Examine individual changes

'{{redirect|The Old Dominion|other uses|Old Dominion (disambiguation)|and|Virginia (disambiguation)}} {{pp-move|small=yes}} {{pp-move-indef}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2014}} {{Infobox U.S. state |Name = Virginia |Fullname = Commonwealth of Virginia |Flag = Flag of Virginia.svg |Flaglink = [[Flag of Virginia|Flag]] |Seal = Seal of Virginia.svg |Seallink = [[Seal of Virginia|Seal]] |Map = Virginia in United States.svg |FlagAlt = Navy blue flag with the circular Seal of Virginia centered on it. |SealAlt = A circular seal with the words "Virginia" on the top and "Sic Semper Tyrannis" on the bottom. In the center, a woman wearing a blue toga and Athenian helmet stands on the chest of dead man wearing a purple breastplate and skirt. The woman holds a spear and sheathed sword. The man holds a broken chain while his crown lies away from the figures. Orange leaves encircle the seal. |MapAlt = Virginia is located on the Atlantic coast along the line that divides the northern and southern halves of the United States. It runs mostly east to west. It includes a small peninsula across a bay which is discontinuous with the rest of the state. |Nickname = Old Dominion, Mother of Presidents, Mother of States |Motto = {{nowrap|{{lang|la|[[Sic semper tyrannis]]}}}}<br />{{nowrap|(English: Thus Always to Tyrants)}}<ref name=factpack/> |Former = Colony of Virginia |Capital = [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]] |LargestCity = [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]] |LargestCounty = [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]] |LargestMetro = [[Washington metropolitan area]] |Demonym = Virginian |Governor = [[Terry McAuliffe]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]) |Lieutenant Governor = [[Ralph Northam]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]) |Legislature = [[Virginia General Assembly|General Assembly]] |Upperhouse = [[Senate of Virginia|Senate]] |Lowerhouse = [[Virginia House of Delegates|House of Delegates]] |Senators = [[Mark Warner]] (D)<br />[[Tim Kaine]] (D) |Representative = 7 Republicans,<br />4 Democrats |ElectoralVotes = 13 |PostalAbbreviation = VA |OfficialLang = English |Languages = English 85.87%,<br />Spanish 6.41%<br />Other 7.72% |AreaRank = 35th |TotalAreaUS = 42,774.2 |TotalArea = 110,785.67 |PCWater = 7.4 |PopRank = 12th |2010Pop = 8,382,993 (2015 est)<ref name=PopEstUS/> |DensityRank = 14th |2000DensityUS = 206.7 |2000Density = 79.8 |MedianHouseholdIncome = $61,486<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/median-annual-income/?currentTimeframe=0|work=The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation|title=Median Annual Household Income|accessdate=December 9, 2016}}</ref> |IncomeRank = 14th |AdmittanceOrder = 10th |AdmittanceDate = June 25, 1788 |SecededDate = April 17, 1861 |ReadmittanceDate = January 26, 1870 |TimeZone = [[Eastern Time Zone (North America)|Eastern]]: [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] [[Eastern Time Zone|−5]]/[[Eastern Daylight Time|−4]] |Latitude = 36°&nbsp;32′&nbsp;N to 39°&nbsp;28′&nbsp;N |Longitude = 75°&nbsp;15′&nbsp;W to 83°&nbsp;41′&nbsp;W |WidthUS = 200 |Width = 320 |LengthUS = 430 |Length = 690 |HighestPoint = [[Mount Rogers]]<ref name=USGS>{{cite web|url=http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html|title=Elevations and Distances in the United States|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|year=2001|accessdate=October 24, 2011}}</ref><ref name=NAVD88>Elevation adjusted to [[North American Vertical Datum of 1988]].</ref> |HighestElevUS = 5,729 |HighestElev = 1746 |MeanElevUS = 950 |MeanElev = 290 |LowestPoint = [[Atlantic Ocean]]<ref name=USGS/> |LowestElevUS = 0 |LowestElev = 0 |ISOCode = US-VA |Website = www.virginia.gov }} {{Infobox U.S. state symbols |Flag = Flag of Virginia.svg |Seal = Seal of Virginia.svg |Name = Virginia |Amphibian = |Bird = [[Cardinal (bird)|Cardinal]] (''Cardinalis cardinalis'') |Butterfly = [[Eastern tiger swallowtail|Tiger Swallowtail butterfly]] (''Papilio glaucus'') |Dog Breed = [[American Foxhound]] (''Canis lupis familiaris'') |Crustacean = |Fish = [[Brook trout]], [[striped bass]] |Flower = [[American Dogwood|Flowering Dogwood]] |Grass = |Insect = [[Eastern tiger swallowtail|Tiger Swallowtail butterfly]] (''Papilio glaucus'') |Mammal = |Reptile = |Tree = [[American Dogwood|Flowering Dogwood]] |Beverage = [[Milk]] |Colors = |Dance = [[Square dance]] |Dinosaur = |Fossil = [[Chesapecten jeffersonius]] |Food = |Gemstone = |Mineral = |Motto = |Musical Instrument = |Poem = |Rock = [[Nelsonite]] |Shell = [[Eastern oyster]] |Ships = |Slogan = ''Virginia is for lovers'' |Soil = |Song = "[[Our Great Virginia]]" |Sport = |Tartan = Virginia Quadcentennial Tartan |Toy = |Other = |Route Marker = Virginia 5.svg |Quarter = 2000 VA Proof.png |QuarterReleaseDate = 2000 }} <!-- If you wish to alter Virginia's geographic description in the first sentence from the U.S. Census Bureau Division, please start a discussion on the talk page first! --> '''Virginia''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-Virginia.ogg|v|ɚ|ˈ|dʒ|ɪ|n|j|ə}}, {{IPAc-en|UK|v|ɚ|ˈ|dʒ|ɪ|n|i|ə}}, officially the '''Commonwealth of Virginia''', is a [[U.S. state|state]] located in the [[Mid-Atlantic states|Mid-Atlantic]] region of the United States,<ref>https://www.census.gov/econ/census/help/geography/regions_and_divisions.html US Census Bureau {accessed January 2017}</ref><ref>http://sedaag.org/ Association of American Geographers {accessed 3 January 2017}</ref><ref>http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/regions/southeast USGCRP {accessed 3 January 2017}</ref> as well as the historic [[Southeastern United States|Southeast]],<ref>[https://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Documents/Status-and-Recent-Trends-of-Wetlands-in-Five-Mid-Atlantic-States.pdf<nowiki> Status and Recent Trends of Wetlands in Five Mid-Atlantic States : Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia]. U.S . Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 5, National Wetlands Inventory Project, Newton Comer, MA and U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, Philadelphia, PA. Cooperative publication. 40 pp</nowiki> Tiner, R. W., Jr . and J. T. Finn. 1986]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://midatlanticocean.org/|title=Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Council (MARCO)|website=midatlanticocean.org|access-date=2016-09-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-3-mid-atlantic|title=About EPA: EPA Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic)|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=U. S. Environmental Protection Agency|access-date=27 September 2016}}</ref>. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" due to its status as the first colonial possession established in mainland [[British America]],<ref name=encolddominion>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Old_Dominion|title=Old Dominion|publisher=Encyclopedia Virginia}}</ref> and "Mother of Presidents" because [[List of Presidents of the United States by home state#Places of birth|eight U.S. presidents]] were born there, more than any other state. The geography and climate of the [[Commonwealth (U.S. state)|Commonwealth]] are shaped by the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] and the [[Chesapeake Bay]], which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna. The capital of the Commonwealth is [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]]; [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]] is the most populous city, and [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]] is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealth's estimated population {{as of|2014|lc=on}} is over 8.3 million.<ref name=PopEstUS/> The area's history begins with [[Native American tribes in Virginia|several indigenous groups]], including the [[Powhatan]]. In 1607 the [[London Company]] established the [[Colony of Virginia]] as the first permanent [[New World]] [[Kingdom of England|English]] colony. Slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colony's early politics and plantation economy. Virginia was one of the [[Thirteen Colonies|13 Colonies]] in the [[American Revolution]] and joined the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] in the [[American Civil War]], during which Richmond was made the Confederate capital and Virginia's northwestern counties [[Wheeling Convention|seceded]] to form the state of [[West Virginia]]. Although the Commonwealth was under [[Solid South|one-party rule]] for nearly a century following [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]], both major national parties are competitive in modern Virginia.<ref name=purple/> The [[Virginia General Assembly]] is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World.<ref>{{cite web|title=About the General Assembly|url=http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/virginiaLegislature.php?secid=20&activesec=2#!hb=1&mainContentTabs=4&content=4,includes/contentTemplate.php%3Ftid%3D52%26ctype%3Db%26cid%3D31|work=Website: Virginia General Assembly|publisher=State of Virginia|accessdate=June 5, 2013}}</ref> The state government was ranked most effective by the [[Pew Research Center|Pew Center on the States]] in both 2005 and 2008.<ref name=pew/> It is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginia's economy has many sectors: agriculture in the [[Shenandoah Valley]]; federal agencies in [[Northern Virginia]], including the headquarters of the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]] and [[Central Intelligence Agency|Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)]]; and military facilities in [[Hampton Roads]], the site of the [[Virginia Port Authority|region's main seaport]].<!--no source for this statement: Virginia's public schools and many [[List of colleges and universities in Virginia|colleges and universities]] have contributed to growing media and technology sectors.--> Virginia's economy changed from primarily agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s, and in 2002 [[integrated circuit|computer chips]] became the state's leading export by monetary value.<ref name=chips/><ref name=chips_census/> ==Geography== {{Main article|Environment of Virginia}} [[File:Virginia painted relief.png|thumb|262px|Geographically and geologically, Virginia is divided into five regions from east to west: [[Tidewater region|Tidewater]], [[Piedmont region of Virginia|Piedmont]], [[Blue Ridge Mountains]], [[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians|Ridge and Valley]], and [[Cumberland Plateau]].