from what becomes west virginia, and part of the army of northern virginia. they never fought against each other eye to eye. there were times where they were not that far apart, especially in the shenandoah valley. that was my interest. my co-author, his interest was that he has a whole ton of relatives, ancestors who had fought in the regiment. he has been interested for years and years. we decided a couple years ago to collaborate and put out this book. question?nd to your anymore? well, i'm going to ask the young man, i didn't know him at sheppard. i already retired. maybe if the cameras can get it, he has a veterans metal that was issued by the state of west virginia of your great-great-grandfather? >> great uncle. >> would you bring it up and show it to everybody? sorry to put you on the spot, cameron. come on up. tell them about your great uncle. of the onlys is one metals that was still in charleston up to a year ago, when i finally was able to claim it. when i years ago, started digging into west virginia history, i was a reenactor. i found out i had

today, the virginia house of delegates and the senate of virginia continue working to improve both the lives and livelihoods of all virginians and thomas jefferson's beautiful capital building. the logo behind us and above us underscores that continuity. in 2007, america's 400th anniversary, we worked to focus national and international attention on jamestown. it's the first permanent english settlement in the new world. and on the convergence of cultures, it would shape our country. now in this commemorative year of 2019, we have been drawing more heavily from archaeological and cultural research. we have broadened our perspective. the result? a far more diverse, comprehensive and compelling picture of events has emerged. and we are determined to continue that story and bring to light other seminal events. commemoration 2019, american evolution, spotlights the genesis of american democracy, american slavely, american diversity and opportunity. american survival and american genius. we are resolved to tell the story. today we are gathered on a momentous occasion for the virginia genera

africansse enslaved joint the thousands of virginia's first people, the members of the virginia indian tribes who would also wait centuries to have the same freedoms. hold thesee commemorations of the first representative assembly in the free world, we have to remember who included and who it did not. that is the paradox of virginia, of america and of our representative democracy. a full accounting demands that we confront and discuss those aspects of our history and it demands that we look not just to a point in time 400 years in the past but at how our commonwealth and country have evolved over the course of those four centuries. in many ways, virginia today represents the best of what it means to be american. we know our diversity is our strength. refugees, immigrants, and all, like those who stood on this about 400 years ago, come to virginia in search of a better life. our doors are open and our lights are on. no matter who you are, no matter who you love, and no matter where you came from, you are welcome in virginia. there is nothing, nothing more american than that. todays we s

in west virginia. starting at age six, he taught himself on the dirt surfaces of his neighborhood's backyard. when it rained, his sister said it was called the mud wallow. do you remember that at all? the mud wallow. but nothing ever stopped him. jerry later reflected that "everything i did, i tried to do perfectly. not just well but perfectly, and it hasn't changed i don't think too much, has it. we ended a great senior year, jerry spent it in high school with a west virginia scoring ,ecord of 1501 points approximately 60 major colleges and universities tried to -- toical -- or recruit recruit jerry, but he decided very intelligently that he would stay in west virginia, and he went to west virginia university in 1956, donning his famous number 44 jersey. he set 17 mountaineer records, was named the ncaa's most outstanding player in 1959 and was a two-time consensus all-american. wow. west virginia won 87% of the games in which jerry was in the line-up, and one the southern conference all three years h

kirk cox, speaker of the virginia house of delegates. i'm delighted to welcome everyone here at jamestown settlement in the recredit church in james forte. and those viewing these proceedings online or watching from beyond to the 400 that today. of the first and oldest continuous representative legislation body in the western hemisphere. dayforefathers on this very at years ago assembled here the birthplace of american democracy, jamestown. freedom in the form of representative democracy began here in virginia. the unforgettable and inspiring event that happened here, what began here, has changed not only virginia, and not only america, but much of the entire world. special occasions and commemorations like this offer us an opportunity to pause and reflect on the history of 6019. as a retired schoolteacher, i taught government for 30 years. i know the year 1619 was pivotal. as well as complicated. events that year profoundly shaped the history of america. they are 1619 saw the beginning of the highs and lows of america. these included th

becomes west virginia, and part of the army of northern virginia. they never fought against each other eye to eye. there were times where they were not that far apart, especially in the shenandoah valley. that was my interest. my co-author, his interest was that he has a whole ton of relatives, ancestors who had fought in the regiment. he has been interested for years and years. we decided a couple years ago to collaborate and put out this book. did that and to your question? anymore? well, i'm going to ask the young man, i didn't know him at sheppard. i already retired. maybe if the cameras can get it, he has a veterans metal that was issued by the state of west virginia of your great-great-grandfather? >> great uncle. >> would you bring it up and show it to everybody? sorry to put you on the spot, cameron. come on up. tell them about your great uncle. >> well, this is one of the only metals that was still in charleston up to a year ago, when i finally was able to claim it. several years ago, when i started digging into west virginia history, i was

