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State nickname: Old Dominion
Other U.S. States
Capital Richmond
Largest city Virginia Beach
Governor Mark R. Warner (D)
Official languages English
Area 110,862 km² (35th)
- Land 102,642 km²
- Water 8,220 km² (7.4%)
Population (2000)
- Population 7,196,750 (12th)
- Density 69.03 /km² (14th)
Admission into Union
- Date June 25, 1788
- Order 10th
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Latitude 36°31'N to 39°37'N
Longitude 75°13'W to 83°37'W
Width 320 km
Length 690 km
Elevation
- Highest point 1,746 m
- Mean 290 m
- Lowest point 0 m
Abbreviations
- USPS VA
- ISO 3166-2 US-VA
Web site www.virginia.gov
Virginia is one of the original 13 states of the United States that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution and is part of the South. Its official name is the Commonwealth of Virginia; it is one of four states which use the name commonwealth. Virginia was the first part of the Americas to be colonized by England.
Kentucky and West Virginia were part of Virginia at the time of the founding of the United States, but the former was admitted to the Union as a separate state in 1792 while the latter broke away from Virginia during the American Civil War.
Virginia is known as the "Mother of Presidents," as more U.S. Presidents (8) were born in this state than in any other. Five of them were re-elected to a second term: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and Woodrow Wilson. William Henry Harrison, John Tyler and Zachary Taylor round out the list of American Presidents from the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Historical footnote: both Harrison and Taylor died while in office.)
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Law and government
3 Geography
4 Demographics
4.1 Religion
5 Economy
6 Transportation
7 Sports
7.1 Baseball
7.2 Basketball
7.3 Ice hockey
7.4 Indoor football
7.5 Soccer
8 Important cities and towns
9 Colleges and universities
10 Professional sports teams
11 Miscellaneous information
12 See also
13 Other places
14 External links
[edit]
History
Main article: History of Virginia
Among Native American people living in what now is Virginia were the Powhatan, Nottaway, Meherrin, Pohick, Monacan, Saponi and Cherokee.
At the end of the 16th century when England began to colonize North America, "Virginia" was the name Queen Elizabeth I of England (who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married) gave to the whole area explored by the 1584 expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh along the coast of North America, eventually applying to the whole coast from South Carolina to Maine. The London Virginia Company became incorporated as a joint stock company by a proprietary charter drawn up on April 10, 1606. It swiftly financed the first permanent English settlement in the New World which was at Jamestown in the Virginia Colony in 1607, founded by Captain John Smith. Its Second Charter was officially ratified on May 23, 1609.
Jamestown was the original capital of Virginia Colony, and remained as such until its burning in 1676. After the fire, the colonial capital was moved to near by Williamsburg. In 1780, during the American Revolutionary War, the capital was moved to Richmond at the urging of then-Governor Thomas Jefferson, who was afraid that Williamsburg's location made it vulnerable to a British attack.
Virginia was given its nickname "The Old Dominion" by King Charles II of England at the time of the Restoration for remaining loyal to the crown during the English Civil War. Patrick Henry served as the first Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779, and again from 1784 to 1786. On June 12, 1776, the Virginia Convention adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a document that influenced the Bill of Rights added later to the United States Constitution. On June 29, 1776, the convention adopted a constitution that established Virginia as a commonwealth independent of the British Empire. In 1790 both Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to form the new District of Columbia, but in an Act of the U.S. Congress dated July 9, 1846, the area south of the Potomac that had been ceded by Virginia was retroceded to Virginia effective 1847, and is now Arlington County and part of the City of Alexandria.
Virginia is one of the states that seceded from the Union to become the Confederacy during the Civil War. When it did, some counties were separated as Kanawha (later renamed West Virginia), an act which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1870.
Virginia formally rejoined the Union on January 26, 1870, after a period of post-war military rule.
When Douglas Wilder was elected Governor of Virginia on January 13, 1990, he became the first African-American to serve as Governor of a U.S. state since Reconstruction.
[edit]
Law and government
The capital is Richmond: the current Governor is Mark Warner, a Democrat. Previous capitals included Jamestown (1609–1699) and Williamsburg (1699–1780). The Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond was designed by Thomas Jefferson and the cornerstone was laid by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785.
