The Industrial Revolution turned the world, as people knew it, upside down. Urbanization, mass migrations, cross-continental travel, new technologies, and heightened sensibilities about human rights comprise an incomplete list of the multiple foments in nineteenth-century America. If we were to get inside the minds of our great or great-great grandparents, there was a whole lot of shakin’ going on.
Read MoreOn July 2, 2018, the Lynchburg City Council elected Council Member Treney Tweedy to become Mayor, Lynchburg’s first African American woman to hold the office in the history of the city. Mayor Tweedy did not plan on a life in politics; rather, it evolved from her increasing involvement in the community over time.
Read MoreThe principle of “one person, one vote” is such an axiom in modern American thinking and discourse, it is hard to grasp that this idea was hardly posited before the last half of the 19th Century. As we saw in Blog Post 2, our colonial forebears tied the voting franchise to property ownership (as evidence of responsibility and public virtue) and family headship—the husband-father being the representative voter for his own charges.
Read MoreUntil the 1830s, America was primarily an agrarian society. Cities were becoming hubs of thriving commerce—as the steam engine, spinning jenny, and cotton gin were beginning to revolutionize and transform the world. But culturally and politically, it is safe to say that, most Americans before the “First Industrial Revolution”[i] of the early 1800s held to centuries-long views of the family and of civic duties.
Read MoreTo understand the “mindset” of most Americans regarding the role of women for three hundred years before the passage of the 19th Amendment, we must remember that Americans were fully cultured Europeans who possessed the entirety of their political, religious, and societal convictions when they settled here.
Read More2020 is a special year for many reasons: it is the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution which gave African American and all male citizens the right to vote; it is the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which gave women the right to vote; and it is a presidential election year, which will be this country’s 59th. To gain these freedoms, the price paid was steep both to individuals and to society. It is work that continues to this day.
Read MoreHistory is not just stories from long ago. We believe traditions are a kind of present-day history, so we would love to hear your favorite food traditions, too. Comment below or tag us on social media. How are you making local history?
Read MoreWe think the holidays are a good time to reflect on something that connects people from all walks of life -- food. Read this series to discover a grandmother’s biscuit recipe, a dog’s favorite treat, and other food memories we treasure.
Read MoreHistory is not just stories from long ago. We believe traditions are a kind of present-day history, so we would love to hear your favorite food traditions, too. Comment below or tag us on social media. How are you making local history?
Read MoreWe think the holidays are a good time to reflect on something that connects people from all walks of life -- food. Read this series to discover a grandmother’s biscuit recipe, a dog’s favorite treat, and other food memories we treasure.
Read MoreWe think the holidays are a good time to reflect on something that connects people from all walks of life -- food. Read this series to discover a grandmother’s biscuit recipe, a dog’s favorite treat, and other food memories we treasure.
Read MoreAfter the ordeal of the Barnes family had come to pass, the citizens of Lynchburg decided to take up an offering for the beaten and battered Eliza Ann Hendershot. The exact amount of money raised by the town is never mentioned, however by all accounts the sum was large enough to risk one’s reputation over. Once the monetary collection was raised, the next step was to find the parent or parents of the poor, displaced child.
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