it was then in virginia. it is today west virginia. in 1859, west virginia did not exist.'s reasons for joining tom brown's army were much more personal. newbie himself was a former slave, although he was free, his wife and children were still in bondage. after several attempts to obtain freedom through trying to raise money to purchase them and negotiate with their master, he was at wits end. he joined john brown's army out of desperation. a last resort to free his family after other avenues had failed. you get a sense of how personal this was through several letters that were found on his person. he was the first man killed at harpers ferry. he died in the first day of fighting. several letters from his wife harriet were found on his person. the letters no longer survive but they were transferred to further the government port. you can get a feeling you read his wife's poignant and powerful and painful letters in which she is telling her husband, the master is struggling economically. he wants to sell me and our children down south soon. i want to be reunited. please come

now known as preservation virginia. their goal was to save and restore disappearing larnd escapes and buildings that embodied our colonial divisions. successfully securing powder magazine and mary washington's fredericksburg home, the women established an organization, the first in the nation over 130 years ago and have saved more than 500,000 virginia historic places. never veering from their early ambition to acquire jamestown in 1893, they were successful and obtained 22 acres including the 17th century church tower and the foundations of the old churches. within that first decade steam schepps brought guests and ever persuasive they convinced congress to build a sea fall preserving. the colonial games, colonial games of america and many family and descendant societies represented here to construct this church, place monuments, markers and gates in advance of the anniversary. connections between these organizations and this place of historic memory remain resolute. in early years with annie gault launched an excavati

about a, familiar form of governing here in virginia. in which their own interests and concerns what drive legislation. at the company's behest, we divided executive, legislative, and judicial power between the authority of the governor, the council, and this new representative assembly made up of colonists living here in virginia. this elected assembly is now the voice of the people here. this assembly is also going to serve, of course, as a check on the power and a balance to the power of myself and my council. it is my belief that the citizens of virginia have certainly welcomed this method of establishing laws, grounded in english common law and political institutions, including this newly formed representative assembly that will certainly continue to tend to the affairs of virginia for some time to come. today as we mark the first meeting of that general assembly, that took place on the same date these few years past, some would say that as near as may be, we have brought virginia to the laudable form of justice and government that

and culture in richmond, virginia. and welcome to our latest special exhibition that is titled "determine, the 400-year struggle for black equality." it is part of the statewide commemoration of the 400th anniversary of significant events that happened in virginia. and fundamentally shaped the course of american history. that statewide commemoration is called american evolution 2019. and the determined exhibition is a legacy project of that statewide commemoration. and in particular, determined commemorates the 1619 arrival of the first recorded captive africans in virginia. it looks at the ensuing 400 years and traces the legacy of slavery in virginia through emancipation, segregation, the modern civil rights movement up to the present day. one of the unifying themes is the struggle for equality. it explores various ways in which black virginians have fought for equality, whether that means freedom from enslavement and oppression. whether that means fighting for equal justice and equal access for opportunities. and al

and generally, just incredible supporter of west virginia and west virginia university. he's also brought awareness to the risks of arterial fibrillation. oh, i didn't know that, jerry. that's very good. that's big stuff for you, right? that's very good. that's very good. and is a passionate supporter of our nation's veterans. jerry works harder than just about anybody i can imagine, helping our nation's veterans. jerry west is one extraordinary american, and i'd now like to ask the military aid to come forward and present jerry allen west with the presidential medal of freedom. this is so richly deserved. thank you very much. thank you, jerry. congratulations. [applause] >> jerry allen west is one of the greatest basketball players and sports executives of all time. after an outstanding collegiate career at west virginia university, mr. west played 14 seasons in the nba, all with the los angeles lakers, making the all-star team each year. in 1972, mr. clutch helped lead the lakers to their first championship. a few years later, he was inducted into the basketball hall o

virginia. on behalf of preservation virginia' as board of trustees and our jamestown rediscovery foundation board of directors, i share our appreciation of friends and partners gathered today and acknowledge the leadership of the administration, general assembly, american evolution and jamestown-yorktown foundation. also appreciation for the national park service, tribal representatives and members of the descendents and families society. today we commemorate events that occurred on this site for hundred years ago. speakers whoshed follow me will capture the importance of those proceedings and the influence still felt today. and the persistent efforts of women who ensured the preservation. the history embodied in these walls would have been lost if not for the dedication of women. women founded the association for the preservation of virginia antiquities, now known as preservation virginia. save and restore disappearing landscapes and buildings that embodied our colonial tradition. the women es

especially in virginia politics. peter jacob carter is one of 100 black men who served in virginia's gen. assembly from the end of the civil war through 1900. he was one of the longest- serving representatives from northampton county in virginia. he represents this flowering of black political activism, it was through assembling and like peter jacob carter and other black politicians that helped pass the legislation creating public school systems in virginia. readjusting virginia's a dead after the war and other measures like that some of the objects we have related to peter jacobs represent the activism , and the eager embrace of political activism of black man once they had the right to participate in politics. there is a quote here from norfolk county. that showed the voters as they are registered to vote in 1867, there's also a broadside of a mass meeting of the democratic republican association. which was an alliance of black men and white union supporters, who are advocating to give black men the right to vote.