In colonial Virginia, the lower house of the legislature was called the House of Burgesses. Together with the Governor's Council, the House of Burgesses made up the General Assembly. The Governor's Council was composed of 12 men appointed by the British Monarch to advise the Governor. The Council also served as the General Court of the colony, a colonial equivalent of a Supreme Court. Members of the House of Burgesses were chosen by all those who could vote in the colony. Each county chose two people or burgesses to represent it, while the College of William and Mary and the cities of Norfolk, Williamsburg, and Jamestown each chose one burgess. The Burgesses met to make laws for the colony and set the direction for its future growth; the Council would then review the laws and either approve or disapprove them. The approval of the Burgesses, the Council, and the Governor was needed to pass a law. The idea of electing burgesses was important and new. It gave Virginians a chance to control their own government for the first time. At first the burgesses were elected by all free men in the colony. Women, indentured servants, and Native Americans could not vote. Later the rules for voting changed, making it necessary for men to own at least fifty acres (200,000 m²) of land in order to vote. Founded in 1619, the Virginia General Assembly is still in existence as the oldest legislature in the Western Hemisphere. Today, the General Assembly is made up of the Senate and the House of Delegates.
Like many other states, by the 1850s Virginia featured a state legislature, several executive officers, and an independent judiciary. By the time of the Constitution of 1901, which lasted longer than any other state constitution, the General Assembly continued as the legislature, the Supreme Court of Appeals acted as the judiciary, and the eight elected executive officers were the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration. The Constitution of 1901 was amended many times, notably in the 1930s and 1950s, before it was abandoned in favour of more modern government, with fewer elected officials, reformed local governments and a more streamlined judiciary.
Virginia currently functions under the 1971 Constitution of Virginia. It is the state's ninth constitution. Under the Constitution, the State Government is composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
The legislative branch or state legislature is the Virginia General Assembly, a bicameral body whose 140 members make all state laws. Members of the Virginia House of Delegates serve two-year terms, while members of the Virginia Senate serve four-year terms. The General Assembly also selects the state's Auditor of Public Accounts.
The executive branch comprises the Governor of Virginia, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and the state Attorney General. All three officers are separately elected to four-year terms in years following Presidential elections (1997, 2001, 2005, etc).
The Governor serves as chief executive officer of the Commonwealth and as Commander-in-Chief of the State Militia. State law forbids any Governor from serving consecutive terms. The Lieutenant Governor serves as President of the Senate of Virginia and is first in the line of succession to the Governor. The Attorney General is chief legal advisor to the Governor and the General Assembly, chief prosecutor of the state and the head of the Department of Law. The Attorney General is second in the line of succession to the Governor. Whenever there is a vacancy in all three executive offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, then the Speaker of the House of the Virginia House of Delegates becomes Governor.
The Office of the Governor's Secretaries helps manage the Governor's Cabinet, comprised of the following individuals, all appointed by the Governor:
Governor's Chief of Staff
Secretary of Administration
Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
Secretary of Commerce and Trade
Secretary of the Commonwealth
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Finance
Secretary of Health and Human Resources
Secretary of Natural Resources
Secretary of Public Safety
Secretary of Technology
Secretary of Transportation
Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness
The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Virginia Court of Appeals, the General District Courts and the Circuit Courts. The Virginia Supreme Court, composed of the chief justice and six other judges is the highest court in the Commonwealth (although, as with all the states, the U.S. Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over decisions by the Virginia Supreme Court involving substantial questions of U.S. Constitution law or constitutional rights). The Chief Justice and the Virginia Supreme Court also serve as the administrative body for the entire Virginia court system.
The 95 counties and the 39 independent cities all have their own governments, usually a county board of supervisors or city council which choose a city manager or county administrator to serve as a professional, non-political chief administrator under the council-manager form of government. There are exceptions, notably Richmond, Virginia, which has a popularly-elected Mayor who serves as chief executive separate from the city council.