<ref name=eov>{{harvnb|The Encyclopedia of Virginia|1999|pp=2–15}}</ref>|alt=Terrain map of Virginia divided with lines into five regions. The first region on the far left is small and only in the state's panhandle. The next is larger and covers most of the western part of the state. The next is a thin strip that covers only the mountains. The next is a wide area in the middle of the state. The left most is based on the rivers which diffuse the previous region.]] Virginia has a total area of {{convert|42774.2|sqmi|km2|1}}, including {{convert|3180.13|sqmi|km2|1}} of water, making it the 35th-[[List of U.S. states by area|largest state]] by area.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/phc3-us-pt1.pdf |format= PDF |page= 71 |work= [[United States Census Bureau]] |date=April 2004 |title= 2000 Census of Population and Housing |accessdate= November 3, 2009}}</ref> Virginia is bordered by [[Maryland]] and [[Washington, D.C.]] to the north and east; by the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the east; by [[North Carolina]] to the south; by [[Tennessee]] to the southwest; by [[Kentucky]] to the west; and by [[West Virginia]] to the north and west. Virginia's boundary with Maryland and Washington, D.C. extends to the low-water mark of the south shore of the [[Potomac River]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nsglc.olemiss.edu/SandBar/SandBar2/2.4supreme.htm|title=Supreme Court Rules for Virginia in Potomac Conflict|work=The Sea Grant Law Center|publisher=[[University of Mississippi]]|year=2003|accessdate=November 24, 2007}}</ref> The southern border is defined as the [[36°30' parallel north|36°&nbsp;30′ parallel north]], though surveyor error led to deviations of as much as three [[arcminute]]s.{{sfn|Hubbard, Jr.|2009|p=140}} The border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when [[Virginia v. Tennessee|their dispute]] was brought to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]].{{sfn|Van Zandt|1976|pp=92–95}} ===Geology and terrain=== The [[Chesapeake Bay]] separates the contiguous portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginia's [[Eastern Shore of Virginia|Eastern Shore]]. The bay was formed from the drowned river valleys of the [[Susquehanna River]] and the [[James River]].<ref name=bay>{{cite web| url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs102-98/| title=Fact Sheet 102–98 – The Chesapeake Bay: Geologic Product of Rising Sea Level| publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]| date=November 18, 1998| accessdate=August 24, 2009}}</ref> Many of [[List of rivers of Virginia|Virginia's rivers]] flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the [[Potomac River|Potomac]], [[Rappahannock River|Rappahannock]], [[York River (Virginia)|York]], and James, which create three peninsulas in the bay.{{sfn|Burnham|Burnham|2004|pp=7, 56–57}}<ref>{{cite web| url=http://web.wm.edu/geology/virginia/rivers/rivers.html| title=Rivers and Watersheds| work=The Geology of Virginia| publisher=[[College of William and Mary]]| date=February 23, 2007| accessdate=April 11, 2008}}</ref> [[File:Golden Sunset --Timber Hollow Overlook (22014263936).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Deciduous and evergreen trees give the Blue Ridge Mountains their distinct color.{{sfn|Heinemann|Kolp|Parent, Jr.|Shade|2007|p=3}}|alt=The rays of a sunset spread over mountain ridges that turn from green to purple and blue as they progress toward the horizon.]] The [[Tidewater (geographic term)|Tidewater]] is a [[Atlantic coastal plain|coastal plain]] between the Atlantic coast and the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line|fall line]]. It includes the Eastern Shore and major [[estuary|estuaries]] of Chesapeake Bay. The Piedmont is a series of [[sedimentary rock|sedimentary]] and [[igneous rock]]-based [[foothills]] east of the mountains which were formed in the [[Mesozoic]] era.{{sfn|Pazzaglia|2006|pp=135–138}} The region, known for its heavy clay soil, includes the [[Southwest Mountains]] around [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]].<ref name=agriculture>{{cite web| url=http://www.deq.state.va.us/vanaturally/guide/agriculture.html| title=Virginia's Agricultural Resources| work=Natural Resource Education Guide| publisher=Virginia Department of Environmental Quality| date=January 21, 2008|accessdate=February 8, 2008}}</ref> The Blue Ridge Mountains are a [[physiographic regions of the world|physiographic province]] of the [[Appalachian Mountains]] with the highest points in the state, the tallest being [[Mount Rogers]] at {{convert|5729|ft|m}}.{{sfn|Burnham|Burnham|2004|p=277}} The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the [[Great Appalachian Valley]]. The region is [[carbonate rock]] based and includes [[Massanutten Mountain]].<ref name=regions>{{cite web| url=http://web.wm.edu/geology/virginia/provinces/phys_regions.html| title=Physiographic Regions of Virginia| work=The Geology of Virginia| publisher=[[College of William and Mary]]| date=February 16, 2007| accessdate=April 7, 2008}}</ref> The Cumberland Plateau and the [[Cumberland Mountains]] are in the southwest corner of Virginia, south of the [[Allegheny Plateau]]. In this region, rivers flow northwest, with a [[drainage system (geomorphology)#Dendritic drainage pattern|dendritic drainage system]], into the [[Ohio River]] basin.