Famous Virginians

 

Pocohontas

  • Daughter of Chief Powhatan

  • Believed the English and American Indians could live in harmony

  • Began a friendship with the colonists that helped them survive

 

 

John Smith

  • Provided strong leadership in Jamestown

  • Started a forced work program that helped ensure survival.

  • Initiated relationships with the Powhatans

 
Famous Virginians of the Revolutionary War Era
 

George Washington

  • "Father of our Country".

  • Commander in Chief of the Continental Army.

  • First President of the United States

  • Strong Leader

 

  

Thomas Jefferson

  • Wrote the Declaration of Independence .

  • Wrote the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom which was the basis for the 1st amendment to the United States Constitution.

  • Third President of the United States

 
 

James Madison

  • "Father of the Constitution".

  • Kept detailed noted during the Constitutional Convention.

  • Believed in the importance of the U.S. Constitution.

  • Had great skills of compromise.

 

  

James Monroe

  • Presidency was a time of peace.

  • The Monroe Doctrine (1823) stated that the American continents were no longer open to European colonization. The U.S. would not interfere in European wars.

  • Fifth President of the United States

 

 
 

Patrick Henry

  • "Give me liberty or give me death".

  • Inspired patriots from other colonies when he spoke out against taxation without representation.

 

 

George Mason

  • Wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

  • This was the basis for the Bill of Rights for the Constitution of the United States of America.

 

 

James Armistead Lafayette

  • A slave from Virginia.

  • Served in the Continental Army.

  • Was given his freedom after the war.

 

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Famous Virginians
Rags to Riches Review ~ Revolution
Famous Virginians of the Civil War Era
 

Robert E. Lee

  • Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War.

  • Defeated Union troops at Fredericksburg, Virginia.

  • Surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House.

  

General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

  • Confederate Army General in the Civil War.

  • Played a major role in the first major battle of the Civil War which was called the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), where he got his nickname "Stonewall".

 
 

General Ulysses S. Grant

  • General of the Union Army

  • Defeated the Confederate Army by taking Richmond, which was burned near the end of the war.

  • Accepted Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, ending the Civil War.

Harriet Tubman

 

  • Established a secret route that escaped slaves took to get to freedom.

  • This route became known as the "Underground Railroad."

 
 

John Brown

  • A white abolitionist who led a raid on the United States Armory (arsenal) at Harper's Ferry.

  • Tried to start a slave rebellion.

  • Was captured and hanged.

  

Nat Turner

  • A slave who led a revolt against plantation owners in Virginia.

 

 

Famous Virginians ~ Civil War
Famous Modern Day Virginians
 

Harry F. Byrd

  • Led Massive Resistance Movement against integration of public schools.

  • As governor was known for his "Pay as You Go" policy for road improvements.

  • Modernized Virginia state government.          

 

L. Douglas Wilder

  • Former governor of Virginia.

  • First African American to be elected a state governor in the United States.

 

 
 

Maggie Lena Walker

  • First African American woman to become a bank president in the United States.

  • First woman to become a bank president.

 

  

Arthur Ashe, Jr.

  • The first African American winner of a major men's tennis singles championship.

  • An author and eloquent spokesperson for social change.

 
Rags to Riches Review ~ Modern