[edit]
Geography
Map of VirginiaSee also: List of Virginia counties, List of Virginia rivers, Lost Counties, Cities and Towns of Virginia
Virginia is bordered by West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia (across the Potomac River) to the north, by Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, by North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, and by Kentucky and West Virginia to the west.
Chesapeake Bay divides the state, with the eastern portion (called 'the Eastern Shore of Virginia'), a part of the Delmarva Peninsula, completely separate (an exclave) from the rest of the state.
Virginia is divided into the following 5 regions:
Tidewater - Stretching from the Atlantic coast to the fall line
Piedmont - East of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Tidewater Region
Blue Ridge Mountains - East of the Appalachian Mountains to the Blue Ridge Mountain Region
Valley and Ridge - Appalachian Mountains and Shenandoah Valley Region
Appalachian Plateau - West of the Appalachian Mountains
Virginia - topographic map[edit]
Demographics
Historical populations
Census
year Population
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1790 691,737
1800 807,557
1810 877,683
1820 938,261
1830 1,044,054
1840 1,025,227
1850 1,119,348
1860 1,219,630
1870 1,225,163
1880 1,512,565
1890 1,655,980
1900 1,854,184
1910 2,061,612
1920 2,309,187
1930 2,421,851
1940 2,677,773
1950 3,318,680
1960 3,966,949
1970 4,648,494
1980 5,346,818
1990 6,187,358
2000 7,078,515
As of 2004, Virginia's population was estimated to be 7,459,827. The state had a foreign-born population of 679,500 (9.1% of the state population), of which an estimated 100,000 were illegal aliens (15% of the foreign-born).
The state's population increased by 1.3 million between 1990 and 2004, a growth of 21%
Race and Ancestry
The racial makeup of the state:
70.2% White non-Hispanic
19.6% Black
4.7% Hispanic
3.7% Asian
0.3% Native American
2% Mixed race
The five largest reported ancestry groups in Virginia are: African American (19.6%), German (11.7%), American (11.2%), English (11.1%), Irish (9.8%).
Historically, as the largest and wealthiest colony and state and the birthplace of Southern and American culture, a large proportion (about half) of Virginia's population was made up of black slaves who worked the state's tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantations. The twentieth century Great Migration of blacks from the rural South to the urban North reduced Virginia's black population to about 20 percent.
Today Blacks are concentrated in the eastern and southern tidewater and piedmont regions where plantation agriculture was most dominant. The western mountains are populated primarily by people of British and American ancestry. People of German descent are present in sizable numbers in the northwestern mountains and Shenandoah Valley. And due to recent immigration, there is a rapidly growing population of Hispanics (particularly Central Americans) and Asians in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC.
6.5% of Virginia's population were reported as under 5, 24.6% under 18, and 11.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.
[edit]
Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of Virginia are:
Christian – 84%
Protestant – 69%
Baptist – 32%
Methodist – 8%
Episcopal – 3%
Presbyterian – 3%
Other Protestant or general Protestant – 23%
Roman Catholic – 14%
Other Christian – 1%
Other Religions – 2%
Non-Religious – 12%
[edit]
Economy
Virginia's economy has long been regarded as one of the better-balanced in the United States with diverse sources of income, including military installations concentrated in the Hampton Roads area, tobacco and peanut farming all through Southside Virginia, manufacturing and transportation, and the location of Northern Virginia as a bedroom community for the federal government and its vendors. Much of Virginia is located within 11 Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
See also List of U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in Virginia
[edit]
Transportation
Current Virginia license plateVirginia is served by a network of Interstate Highways, arterial highways, several limited access tollways, bridges, tunnels, and three bridge-tunnel complexes. The Springfield Interchange Project and the replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, two of the country's largest highway improvement projects, are taking place in the state ten miles apart.
Major airports are located in Arlington, Dulles, Richmond, Newport News, Norfolk, and Roanoke.
Virginia has extensive waterways. In addition to the lower portion of the Chesapeake Bay, navigable rivers include the Elizabeth River at Hampton Roads, the James River, the York River, The Rappahannock River, and the Potomac River. Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway passes through eastern Virginia.
Virginia has Amtrak passenger rail service along several corridors and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) maintains two commuter lines into Washington, DC. The Washington Metro serves Northern Virginia as far west as Fairfax County.