{{sfn|Palmer|1998|pp=49–51}} The [[Virginia Seismic Zone]] has not had a history of regular [[earthquake]] activity. Earthquakes are rarely above 4.5&nbsp;in [[Richter magnitude scale|magnitude]], because Virginia is located away from the edges of the [[North American Plate]]. The largest earthquake, at an estimated 5.9&nbsp;magnitude, was in 1897 near [[Blacksburg, Virginia|Blacksburg]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1897_05_31.php| title=Largest Earthquake in Virginia| date=January 25, 2008| publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]| accessdate=April 12, 2008}}</ref> A [[2011 Virginia earthquake|5.8 magnitude earthquake]] struck central Virginia on August 23, 2011, near [[Mineral, Virginia|Mineral]]. The earthquake was reportedly felt as far away as [[Toronto]], [[Atlanta]] and [[Florida]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/se082311a.php#summary| title=Magnitude 5.8 – Virginia| publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]| date=August 23, 2011| accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> [[Coal mining in the United States|Coal mining]] takes place in the three mountainous regions at 45 distinct coal beds near Mesozoic basins.<ref name=mining>{{cite web|url=http://www.dmme.virginia.gov/commercedocs/COAL.pdf|format=PDF|title=Coal|publisher=Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy|date=July 31, 2008|accessdate=February 26, 2014}}</ref> Over 62 million tons of other non-fuel resources, such as [[slate]], [[kyanite]], sand, or gravel, were also mined in Virginia in 2012.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.dmme.virginia.gov/dmm/PDF/DATA/Production.xls| title=Comparison of Annually Reported Tonnage Data| publisher=Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy| date=April 10, 2013| accessdate=February 26, 2014}}</ref> The state's carbonate rock is filled with more than 4,000 caves, ten of which are open for tourism.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.dmme.virginia.gov/DMR3/dmrpdfs/CAVES.pdf| format=PDF| title=Caves| publisher=Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy| date=July 2008| accessdate=August 24, 2009}}</ref> 35 million years ago, a [[bolide]] impacted what is now eastern Virginia. The [[Chesapeake Bay impact crater|resulting crater]] may explain [[subsidence|sinking]] and [[earthquake]]s in the region.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/11/1113_chesapeakcrater.html|title=Chesapeake Bay Crater Offers Clues to Ancient Cataclysm|first=Hillary|last=Mayell|publisher=[[National Geographic Society]]|date=November 13, 2001|accessdate=March 11, 2016}}</ref> ===Climate=== {{Main article|Climate of Virginia}} [[File:VA_koppen.svg|300px|thumb|Köppen climate types in Virginia]] {{climate chart|Virginia state-wide averages |26|46|3.1 |27|48|3.1 |34|57|3.7 |43|67|3.3 |52|76|4.0 |60|83|3.7 |64|86|4.3 |63|85|4.1 |57|79|3.5 |45|69|3.4 |35|58|3.2 |28|48|3.2fat people welcome |source=[[#CITEREFHaydenMichaels2000|<span style="font-size:98%">University of Virginia data 1895–1998</span>]] }} The climate of Virginia is [[temperate]] and becomes increasingly warmer and more humid farther south and east.<ref name=Burnham>{{harvnb|Burnham|Burnham|2004|pp=1–3}}</ref> Seasonal extremes vary from average lows of {{convert|26|°F|°C|0}} in January to average highs of {{convert|86|°F|°C|0}} in July. The Atlantic Ocean has a strong effect on eastern and southeastern coastal areas of the state. Influenced by the [[Gulf Stream]], coastal weather is subject to [[tropical cyclone|hurricanes]], most pronouncedly near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.<ref name=climatology>{{cite web|url=http://climate.virginia.edu/description.htm|title=Virginia's Climate|first1=Bruce P.|last1=Hayden|first2=Patrick J.|last2=Michaels|work=Department of Environmental Sciences|publisher=[[University of Virginia]]|date=January 20, 2000|accessdate=October 20, 2008|ref=CITEREFHaydenMichaels2000}}</ref> In spite of its position adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, even the coastal areas have a significant continental influence with quite large temperature differences between summer and winter, particularly given the state climate's subtropical classification, which is typical of states in the [[Upper South]]. Virginia has an annual average of 35–45 days of thunderstorm activity, particularly in the western part of the state,<ref name=tstorms>{{cite web|url=http://www.vaemergency.com/news/history/thunderstorms-lightening|title=Thunderstorms and Lightening|work=Virginia Department of Emergency Management|date=April 2, 2001|accessdate=November 26, 2011}}</ref> and an average annual precipitation of {{convert|42.7|in|cm|0}}.<ref name=climatology/> Cold air masses arriving over the mountains in winter can lead to significant snowfalls, such as the [[Blizzard of 1996]] and [[winter storms of 2009–2010]]. The interaction of these elements with the state's topography creates distinct [[microclimate]]s in the Shenandoah Valley, the mountainous southwest, and the coastal plains.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Natural Communities of Virginia|publisher=Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation|url=http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/ncoverview.shtml|year=2006|accessdate=April 12, 2008}}</ref> Virginia averages seven [[tornado]]es annually, most F2 or lower on the [[Fujita scale]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tv3winchester.com/blogs/laurynrickettsblog/15421801.html|title=Tornadoes DO happen in Virginia!|publisher=TV3 Winchester|first=Lauryn|last=Ricketts|date=February 7, 2008|accessdate=February 13, 2009}}</ref> In recent years, the expansion of the southern suburbs of [[Washington, D.C.]] into [[Northern Virginia]] has introduced an [[urban heat island]] primarily caused by increased absorption of solar radiation in more densely populated areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://climate.virginia.edu/advisory/2001/ad01-07.