing constitutional republic, James Madison blended his talents with those of key partners—the dashing Alexander Hamilton, the heroic George Washington, the magnetic Thomas Jeff...

On April 22, 2015, William C. Davis delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Lee's Last War Winter." Robert E. Lee faced the coming of 1865’s spring campaign season with decided unease. His army dwindled daily from disease and desertion. Across the South the Confederacy had met with nothing but disaster the previous fall, and meanwhile Union forces steadily grew in numbers and power. His o...

On April 1, 2015, John J. Fox III, will deliver a Banner Lecture entitled "Confederate Alamo: Bloodbath at Petersburg’s Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865." Confederate Alamo: Bloodbath at Petersburg’s Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865General Robert E. Lee faced the most monumental crisis of his military career on April 2, 1865. By sunrise that morning, the Union 6th Corps had punched a huge hole in Le...