Related page: Exhibit catalog

Cities were the bane of many a landed Virginian's existence, in part because the urban centers of the North were at the root of the federal government's policies to establish tariffs, which would protect the manufacturer, and to finance internal improvements, which would facilitate his commerce. These policies reduced and then taxed the profits of the planter.

He allowed one exception, however. Richmond became a symbol for all that he was most proud of: Virginia's political importance to the colony and early republic. Richmond is presented here as a governmental rather than a mercantile center. (The buildings prominently pictured—the prison, city hall, and the capitol—are civic.)