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020922182906/http://climate.virginia.edu/advisory/2001/ad01-07.htm|archivedate=September 22, 2002|title=Advisory 01/07: The Hot Get Hotter? Urban Warming and Air Quality|publisher=University of Virginia Climatology Office|accessdate=July 30, 2007}}</ref> In the [[American Lung Association]]'s 2011 report, 11 counties received failing grades for air quality, with [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]] having the worst in the state, due to automobile pollution.<ref name=polution>{{cite web|url=http://www.stateoftheair.org/2011/states/virginia/|title=Report Card: Virginia|work=State of the Air: 2011|publisher=[[American Lung Association]]|date=April 27, 2011|accessdate=May 10, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news/2004/04145.htm|title=Fairfax County Residents Can Play Their Part to Reduce Air Pollution|publisher=[[Fairfax County, Virginia]]|date=May 26, 2004|accessdate=September 29, 2008}}</ref> Haze in the mountains is caused in part by coal power plants.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/25/ST2008062500042.html|title=Debating Coal's Cost in Rural Va.|work=[[The Washington Post]]|first=David A.|last=Fahrenthold|date=June 25, 2008|accessdate=November 15, 2008}}</ref> ===Ecosystem=== Forests cover 65% of the state, primarily with deciduous, broad leaf trees in the western part of the state and evergreens and conifers dominant the central and eastern part of Virginia.<ref name=forests>{{cite web|url=http://www.deq.virginia.gov/vanaturally/guide/forests.html|title=Virginia's Forest Resources|work=Natural Resource Education Guide|publisher=Virginia Department of Environmental Quality|date=January 21, 2008|accessdate=February 8, 2008}}</ref> Lower altitudes are more likely to have small but dense stands of moisture-loving hemlocks and mosses in abundance, with hickory and oak in the Blue Ridge.<ref name=Burnham/> However, since the early 1990s, [[Gypsy moth]] infestations have eroded the dominance of oak forests.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/shen/naturescience/forests.htm|title=Shenandoah National Park&nbsp;— Forests|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|date=July 25, 2006|accessdate=September 10, 2007}}</ref> In the lowland tidewater and piedmont, yellow pines tend to dominate, with bald cypress wetland forests in the Great Dismal and Nottoway swamps. Other common trees and plants include red bay, wax myrtle, dwarf palmetto, [[Liriodendron tulipifera|tulip poplar]], [[Kalmia latifolia|mountain laurel]], [[Asclepias|milkweed]], daisies, and many species of ferns. The largest areas of wilderness are along the Atlantic coast and in the western mountains, where the largest populations of [[Trillium grandiflorum|trillium wildflowers]] in North America are found.<ref name=Burnham/>{{sfn|Carroll|Miller|2002|pp=xi−xii}} The Atlantic coast regions are host to flora commonly associated with the South Atlantic pine forests and lower Southeast Coastal Plain maritime flora, the latter found primarily in eastern and central Virginia. [[File:Deer Big Meadow (13082497565).jpg|thumb|left|White-tailed deer, also known as Virginia deer, graze at [[Big Meadows]] in [[Shenandoah National Park]]|alt=Two red-brown colored deer graze among tall grass and purple flowers in a meadow.]] Mammals include [[white-tailed deer]], [[American black bear|black bear]], [[beaver]], [[bobcat]], [[coyote]], [[raccoon]], [[skunk]], [[groundhog]], [[Virginia opossum]], [[gray fox]], [[red fox]], and [[eastern cottontail rabbit]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/information/?t=2|title=Species Information: Mammals|publisher=Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries|year=2008|accessdate=November 15, 2008}}</ref> Other mammals include: nutria, fox squirrel, gray squirrel, flying squirrel, chipmunk, brown bat, and weasel. Birds include cardinals (the state bird), barred owls, Carolina chickadees, red-tailed hawks, ospreys, brown pelicans, quail, seagulls, bald eagles, and wild turkeys. Virginia is also home to the pileated woodpecker as well as the red-bellied woodpecker. The [[peregrine falcon]] was reintroduced into Shenandoah National Park in the mid-1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/shen/naturescience/birds.htm|title=Shenandoah National Park&nbsp;— Birds|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|date=July 25, 2006|accessdate=September 1, 2007}}</ref> Walleye, brook trout, Roanoke bass, and blue catfish are among the 210 known species of freshwater fish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/fish/|title=Virginia Fishes|publisher=Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries|year=2008|accessdate=November 15, 2008}}</ref> Running brooks with rocky bottoms are often inhabited by plentiful amounts of crayfish and salamanders.<ref name=Burnham/> The [[Chesapeake Bay]] is host to many species, including [[Callinectes sapidus|blue crabs]], clams, oysters, and rockfish (also known as striped bass).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chesapeakebay.net/info/baybio1.cfm|title=Bay Biology|publisher=[[Chesapeake Bay Program]]|date=January 5, 2006|accessdate=February 4, 2008}}</ref> Virginia has 30 [[National Park Service]] units, such as [[Great Falls Park]] and the [[Appalachian Trail]], and one national park, the [[Shenandoah National Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/state/VA/index.htm|title=Virginia|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|year=2008|accessdate=November 29, 2008}}</ref> Shenandoah was established in 1935 and encompasses the scenic [[Skyline Drive]]. Almost 40% of the park's area (79,579&nbsp;acres/322&nbsp;km²) has been designated as wilderness under the [[National Wilderness Preservation System]].