Primary Sources Related to the Lee Monument on Monument Avenue

Lesson Plan: Learn about the beginning of Monument Avenue through examining letters, maps, and newspaper articles from when the Lee Monument was created. These primary source documents, from the time period, allow us to see the monument from a variety of perspectives.

Grade Level
                  High, Middle                
SOL(s)
                  VS.1, VS.8, USII, USII.3, USII.4, CE.1, VUS.1, VUS.7, GOVT.1, GOVT.3, GOVT.9                 
Time Period
                  1871-1899: Post Reconstruction                
Theme
                  Jim Crow, The Lost Cause Myth                
Resource Type
                  Lesson Plan                

A group of people around the Lee Monument that is covered by a veil. — Lee Monument Unveiling, May 1890, Cook Collection 4635, The Valentine.

Essential Questions

How do monuments get their meaning? How does that meaning change over time?
Who gets to create monuments? Whose voices are being heard or lifted up by monuments and whose voices are missing or suppressed?
What is missing from Richmond, Virginia’s current monumental landscape?

Download

Monument Avenue’s Beginnings Lesson Plan (pdf)

Monument Avenue’s Beginnings Primary Source Packet (zip)