Departments

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Montpelier

  • SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor
    9/1/2022

    New Approach at Montpelier: Let All Voices Rise

    After a controversial battle over how to incorporate the descendants of people enslaved by James Madison, Montpelier is beginning to highlight artifacts—and the process of discovering them—related to the lives of enslaved people at the estate. 

  • SOURCE: Washington Post
    5/16/2022

    Inside the Reversal of the Montpelier Board

    The board approved the appointment of 11 members nominated by the Montpelier Descendants Committee, and the resignation of the board chair who led the resistance to the appointments is pending. 

  • SOURCE: NPR
    4/20/2022

    Montpelier Descendants Call Foul on Board over Firings

    The firing of three senior staff members who support the involvement of the Montpelier Descendants Committee in the public presentation of James Madison's estate, and the slavery practiced there, has raised questions about whether Montpelier is committed to historical honesty. 

  • SOURCE: National Trust for Historic Preservation
    4/18/2022

    National Trust Condemns Actions Against Staff at Montpelier

    "The National Trust strongly condemns these actions against highly regarded and nationally recognized professionals, which will impede the effective stewardship of Montpelier and diminish important public programming at this highly significant historic site."  

  • SOURCE: Washington Post
    3/25/2022

    Madison's Montpelier Board Strips Power from Enslaved Descendants' Group

    "Matt Reeves, the director of archaeology said he fears the effort to cut off the committee is aimed at undoing years of progress in conveying a more honest and complete view of history. 'They really want a narrative that’s restricted to nothing that’s negative about James Madison'.”

  • SOURCE: Cultural Heritage Partners
    3/25/2022

    Montpelier Board Abandons Promises to Descendants of Enslaved

    by Montpelier Descendants Committee

    Montpelier Descendants' Committee founder James French contends that the group "will not be deterred from our mission to contribute to uniting the country by telling a more complete and truthful history of our founding, including the full role of its indispensable ‘invisible founders'.”

  • SOURCE: CBS News
    10-29-17

    James Madison's Montpelier explores its history of slaves

    Montpelier was the Virginia home of James Madison, father of the Constitution and architect of the Bill of Rights. The plantation was also home to generations of slaves. Now, descendants have a chance to get in touch with their roots.

  • SOURCE: ArtDaily
    8-3-13

    New evidence contributes to unprecedented portrait of enslaved life at James Madison's Montpelier

    ORANGE, VA.- The Montpelier Foundation today announced findings from new archaeological excavations at the lifelong home of James Madison – Father of the Constitution, Architect of the Bill of Rights, and Fourth President of the United States. Discovered by teams of professional archaeology staff, students and visitors participating in special “Archaeology Expeditions,” two newly revealed subfloor pits provide an initial footprint for field slave quarters on the Montpelier landscape.“Montpelier is unique among archaeological sites in the United States with regards to our ability to recreate and visualize the experience of enslaved life,” said Matthew Reeves, Ph.D., Director of Archaeology and Landscape Restoration at James Madison’s Montpelier. “Because the fields have lain fallow since Madison’s time, the sites we are discovering are virtually undisturbed. We are meticulously documenting available evidence from the sites so we can begin to reconstruct the farm in a way that will authentically represent the complexity of life on the plantation.”...