Virginia

For other uses, see Virginia (disambiguation).

Virginia
State
Country	United States
Admitted to the Union	June 25, 1788 (10th)
Capital	Richmond
Largest city	Virginia Beach
Government
• Governor	Mark R. Warner
• Upper house	{{{Upperhouse}}}
• Lower house	{{{Lowerhouse}}}
U.S. senators	{{{Senators}}}
Population
• Total	7,196,750
• Density	178.8/sq mi (69.03/km2)
Language
• Official language	English
Latitude	36°31'N to 39°37'N
Longitude	75°13'W to 83°37'W

Virginia is one of the original 13 states of the United States that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution and is generally classified as part of the South. Its official name is the Commonwealth of Virginia; it is one of four Commonwealths out of the fifty United States.

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.)

History

Among Native American people living in what now is Virginia were the Powhatan, Nottaway, Meherrin, 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 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 royal 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. Its Second Charter was officially ratified on May 23, 1609.

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 1776-79, and again from 1784-86. 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 Congress dated July 9, 1846, the territory that had been ceded by Virginia was returned, 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 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.

On January 13, 1990 Douglas Wilder became the first African American governor of a US state to serve as Governor after Reconstruction when he was elected Governor of Virginia.

Law and government

The capital is Richmond: the current Governor is Mark Warner, a Democrat.

In colonial Virginia, the lower house of the legislature was called the House of Burgesses. The House of Burgesses made up the other part of the General Assembly. Its members were chosen by all those who could vote in the colony. Each settlement chose two people or burgesses to represent it. The Burgesses met to make laws for the colony and set the direction for its future growth. 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.

Today, the General Assembly is made up of the Senate and the House of Delegates.

Geography

See also: List of Virginia counties, List of Virginia rivers

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 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 from the rest of the state.

Virginia is divided into the following 3 regions:
Tidewater - Stretching from the Atlantic coast to the fall line
Piedmont - East of the Appalachian Mountains to the Tidewater Region
Ridge and Valley - West of the Appalachian Mountains

Demographics

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2003, Virginia's population was estimated at 7,386,330 people.

The racial makeup of the state is:

• 72.3% White
• 19.6% Black
• 4.7% Hispanic or Latino
• 3.7% Asian
• 0.3% American Indian
• 2% from other races
• 2% belong to two or more races

The top 5 ancestry groups in Virginia are African American (19.6%), German (11.7%), American (11.2%), English (11.1%), Irish (9.8%).

The 5 largest religions in Virginia are Baptist (30%), Roman Catholic (14%), Methodist (7%), Christian (7%), Presbyterian (3%). 12% of the population is nonreligious.

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.

Important cities and towns

Under the laws in effect in Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as cities are independent of any county. Of the approximately 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 Forge Colonial Beach Culpeper Dumfries Eastville Farmville Front Royal Herndon Lebanon Leesburg

Luray Marion 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.

Colleges and universities

Appalachian School of Law Averett College 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 Emory and Henry College Ferrum College George Mason University George Washington University Virginia Campus Hampden-Sydney College Hampton University Hollins University Institute of Textile Technology James Madison University Liberty University Longwood University Lynchburg College Marine Corps University Mary Baldwin College Marymount University

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 College Sweet Briar College University of Mary Washington University of Richmond University of Virginia University of Virginia's College at Wise Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Intermont College 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

Professional sports teams

The Minor League Baseball Teams are:

Bluefield Orioles Bristol White Sox Danville Braves Lynchburg Hillcats Norfolk Tides

Potomac Cannons (Woodbridge) Pulaski Blue Jays Richmond Braves Salem Avalanche

The minor league soccer teams are:

• A-League
  • Richmond Kickers
  • Virginia Beach Mariners
• USL Pro Soccer League
  • Northern Virginia Royals
• W-League
  • Northern Virginia Majestics
  • Hampton Roads Piranhas

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 song: none; the former state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," was retired due to racist lyrics in the 1990s

USS Virginia was named in honor of this state.

Virginia is the last state to have split its electoral vote in a Presidential Election, in 1916.

Other places

There are also places named Virginia in the States of Illinois and Minnesota: see

• Virginia, Illinois.
• Virginia, Minnesota.

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

United States