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Geography and Landforms:

Virginia is made up of four distinct geographical regions: the Tidewater, Piedmont, Valley and TransAllegheny areas. The Tidewater is a level area of coastal plain which includes four great rivers: the Potomac, the Rappahannock, the York and the James, all of which empty into the Chesapeake Bay. The Piedmont is a rolling plateau region between the Tidewater and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Great Valley lies between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains, and the TransAllegheny area includes portions of the Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountain ranges.

The climate of Virginia is mild and allows for a long growing season for farmers. The soil varies greatly throughout the state, ranging from very fertile in the Great Valley area to very sandy in the Tidewater area. Animal life is abundant and varied, and includes a variety of fresh and salt water fish and shellfish in the Tidewater area.

History:

Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh were the first Europeans to attempt settlements in the area of Virginia beginning in 1606. The first 144 settlers left England in December of that year in the "Susan Constant," the "Godspeed," and the "Discovery" and arrived at Jamestown on May 13, 1607. At that time, the Protestant government of England thought it would be important to establish a strong colony in the “New World” to prevent the land from being taken entirely by the Roman Catholic government of Spain.

John Smith, one of the members of this first colony in Jamestown, was a leader in helping the colony grow. He explored the area, built relationships with the natives in the vicinity, and created an accurate map of the area. After John Smith returned to England, the colony fell on hard times and was nearly wiped out due to disease, starvation, and conflict with the Indians.

However, the colony, now under the leadership of a governor, survived. In 1612, John Rolfe introduced the growing of tobacco in the colony, a product which remains important to the economy of the state even today. In 1619, the governor was replaced by a more democratic form of government. This was the first example of a representative English government in the New World. It provided for a General Assembly made up of the governor and 22 elected “burgesses” (representatives). The same year, 90 young women came to the colony from England for the purpose of beginning families in the new colony, and the colonists purchased the first African slaves from a Dutch trading ship.

By 1624, the English Crown recognized the importance of the growing colony and revoked its charter. This made Virginia a royal colony under the direct control of the Crown. In 1690, the colony founded a college (The College of William and Mary) and in 1699, the capital of the colony was established at Williamsburg.

Throughout the 18th century, the colony grew stronger, and the people began to wish for more independence from England. During the second half of the century, many of the so-called “Founding Fathers” of the United States were already active in Virginia politics and calling for reform and more control over the future of the colony. By the 1760s the population of Virginia had grown to over 120,000 people, about half of whom were African slaves.

The colony of Virginia was a leader in the struggle for independence that became the American Revolution. As early as 1769, the colony called for a boycott of British goods that eventually caused England to repeal the unpopular Townshend Acts. The colony called for the first Continental Congress in 1776 and the president of that group was a Virginian. Thomas Jefferson, also a Virginian, was the author of the Declaration of Independence. George Washington, a Virginian, was the first general of the revolutionary army, and became the first president of the United States after the Revolution.

After the creation of the new nation, Virginia continued to play an important role in its expansion. George Rogers Clark led a group of Virginians in a conquest of the Northwest Territories beginning in 1778, and in 1781, the state turned over these conquered lands to the new government of the United States. In 1792, the westernmost part of the state became the new state of Kentucky.

During the early part of the 19th century, the state continued to grow, building roads, canals and railroads. By 1860, Virginia was the leading manufacturing state in the South. However, the issue of slavery continued to concern citizens who recognized the role that slave labor played in the economic success of the state. In 1861, the state of Virginia seceded from the Union, and Richmond became the capitol of the new Confederate States of America. In 1863, another large section of the western part of the state was lost and became the state of West Virginia. After the Civil War ended in defeat for the South, Virginia was readmitted to the Union in 1867 and was put under military rule.

First Inhabitants:

Native people have inhabited the region now known as Virginia for thousands of years. Archaeologists believe that between 3,000 and 1,000 years ago, people first began to settle into villages. It was also about this time that people first began to clear sections of land by burning so that edible plants would continue to grow in those areas each year. We would consider this the earliest examples of farming. For example, we know these people ate sunflowers, ragweed, sumpweed, squash, gourds, and greens. They hunted deer, black bear, turkey, squirrel, rabbits, beaver, otter, muskrat and water birds. Particularly in the Coastal Plain Region of Virginia, the people fished for shad, herring, rockfish, and sturgeon. Oysters, clams, crabs and turtles were plentiful.

Archaeologists have also found evidence that these people used clay to make pottery and then traded that pottery with other people in nearby areas. Around 800 years ago, native people began to use bow and arrow to hunt. We also know that they took care in burying their dead in large mounds, and left them with items of importance, probably because they believed these people would need the items in the afterworld.

