Virginia

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.

West Virginia is not a part of Virginia, but a separate state (see also below).

USS Virginia was named in honor of this state.

History

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 Sir Walter Raleigh's 1584 expedition explored, an ill-defined area including, at least, all or parts of the states of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. The London Virginia Company became incorporated as a joint stock company[?] by a royal charter drawn up on April 10, 1606. They swiftly financed the first permanent English settlement in the New World which was at Jamestown, Virginia, 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. 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 elected African American governor of a US state when he started his governorship of Virginia.

Law and Government

The capital is Richmond. See: List of Virginia Governors

Geography

See: list of Virginia counties

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"), a part of the Delmarva Peninsula, completely separate from the rest of the state.

Demographics

As of 2001, the population is 7,196,750.

Important Cities and Towns

Unlike any other state of the Union, under the laws in effect there, incorporated cities are independent of any county. Nearly half of the approximately 112 independent cities in the United States are in Virginia. A partial list of cities follows:

Colleges and Universities

Professional Sports Teams The Minor League Baseball Teams are:

Miscellaneous Information

State motto: "Sic semper tyrannis." State bird: Cardinal. State flower: Dogwood. State tree: Dogwood. State song: "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny."

There is also a place named Virginia in the State of Minnesota: see Virginia, Minnesota.

External Links

• http://www.state.va.us
• Charter to Sir Walter Raleigh : 1584 (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/raleigh.htm)
• The First Charter of Virginia; April 10, 1606 (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va01.htm)
• The Second Charter of Virginia; May 23, 1609 (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va02.htm)
• The Third Charter of Virginia; March 12, 1611 (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va03.htm)