{{sfn|Carroll|Miller|2002|p=158}} Additionally, there are 34 [[List of Virginia state parks|Virginia state parks]] and 17 [[List of Virginia state forests|state forests]], run by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Department of Forestry.<ref name=forests/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/state_park.shtml|title=Park Locations|publisher=Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation|date=November 9, 2007|accessdate=January 26, 2008}}</ref> The Chesapeake Bay, while not a national park, is protected by both state and federal legislation, and the jointly run [[Chesapeake Bay Program]] which conducts restoration on the bay and its watershed. The [[Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge]] extends into North Carolina, as does the [[Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge]], which marks the beginning of the [[Outer Banks]].{{sfn|Smith|2008|pp=152–153, 356}} ==History== {{Main article|History of Virginia}} [[File:John Smith Saved by Pocahontas.jpg|thumb|upright|The story of [[Pocahontas]], an ancestress of many of the [[First Families of Virginia]], was romanticized by later artists.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/06/pocahontas_wedding_re_enactment_john_rolfe_john_smith_and_native_americans.html |title= Pocahontas: Fantasy and Reality |work= Slate Magazine |first= Laurie Gwen |last= Shapiro |date= June 22, 2014 |accessdate= June 23, 2014}}</ref>|alt=A painting of a young dark-haired Native American woman shielding an Elizabethan era man from execution by a Native American chief. She is bare-chested, and her face is bathed in light from an unknown source. Several Native Americans look on at the scene.]] "Jamestown 2007" marked Virginia's quadricentennial year, celebrating 400 years since the establishment of the Jamestown Colony. The celebrations highlighted contributions from [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], Africans, and Europeans, each of which had a significant part in shaping Virginia's history.{{sfn|Wallenstein|2007|pp=406–407}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/13/AR2007051300412.html|first1=Fredrick|last1=Kunkle|first2=Steve|last2=Vogel|title=President Bush Caps Celebration Of Success in Face of Adversity|accessdate=November 11, 2009|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 14, 2007}}</ref> Warfare, including among these groups, has also had an important role. Virginia was a focal point in conflicts from the [[French and Indian War]], the [[American Revolution]] and the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], to the [[Cold War]] and the [[War on Terrorism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/vmd/vmdintro.htm|title=Virginia Military Dead Database Introduction|work=Library of Virginia|publisher=[[Government of Virginia]]|year=2009|accessdate=April 26, 2009}}</ref> Stories about historic figures, such as those surrounding [[Pocahontas]] and [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]], [[George Washington]]'s childhood, or the plantation elite in the slave society of the [[Antebellum Era in the United States|antebellum period]], have also created potent myths of state history, and have served as rationales for Virginia's ideology.{{sfn|Abrams|1999|p=xv}} ===Colony=== {{Main article|Colony of Virginia}} The first people are estimated to have arrived in Virginia over 12,000&nbsp;years ago.<ref>[http://virginiaindians.pwnet.org/lesson_plans/Heritage%20Trail_2ed.pdf Karenne Wood, ed., ''The Virginia Indian Heritage Trail''], Charlottesville, VA: Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 2007.</ref> By 5,000 years ago more permanent settlements emerged, and farming began by 900 AD. By 1500, the [[Algonquian peoples]] had founded towns such as [[Werowocomoco]] in the [[Tidewater region of Virginia|Tidewater region]], which they referred to as ''[[Tsenacommacah]]''. The other major language groups in the area were the [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] to the west, and the [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoians]], who included the [[Nottoway Tribe|Nottoway]] and [[Meherrin]], to the north and south. After 1570, the Algonquians consolidated under [[Chief Powhatan]] in response to threats from these other groups on their trade network.{{sfn|Heinemann|Kolp|Parent, Jr.|Shade|2007|pp=4–11}} Powhatan controlled more than 30&nbsp;smaller tribes and over 150&nbsp;settlements, who shared a common [[Powhatan language|Virginia Algonquian]] language. In 1607, the native Tidewater population was between 13,000 and 14,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/powhatan-indian-lifeways.htm|title=Powhatan Indian Lifeways|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|first=Lee|last=Cotton|date=July 1999|accessdate=June 26, 2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924132642/http://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/powhatan-indian-lifeways.htm|archivedate=September 24, 2008}}</ref> Several European expeditions, including a [[Ajacán Mission|group of Spanish Jesuits]], explored the [[Chesapeake Bay]] during the 16th century.