now known as preservation virginia. their goal was to save and restore disappearing landscape and buildings that embody our colonial tradition . >> successfully securing mary washington frederick berg home. the women establish an organization, 130 years ago and has save more than 500,000 virginia historic places. never veering from the early ambition to acquire jamestown in 1893. obtaining 22 acres including the foundations of the old churches, within that first decade they brought guests and they convince congress to build a seawall preserving jamestown from further erosion. they made alliances with the colonial games of america, and many families of descendents. to construct this church, place monuments, markers, and gates in advance of the anniversary. connections between these organizations and this place of his doric memory remain resolute. in early years they launched an excavation to find the foundations for the first assembly met. although amateurs their careful notes provided clues to marianna hartley, the seni

he began activism in virginia. he was a student at virginia union university. through his pastor ship gill filled baptist church and he organized a range of nonviolent protests against segregation. he led marches against segregated swimming pools, he got a demonstration of the public library and other kinds of organizing it to these two protest segregation. regarding his library demonstration, he and other activists went to the whites only section of the public library in 1951. try to check out the biography of a confederate general, robert e lee. shows an amazing amount of --. also for trying to use the whites only section of the library, wyatt walker had the police called and he was arrested. the first of 17 arrests over the course of his career as an activists. that is one of the items we have on view. he became very close friends with dr. martin luther king jr.. they first met at an intra- seminary conference in the early 1950s. walker became king's right-hand man. helped found the southern christian leadership conference. organized many of the nonviolent m

virginia filed her own suit and received a financial settlement from epstein. virginia sued. in 2011 virginia decided to talk to a british newspaper and got $160,000 for her story and that photo of her with prince andrew. >> you sold a story to a tabloid story and received a payout. you have a book manuscript that some say you want to sell. what do you say to those who today say this is someone who is trying to sell a very salacious story and benefitting financially from it. >> that's the way i thought it was done. i didn't know you are supposed to say no. every single interview after that i have never taken a dollar for. >> after her story appeared in the press, fbi agents flew to australia to interview her. she says they seemed to focus on the people around epstein. >> they showed you pictures of people. >> they showed me a whole big binder of people. i told them i know this person. i know what they have done. and what can we do from there? i thought we were going to get far. >> but again federal prosecutors did not bring charges. virginia says she later spoke to one of the

i brought with me my commission as governor of virginia and a new set of instructions from the virginia company of london that has come to be known as the great charter which we hoped would bring stability to this colony suffering under martial law for nearly nine years. we have been at peace with the indians for many years and the harsh hand of martial law rather than a help to the colony was now a hindrance. to further the colony's growth and prosterity, the virginia company had instructed me to end martial law and reinconstitute english common law and justice in the colony. the instructions also allowed me to call for each of the 11 towns and plantations along the river to send two representatives here to the capital at jamestown where these newly appointed burgesses would meet to pass laws on the governing of the colony. citizens of virginia no longer had to fear the arbitrary decisions of company officials for we had brought about a familiar form of governing here in virginia. in which their own interests and concerns would drive legislation. at the company's behest, we decided leg

and generally just incredible supporter of west virginia and west virginia university. he has also brought awareness to of arterial fibrillation -- i did not know that, jerry. that's very good. that's big stuff for you. that's very good. very good. and is a passionate supporter of veterans of our nation. jerry is a more passionate supporter than anyone i can imagine helping our nation's veterans. jerry is an extraordinary american and i would now like to ask the military aid to come forward and present jerry allen west with the presidential medal of freedom. this is so richly deserved. thank you very much. thank you, jerry. congratulations. [applause] >> jerry allen west is one of the greatest basketball players and sports executives of all time. after an outstanding collegiate career at west virginia university, mr. west played in the nba all with the los angeles lakers, making the all-star team each year. in 19 six to two, mr. clutch helped lead the lakers to their first championship. a few years later, he was inducted into the basketball hall of fame. after his playi

