VMHC Lectures

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Virginia Environmental Endowment: Leadership, Leverage, and Legacy Oct 08, 2010

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On Thursday October 7, 2010, Gerald P. McCarthy discussed the Virginia Environmental Endowment. Since its inception in 1977, Virginia Environmental Endowment has had a profound influence throughout the Old Dominion. This lecture will focus on the origins, mission, and accomplishments of VEE. Gerald P. McCarthy will examine the effects of the endowment's grants on Virginia’s environment and the people who have helped to make those results possible. Sometimes described as "venture capital for environmental improvement in Virginia," VEE has played a unique role in the development of environmental research, education, and civic engagement. This lecture will address each of these aspects of its work and the strategic approach to grant making that has made VEE a leader within the foundation world. Mr. McCarthy is executive director of Virginia Environmental Endowment. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood)

Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French Visionary Who Designed Washington, D.C. Sep 24, 2010

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On September 23, 2010, Scott W. Berg discussed his book Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French Visionary Who Designed Washington, D.C. In 1791 George Washington asked Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who had been a French volunteer during the American Revolution, to design a new federal city on the Potomac for the young republic. Suffering from constant interference, L'Enfant persisted in his work for a year before being dismissed. Yet, his ambitious geometrical plan for the District of Columbia survived and endures to this day. In Grand Avenues, Scott W. Berg resurrects the cranky L'Enfant and reveals how his influence persists in the nation's capital city. Dr. Berg teaches English at George Mason University.(Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford)

Memories of World War II Jun 29, 2010

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On July 22, 2010, Jack Mountcastle discussed photos from the temporary exhibition Memories of World War II: Photographs from the Archives of The Associated Press. The exhibition presented a stunning array of photographs from the greatest war in human history. It included photographs of Hitler and Mussolini at their peak, Londoners during the Blitz, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, Allied leaders at Tehran, GIs in Normandy, and Marines on the black sands of Iwo Jima. Organized from the archives of the Associated Press, this exhibition presented a spectrum of 121 of the most dramatic photographs from all theaters of the war and the home front. In this lecture Brig. Gen. John W. Mountcastle (USA, Ret.) surveyed the most important of these images. Before retiring from active duty, Jack Mountcastle was the army's chief of military history in Washington, D.C.(Introduction by Paul A. Levengood)

Take Care of the Living: Reconstructing Confederate Veteran Families in Virginia Jun 15, 2010

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On June 10, 2010, Jeffrey W. McClurken, discussed his book, "Take Care of the Living: Reconstructing Confederate Veteran Families in Virginia." The Civil War ended in spring 1865, but for Confederate veterans and their families, its consequences persisted far longer as they began to pick up the pieces of their civilian lives in the devastated South. In his new book, Jeffrey W. McClurken assesses the wide-ranging effects of the war on Confederate veteran families in Southside Virginia. Coming to terms with postwar reality on an individual level meant reconstructing the household and seeking jobs and financial assistance. It also involved the state in providing replacement limbs for amputees, pensions, and homes for old soldiers and widows. These changes would influence the shape of southern society for generations to come. Dr. McClurken teaches history at the University of Mary Washington.(Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford)

Paying Up: The History of Taxation Jun 09, 2010

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On May 20, 2010, Internationally renowned historians and hosts Edward Ayers, Brian Balogh, and Peter Onuf present "Paying Up: The History of Taxation." From the very beginning, Americans have been arguing about whether their taxes are fair and just. The American History Guys will explored taxation's complicated and turbulent history—from the Stamp Act of 1765 to the Tea Party Movement of 2010—and discuss Americans' attitudes toward the Tax Man. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood)

A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Jun 09, 2010

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On May 27, 2010, James Horn discussed his book "A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke". In 1587, a small band of men, women, and children put down the first tentative roots of English settlement on the sandy soil of Roanoke Island along the North Carolina coast, in what was then considered part of Virginia. In the face of dwindling supplies and hostile Indians, the English leader, John White, left his family and friends and re-crossed the Atlantic in a desperate attempt to assemble ships to rescue the failing colony. However, the threat from the Spanish Armada delayed his return until 1590, and when he did, the colonists had completely disappeared. In his dramatic new account, master historian James Horn revisits the tragedy of this first, failed effort at English colonization in the New World. He offers new evidence about what happened to the Lost Colony and its people. The author of five books on early American history, James Horn is vice president of research and historical interpretation and director of the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg. "This lecture was cosponsored with the Society of Colonial Wars in Virginia." (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood)

Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath May 18, 2010

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On Thursday, May 6, 2010, the VHS held its annual Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture in the Robins Family Forum. Elizabeth and Michael Norman discussed their book Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath, the gripping story of the 1942 battle for the Philippines, the surrender of 76,000 Americans and Filipinos to the Japanese, and the infamous Bataan death march.(Introduction by Paul A. Levengood)

History Begins at Home: A Personal Journey May 04, 2010

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On November 19, 2008, former VHS President and CEO Charles F. Bryan, Jr., delivered the Alexander W. Weddell Trustees Lecture. In this autobiographical lecture, Dr. Bryan reflects on the field of public history as it developed during the course of his own career. In this autobiographical lecture, Dr. Bryan reflects on the field of public history as it developed during the course of his own career. In 1988, he was appointed as President and CEO of the Virginia Historical Society. During his tenure, Dr. Bryan oversaw fund-raising campaigns that raised more than $110 million. These efforts have resulted in quadrupling the size of the Society's headquarters building and a significant expansion of educational programs statewide. In November 2008, Dr. Bryan retired from the VHS and was named president emeritus by the board of trustees. (Introduction by Paul A. Levengood)

Patsy Cline and the Problem of Respectability May 04, 2010

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On April 4, 2008, Beth Bailey delivered this lecture at the 2008 symposium, "Sweet Dreams: The Life and Times of Patsy Cline." The continuing tensions in Winchester over Patsy Cline provide the basis for Beth Bailey's lecture. She discussed Patsy Cline and respectability by looking at questions of sexuality and gender in the context of the importance of "respectability" in postwar American culture. Dr. Bailey is Professor of History at Temple University. She is author of Sex in the Heartland; she is co-editor of A History of our Time; she also wrote From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in 20th Century America and co-authored the twentieth-century chapters in A People and a Nation. (Introduction by Sandra G. Treadway, Library of Virginia) (Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford)

The Crooked Road to Civil War, 1861 May 04, 2010

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On March 29, 2007, Dr. Lankford delivered the Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture. In early March 1861, civil war loomed. By late April, Americans had begun to kill their fellow citizens. Cry Havoc! The Crooked Road to Civil War, 1861 recounts in riveting detail the events that divided the states and reveals how quirks of timing, character, and place all conspired to transform the nation into a battlefield. Nelson Lankford, author of Richmond Burning, chronicles the eight critical weeks that began with Lincoln's inauguration through the explosion at Fort Sumter and the president's fateful response to it. (Introduction by Charles F. Bryan, Jr.)

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