VMHC Lectures

On February 7, 2013, Henry Wiencek delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves." Is there anything new to say about Thomas Jefferson and slavery? The answer is a resounding yes. Master of the Mountain, Henry Wiencek's eloquent, persuasive book—based on new information coming from archaeological work at Monticello and on previously overlooked or disregarded evidence in Jefferson's papers—opens up a huge, poorly understood dimension of Jefferson's world. Wiencek's Jefferson is a man of business and public affairs who makes a success of his debt-ridden plantation thanks to what he calls the "silent profits" gained from his slaves—and thanks to a moral universe that he and thousands of others readily inhabited. Henry Weincek, a nationally prominent historian and writer, lives in Charlottesville.(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 January 17, 2013, Cynthia A. Kierner delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello." As the oldest and favorite daughter of Thomas Jefferson, Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph was extremely well educated, traveled in the circles of presidents and aristocrats, and was known on two continents for her particular grace and sincerity. Yet, as mistress of a large household, she was not spared the tedium, frustration, and great sorrow that most women of her time faced. Though Patsy's name is familiar because of her famous father, Cynthia Kierner is the first historian to place Patsy at the center of her own story, taking readers into the largely ignored private spaces of the founding era. Kierner is professor of history and director of the Ph.D. program in history and art history at George Mason University. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Nicole McMullin)

On January 17, 2013, Cynthia A. Kierner delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello.” As the oldest and favorite daughter of Thomas Jefferson, Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph was extremely well educated, traveled in the circles of presidents and aristocrats, and was known on two continents for her particular grace and sincerity. Yet, as mistress of a large household, she was not spared the tedium, frustration, and great sorrow that most women of her time faced. Though Patsy's name is familiar because of her famous father, Cynthia Kierner is the first historian to place Patsy at the center of her own story, taking readers into the largely ignored private spaces of the founding era. Kierner is professor of history and director of the Ph.D. program in history and art history at George Mason University. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Nicole McMullin)

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 January 31, 2013, Lawrence Jackson delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “My Father’s Name: A Black Virginia Family after the Civil War.” Part history and part detective story, "My Father’s Name" is a moving narrative full of the mixture of anguish and fulfillment that accompanies any search into the history of slavery. In this intimate study of a black Virginia family and neighborhood, Lawrence Jackson vividly reconstructs moments in the lives of his father’s grandfather, Edward Jackson, and great-grandfather, Granville Hundley. In the process the author brings to life stories of the people of Pittsylvania County during and immediately after slavery. Lawrence Jackson teaches in the English department at Emory University. (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 December 6, 2012, Meredith Henne Baker delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "The 1811 Richmond Theater Fire." On the day after Christmas in 1811, the state of Virginia lost its governor and almost one hundred citizens in a devastating nighttime fire that consumed a Richmond playhouse. The tragic Richmond Theater fire would inspire a national commemoration and become its generation's defining disaster. In "The Richmond Theater Fire," the first book about the event and its aftermath, Meredith Henne Baker explores a forgotten catastrophe and its wide societal impact. The story of transformation comes alive through survivor accounts of slaves, actresses, ministers, and statesmen. Investigating private letters, diaries, and sermons, among other rare or unpublished documents, Baker views the event and its outcomes through the fascinating lenses of early nineteenth-century theater, architecture, and faith and reveals a rich and vital untold story from America's past. Meredith Henne Baker, an independent scholar, lives in Washington, D.C. (Introduction by Paul Levengood)

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." (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Gregory J. Gilligan)

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)

On December 6, 2012, Meredith Henne Baker delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “The 1811 Richmond Theater Fire.” On the day after Christmas in 1811, the state of Virginia lost its governor and almost one hundred citizens in a devastating nighttime fire that consumed a Richmond playhouse. The tragic Richmond Theater fire would inspire a national commemoration and become its generation's defining disaster. In "The Richmond Theater Fire," the first book about the event and its aftermath, Meredith Henne Baker explores a forgotten catastrophe and its wide societal impact. The story of transformation comes alive through survivor accounts of slaves, actresses, ministers, and statesmen. Investigating private letters, diaries, and sermons, among other rare or unpublished documents, Baker views the event and its outcomes through the fascinating lenses of early nineteenth-century theater, architecture, and faith and reveals a rich and vital untold story from America's past. Meredith Henne Baker, an independent scholar, lives in Washington, D.C. (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)

On October 25, 2012, David Brown delivered a Banner Lecture entitled "Unlocking Menokin’s Secrets: Archaeological and Landscape Research at a Northern Neck Plantation." One of the great houses to survive from colonial Virginia, Menokin was the result of a unique collaboration between John Tayloe II of Mount Airy and Francis Lightfoot Lee, the husband of his daughter Rebecca. Tayloe gave Lee a life interest in 1,000 acres of his vast Richmond County estate and, as a wedding present, built the plantation house and surrounding structures. Though scant written records remain, other clues offer insight into this adaptation of European design to the environment of eastern Virginia. David Brown with DATA Investigations will discuss recent archaeological and landscape research conducted at the site. Brown is a consulting archaeologist for The Menokin Foundation. This lecture is cosponsored by the foundation, which owns and operates the home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his wife Rebecca Tayloe Lee. (Introduction by Paul Levengood and Sarah Dillard Pope)