i call it the virginia way. we know in virginia how things should be done and often we do not put them down in writing, myt we as think tivoli=---- dad used to say, it is the virginia way, son. so i got up and there is my mother at 86 years old right there in the front seat in front of me. i said mom, you heard my birth.t talk about his we have great pride in it, our family comes from amherst, virginia. mom got up and said i heard him, too. but i want him to know that if i and dr. john -- my father is an andtime surgeon -- if i he john ever thought that would be a united states senator , i would've crossed over and had them under the magnolia tree. that broke the audience up. headlines,anner mother speaks were assigned. i won the election 48 hours 1% of a vote.of you didn't know that story? larry: no. fmr. sen. warner: it shows you what you aree of doing here today and have done. it has been a common theme throughout today's speeches and yesterday. thet the need to get only best and the brightest to come in to o

i am kirk cox, speaker of the virginia house of delegates. i'm delighted to welcome everyone here at jamestown settlement in the recreated church in james fort. and those viewing these proceedings online or watching from beyond to the 400 that -- anniversary today. of the first and oldest continuous representative legislation body in the western hemisphere. as our forefathers did on this very day 400 years ago assembled here at the birthplace of american democracy, jamestown. freedom in the form of representative democracy began here in virginia. the unforgettable and inspiring event that happened here, what began here, has changed not only virginia, and not only america, but much of the entire world. special occasions and commemorations like this offer us an opportunity to pause and reflect on the history of 1619. as a retired schoolteacher, i taught government for 30 years. i know the year 1619 was pivotal. as well as complicated. events that year profoundly shaped the history of america. the year 1619 saw the beginning of the highs and low

which is been serving the people of virginia beginning in six virginia beginning in 6t 90. we are delighted with the presence of each of you here and those of you watching. we are truly honored to be joined as a joint assembly by so many distinguished guests. if i could before i recognize some of those distinguished guests, asked that we pause to remember a great leader of our commonwealth who passed away this week. president harrison wilson was a true pioneer in higher education, one of virginia's historic black universities through two decades of progress and growth. join me in a moment of silence and his way. we are truly honored to be joined by so many distinguished guests, deputy secretary of the interior kate mcgregor, amb. of portugal, counsel of defense edward ferguson, clerk of the british house of commons, congressional representative, toi hutchinson , tommy norment, robb wittman . statewide elected officials, the hon. justin fairfax, mark caring, and former lieut. gov. john hager. and we welcome members of the governors cabinet. and former gov. allen, and robert

sumac how do you programs differ in rural virginia opposed to virginia. >> at interesting that in virginia, we have 2 million people in rural and 6 million in irvine in the other part of virginia. the percent of our fast-forward at in rural virginia. the only difference the big one at the jobs that are in demand in certain regions, that's a southwest southside, are different from the jobs that are in demand in your region. for example, rhonda, they don't really are crying out for a lot of folders. your major employer, that ceo goes to sleep at night and wakes up worrying about working fine welders to build aircraft carriers. we look at these regional differences and we take a lot of respect to those regional differences. were not a kind of franchise, where we have the same venue across the board in 23 different communities. >> thank you. doctor, xavier has an outstanding reputation of producing minority medical dodgers can you explain how you have that success and what you do to create that success. >> it begins first it's the intentionality of when the students first arrive. we first begi

virginia was no ordinary state. it was by far the most populous state, by itself made up a fifth of the population, the largest state in territory and richest state. it's not surprising 4 out of the first 5 presidents were virginians and working model for the constitution in the convention was the virginia plan. during the first two decades of the republic virginia dominated the nation as no state ever has, as virginia went, so went the nation. there were signs in the 1780s and 1790s virginia was trying to do something about slavery. if virginia could abolish slavery, then it was assumed then the rest of the south would surely follow. in virginia, the harsh black codes of the early 18th century had fallen into neglect. by the time of the revolution, fraternization between white and black slaves had become more common both in sporting events and in religion. the growing of wheat instead of tobacco was changing the nature of slavery in the upper south and many of the planters now calling themselves farmers, began high

with me my commission is the governor of virginia. that is come to be known as the great charter. which we hoped would bring stability to this colony that was suffering under martial law . we have been at peace with the indians for many years. and it was a hindrance. the growth and prosperity , they instructed me to end martial law and to bring justice to the county. it allowed me to call for 11 townsend plantations to send to representatives to the capital where these newly appointed burgesses would meet the laws. citizens of virginia did not have to fear because we have brought about a familiar form of government here in virginia where their own interest and concern with drive ledges nation. it would divide power between the governor, counsel, and this new representative assembly, the selected assembly is the voice of the people. it serves as a check on the power and balance of myself and my counsel . and it is my belief that the citizens of virginia have welcomed this method of establishing laws and political institutions including

