Looking for:
Virginia - Virginia:Virginia - Virginia:
The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Virginia - Virginia:which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna. The capital Virginia the Commonwealth is Richmond ; Virginia Beach is the most-populous city, and Fairfax County is the most-populous political subdivision.
The Commonwealth's population in [update] was over 8. The area's history begins with several indigenous groupsincluding the Powhatan. Virginia's state nickname, the Old Dominionis a reference to this status. Slave labor and land acquired from displaced native tribes fueled the growing plantation economy, but also fueled conflicts both inside and outside the colony.
Virginia was one of the original Thirteen Colonies in the American Revolutionand battles in Virginia secured the Virginai: of the Virginia - Virginia: States. During the American Civil WarVirginia was split when the state government in Richmond joined the Confederacybut many of the state's northwestern counties wanted to remain with the Unionhelping form the state of West Virginia Virginia - Virginia: Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a Virginia - Virginia: following the Reconstruction eraboth major political parties are competitive in modern Virginia.
Virginia's state legislature is the Virginia General Assemblywhich was established in Julymaking it the oldest current law-making body in North America. It is made up of a member Senate Virgina: a member House of Delegates. The state government is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits governors from serving consecutive terms.
Virginia's economy has many sectors: agriculture in the Shenandoah Valley ; high tech and federal agencies, including the headquarters of the U. Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agencyin Northern Virginia ; and military facilities in Hampton Roadsthe site of the region's main seaport. Virginia celebrated its quadricentennial year in Vidginia:, marking years since the establishment of Virginia - Virginia: Jamestown Colony.
The observances highlighted contributions from Native AmericansAfricans, and Europeans, each of which had a significant part in shaping Virginia's history. The first people are estimated to have arrived in Virginia over 12, years ago. Bythe Algonquian peoples had founded towns such as Werowocomoco in the Tidewater region Virrginia:, which they referred to as Virginia - Virginia:.
The other major language groups in the area were the Siouan to the west and the Iroquoianswho included the Nottoway and Meherrinto the north and south. Afterthe Algonquians consolidated under Wahunsenacawh, known in English as Chief Powhatanin response to threats from these other groups on their trade network.
Several European expeditions, including a group of Spanish Jesuitsexplored the Chesapeake Bay during the 16th century. They landed in Virginia in Mayand Virinia a settlement named for Virginia - Virginia: king, Jamestown.
Life in the colony was perilous, and many died during the Starving Time in and in a series of conflicts with the Powhatan Confederacy that started in Virginia - Virginia:, and flared up again inwhen led by Powhatan's brother, Opechancanough. The shift to a system of African slavery in Virginia Virginia - Virginia: propelled by the legal cases of John Punchwho Virginia - Virginia: sentenced to lifetime slavery for attempting to escape servitude inand of John Casorwho was claimed by Anthony Johnson as his servant for life in Colonists struggled with rule from both the London Company and English monarchy, which took direct control of the Virginia - Virginia: in in part because incolonists had gained greater local control with an elected leadership.
Later called the House of Burgessesit shared power with the governors appointed by the crown. One result of the rebellion was the signing at Middle Plantation of the Treaty ofwhich made the signatory tribes tributary states and was part of a pattern of appropriating tribal land by force and treaty.
The British Parliament's efforts Vidginia levy Virgknia taxes in the decade following the French and Indian War were deeply unpopular in the Vlrginia. In the House of Burgessesopposition to taxation without representation was led by Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Leeamong others.
On May Virginia - Virginia:,the Convention declared Virginia's independence from the British Empire and adopted George Mason 's Virginia Declaration of Rightswhich was then included in a new constitution.
When the American Revolutionary War began inGeorge Washington was selected to head the Continental Armyand many Virginians joined the army and other revolutionary militias.
Virginia was the Viginia: colony to ratify the Articles of Confederation in December Virginia - Virginia: Around sixteen thousand soldiers under George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau quickly converged there and defeated Cornwallis in the siege of Yorktown.
Virginians Virginia - Virginia: instrumental in the new country's early years and in writing the United States Constitution. The three-fifths compromise ensured that Virginia - Virginia:, with its large number of slaves, initially had the largest bloc in the House of Representatives.
Together with the Virginia dynasty of presidents, this gave the Commonwealth national importance. Inboth Virginia Virginiaa: Maryland ceded territory to form the new District Virginia - Virginia: Columbiathough the Virginian area was retroceded in Between andthe number of slaves in Virginia rose from around thousand to over thousand, roughly one-third of the state population during that time, and the number of slaveholders rose to over fifty thousand, both the most Virginia - Virginia: the Virginia - Virginia:.
One response to Nat Turner's rebellion by the Virginia government was to arrange for ships to transport free Blacks to Liberia. On October 16,abolitionist John Brown Virgihia: a raid on an armory in Harpers Нажмите для деталей, Virginiain an attempt to start a slave revolt across the southern states.
The polarized national response to his raid and execution that December marked a tipping point for many who believed the end of slavery would need to be achieved by force. The next week President Lincoln called for armed volunteers while in Virginia, a special convention called by the General Assembly voted to Virginia - Virginia: on the condition it was approved in a referendum the next month. The convention then voted on April 24 to join the Virginia - Virginia: States of Americawhich named Richmond as its capital on May Representatives from 27 of Virginia - Virginia: counties instead attended the Wheeling ConventionVirginia - Virginia: organized a government loyal to the Union and led to the separation of West Virginia as a new state.
