Colonial Williamsburg

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation operates the world's largest living history museum in Williamsburg, Virginia – the restored 18th-century capital of Britain's largest, wealthiest, and most populous outpost of empire in the New World. Here we interpret the origins of the idea of America, conceived decades before the American Revolution. The Colonial Williamsburg story, "Becoming Americans," tells how diverse peoples, having different and sometimes conflicting ambitions, evolved into a society that valued liberty and equality. Americans cherish these values as a birthright, even when their promise remains unfulfilled.

In Colonial Williamsburg's 301-acre Historic Area stand hundreds of restored, reconstructed, and historically furnished buildings. Costumed interpreters tell the stories of the men and women of the 18th-century city – black, white, and native American, slave, indentured, and free – and the challenges they faced. In this historic place, we help the future learn from the past.

Note: The information listed below is solely the material of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and not endorsed by any of the other organizations associated with www.constitutionday.us.

Colonial Williamsburg Resources

• A Patriot, A Traitor, and a Bill of Attainder — The case of Josiah Philips, a Tory in Virginia during the war for Independence, who was denied a fundamental right by patriots, and civil libertarians, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry.
• Colonial Williamsburg Past & Present Podcasts — An independence-themed series with first person characters Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry debating religion and politics.
• Politics in Colonial Virginia — This website guides students of all ages through the political issues and crises of pre- and post-Independence Virginia.
• Thomas Jefferson Man of the Millennium — Thomas Jefferson best articulated and personally exemplified the great ideas about freedom, responsibility, and possibility that have illuminated history.

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