About the Exhibition
About this video
Why Did the Civil War Happen? is the subject of the introductory video for the VHS blockbuster show, An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia. Slavery caused the war, but the war did not begin to free the enslaved. Throughout the 1850s, slavery had kept the free North and the slaveholding South on a collision course that could end in dissolution of the Union or a war to preserve it.
From 1861–1865 Virginia stood at the center of a military and social revolution. How we define freedom, liberty, patriot, and nation today is directly related to the diverse experiences of the individuals who participated in the war. Using original objects, interactive technology, and state-of-the-art audiovisual programs, the 3,000 square-foot exhibition—An American Turning Point—encourages visitors to consider how a single event, separated by 150-years can influence and address the questions of today—what was gained, what was lost, what was undecided, and what was left for us to resolve?
Sponsored by the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, the exhibition opened at the Virginia Historical Society on February 4, 2011, and will travel to seven other Virginia museums from January 2012 through August 2015.
Related resources:
• View the exhibition schedule
• Visit our calendar page for exhibit-related programs
• Learn about "Life on the Virginia Homefront"
• Learn about the traveling panel exhibit
• Read the exhibit blog
An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia is a signature program of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission.
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Additional support is provided by:
The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia • The Cecil R. and Edna S. Hopkins Family Foundation • The Roller-Bottimore Foundation • The Richard and Caroline T. Gwathmey Memorial Trust • The Garland and Agnes Taylor Gray Foundation, a supporting organization of The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia • The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation • the Norfolk Southern Foundation • The W. E. Betts, Jr. Memorial Fund, established by the William Davis Family, the Earle Betts Family, and the James Wall Family • and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources
428 North Boulevard, Richmond, VA 23220 | Mail: P.O. Box 7311, Richmond, VA 23221-0311 | Phone: 804.358.4901Hours | Directions | Contact us | Site map | Blog |
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