- Of all the states, Virginia alone has both a great and a lesser seal, which differ only in size. …
The state of Virginia was named for Queen Elizabeth I of England, who often was called the Virgin Queen. Virginia is sometimes called the Cavalier State. A cavalier was someone who supported King Charles I during England's Civil War of the 1640s. Many cavaliers left England during that war to come to the colony of Virginia. Virginia frequently is referred to as Old Dominion. The name's origin traces back to about 1660 when King Charles II of England included Virginia on the royal shield. This gave the colony equal rank with the shield's other dominions (England, Scotland, France, and Ireland). Virginia received the name Mother of States because several other states were created from parts of its original land. Because four of the first five United States presidents were born in Virginia, the state is also sometimes called Mother of Presidents. GeographyVirginia is located in the southeastern part of the United States. The state's shape resembles a triangle, with the long southern boundary as the base. Two of Virginia's eastern counties, Northampton and Accomack, are located on the Delmarva Peninsula. They are separated from the main body of the state by Chesapeake Bay. The Potomac River separates northeast Virginia from Maryland and Washington, D.C. The Atlantic Ocean runs along part of eastern Virginia. Tennessee and North Carolina border Virginia at the southern end. West Virginia and Kentucky border Virginia to the west. The state has a land area of 39,594 square miles (102,540 square kilometers) and more than 1,000 square miles (2,600 square kilometers) of inland water surface. Going from east to west, Virginia's surface rises from sea level to high mountain peaks. Five different natural regions exist in the state. Eastern Virginia is part of the Coastal Plain or the Tidewater section. Its elevation is low compared to other areas of the state. To the west of the Coastal Plain is the Piedmont Province, a large region of low rolling hills. Further west are highlands known as the Blue Ridge Province. Mount Rogers, the highest point in the state, is located in this section. It is 5,729 feet (1,746 meters) high. The Valley and Ridge Province covers most of western Virginia and includes the Shenandoah River valley. Plants grow well in this region because of its limestone soil. The Appalachian Plateaus covers a small area in far western Virginia and contains a maze of deep ravines and winding ridges. Virginia's weather tends to be mild and pleasant. Elevation and nearness to the Atlantic Ocean, however, can make temperatures vary considerably from east to west. Average annual temperatures range from 54° F (12° C) in the southwestern mountains to about 59° F (15° C) along the coast. Virginia receives rain and snow. The southeastern section gets about 50 inches (127 centimeters) of precipitation annually. By contrast, the northwest part of the state averages about 35 inches (90 centimeters). People and cultureWhen the first British settlers arrived in 1607 in the area that became Virginia, the largest group of Native Americans in the region was the Powhatan Confederacy. The Indians and the white settlers often fought, but the marriage of Pocahontas (the daughter of Chief Powhatan) to British colonist John Rolfe in 1614 helped to bring some temporary peace. By 1684, most of the Powhatans had been killed or had left the area. German and Scots-Irish settlers from Pennsylvania began coming to Virginia in about 1730. They settled mainly around the Shenandoah Valley in the western part of the state. Virginia is heavily populated by people whose ancestors came from Europe. Northern Virginia, near Washington, D.C., tends to have a greater mix of ethnic groups than other parts of the state. At the beginning of the 21st century, Virginia had a population of more than 7 million. CitiesThe capital of Virginia is Richmond, one of the leading industrial cities in the southern United States. The largest city in Virginia is Virginia Beach, located by the Atlantic Ocean. Norfolk is a port on the great channel known as Hampton Roads. That city is important for military operations and for shipping. Many people live in Alexandria, a city by the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. The city of Roanoke is the largest in western Virginia. RecreationPeople who enjoy learning about United States history can find many things to do in Virginia. Markers along highways note famous spots such as battlefields. Visitors can tour the homes of several famous Virginians. Two of the most popular are Mount Vernon (where George Washington lived) and Monticello (where Thomas Jefferson lived). Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for members of the military and others who have served the United States. The Tomb of the Unknowns and President John F. Kennedy's grave are located in the cemetery. Several attractions of special historical interest are located on the peninsula between the York and James rivers. These include Jamestown (the first permanent English settlement in America), Williamsburg (the former capital, which has been rebuilt to look like it did during colonial times), and Yorktown (the place where General Cornwallis surrendered during the American Revolution). The state's natural beauty also makes it popular among vacationers. Fall leaves turn brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange. Spring brings cherry blossoms and azaleas. Many people tour by car along such scenic routes as the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. EducationVirginia's first free school was established in 1635. It was not until 1870, however, that the state had a whole system of public education. William and Mary, at Williamsburg, was the first college in Virginia. It was founded in 1693, making it the second-oldest college in the nation. (Harvard University, founded in 1636, is the oldest.) Thomas Jefferson established the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1819 as the state's first public college. EconomyManufacturingManufacturing is very important to Virginia's economy. Many companies are involved in making ships and cars. Other businesses produce textiles, processed foods, communications equipment, and