Exhibition Opens - Union or Secession: Virginians Decide
Monday, December 06, 2010-Saturday, October 29, 2011
Time: 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
Place: Exhibition Gallery and Lobby Cases
Virginia was central to American identity for its role in the founding of the United States and its political principles. Both the Confederacy and the Union wanted to claim Virginia's historical legacy. Union or Secession explores what Virginians thought and debated as the crisis unfolded. Explore the choices Virginians faced as they decided their fate and that of the nation-Union or Secession.
Through letters, journals, newspapers, official documents and correspondence, and maps and broadsides (the vast majority of these items from the Library's incomparable collections), Union or Secession offers insight into the complex and conflicting geographic, cultural, economic, and political factors that faced Virginians in 1860 and early 1861. The exhibition shows that Virginians' choice on the question of secession was far from certain as dramatic moves were being made outside the state.
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Union or Secession Exhibition Guided Tour
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Time: 11:00 AM-11:45 AM
Place: Exhibition Gallery & Lobby, Space is limited. Call (804) 692-3901 to register.
What were Virginians thinking and discussing as the first Southern states withdrew from the United States following the election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860? Why was Virginia's decision critical to America's fate in 1861 and key to the ultimate course and outcome of the sectional crisis? Virginia was central to American identity for its role in the founding of the United States and its political principles. Union or Secession explores what Virginians thought and debated as the crisis unfolded. Explore the choices Virginians faced as they decided their fate and the lasting consequences of their decisions for Virginia and the nation.
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Books on Broad Holiday Special: The Possibility
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Time: 5:30 PM-7:30 PM
Place: The Virginia Shop
December's Books on Broad will feature live music, special discounts in the Virginia Shop and, as always, complimentary light refreshments. The event will also feature a book talk and signing for The Possibility, which tells the story of Richmond's Positive Vibe Café and the inspiration behind the remarkable organization that provides employment and training opportunities for people with physical and cognitive disabilities. The Positive Vibe Foundation recently opened a satellite location at the Library of Virginia, Positive Vibe Express.
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Exhibition Opens - The Struggle to Decide: Virginia's Secession Crisis
Monday, December 13, 2010-Saturday, October 29, 2011
Place: Virginia State Capitol Visitor Center, 1000 Bank Street, Richmond 23219
Time: Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM and Sundays from 1:00-5:00 PM
An exhibition presented by the Library of Virginia
In the aftermath of the election of Abraham Lincoln as U.S. president in 1860, and the beginning of the secession crisis in December 1860, Virginia had a fateful choice to make: would it remain in, or secede from, the United States of America? In Virginia, the General Assembly called for a state convention to act for Virginia during the crisis. Meeting in February 1861, the 152 men elected to the convention faced the terrible task of deciding the fate of Virginia, and perhaps the nation.
The Struggle to Decide exhibition examines the actions taken by convention delegates and the governor that had a profound effect on Richmond and the Virginia State Capitol.
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Reaping the Whirlwind: Virginians on the Eve of War
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM-2:00 PM
Place: Lecture Hall
As a part of the opening of the Union or Secession: Virginians Decide exhibition, Elizabeth Varon discusses the tumultuous period leading to secession. Varon will put Virginians' views of secession in the context of antebellum debates, with Unionists clinging to images of disunion as inherently chaotic and uncontrollable, while secessionists built the case that only disunion would ensure the state's control over her own destiny.
Elizabeth R. Varon is a professor in the Corcoron Department of History at the University of Virginia. She is author of the award-winning Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy (2003) and We Mean to Be Counted: White Women and Politics in Antebellum Virginia (1998). Sponsored by Middleburg Trust.
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Creating the "Union or Secession" Exhibition
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Time: Noon-1:00 PM
Place: Conference Rooms
As a part of the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, the Library of Virginia developed a unique exhibition on the commonwealth's path to secession between the autumn of 1860 and the spring of 1861. Members of the Union or Secession exhibition planning team will discuss the challenges and successes of constructing an exhibition based on archival collections and other contemporary primary sources to give voice to a variety of perspectives about the crisis of 1861. Sponsored by Middleburg Trust.
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Educator Open House and Reception
Friday, December 17, 2010
Time: 5:00 PM-7:00 PM
Place: Exhibition Gallery & Lobby
Educators are invited to join us for a special review of the Union or Secession exhibition, and to learn about educational resources and scheduling school tours. Registration is required. Please call 804.692.3999 or register online at http://www.lva.virginia.gov/lib-edu/education/registration.htm <http://www.lva.virginia.gov/lib-edu/education/registration.htm> . Sponsored by Middleburg Trust.
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Closed
Friday, December 24, 2010-Saturday, December 25, 2010
The Library will be closed for the Christmas Holiday weekend
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Closed
Friday, December 31, 2010-Saturday, January 01, 2011
New Year's Holiday weekend
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The Library of Virginia is located in historic downtown Richmond at 800 East Broad Street. There is free parking for these event in the Library's underground garage, which is accessible from either Eighth or Ninth streets. For more information, please call 804-692-3592.
For more on other upcoming events at the Library of Virginia, visit http://www.lva.virginia.gov/news/index.htm <http://www.lva.virginia.gov/news/index.htm> .
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