<ref>{{cite web|author=Glanville, Jim|url=http://www.holstonia.net/files/Conquistadors2.pdf|title=16th Century Spanish Invasions of Southwest Virginia|format=pdf|publisher=Reprinted from the ''Historical Society of Western Virginia Journal'', XVII(l): 34–42,2009 [2010]}}</ref> In 1583, Queen [[Elizabeth I of England]] granted [[Walter Raleigh]] a charter to plant a colony north of [[Spanish Florida]].{{sfn|Wallenstein|2007|pp=8–9}} In 1584, Raleigh sent an expedition to the [[East Coast of the United States|Atlantic coast of North America]].{{sfn|Moran|2007|p=8}} The name "Virginia" may have been suggested then by Raleigh or Elizabeth, perhaps noting her status as the "Virgin Queen," and may also be related to a native phrase, "Wingandacoa," or name, "Wingina."{{sfn|Stewart|2008|p=22}} Initially the name applied to the entire coastal region from South Carolina to Maine, plus the island of [[Bermuda]].{{sfn|Vollmann|2002|pp=695–696}} Later, subsequent royal charters modified the Colony's boundaries. The [[London Company]] was incorporated as a joint stock company by the proprietary [[Charter of 1606]], which granted land rights to this area. The company financed the first permanent English settlement in the "[[New World]]", [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]]. Named for [[James I of England|King James I]], it was founded in May 1607 by [[Christopher Newport]].{{sfn|Conlin|2009|pp=30–31}} In 1619, colonists took greater control with an elected legislature called the [[House of Burgesses]]. With the bankruptcy of the London Company in 1624, the settlement was taken into royal authority as an English [[crown colony]].{{sfn|Gordon|2004|p=17}} [[File:The Governor's Palace -- Williamsburg (VA) September 2012.jpg|thumb|left|[[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] was Virginia's capital from 1699 to 1780.|alt=A three-story red brick colonial style hall and its left and right wings during summer.]] Life in the colony was perilous, and many died during the [[Starving Time (Jamestown)|Starving Time]] in 1609 and the [[Anglo-Powhatan Wars]], including the [[Indian massacre of 1622]], which fostered the colonists' negative view of all tribes.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffer|2006|p=132}}; {{harvnb|Grizzard|Smith|2007|pp=128–133}}</ref> By 1624, only 3,400&nbsp;of the 6,000&nbsp;early settlers had survived.<ref>[http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/drought/drght_james.html "The lost colony and Jamestown droughts."], Stahle, D. W., M. K. Cleaveland, D. B. Blanton, M. D. Therrell, and D. A. Gay. 1998. ''Science'' 280:564–567.</ref> However, European [[Tobacco in the American Colonies|demand for tobacco]] fueled the arrival of more settlers and servants.{{sfn|Wallenstein|2007|p=22}} The [[headright]] system tried to solve the labor shortage by providing colonists with land for each [[indentured servant]] they transported to Virginia.{{sfn|Hashaw|2007|pp=76–77, 239–240}} African workers were first imported to Jamestown in 1619 initially under the rules of indentured servitude. The shift to a system of African [[History of slavery in Virginia|slavery in Virginia]] was propelled by the legal cases of [[John Punch (slave)|John Punch]], who was sentenced to lifetime slavery in 1640 for attempting to run away,<ref>{{Cite book |title=In the Matter of Color: Race and the American Legal Process: The Colonial Period |first=A. Leon |last=Higginbotham |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1975 |url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ErPg7VegkcMC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=%22john+punch%22+higginbotham&ots=RD8BjPWEsA&sig=rqEqTivBBg9I3VfMuRS48157bPQ#v=onepage&q=%22john%20punch%22&f=false}}</ref> and of [[John Casor]], who was claimed by [[Anthony Johnson (colonist)|Anthony Johnson]] as his servant for life in 1655.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=History of Black Americans: From Africa to the emergence of the cotton kingdom |first=Philip S. |last=Foner |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1980 |url=http://testaae.greenwood.com/doc_print.aspx?fileID=GR7529&chapterID=GR7529-747&path=books/greenwood}}</ref> Slavery first appears in Virginia statutes in 1661 and 1662, when a law made it hereditary based on the mother's status.{{sfn|Hashaw|2007|pp=211–215}} Tensions and the geographic differences between the working and ruling classes led to [[Bacon's Rebellion]] in 1676, by which time current and former indentured servants made up as much as 80% of the population.{{sfn|Heinemann|Kolp|Parent, Jr.|Shade|2007|pp=51–59}} Rebels, largely from the colony's frontier, were also opposed to the conciliatory policy towards [[Native American tribes in Virginia|native tribes]], and one result of the rebellion was the signing at [[Middle Plantation (Virginia)|Middle Plantation]] of the [[Treaty of 1677]], which made the signatory tribes [[tributary state]]s and was part of a pattern of appropriating tribal land by force and treaty. Middle Plantation saw the founding of [[The College of William & Mary]] in 1693 and was renamed [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] as it became the colonial capital in 1699.{{sfn|Heinemann|Kolp|Parent, Jr.|Shade|2007|pp=76–77}} In 1747, a group of Virginian speculators formed the [[Ohio Company]], with the backing of the British crown, to start English settlement and trade in the [[Ohio Country]] west of the [[Appalachian Mountains]].