Category: Virginia history
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RVA History: Quintessential Preservationist
by Jon Baliles Historic preservation is important for many reasons, like helping us better understand our past and how to improve it for future generations. One great advocate of preserving Richmond’s history to convey stories forward was Mary Winfield Scott, who passed away in 1983, but whose legacy lives on in neighborhoods across Richmond, and…
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The Document That Inspired the Declaration of Independence
by Joseph Postell It’s common for Americans on July 4th to read and discuss the Declaration of Independence, and to reflect on its principles and ideas. Those principles and ideas are often attributed solely — though wrongly — to Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the draft of the Declaration. Jefferson’s draft was modified in…
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Old Law Coming Back to Bite Virginia?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore On behalf of three Virginia residents, the Virginia ACLU, along with a large D.C. law firm, has filed suit in federal court challenging the provision of Virginia’s constitution that disenfranchises anyone convicted of a felony, providing that their voting rights can be restored only by the governor. Such a legal challenge is…
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Patriotism in Virginia
by Robin Beres In less than a week, Virginians, like Americans everywhere, will celebrate Independence Day. This year, despite high inflation, high gas prices, a sharply divided electorate, and rising crime rates, there seems to be a growing consensus that we celebrate this occasion with all the gusto we can muster. Despite the holiday falling…
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Colleges Falsely Claim Juneteenth Was ‘The Day Slavery Ended in the U.S.’
by Hans Bader Many colleges and progressives are claiming that Juneteenth — June 19, 1865 — was “the day slavery ended” in the U.S. But slavery actually remained legal in Kentucky and Delaware until December 6, 1865, the day the Thirteenth Amendment’s ban on slavery went into effect. Yale University has a web site titled,…
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State Flags are Going Woke. Is Virginia’s Next?
by Anna Jankowski In the midst of America’s ongoing culture war, it is widely recognized that the left comprehends (and exploits) the profound influence that American history, values and tradition exert on its citizens. Cancel culture has rapidly infiltrated public discourse, leaving state flags as its next target. From Maine to Utah, left-leaning activists are…
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Along the Back Roads –the Rise and Demise of a Town
Let’s take a break from DEI; the shortcomings of UVa, W&M and the rest of higher education; and all the other issues that get us riled up. Virginia is an interesting state to travel and see. I have always liked to travel the back roads. It is slower than the interstates and the primary highways,…
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Town of Bedford Honors June 6 D-Day
by Scott Dreyer World War II saw conflict across Europe, North Africa, Asia, and the oceans of the world. However, the charming Central Virginia town of Bedford is the site of the famous D-Day Memorial. Bedford sent 35 men to land at Normandy, France. The memorial honors the 19 local boys who died on June…
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Ah, So That’s What That Was All About!
Leighty, Bill. Capitol Secrets: Leadership Wisdom from a Lifetime of Public Service. Holon Publishing, 2023. A review by Dick Hall-Sizemore The public sees the result of policy development. What the public does not see is the sometimes- messy process that produced that policy nor, more broadly, what goes on behind the scenes to make government…
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Arlington National Cemetery
by Robin Beres Virginia is brimming with famous and consequential landmarks and tourist sites. From the Historic Triangle to St. John’s Church in Richmond, to great beaches, mountains, and countless old plantation homes, vineyards, and breweries, there is a lot to see and do in the commonwealth. It’s little wonder that Virginia is ranked No.…
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Saving a Piece of Virginia History
by Robin Beres Chincoteague Island would probably be just another quiet little town on a quiet little barrier island overlooked by beachgoers and tourists if weren’t for a 1946 visit from children’s author Marguerite Henry. The writer arrived intending to pen a book about the wild ponies on nearby Assateague Island and the annual Chincoteague…
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Mother’s Day: Meandering Through Virginia
Regular readers of this space know that I am still seething over the actions America’s fascists embraced during Covid. The fact that they haven’t apologized and admitted that stomping on Constitutional rights over a virus was a colossal mistake is infuriating. That said, Covid brought two very good things. First: my daughter met the love of…
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The Virginia Way
by Robin Beres Politicians and pundits have invoked the “Virginia Way” in speeches and writings since colonial times. The phrase is used by partisans to evoke sentiments of decency and honor (and votes) in residents of the Old Dominion. In 1926, Douglas Southall Freeman wrote in an editorial for The Richmond News Leader that the…
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Were Confederates “Traitors to their Country”?
It is often said by commenters of this blog — and elsewhere — that Robert E. Lee and others serving in the Confederate army were “traitors” to their country. Whatever contributions they made to national reconciliation or the public welfare later in life, they deserve no public honor or recognition in the form of statues,…
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Allen Litten, 1935-2023
by Joe Fitzgerald Someone else held the title, but Allen Litten was really the assistant when I was city editor at the Daily News-Record. I knew the police scanner was in the darkroom, but sometimes I thought it must be imbedded in his cheekbone. One story sums up all he was for me, and I…