The ‘Give Me Liberty’ Exhibition at VMHC
Examining ideals and Virginians in 250 years of American history
The new Give Me Liberty exhibition launches March 22, 2025, at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond, Virginia, commemorating America’s 250th anniversary.
What is liberty? Today, 250 years after Patrick Henry’s rousing speech – a legendary lead-up to the American Revolution and the birth of a new nation – the question is as relevant as ever. The exhibition Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of a Nation explores this and other aspects of the ongoing fight for freedom.
Why was liberty so important to early American patriots?
The Give Me Liberty exhibition breaks the story down to five elements: “Protest to Action,” “Words to Action,” “Liberty in Action,” “Virginia in Action,” and “A Call to Action: Our Living Revolution of Ideas.”
These five aspects present a natural chronology, beginning with the colonists’ reasons for discontent. How did Americans go from pride in being British in the 1760s to clamoring for independence? How did they go from expressing discontent with King George yet trying to repair the relationship with Britain, to demanding and fighting for total separation?
Many of us learned in school about the struggles surrounding the Revolutionary War. This exhibition pulls out details that we may not have learned or that we may have forgotten over the years. It explains the 1763 Royal Proclamation Line, which strived to stop colonists from moving westward. It reminds us of the Stamp Act, which taxed the colonists to pay for enforcement of that unpopular proclamation, and of the Americans’ grievance of taxation without representation. It tells of Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation of 1775, which declared martial law, ordered men to join the British forces, and promised freedom for indentured servants and enslaved people.
At the Second Virginia Convention at St. John’s Church in Richmond, delegates were still in the decision-making phase. Would the colonists opt for further negotiations with Britain or revolt? Patrick Henry, a Hanover County lawyer and politician proclaimed, “I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.”
Once the revolution began, individuals had to make their own choices. An exhibit entitled “The Choices of Liberty” provides insights, sometimes surprising, into the decisions made by Virginians in many stations of life. Who would they support in the war?
Wealthy planter and politician Peyton Randolph threw his support behind the rebellion, but his brother, John, became a Loyalist and moved to Scotland after the war began.
Many enslaved Blacks used the chaos of war to escape, hitching their futures with the British and finding homes outside of America. Others chose to serve the Americans, including James Fayette, who joined the Continental Army and served under the Marquis de Lafayette as a spy.
Indigenous people also made contrasting choices of which side to support.
Defining and fighting for liberty
“Every generation struggles with these questions [on liberty],” says Andrew Talkov, Sr. Director of Curatorial Affairs at the VMHC. “People throughout our history have been clawing at and trying to influence the people around them to be a part of the founding ideal, which is that all men are created equal and that people have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
A large panel outlines the theme of America’s ongoing struggle to define the founding ideals, beginning with the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, both from 1776. Other evolutionary steps listed include the Naturalization Act of 1790, the ratification of the Constitution and Bill of Rights in 1791, the 15th and 19th amendments (1870 and 1920) addressing voting rights, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 protecting workers’ rights, legal actions combatting discrimination, and Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.
“Our democracy was not a fully conceived effort,” says Talkov. “Our founders, to their credit, offered a vehicle by which we could amend the constitution that they created, to perfect the union that they had started, because they knew that they were just humans. They were flawed, too, and so they opened that door, and that’s been the American journey – trying to understand what liberty means.”
Virginia connections
With its mission to focus on Virginia’s place in history, the VMHC exhibition pulls out local events, such as the Hanover Resolves, the Battle of Great Bridge, and raids of Richmond by British forces. It highlights Virginia influencers, such as Thomas Jefferson, and sheds lights on little-known Virginians, such as James Fayette, enslaved woman Mary Perth, and Wyandot tribal member Henry Bawbee.
A variety of elements in the Give Me Liberty exhibition help keep viewers engaged, including interactive displays, multimedia videos, archival documents and artifacts, and informative reproductions.
Hosted by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond, the exhibition was developed in partnership with the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.
From its founding days through its evolution and into today, Americans have differed on the ramifications of our embrace of this ideal called “liberty.” The Give Me Liberty exhibition illuminates our tensions and sheds light on our divisions.
Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of a Nation
to
Virginia Museum of History & Culture
428 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia
Find details at VirginiaHistory.org