to virginia. it's great to be here today with former governors, now senators mark warner and tim kaine. former governors mcdonald -- i also want to recognize lieutenant governor justin fairfax. attorney general, congressman bobby scott, congresswoman elaine luria. house of delegates speaker, kirk cox. members of our legislative black caucus and other elected officials. i want to thank everyone who has worked so hard to make this commemoration a reality. fort monroe authority director glenn otis. board of trustees chairman jim moran. members of the fort monroe authority board. national superintendent terry graham. the national parks service. kathy spangler, nancy rodriguez and the team from american evolution. i would also like to thank the 2019 commemorative commission for all the hard work they've done around these events in our own city. we are here today for a commemoration. and a reckoning. today is a time to reckon with the fact that 400 years ago, enslaved africans arrived for the first time

my whole goal was to diversify the virginia economy, build the new virginia economy. that's what we set out to do, i put a billion dollars into it to make sure would be redoingca the education and virginia. we recruited cyber, the number one state in america. four years later i gote the big surplus in the history of the state. why, were open, welcoming to everyone and that why they say why didn't we went amazon? everybody wanted it, were open, welcoming and invest in her talent and workforce and that is why google, facebook, microsoft, amazon all come to virginia. that's a point, you have to have your state open and welcoming. we in virginia do not allow local jurisdictions to determine what to do. we ought a pass appeal under bill for the local jurisdictions can determine what monuments are in your city or county. that should be your decision not the state decision. >> it's worth pointing out two years later the statues arey, still there. >> has to pass the republican legislator. >> that's when we have a legislator the share. >> i wonder if that's a good segue of why

this may be because of living in virginia. it took virginia longtime to decide to secede. after south carolina and the other deep south states seceded, they hated set -- south carolina, they forced them in a box and left them defenseless. virginia says we are not going to be like south carolina. let them hang around and decide what we do. we are going to send delegates from every county to richmond to debate this. most of the delegates who were sent were sent there to save the united states. they voted over and over again not to leave the united states. the guys from augusta county were on the cutting edge of voting to stay in the united states. i do not want to ruin the story for you. they do not. they decided overnight they were loyal confederates. they sacrifice and lead the confederacy all the way through. how do you do that? how do you argue for the union one day and represent the confederate congress the next? that is the sort of thing i think we need to make room in our imagination for rather than rushing a story along. further north, my goal was to give credit to t

a member of the virginia and new york historical society and served on the board of directors of the thomas jefferson society. please welcome the william hyland jr.. [applause] >> thank you and thank you to the archives for inviting me back. this is my third time back here and i enjoy my business back here because i really feel a closeness of history when i come back here. it really gives me chills to know the three most important documents in our founding history for just 200 feet above us. the declaration of independence, the constitution of the united states and the bill of rights. i very much feel close to history when i come here. doug swanson i want to thank for inviting me. i'm a lawyer by pratt does and i always start off my speeches by telling a story. even though george mason was not a lawyer he is a wealth of legal knowledge but he did not go to law school like jefferson and madison. this is a story i want to tell about a lawyer, a doctor, a priest and a boy. they were all on a small plane and riding together to they developed a little engine trouble. the pilot said we are

in virginia, or the virginia theater, including maryland and pennsylvania, fighting against lee before grant came to direct command there, during which time, when grant came to command in virginia, the union got precisely nowhere. grant came and yes, lost a lot of people, because it was going to take a lot of people to defeat robert e. lee and the confederate forces in virginia. you were not going to do that for free and you are not going to do that for cheap, and grant got it done. the union had had superior forces in virginia before but it took grant to make the horses, superiority -- the forc es, superiority of forces pay off. also, the superiority of forces was not at such a level as to allow an idiot to win the war. again, referring to what, or another method -- myth about grant, he was someone who was drunk all the time, that is -- drop all the time. i have known some friends who have perhaps leaned the other way from me in the civil war, and you can tell where i come from by my complete absence of an accent -- i am joking. some people think i do have an accent. at any rate, i ha

virginia's cayenne, devoted husband and father of 12, 25 grandchildren. barbara, philosopher, botanist, amateur musician, fluent in two languages, architect of the declaration of independence in service component in america of religious liberty in history. when he received little credit little from history. he's looked at as a grumpy old patriot. when he lost his political game in philadelphia. they took hispanic willman home. that's why when he repeated the sign somewhere new. i hope to give the reader a new look at mason's character in his life and accomplishments. mason is shown to be in my book, to be a compassionate, sensitive and well read boy who matured into an accomplished salesman devoted husband and father. jefferson never mayday secret of the fact that when he redo your george mason. when he called him the wisest man of his generation. jefferson same biographer, dumas malone, agreed summarizing mason's contributions to the revolution we need said quote mason jar the rights of human beings much more fully than jefferson did in the immortal but