[edit]
Sports
[edit]
Baseball
Danville Braves (Appalachian League)
Lynchburg Hillcats (Carolina League)
Norfolk Tides (International League)
Potomac Nationals (Carolina League)
Pulaski Blue Jays (Appalachian League)
Richmond Braves (International League)
Salem Avalanche (Carolina League)
[edit]
Basketball
Roanoke Dazzle (NBDL)
[edit]
Ice hockey
Norfolk Admirals (AHL)
Richmond RiverDogs (UHL)
Roanoke Valley Vipers (UHL)
[edit]
Indoor football
Richmond Bandits (AIFL)
[edit]
Soccer
Chesapeke Athletic (Super Y-League)
Hampton Roads Piranhas (W-League)
Northern Virginia Majestics (W-League)
Northern Virginia Royals (USL Second Division)
Richmond Kickers (USL First Division)
Richmond Kickers Destiny (W-League)
Richmond Kickers Future (Premier Development League)
Virginia Beach Mariners (USL First Division)
Williamsburg Legacy (Premier Development League)
[edit]
Important cities and towns
Under the laws in effect in Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as cities are independent of any county. Of the 43 independent cities in the United States, 39 are in Virginia. The complete list of Virginia independent cities follows:
Alexandria
Bedford
Bristol
Buena Vista
Charlottesville
Chesapeake
Colonial Heights
Covington
Danville
Emporia
Fairfax
Falls Church
Franklin
Fredericksburg
Galax
Hampton
Harrisonburg
Hopewell
Lexington
Lynchburg
Manassas
Manassas Park
Martinsville
Newport News
Norfolk
Norton
Petersburg
Poquoson
Portsmouth
Richmond
Radford
Roanoke
Salem
Staunton
Suffolk
Virginia Beach
Waynesboro
Williamsburg
Winchester
Some other municipalities incorporated as towns, which are not independent of a county, include:
Accomac
Abingdon
Altavista
Ashland
Bassett
Berryville
Blacksburg
Bluefield
Bridgewater
Chincoteague
Christiansburg
Clifton
Clifton Forge
Clinchco
Clintwood
Colonial Beach
Culpeper
Dumfries
Eastville
Farmville
Front Royal
Glasgow
Grundy
Haysi
Herndon
Lebanon
Leesburg
Luray
Marion
Occoquan
Orange
Pulaski
Purcellville
Richlands
Rocky Mount
Smithfield
South Boston
South Hill
Strasburg
Tappahannock
Tazewell
Vienna
Vinton
Wachapreague
Warrenton
West Point
Wise
Woodstock
Wytheville
Finally, Arlington County, which lies across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is a completely urbanized community, but has no incorporated area within its borders.
[edit]
Colleges and universities
Appalachian School of Law
Averett University
Bluefield College
Bridgewater College
Christendom College
Christopher Newport University
College of Health Sciences
College of William and Mary
Eastern Mennonite University
Eastern Virginia Medical School
ECPI College of Technology
Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Emory and Henry College
Ferrum College
George Mason University
George Washington University Virginia Campus
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampton University
Heritage College & Heritage Institute
Hollins University
Institute of Textile Technology
James Madison University
Liberty University
Longwood University
Lynchburg College
Marine Corps University
Mary Baldwin College
Marymount University
Mountain Empire Community College
New River Valley Community College
Norfolk State University
Northern Virginia Community College
Old Dominion University
Radford University
Randolph-Macon College
Randolph-Macon Woman's College
Regent University
Roanoke College
Saint Paul's College
Shenandoah University
Southern Virginia University
Southside Virginia Community College
Southwest Virginia Community College
Sweet Briar College
Thomas Nelson Community College
Tidewater Community College
University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy
University of Mary Washington
University of Richmond
University of Virginia
University of Virginia's College at Wise
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Highlands Community College
Virginia Intermont College
Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia State University
Virginia Union University
Virginia Wesleyan College
Washington Bible College and Capital Bible Seminary, Northern Virginia Extension
Washington and Lee University
[edit]
Professional sports teams
The Minor League Baseball Teams are:
Bluefield Orioles
Bristol White Sox
Danville Braves
Lynchburg Hillcats
Norfolk Tides
Potomac Nationals (Woodbridge)
Pulaski Blue Jays
Richmond Braves
Salem Avalanche
The minor league soccer teams are:
USL First Division
Richmond Kickers
Virginia Beach Mariners
USL Second Division
Northern Virginia Royals
W-League
Northern Virginia Majestics
Hampton Roads Piranhas
[edit]
Miscellaneous information
State motto: "Sic semper tyrannis." (Thus always to tyrants.)
