Editing Richmond, Virginia (section)

===Early United States===

Richmond recovered quickly from the war, thriving within a year of its burning.<ref name="Yorktown_1781">Morrissey, Brendan. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=r--9D24q4ncC&dq=1781+benedict+arnold+richmond&pg=PA14 Yorktown 1781: The World Turned Upside Down] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114204414/https://books.google.com/books?id=r--9D24q4ncC&pg=PA14&ots=6TIkUk31ng&dq=1781+benedict+arnold+richmond&sig=fnooW303Sxbtck7DWktPJoAUU3U#PPA14,M1 |date=January 14, 2016 }}." Published 1997, Osprey Publishing, pp. 14–16.</ref> In 1786, the [[Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom]], drafted by Thomas Jefferson, was enacted, separating church and state and advancing the legal principle for [[freedom of religion]] in the United States.<ref name="Religious_Freedom">Peterson, Merrill D.; Vaughan, Robert C. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=I9v9aVcsfJ8C&dq=virginia+statute+for+religious+freedom&pg=PP1 The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom: Its Evolution and Consequences in American History] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420191917/https://books.google.com/books?id=I9v9aVcsfJ8C&pg=PP1&ots=I1-IfSQYjF&dq=virginia+statute+for+religious+freedom&sig=hyrkj0zyKqP0iQil8AQqPdJ26XE |date=April 20, 2016 }}.'' Published 1988, Cambridge University Press. Retrieved on July 11, 2007.</ref> In 1788, the [[Virginia State Capitol]], designed by Jefferson and [[Charles-Louis Clérisseau]] in the [[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival style]], was completed.

To bypass Richmond's rapids on the upper James River and provide a water route across the [[Appalachian Mountains]] to the [[Kanawha River]], which flows westward into the [[Ohio River]] and converges with the [[Mississippi River]], [[George Washington]] helped design the [[James River and Kanawha Canal]].<ref name="JRKCHD">{{cite web|author=Tucker H. Hill and William Trout |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District: From Ship Locks to Bosher's Dam |url=https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/127-0171_James_River_and_Kanawha_Canal_Historic_District_1971_Final_Nomination.pdf |date=June 23, 1971 |access-date=February 8, 2024 |publisher=Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission}}</ref> The canal started in [[Westham, Virginia|Westham]] and cut east to Richmond, facilitating the transfer of cargo from flat-bottomed [[James River bateau]]x above the fall line to the ocean-faring ships below.<ref name="JRKCHD" />  The canal boatmen legacy is represented by the figure in the center of the city flag.<ref name="Flag">{{cite web |url=https://richmondmagazine.com/news/when-statues-move/ |date=July 7, 2020 |last=Kollatz, Jr. |first=Harry |title=When statues move |website=richmondmagazine.com |publisher=Richmond Magazine |access-date=February 8, 2024}}</ref>

Because of the canal and the [[hydropower]] the falls generated, Richmond emerged as an important industrial center after the [[American Revolutionary War]] (1775–1783). It became home to some of the largest manufacturing facilities, including iron works and flour mills, in [[Southeastern United States|the South]] and the country.

By 1850, Richmond was connected by the [[Richmond and Petersburg Railroad]] to [[Port Walthall]], where ships carrying over 200 tons of cargo could connect to [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] or [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]. Passenger liners could reach [[Norfolk, Virginia]], through the [[Hampton Roads]] harbor.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=huxDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA196 |title=The New American Encyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge |publisher=D. Appleton |year=1872 |page=196 |access-date=August 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406122343/https://books.google.com/books?id=huxDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA196 |archive-date=April 6, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the 19th century, Richmond was connected to the North by the [[Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad|Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad]], later replaced by [[CSX Transportation|CSXT]].

[[File:Une vente d'esclaves, à Richmond, capitale de la Virginie (États-Unis), 1861.jpg|thumb|[[Slavery in the United States|Slave auction]] in Richmond, 1861]]
The railroad also was used by some to escape [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] in the mid-19th century. In 1849, [[Henry Box Brown|Henry "Box" Brown]] had himself nailed into a small box and shipped from Richmond to abolitionists in [[Philadelphia]] through [[Baltimore]]'s [[President Street Station]] on the [[Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad]], often used by the [[Underground Railroad]] to assist escaping disguised slaves reach the free state of [[Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Brown">Switala, William J. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=WPFYoBL6bGsC&dq=Henry+%22box%22+brown&pg=PA1 The Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116024940/https://books.google.com/books?id=WPFYoBL6bGsC&pg=PA1&ots=RfR3Xdk02-&dq=Henry+%22box%22+brown&sig=Ogui2KimjOc5A8mcUWBh4HFDW1Y |date=January 16, 2016 }}." Published 2001, Stackpole Books. pp. 1–4.</ref>