When Europeans first arrived in this region, they found a flourishing population of people who belonged to one of three main language groups. Most of the coastal plain was inhabited by an Algonquian empire, today collectively known as Powhatan. The southwestern coastal plain was occupied by Iroquoians, the Nottoway, and Meherrin. The Piedmont was home to two Siouan confederacies, the Monacan and the Mannahoac.

Once the English arrived in the early 17th century and began to settle in the area, the native people found themselves in competition for land for hunting and farming. They also were exposed to European diseases for the first time, and many died of diseases like smallpox, to which they had no immunity. While there was occasional fighting over the land, the increasing number of English settlers and African slaves, and the dwindling population of natives effectively pushed native groups into smaller and smaller settlements where they could barely farm enough land to stay alive.

Today, the state of Virginia formally recognizes two tribal reservations inhabited by native people: the Nansemond and the Monacans.

Famous Citizens:

William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison, the ninth president, was born into an aristocratic family in Charles City County, Virginia, in 1773. His father, Benjamin Harrison, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a close friend of George Washington.
Young Harrison studied classics and history at Hampden-Sydney College from 1787-1790, then entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1791 to study medicine. But he left school four months later to join the army. Harrison fought in the Indian War of 1794 under General Anthony Wayne and was promoted to captain as a result of his gallantry in battle.
In 1801 he became Governor of the Indiana Territory and held that post for 12 years. His primary task as governor was to negotiate with Indian tribes and buy tracts of land from them for the government. These lands were then divided into smaller segments and made available to settlers. When the Indians retaliated, Harrison was responsible for defending the settlements.
Threats against settlers became serious in 1809. The Indians had lost millions of acres of hunting grounds. The Shawnee chief, Tecumseh, and his brother “The Prophet” began to unite the tribes and build a confederation. Bloody raids followed. In 1811 Harrison received permission to attack the Indian confederacy. He led a fierce cavalry charge that toppled the Indians and killed “The Prophet.”
In the War of 1812 Harrison was given the command of the Army in the Northwest. After leading the Army to victory in 1813, Harrison resigned from the military and returned to civilian life. He served terms in Congress and the Senate, was appointed minister to Colombia by President John Quincy Adams, and eventually retired to his farm in Ohio.
In 1840, The Whigs, in need of a national hero, nominated him for president. He won by a majority of less than 150,000, but swept the Electoral College, 234 to 60, becoming the ninth president of the United States on March 4, 1841.
Refusing to wear an overcoat on the cold and rainy day of his inauguration, Harrison caught a cold that developed into pneumonia. He died on April 4, 1841, exactly one month after becoming president.

Patrick Henry
Famous for his statement, "Give me liberty or give me death!" Patrick Henry was one of Virginia's leading advocates for overthrowing English rule prior to the American Revolution.

Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia. He attended the College of William and Mary from 1760-1762, and then studied law under the guidance of George Wythe. In 1772, Jefferson married Martha Wayles Skelton, and the couple settled in Monticello, the home he designed and built near Charlottesville.
Jefferson is best known for his written words. Although he barely spoke during sessions of the Continental Congress, Jefferson was well respected as a writer and thinker. At the age of 33, he drafted the Declaration of Independence. It was adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776.
In 1779, Jefferson was elected governor of Virginia. He introduced free education and public libraries within the state and created the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom. Jefferson sought to protect the rights of all citizens and eliminate the dangers of religious persecution.
Jefferson served as minister to France from 1785-1789 and was appointed secretary of state during President Washington’s administration. He was elected vice-president of the United States under John Adams in 1797.
The presidential election of 1800 resulted in a tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The House of Representatives settled the tie and Jefferson became the third president of the United States (1801-1809). As President, he authorized the purchase of a tract of land from Napoleon that extended from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. This addition - the Louisiana Purchase - more than doubled the size of the country and opened up millions of new acres to settlers in the West. He also funded the Louis and Clark expedition that explored and surveyed the Northwest.
Jefferson retired to Monticello after his second term as president and devoted his remaining years to a lifelong dream – the founding of the University of Virginia. He died at Monticello on July 4, 1826.

