VMHC Lectures

On July 11, 2012, Gary W. Gallagher delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "More Important Than Gettysburg: The Seven Days Campaign as a Turning Point." Ever since the Civil War ended, it has been a popular pastime to look for dramatic turning points in that conflict. For many, the battle of Gettysburg represents the great event that tipped the balance toward the North. Key political, diplomatic, social, and military issues, however, were at stake in the summer of 1862 as Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan faced off in the Seven Days Battles. Gary W. Gallagher argues that Lee's victory had a profound effect on the conflict and that perhaps the series of battles waged on the Virginia Peninsula should be regarded as a major turning point of the war. Dr. Gallagher is a professor of history at the University of Virginia. His most recent book is "The Union War." This lecture is cosponsored with the Richmond National Battlefield Park and The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Dave Ruth)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On June 14, 2012, Patrick Mooney delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The U.S. Marines at Belleau Wood, June 1918." In 1917 the German Empire won its war on the Eastern Front by imposing humiliating terms on Russia. It then mounted a giant spring offensive on the Western Front in 1918 to crush the weakened Allied armies. U.S. Marines of the American Expeditionary Force helped blunt the German thrust and turn the tide. The pivotal action took place in June at the battle of Belleau Wood, the bloodiest fighting involving American troops since the Civil War. Patrick Mooney will describe this dramatic chapter in Marine Corps history and America's participation in World War I. Mr. Mooney is visitor services chief at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. (Introduction by Paul Levengood)

On July 26, 2012, H. Edward "Chip" Mann delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Queen and the USA: Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee" in America. Although the United States was born out of revolution against Great Britain, Americans have warmly greeted the reigning British monarch on each of her visits to this country. Queen Elizabeth II has made three state visits to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Each has rekindled appreciation of the common bonds between the United Kingdom and the United States: the rule of law, representative government, and economic freedom. "The Queen and the USA" was published to celebrate those ties on the occasion of Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee. With illustrations from his new book, H. Edward "Chip" Mann will describe the queen's special relationship with Virginia and all of America on the anniversary of her sixty years as queen of England. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Daphne Maxwell Reid)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On August 2, 2012, Bruce G. Carveth delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Edward Coles: Crusade Against Slavery." Edward Coles was a wealthy heir to a central Virginia plantation who left his family's Virginia tobacco plantation in 1819 and started the long trip west to Edwardsville, Illinois. He paused along the Ohio River on an emotional April morning to free his slaves and offer each family 160 acres of Illinois land of their own. Some continued to work for Coles, while others were left to find work for themselves. Coles later became the second governor of Illinois, the loyal personal secretary to President James Madison, and a close antislavery associate of Thomas Jefferson. In "Crusade Against Slavery," Bruce G. Carveth and his coauthor detail Coles's remarkable life story and his role in the struggle to free all slaves. Carveth is an independent writer and former editor. (Introduction by Paul Levengood)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On November 8, 2012, Scott Reynolds Nelson delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "A Nation of Deadbeats: An Uncommon History of America's Financial Disasters." Pundits will argue that the 2008 financial crisis was the first crash in American history driven by consumer debt. But Scott Nelson demonstrates in his new book, "A Nation of Deadbeats: An Uncommon History of America's Financial Disasters," that consumer debt has underpinned almost every major financial panic in the nation’s history. In each case, the chain of banks, brokers, moneylenders, and insurance companies that separated borrowers and lenders made it impossible to distinguish good loans from bad. Bound up in this history are stories of national banks funded by smugglers, fistfights in Congress over the gold standard, America's early dependence on British bankers, and how presidential campaigns were forged in controversies over private debt. Scott Reynolds Nelson is the Leslie and Naomi Legum Professor of History at the College of William and Mary.(Introduction by Paul Levengood)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On November 14, Daniel Okrent delivered the 2012 Alexander W. Weddell Lecture entitled "Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition." The first annual Alexander W. Weddell Lecture took place in 1983 and was named in honor of Alexander Weddell, former president of the VHS. Ambassador Weddell and his wife, Virginia, bequeathed Virginia House and a generous endowment to the VHS. The Weddell Lecture takes place on the evening of the last board of trustees meeting of the year, usually the third Wednesday in November. Past Weddell Lecturers have included Gary W. Gallagher, Edward L. Ayers, Rick Atkinson, and Tony Horwitz. (Introduction by Paul Levengood)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On November 29, 2012, Alan Wurtzel discussed his book, Good to Great to Gone: The 60 Year Rise and Fall of Circuit City. Not many years ago, Circuit City stood out as perhaps the premier name in the highly competitive sector of consumer electronics and a prominent corporate presence in Virginia. No longer. The author of Good to Great to Gone is uniquely placed to relate this story. Alan Wurtzel was the creator and first chief executive officer of the company. His newly published account gives the inside perspective, as only the CEO can provide, on the company's spectacular rise and fall. The book is a complement to the documentary, A Tale of Two Cities: The Circuit City Story. This lecture is part of the Reynolds Business History Center series. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Gregory J. Gilligan)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On March 28, 2013, Eugene P. Trani delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: Harrison Salisbury." During his career at the New York Times, Harrison Salisbury served as the bureau chief in post–World War II Moscow, reported from Hanoi during the Vietnam War, and in retirement he witnessed the Tiananmen Square massacre firsthand. In a new biography of the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Eugene P. Trani and Donald E. Davis make use of Salisbury's personal archive of interviews, articles, and correspondence to shed light on the personal triumphs and shortcomings of this preeminent reporter and illuminate the world in which he lived. Doctor Trani is President Emeritus and University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author, with Davis, of The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: Harrison Salisbury and the New York Times. (Introduction by Paul Levengood)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On March 28, 2013, Eugene P. Trani delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: Harrison Salisbury." During his career at the New York Times, Harrison Salisbury served as the bureau chief in post–World War II Moscow, reported from Hanoi during the Vietnam War, and in retirement he witnessed the Tiananmen Square massacre firsthand. In a new biography of the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Eugene P. Trani and Donald E. Davis make use of Salisbury's personal archive of interviews, articles, and correspondence to shed light on the personal triumphs and shortcomings of this preeminent reporter and illuminate the world in which he lived. Doctor Trani is President Emeritus and University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author, with Davis, of The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: Harrison Salisbury and the New York Times. (Introduction by Paul Levengood)

On May 23, 2013, Rick Atkinson delivered the 2013 Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture entitled "The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945." The Stuart G. Christian, Jr., Lecture was named in honor of the former president of the VHS and takes place in the spring. Because "Punky" Christian was a decorated veteran of the Normandy Campaign, we have focused the series on topics from the era of World War II. Previous speakers have included Elizabeth and Michael Norman, Robert Edsel, and Mitchell Zuckoff. (Introduction by Paul Levengood)