and in fact come of the nascent virginia declaration of rights emerged as the brilliant and eloquent blueprints as my first draft of the declaration of independence. mason's layered personality also played a notable part in so many important fields including government, law, free exercise of religion, agriculture, architecture and philosophy. he was among american authors of rights and independence whose eloquent articulations of the american creed articulated a vision and set the course for history. yet he remained a somewhat reclusive figure up until the american revolutionary war. a war that precipitated his constitutional brilliance. the war for independence didn't swiftly. as england's oppressive course became national policy, towards the colonies, mason netted with a resolution no was fixed and forceful language. he wrote that, quote, though we are these subjects, we will use every means which heaven has given us to present our becoming its slaves. with mason's commanding strength and intellect, he became aroused by the emotional appeal and figure of words. all is at stake, he

virginia seceded in 1861. 1861, there was no virginia, as we know virginia today, so they moved over to western virginia, which is where wheeling, and that was the restored government, that's where the capitol was. that was all through arthur borman. then in 1863 -- we have a statue in the capitol that has abraham lincoln walking at midnight. deciding is he going to sign this proclamation? the country's already divided. now he's going to divide a state. that has not been done because basically up until that, the constitution is very clear, you had to have permission from the territory you were in for from another state to succeed. but abraham lincoln took it upon himself. and if you see the beautiful, unusual shape of our state, there is a very few straight lines. especially when you see this eastern panhandle that's only an hour, hour and ten-minute drive from here, the reason for that, you have harper's ferry, john brown's raid, 1859, kicked off the civil war, and then you have the railroads, the confluence of the shenandoah and the potomac. it's just unbelievable what all. he knew

i started teaching law at the university of virginia. soon after i was appointed, the governor appointed a committee on constitutional revision. i was asked to be the executive director. i said, sure, i'll write you a constitution. i did not tell them i had not even read the old virginia constitution. [laughter] the first thing i had to do was go read it. i was amazed what i found in there. if you fought a duel in virginia, you lost your right to vote. then i was asked to work for the legislature. finally the governor asked me if i would chair the constitutional reform campaign. so, i had the chance to be involved in the drafting, the legislative adoption, the popular approval, the whole process. it was an amazing experience, so i came out of that ready i thought to go to places like prague, budapest, or warsaw, but when you have been beat up on by the the members of the virginia legislature, albania, there is nothing they can do, but i understood that constitutions are not abstract documents. they reflect reality. they are planted in th

he previously served for about 15 years or so in the virginia house of delegates in the virginia senate. he's a graduate of harvard and boston college of law. so thank you very much for coming. >> thank you. [applause] >> to his left is eric cantor. eric cantor served for 25 years in the house-- in the virginia legislature and also the congress and rose up to be the house majority leader. he's a graduate of george washington university and william & mary school of law and vice-president of a company, a distinguished investment firm. thank you very much for coming. [applause] >> and andrew card. andrew card is a person you may remember who served as chief of staff under george w. bush. prior to that served as secretary of transportation under george herbert walker bush and acting of the school of policy at a & m and serves as president of franklin pierce college in new hampshire where he resides, a graduate of university of south carolina. thank you very much for coming. [applause] >> so, we were going to have opening statements, but i thought they'd be too boring and long so i've gotten

on the big stage in virginia. it didn't decide the war but it's all the big army space each other and got the most attention and most news reporters. the most photographers were around there. most of the pictures you see in the civil war are the virginia theater. it gets attention. he's going against top opposition. he is going to be teaching the army of the potomac to make war in a new way. he has to exercise a lot of confidence. one thing grant had started to do during the civil war was smoking cigars. before the civil war, he smoked a pipe. early pictures of the civil war, he has a beard down to his chest and has a pipe and he doesn't look anything like ulysses s. grant. someone had sent him a cigar after some of his early victories. he had that cigar in his mouth during the battle of fort donaldson, and people heard about grant writing around -- riding around with a cigar, and he got all of these cigars given to him. he felt like he needed to smoke them and set of his pipe. i don't know if it made a difference

as virginia went, so went the nation. there were signs in the 1770's -- 1780's and 1790's that virginia was trying to do something about slavery. if virginia could abolish slavery, it was assumed, then the rest of the south would surely follow. in virginia, the harsh black codes of the early 18th century had fallen into neglect, and by the time of the revolution, fraternization between whites and black slaves had become more common, both in sporting events and in religion. the growing of wheat instead of tobacco was changing the nature of slavery in the upper south, and many of the planters, now calling themselves farmers, began hiring out their slaves, suggesting to some that slavery might eventually be replaced by wage labor. other evidence from the upper south seemed to reinforce the idea that slavery was on its way to extinction. what could be a more conspicuous endorsement -- this is incredible when you think about it -- a more conspicuous endorsement of the anti-slave cause than having the college of william and mar