James Madison
James Madison was born in 1751 in King George County, Virginia. He was a shy and studious child who was tutored at home in Latin, Greek, French, and Spanish. When he was 18 years old, he entered Princeton University (then called the College of New Jersey).
Madison became a member of the Virginia legislature, participated in the creation of the Virginia Constitution, and in 1776, served in the Continental Congress. He played a leading role in the debates at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and was instrumental in framing the Constitution of the United States. Although he was honored as the "Father of the Constitution,” he was too modest to accept such a title, calling it the “work of many heads and many hands.”
Madison supported a strong, central government and believed in a carefully designed system of check and balances that would protect the rights and freedoms of citizens. As a member of Congress, he fought to add the Bill of Rights to the Constitution.
In 1794, Madison married Dolly Payne Todd. When he entered the White House in 1809 as the fourth president of the United States, Dolly quickly became a popular hostess know for her many gala parties.
During Madison’s administration, friction between the United States and the British led to the War of 1812. During one raid on Washington, British marines set fire to the White House, forcing Madison and his wife to flee into the Virginia woods.
After leaving the White house in 1817, Madison retired to Montpelier, Virginia. After the death of Thomas Jefferson in 1826, Madison became rector of the University of Virginia. He died in Montpelier in 1836.

James Monroe
James Monroe was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1758. He attended the College of William and Mary, fought with distinction in the Continental Army, practiced law in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and served in the United States Congress.
As a young congressman, Monroe opposed ratification of the Constitution. He felt that it gave too much power to the federal government and should include a bill of rights. President Washington appointed him minister to France in 1794 but Monroe lost favor with the president when he openly criticized Washington’s foreign policy.
Monroe went on to serve as governor of Virginia and was sent by President Thomas Jefferson on a series of special missions to France, Spain, England and France. In France, Monroe helped to negotiate the sale of the Louisiana Purchase with Napoleon.
Monroe planned to retire from public life, but in 1811, he was asked by President Madison to serve as secretary of state. Three years later, he became secretary of war. His ambition and energy, together with the backing of President Madison, made him the Republican choice for the Presidency in 1816. He easily won re-election in 1820.
During Monroe’s administration, Florida was obtained from Spain, peaceful boundaries were secured with Canada, and the policy that became known as the Monroe Doctrine was proclaimed. The Doctrine was a foreign policy that sought to limit European influence in the Western Hemisphere.
Monroe left the White House in 1825 and died in New York City on July 4, 1831.

Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor, the nation’s twelfth president was born in Montebello, Virginia in 1784. Shortly after his birth his family moved to Kentucky and he was raised there. At the age of 23 he joined the army as a lieutenant and was a career soldier from 1808 – 1849.
Although Taylor had little interest in politics, he was nationally recognized as a military hero after his valiant defeat of Santa Anna at Buena Vista during the Mexican War. Near the end of President Polk’s term in office, Taylor became a prominent figure - admired by northerners liked his long military record and supported by southerners because he owned 100 slaves. The Whig party nominated him to run against Lewis Cass, the Democratic candidate, in 1848. Cass favored letting the residents of territories decide for themselves whether they wanted slavery. “Old Rough and Ready” won the election by a very close popular vote. He was inaugurated on in March of 1849 at the age of 64.
On a blistering Fourth of July in 1850, Taylor participated in ceremonies at the yet-unfinished Washington Monument. Returning to the White House after hours in the broiling sun, he became violently ill. Five days later, “Old Rough and Ready” was dead.

Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington founded Tuskeegee Institute - the first college for African Americans - in 1881 in Alabama. He was a leader in helping African Americans begin gaining equality with white people.

George Washington
George Washington was born in 1732 into the family of a Virginia planter. His widowed mother could not afford to send him to college, so at the age of 15, young Washington became a surveyor.
Washington spent months surveying the vast estate of Lord Fairfax, which ran from the Atlantic coast to the Allegheny Mountains. At the age of 20, he joined the militia to guard Virginia against French and Indian raiders. As a soldier in the French and Indian War, Washington was praised for his bravery in the field.
When he was 27 years old, he married Martha Dandridge Custis and committed himself to a busy and happy life managing his farms and serving in the Virginia legislature. Washington soon joined with other prominent gentleman of Virginia to protest to the unjust restriction of the Stamp Act and other British regulations. At the spring 1775 meeting of the Second Continental Congress, Washington was unanimously elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army.
After the Revolutionary War, Washington was asked to lead a Constitutional Convention in 1787. Under his guidance, the Constitution of the United States with its Bill of Rights was created. He was persuaded to serve as the country’s first president and took the first presidential oath of office on April 30, 1789.
Washington retired at the end of two successful terms as President, and died at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799.

Capital:	Richmond
Entered Union:	6/25/1788
Population:	7,078,515
Area	42,774
Bird	Cardinal
Flower	American Dogwood
Nickname:	Old Dominion State, Mother State
Governor	Tim Kaine
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