Lee took command of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginiaand repelled the Union armyled invasions into Union territory, and was named General in Chief of Confederate armies in Vriginia During the war, more battles were fought in Virginia than anywhere else, including the Battles of Bull RunFredericksburgChancellorsvilleand the concluding Battle of Appomattox Court House Virginia - Virginia:, where Lee surrendered on April 9, During the post-war Reconstruction eraAfrican Americans were able to unite in communities, particularly around RichmondDanvilleand the Tidewater regionand take a greater role in Virginia society, as many achieved some land Virginia - Virginia: during the s.
The Readjuster Party formed in and won legislative power in by uniting Black and white Virginians behind a shared opposition to debt payments and the Virginia - Virginia: plantation elites. The Readjusters focused on building up schools, like Virginia Tech and Virginia Stateand successfully forced West Virginia to share in the pre-war debt.
New economic forces would meanwhile industrialize the Commonwealth. Virginian James Albert Bonsack invented the tobacco cigarette rolling machine in leading to new large-scale production centered around Richmond.
Railroad magnate Collis Potter Huntington founded Newport News Shipbuilding inwhich was responsible for building Virgiina: World War I -era dreadnoughtsseven battleships, and 25 destroyers for the U. Virginia - Virginia: from to Protests against segregated schools started by Barbara Rose Johns in in Farmville led to the lawsuit Davis v. Board of Educationwhich rejected Virginka segregationist doctrine of " separate but Virginia - Virginia: ".
But, inunder the policy of " massive resistance " led by the influential segregationist Senator Harry F. Byrd and his Byrd Organizationthe Commonwealth prohibited desegregated local schools from receiving state or private funding as part of the Stanley Plan.
After schools in many districts Vigginia: closing in Septemberstate and district courts ruled the plan unconstitutional, and on February 2,the first Black students integrated schools in Arlington and Norfolkwhere they were known as the Norfolk The Supreme Court ordered the county's public schools to be, like others in the state, open and integrated in Maywhich they finally did that September.
The civil rights movement gained national support during the s. InGovernor Mills Godwin called a commission to rewrite the state constitution.
The new constitution, which banned discrimination and removed articles which now violated federal law, passed in a referendum with The expansion of federal government offices into Northern Virginia's suburbs during the Cold War boosted the region's population and economy. The Pentagonbuilt during World War II as the headquarters of the Department of Defense, was one of the targets of the September 11, attacks ; people died at the site when a jet passenger plane was flown into the building.
Virginia's boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. However, errors in this line were discovered inand Virginia proposed a new surveying Virgimia Virginia - Virginia: Tennessee preferred to Virginia - Virginia: the line, and inthe U.
Supreme Court ruled in their favor in the case Virginia v. The Chesapeake Bay separates the contiguous portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginia's Eastern Shore.
The bay was formed from the drowned river valley of the ancient Susquehanna River. The Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and Vifginia fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay. The Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock -based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era.
In this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage systeminto the Ohio River basin. The Virginia Seismic Zone has not had a history of regular earthquake activity. Earthquakes are rarely above 4. The Commonwealth's largest earthquake in at least a century, at a magnitude of 5.
The resulting Chesapeake Bay impact crater may explain what earthquakes and subsidence the region does experience. The Commonwealth's carbonate Virginia - Virginia: is filled with more than 4, limestone cavesten of which are open for tourism, including the popular Luray Caverns and Skyline Caverns. Despite a challenge that reached the U.
Supreme Court twicethe state has banned its mining since due to environmental and public health concerns. Vidginia has a humid subtropical climate that transitions to humid continental west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Most of Virginia's recorded extremes in temperature and precipitation have is asheville diverse in the Blue Ridge Mountains and areas west.
Virginia has around 35—45 days with thunderstorms annually, and storms are common what has the most racing - what has the horse racing tracks the late afternoon and evenings between April and Virgniia:.
Climate change in Virginia is leading to higher temperatures year-round as well as more heavy rain and /45305.txt events. As of [update]roughly Almost forty percent of the park's totalacres km 2 area has been designated as wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System.
State agencies control about one-third of protected land in the state, [] and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Virgibia: over 75, acres White-tailed deerone of 75 mammal species found in Virginia, rebounded from an estimated population of as few as 25 thousand in the s to over one million by the s. Rodents include groundhogsnutriabeaversboth gray squirrels and fox squirrelschipmunks, and Allegheny woodratswhile the seventeen bat species include brown bats and the Virginia big-eared batthe state mammal.
Virginia's bird fauna consists of counted species, Virgihia: which are regularly occurring, 41 are accidental vagrant20 are hypotheticaland two are Virginia - Virginia: of the regularly occurring species, have bred in Virginia, while the rest are winter residents or transients in Virginia. Birds of prey include osprey, broad-winged hawksVirginia - Virginia: barred owls. Virginia has species of freshwater fish from Virginia - Virginia: families; the state's Virginia - Virginia: array of fish species is attributable to its varied and humid climate, topography, interconnected river system, and lack of Pleistocene glaciers.
The state's lakes and rivers are home to Eastern blacknose dace and sculpin on the Appalachian Plateau ; smallmouth bass and redhorse sucker in the Ridge-and-Valley region; brook troutthe state fishand Kanawha darter in the Blue Ridge; stripeback darter and Roanoke bass in the Piedmont; and swampfishbluespotted sunfishand pirate perch in the Tidewater. Virginia is divided into 95 counties and 38 independent citiesthe latter acting Virginia - Virginia: many ways as county-equivalents.
Virginia does not have any further political subdivisions, such as villages or townships. Over 3. Loudoun Countywith its county seat at Leesburg Virginia - Virginia:, is the fastest-growing county in the state.
Richmond is the capital of Virginia, and its city proper has a population of over , while its metropolitan area has over 1.
No comments:
Post a Comment