State bird: Cardinal
State dog: American Foxhound
State flower: Dogwood
State tree: Dogwood
State insect: Tiger swallowtail
State bat: Virginia Big-Eared Bat
State song: none; the former state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," was retired in 1997 because some found its lyrics to be racially offensive
State dance: Square Dance
State boat: Chesapeake Bay deadrise
State fish: Brook Trout
State shell: Oyster
State fossil: Chesapecten jeffersonius
State beverage: Milk
USS Virginia was named in honor of this state.
[edit]
See also
List of school districts in Virginia
Lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia
[edit]
Other places
There are also places named Virginia in the States of Illinois and Minnesota: see
Virginia, Illinois.
Virginia, Minnesota.
[edit]
External links
State Government website
Charter to Sir Walter Raleigh : 1584
The First Charter of Virginia; April 10, 1606
The Second Charter of Virginia; May 23, 1609
The Third Charter of Virginia; March 12, 1611
U.S. Census Bureau
Virginia Historical Society
Virginia's Historical Markers
Regions of Virginia
Appomattox Basin | Baltimore-Washington Metro Area | Eastern Shore | Hampton Roads | Middle Peninsula | Northern Neck | Northern Virginia | Piedmont | Ridge-and-valley Appalachians | Richmond-Petersburg | Shenandoah Valley | Southside Virginia | Tidewater | Virginia Peninsula
Counties
Accomack | Albemarle | Alleghany | Amelia | Amherst | Appomattox | Arlington | Augusta | Bath | Bedford | Bland | Botetourt | Brunswick | Buchanan | Buckingham | Campbell | Caroline | Carroll | Charles City | Charlotte | Chesterfield | Clarke | Craig | Culpeper | Cumberland | Dickenson | Dinwiddie | Essex | Fairfax | Fauquier | Floyd | Fluvanna | Franklin | Frederick | Giles | Gloucester | Goochland | Grayson | Greene | Greensville | Halifax | Hanover | Henrico | Henry | Highland | Isle of Wight | James City | King and Queen | King George | King William | Lancaster | Lee | Loudoun | Louisa | Lunenburg | Madison | Mathews | Mecklenburg | Middlesex | Montgomery | Nelson | New Kent | Northampton | Northumberland | Nottoway | Orange | Page | Patrick | Pittsylvania | Powhatan | Prince Edward | Prince George | Prince William | Pulaski | Rappahannock | Richmond | Roanoke | Rockbridge | Rockingham | Russell | Scott | Shenandoah | Smyth | Southampton | Spotsylvania | Stafford | Surry | Sussex | Tazewell | Warren | Washington | Westmoreland | Wise | Wythe | York
Independent Cities
Alexandria | Bedford | Bristol | Buena Vista | Charlottesville | Chesapeake | Colonial Heights | Covington | Danville | Emporia | Fairfax | Falls Church | Franklin | Fredericksburg | Galax | Hampton | Harrisonburg | Hopewell | Lexington | Lynchburg | Manassas | Manassas Park | Martinsville | Newport News | Norfolk | Norton | Petersburg | Poquoson | Portsmouth | Radford | Richmond | Roanoke | Salem | Staunton | Suffolk | Virginia Beach | Waynesboro | Williamsburg | Winchester
Political divisions of the United States
States Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
Federal district District of Columbia
Insular areas American Samoa | Baker Island | Guam | Howland Island | Jarvis Island | Johnston Atoll | Kingman Reef | Midway Atoll | Navassa Island | Northern Mariana Islands | Palmyra Atoll | Puerto Rico | Virgin Islands | Wake Island