west virginia has one big advantage they tell us that there's still so much on touch nature here. yet. we don't have the agricultural problems that other states have in other words we don't have the mondo food source that these might these might be taking advantage of they need a lot of different kinds just like human beings need a lot of different kinds of sources for their food and whispered you provides that . the label emphasizes that the product is a collaborative effort it means to provide a ray of hope in these economically trying times. coal continues to be mined in the region whole mountain tops are being dug up but there are hardly any jobs even so some people here still believe president donald trump's promise to save the coal industry. but outside with the beads no one talks politics regardless of who they voted for in the end the love of west virginia is the most important thing. the mountains are the home and i've lived in my whole life. board here raised here you . can't be that. mark lilly doesn't think this project will solve all the region's problems but he hopes

and new this morning help just arrived in the bahamas from northern virginia. here's a photo of members of the fairfax cnty fire and rescue department. ey landed safely this rninmo gthe islands. now, first respondersere deploy the federal government's disaster assistance response team or dart. >> it's going structure by structure whether it's ilbungs or houses to make sure there's nobody still inside or if t a roof and able to ty're ask for help. >> closer to home, several dominion energy crew members will head to virginia's eastern shore to assist with the w expectedidespread outages. >> ♪ >> happening today, an major thorofar arlington getting a new name. >> and one more remnant of the confederacy is coming down in hernx5's melieln awi hck story t he.re in crystal city. you can see ite right her aty jefferson davis hi and 23rdtr st pretty soon that is goi to becomig highway. arlington crew was here, they were doing a test run of the sign removing to mak removae the process goes smoothly. arlington residents petitione the county saying they didn't like the i

at virginia tech. i won't go into it because i'll segue when i talk about a hero but the shooting at virginia tech happened because of a weakness in the background check system. the individual, the young man who killed 32 people was prohibited from having a weapon because he'd been adjudicated mentally ill and dangerous but weaknesses in the background check system enabled him to get a weapon anyway. we learned a powerful and painful lesson that day which is if your background check system has loopholes and gaps, disasters will result. so i join with my colleagues who say house bill 8 that's come from the house, that's a comprehensive background check system bill that keeps weapons out of the hands of people who are dangerous to themselves or others is something we should absolutely pass. and last, let me just tell the story about an american hero. i've told this story on the floor before but not for a number of years. and i want to tell the story because i think everybody should know this individual's

college inuated from virginia, i went right to my first job, i covered the virginia state legislature. talk about dysfunctional. the first republican government the democratic lieutenant governor and the democratic , and thegeneral capitol square in richmond was a war zone just to walk between the attorney general's office and the governor's mansion. rang while iphone was in the basement of the state capitol in the press room, and it was abc news asking if i would come up to be interviewed to be a network correspondent. 2019, after do squat for years in virginia, i go up and abc news sends me into the white house just weeks after president theard nixon had left on south lawn, the only president in history to resign in disgrace. talk about constitutional crises. talk about times when the american staffing of our society has been torn apart with protests against the vietnam war. let me ask each of you now to ideas or someome thoughts and we will start with governor alan because, i'm sorry, governor hodges of south carolina, because you've come now nottate that is only read in terms of v

the numbers were too great. 40 percent of this state, virginia, or the state of virginia. the state of virginia was made up of black slaves. 60% of south carolina. those proportions are so high, it is difficult for me to see how the problem could have been solved. the best, they thought things were going the right way, but they really did not know the reality. we live with allusions, too, we just don't know what they are. historians will look back and say how could they be thinking that? you have to understand that we don't know our future. they did not know their future any more than we know arispe we have all kinds of addictions about what will be. and we are in better shape to make those predictions, but we really can't be sure what it is going to be like at the end of the 21st century. they did the best they could. i think given the circumstances. know it looks easy when you look back and say, why couldn't we have done that? it just was not going to happen. i do not think there was anything that could have been done to solve the problem. once you get going, as i say, t

and is a history professor at virginia commonwealth university. the virginia museum of history and culture hosted this event. >> so now for today's program, dr. gregory d. smithers, an associate professor of history at virginia commonwealth university, specializes in native american history, he's the author of several books including "the cherokee diaspora: an indigenous history of migration, resettlement and identity," about which greg spoke here a few years ago. and his newest book on the subject of today's lecture, "native southerners: indigenous

by march 16 20, 32 africans were reported living in virginia. they would be the first of hundreds of thousands of african .laves in british north america 170 years later in the first nearly 20% in 1790, of 4 million americans were african. roughly 800,000 slaves. from the first representative assembly 400 years ago elected by free white men to universal suffrage, has been a prolonged and tortuous path. during the colonial and waslutionary time, voting limited to property owners almost all of whom were white male protestants over 21. of americans were eligible to vote for george washington to does for president. only in 1856 did the last state abolished property ownership as a requirement to vote. the 14th amendment to the constitution in 1868 granted citizenship to former slaves in 1870. to former slaves, and then the 15th amendment stated explicitly that the right to vote could not be denied by either the federal or state governments based on race. but african americans would have to wait another 95 years in many parts of the country until the