chemicals. Virginia also has an active lumber industry. Pines and hardwood trees are used to make products such as paper. AgricultureEarly farmers in Virginia grew a great deal of tobacco. Because growing only one crop damages the soil, farmers learned to rotate, or regularly change, crops. Even so, tobacco remains one of the state's most valuable crops, especially in the southern Piedmont region. Other Virginia crops include soybeans, corn, peanuts, wheat, and potatoes. The Shenandoah Valley produces many apples. Good grazing land allows the raising of cattle. Some other valuable agricultural products are milk, poultry, hogs, and eggs. FishingSome people in Virginia catch fish to sell. The Chesapeake Bay contains shellfish. Other bodies of water contain flounder, sea trout, and other finfish that people like to eat. MiningEach year miners dig millions of tons of coal in Virginia. Other important minerals are stone, sand, and gravel. Public administrationAbout one fifth of Virginia's workforce is involved in public administration. These people are employed by the local, state, or federal government. Some are members of the military. Many work in Arlington County in the headquarters of the Department of Defense, a five-sided building known as the Pentagon. HistoryThe Jamestown settlementThe first permanent English settlement in America was Jamestown, near the Chesapeake Bay. It was named for James I of England, who was king when the settlers arrived in May 1607. The people of Jamestown had a hard time surviving during the first years. Supplies from England helped, as did learning how to grow a profitable crop—tobacco. The leadership of Captain John Smith was important to the settlement's success. The first representative assembly in America was the House of Burgesses It was established in Jamestown in 1619. Its members passed local laws. In 1624 Jamestown became a royal colony, which meant that the king of England chose the settlement's governors. Some of the men the king selected were not very good leaders. One, named William Berkeley, angered people because he did nothing to stop Indians from attacking plantations. Nathaniel Bacon and his neighbors took matters into their own hands and successfully battled the Indians in 1675. The following year they fought Bacon's Rebellion, a revolt against the governor. The rebellion collapsed when Bacon died suddenly. The American RevolutionMany farmers in Virginia became rich through growing and selling tobacco. England wanted to benefit from the money being made in Virginia and in other colonies in America. To do that, it kept putting taxes on the colonists. In May 1776, Virginia patriots asked the Continental Congress to declare the American colonies free from British rule. Members of that legislative body agreed. This decision led to the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted on July 4, 1776. Virginian Thomas Jefferson was the document's main author. Virginia was the scene of many battles during America's fight for freedom. The last battle of the war took place in Yorktown. A British commander, General Charles Cornwallis, surrendered there to George Washington on October 19, 1781. The former colonies then turned to the task of creating a system of national government. Virginia's state constitution was used as a guide. (See also American Revolution.) StatehoodVirginia entered the Union in 1788 as the new nation's tenth state. Officially, Virginia refers to itself as a commonwealth rather than as a state. Slavery and the American Civil WarBlack people were first brought into Jamestown in 1619 as indentured servants (people bound by a contract to work for someone for a certain amount of time). The need for more laborers grew as plantations grew throughout the state. Many indentured servants eventually earned their freedom. Replacement workers were hard to find, though. To solve this problem, Virginia decided to legalize slavery in 1661. People opposed to slavery were called abolitionists. They worked to end the practice, and their efforts led to many debates about slavery. By the 1860s, states in the North wanted slavery to end. Southern states considered slavery necessary to their economies, so they withdrew from the Union to form their own government. This Southern government was known as the Confederacy. Virginia joined the Confederacy in 1861. Richmond soon became the Confederate capital. The American Civil War began soon after the Confederacy was founded. People in the western part of Virginia often disagreed with the slaveholders in eastern Virginia. They felt that the state's taxation system favored the eastern plantation owners. They also did not agree with the decision to join the Confederacy. In 1863, more than 50 counties in northwest Virginia decided to become independent of Virginia. These areas formed their own state, known as West Virginia. Virginia was the site of Bull Run and many other bloody battles during the American Civil War. Virginian Robert E. Lee was one of the best leaders for the Confederate forces. In April 1865, however, Lee realized that his troops could not win. He surrendered to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia. This surrender ended the war. Virginia rejoined the Union in 1870. It took a long time for the state to rebuild all the structures that had been damaged during the war. Struggle for civil rightsAlthough black slaves in Virginia became free, many white people still looked down upon them and acted cruelly. Sometimes mobs would hang a black person they suspected of a crime without even having a trial. In 1926 Virginia became the first Southern state to try to stop these murders when it adopted an antilynching law. Allowing black and white people to attend the same places rather than separate ones is called integration. The integration of schools caused problems in many part of Virginia and the United States. In the 1960s, for example, Prince Edward County schools closed for five years as part of a plan to avoid integration. Virginia made strides over time. In 1990, L. Douglas Wilder—the grandson of slaves-- became the first black person to be elected governor in the United States. At the beginning of the 21st century, African Americans made up about a fifth of Virginia's population. Population (2000 census), 7,078,515. |