Notes on the State of Virginia

Beginning with the violent revolts of Bacon’s Rebellion in the mid-1670s involving white and black servants against wealthy Virginia planters, the status of Africans began to change. They were no longer servants who had an opportunity for freedom following servitude, but instead were relegated to a life of permanent slavery in the colonies. Before the idea of race emerged in the U.S. European scientist Carolus Linneaus published a classification system in System Naturale in 1758 that was applied…

Walter Plecker, joined by pianist John Powell and ethnographer Earnest S. Cox, were the three leading figures of the Anglo-Saxon Clubs. Together, they were part of a broad movement in the 1920s and 1930s to develop policy inspired by eugenics. Rooted in the Progressive Era ethos of reform, eugenic theories proved palatable to a large segment of the public—welfare workers, public health advocates, and white supremacists—committed to applying the principles of biology and medicine to what they…

hired, the one question all Rutgers fans were asking was, “Who are going to be his assistant coaches?” Within a month of his hiring, that question was answered. Since Coach Ash was the defensive coordinator at Ohio State University, a majority of the assistants he hired were from Ohio State. Most notably, Coach Ash brought with him Kenny Parker, who was Ohio State’s…

(Scherr) He embraced a symbolic relationship between church and state. Even though he was very religious and believed that there was someone looking out for him and his family. He did not believe in the afterlife. Jefferson lived in a time where all he knew was slavery. He grew up with a father that owned slaves and…

In American Slavery, American Freedom, Edmond Morgan explains the development of the paradoxical growth of liberty and bondage by recounting a chronological societal evolution of 17th and early 18th century Virginia. While largely viewed as an economic investment rather than as a home-front, (mostly due to the shortage of marriageable women) Virginia’s political climate maintained the turbulent winds that sparked a rebellion and pushed men closer toward a self-proclaimed separation of Christian…

Slavery in America began in the year of 1619 when the first African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia. It was practiced throughout the American colonies in the seventeen and eighteenth centuries and African American slaves helped build the foundation of the new nation with their labor. David Walker was a man of many words. He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina to a mother who was not a slave and a father who was a slave. He studied classics and was…

The Disney movie Pocahontas offers the viewer a stark portrayal of how Englishmen viewed Indigenous American tribes upon their arrival to the United States. The movie features a song titled Savages where Pocahontas and her fellow Powhatan tribespeople are described by the English settlers as “barely even human” and “dirty shrieking devils”. In reality, the first European explorers had much more diverse accounts of their experiences with indigenous peoples in North and Central America. To…

primarily known for her poetry although she did publish several short stories. Her poem and collection of poem both titled “The Farmers Bride” would solidify Mew’s literary reputation earning praise from Siegfried Sassoon, Ezra Pound, Thomas Hardy, and Virginia Woolf who called Mew “the greatest living poetess” (Poetry). In 1927 Mew’s sister Anne would pass away after a battle with cancer and the despair from the loss would eventually lead to Mew’s suicide in…

Imagine a typical day in a small suburban town in southwestern Virginia. It’s around 9:00 am, and you are in your French class. Then, all of sudden, you hear banging noises coming from outside your classroom. This is the true story of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University shooting in April 2007 as told by Colin Goddard. Goddard was shot four times by the gunman: three bullets to the hips and one bullet to the shoulder. He still carries three bullets with him today and has a…

Kids Sext," by Hana Rosin published in The Atlantic sets out to discuss, what teens think about sexting, how adults should deal with it and the legal actions and consequences facing it. The article talks about a sexting scandal, which took place in Virginia where hundred pictures of naked girls from Louisa County high school were posted on Instagram. Therefore, the police investigated on how these girls ended up on social networking site. An interesting piece from the article not only talks…