| Williamsburg Photos Fasttrack Civics Project |
Originating Page |
| The
photographs below show the reconstructed historic
site of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. The first picture shows
the Capitol - the building where Virginia's elected
assembly, called the House of Burgesses, met in colonial times.
The fourth picture shows
the Governor's Palace, the residence of the royal governor appointed by
the
British king. (Williamsburg became the capital of the colony after a fire destroyed Jamestown in 1698. In 1780, during the Revolution, Richmond became Virginia's capital because that was considered a more secure location.) It was in Williamsburg in May of 1776 that the colony's leaders, meeting in the Capitol as the Virginia Convention, declared independence from Great Britain. They also adopted a resolution urging the Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, to do the same. The next month, in June, the Virginia Convention voted to adopt George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights. That famous document had a great impact on the independence movement and political thought throughout the colonies. It later became the model for the U.S. Bill of Rights, which became part of the U.S. Constitution. |
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Copyright
Notice - Limited Reproduction Rights Granted
Photos Copyright 2007 by David
Burns. These photo images of historic Williamsburg may be used by
teachers and students in their own classrooms for educational,
non-commercial purposes, provided a photo credit line is shown as
follows: Photos by David Burns, Fasttrack
Civics Project. The photographs may not be posted on any other
Internet site. You may link to this page.
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