James Madisons Montpelier We The People Spring 2015 | Page 4

WE THE PEOPLE

Highlights
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1. Discoveries

3. Conferences

With the help of metal detecting
experts from across the nation,
Montpelier’s archaeology team has
located dozens of horseshoes, saddle
parts, and harness buckles, as well
as a patterning that suggests the
possible location for the Madison
stable. Montpelier’s metal detection
program, which couples 21st
century technology with traditional
archeological excavation, is receiving
national acclaim with features on
National Geographic’s Diggers and in
Preservation Magazine.

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2. Celebrations
On March 16, the U.S. Marines Band
and Color Guard along with Pulitzer
Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor,
Ph.D., joined Montpelier visitors and
staff at the Madison Family Cemetery
to honor the 264th anniversary of
James Madison’s birthday. The
festivities continued into the evening
at Citizen Burger Bar in Charlottesville,
where Devils Backbone Brewing
Company launched Montpelier’s Best
Ambition Ale, a medium-bodied red ale
that upholds the spirit of Madison’s
“checks and balances.”

In recognition of Dolley Madison’s
continuing impact on women’s leadership
today, the Center for the Constitution
hosted its first-ever women’s leadership
conference in March, attracting over
100 female college students from the
University of Virginia, James Madison
University, Washington & Lee University,
the College of William and Mary, and
more. The program enhanced the dialogue
about women’s leadership in media,
education, government, law, and business
environments, and included a lively
discussion about Dolley Madison’s ability
to navigate and influence American politics
and society more than a century before
women won the right to vote. Stay tuned
for a short video highlighting this program.