west virginia has one big advantage they tell us that there's still so much on touch nature here that. we don't have that agricultural problems that other states have in other words we don't have the mondo food source that bees might these might be taking advantage of they need a lot of different kinds just like human beings need a lot of different kinds of sources for their food and whispered to me provides that. the label emphasizes that the product is a collaborative effort it means to provide a ray of hope in these economically trying times. coal continues to be mined in the region whole mountain tops are being dug up but there are hardly any jobs even so some people here still believe president donald trump's promise to save the coal industry. but outside with the beads no one talks politics regardless of who they voted for in the end the love of west virginia is the most important thing. the mountains are the home i've written my whole life so for here raised here and. can't be that. mark clearly doesn't think this project will solve all the region's problems but he hopes it wil

maryland and virginia. you have officers walking through many people thinking abraham lincoln will never be inaugurated. he will be assassinated. winfield scott putting up cannons in and around the capitol. saying anybody disrupt the proceedings i will lash that person to a canon and fire them out the window the capital. he said should that person be a legislator from his native state, virginia, he said he will state, virginia, he said he will manure the grounds with his remains. lincoln trying to keep the union together. the question of civil war is in your hands, my dissatisfied countrymen. you can have no work without being the aggressor. he's hopeful about it. the mystic cores memory stretching from every patriot grave and every living heart but once again swell the course of the union untouched by the better angels of our nature. famous words indeed. it didn't last because you know the south is beginning to get ready for the war. they know that the words coming. they seem to be more ready than the nort

at least not all of virginia. now, the southern culture zone that native americans called home prior to contact and, indeed, after contact with europeans, begins roughly around the nodaway river, among the nodaway peoples, and in what is today southwestern virginia. that was traditionally cherokee hunting lands. it's in those hunting lands that cherokee warriors, in particular, often had contact with the monokin in central virginia. so the geography of the south changes when we take a native perspective on southern history and this is something that i developed and explained in more detail in the book. in addition, also the stories and the way we talk about the stories of the south change as well. let me just sort of talk about someone who you probably all have heard of before. a young girl in the 17th century by the name of pocahontas. she's often thought of as a friend to the english. marries john rolf. saves john smith. these are mythologies. these become historical truisms over time that become embedded in the

i like what virginia is doing. other states have done it a different way other than the virginia approach that you crafted last year. it's outstanding. and the legislature has to prove it. >> real quick gov. hodges and i've got one for you. >> when i think about gerrymandering i have an older brother who in 1984 told me walter mondale was going to beat ronald reagan because quote everyone you knew was voting for mondale. i said mark you need to get out more often because you might see things a little differently. i think about gerrymandering because districts are drawn like that. the perspective that i have and george talked about a number of important points, but here's the thing that's most important. i had colleagues tell me when i was a legislator that they didn't believe that poverty existed in south carolina. i thought, you would be better served living in a district where you had rich people and poured people. shop owners and corporations. when you have to learn to navigate dealing with all of the different

i graduated from college in virginia. i went right into my first job and worked for the virginia stateoa legislature. talk about dysfunctional, first republican governor had just been elected as a democratic and wanted to be the democratic dominant. capital square was a war zone just to walk between the attorney general's office and the governor's mansion. the phone rang while i was at the state capital in the press room and i would be interviewed to be a network correspondent. in 201,974 after four years in virginia, i go up and abc news sends me into the white house up north one, just after president nixon just left. the only president in history to resign. talk about constitutional crises. talk about times of when the american segment of our society being torn apart from the vietnam war watergate civil rights. let me ask each of you now to come upom with some ideas or thought. i'm going to go out of order and start with governor allen because -- i'm sorry, governor of south carolina. you come from a state that is now n

west virginia has one big advantage they tell us that there's still so much untouched nature here. yet. we don't have the agricultural problems that other states have in other words we don't have the mondo food source that bees might these might be taking advantage of they need a lot of different kinds just like human beings need a lot of different kinds of sources for their food and whispered in your provides that. the label emphasizes that the product is a collaborative effort it means to provide a ray of hope in these economically trying times. coal continues to be mined in the region whole mountaintops are being dug up but there are hardly any jobs even so some people here still believe president donald trump's promise to save the coal industry. but outside with the bees no one talks politics regardless of who they voted for in the end the love of west virginia is the most important thing. the mountains are the home i've built in my whole life so board here raised here. can't be that. mark clearly doesn't think this project will solve all the region's problems but he hopes it w