{{sfn|Anderson|2000|p=23}} [[France]], which claimed this area as part of their colony of [[New France]], viewed this as a threat, and the ensuing [[French and Indian War]] became part of the [[Seven Years' War]] (1756–1763). A militia from several British colonies, called the [[Virginia Regiment]], was led by then-Lieutenant Colonel [[George Washington]].{{sfn|Anderson|2000|pp=42–43}} ===Statehood=== [[File:Patrick Henry Rothermel.jpg|thumb|upright|1851 painting of [[Patrick Henry]]'s speech before the [[House of Burgesses]] on the [[Virginia Resolves]] against the [[Stamp Act of 1765]]|alt=Upper-class middle-aged man dressed in a bright red cloak speaks before an assembly of other angry men. The subject's right hand is raise high in gesture toward the balcony.]] The [[Parliament of Great Britain|British Parliament's]] efforts to levy new taxes following the [[French and Indian War]] were deeply unpopular in the colonies. In the [[House of Burgesses]], opposition to [[No taxation without representation|taxation without representation]] was led by [[Patrick Henry]] and [[Richard Henry Lee]], among others.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/declaration/bio26.htm|title=Signers of the Declaration (Richard Henry Lee)|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|date=April 13, 2006|accessdate=February 2, 2008}}</ref> Virginians began to [[committee of correspondence|coordinate their actions]] with other colonies in 1773, and sent delegates to the [[Continental Congress]] the following year.{{sfn|Gutzman|2007|pp=24–29}} After the House of Burgesses was dissolved by the royal governor in 1774, Virginia's revolutionary leaders continued to govern via the [[Virginia Conventions]]. On May 15, 1776, the Convention declared Virginia's independence from the British Empire and adopted [[George Mason]]'s [[Virginia Declaration of Rights]], which was then included in a new constitution.{{sfn|Heinemann|Kolp|Parent, Jr.|Shade|2007|pp=125–133}} Another Virginian, [[Thomas Jefferson]], drew upon Mason's work in drafting the national [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]].<ref name=mason>{{cite journal|last=Schwartz|first=Stephan A.|title=George Mason: Forgotten Founder, He Conceived the Bill of Rights|journal=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|issue=31.2|page=142|date=May 2000}}</ref> When the [[American Revolutionary War]] began, [[George Washington]] was selected to head the [[Continental Army|colonial army]]. During the war, the capital was moved to [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]] at the urging of Governor Thomas Jefferson, who feared that Williamsburg's coastal location would make it vulnerable to British attack.{{sfn|Cooper|2007|p=58}} In 1781, the combined action of [[Continental Army|Continental]] and French land and naval forces trapped the British army on the [[Virginia Peninsula]], where troops under George Washington and [[Comte de Rochambeau]] defeated British [[General Cornwallis]] in the [[Siege of Yorktown]]. His surrender on October 19, 1781 led to [[Peace of Paris (1783)|peace negotiations in Paris]] and secured the independence of the colonies.{{sfn|Heinemann|Kolp|Parent, Jr.|Shade|2007|pp=131–133}} Virginians were instrumental in writing the [[United States Constitution]]. [[James Madison]] drafted the [[Virginia Plan]] in 1787 and the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] in 1789.<ref name=mason/> [[Virginia Ratifying Convention|Virginia ratified]] the Constitution on June 25, 1788. The [[three-fifths compromise]] ensured that Virginia, with its large number of slaves, initially had the largest bloc in the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]. Together with the [[Virginia dynasty]] of presidents, this gave the Commonwealth national importance. In 1790, both Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to form the new [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]], though the Virginian area was [[District of Columbia retrocession|retroceded]] in 1846.{{sfn|Wallenstein|2007|p=104}} Virginia is called "Mother of States" because of its role in being carved into states like [[Kentucky]], which became the 15th state in 1792, and for the numbers of [[American pioneer]]s born in Virginia.<ref name=Robertson/> ===Civil War and aftermath=== {{Main article|Virginia in the American Civil War}} [[File:Union soldiers entrenched along the west bank of the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg, Virginia (111-B-157).jpg|thumb|left|Union soldiers before Marye's Heights, [[Second Battle of Fredericksburg|Fredericksburg]] in May 1863|alt=Dozens of soldiers in coats and hats crowd a trench while two others stand tall to the right of the trench.]] In addition to agriculture, slave labor was increasingly used in mining, shipbuilding and other industries.{{sfn|Davis|2006|pp=125, 208–210}} The execution of [[Gabriel Prosser]] in 1800, [[Nat Turner's slave rebellion]] in 1831 and [[John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry]] in 1859 marked the growing social discontent over slavery and its role in the [[plantation economy]]. By 1860, almost half a million people, roughly 31% of the total population of Virginia, were enslaved.<ref name=hc>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/php/start.php?year=V1960|title=Census Data for Year 1860|publisher=[[University of Virginia]]|year=2007|accessdate=April 6, 2010}}</ref>{{sfn|Morgan|1998|p=490}} This division contributed to the start of the [[American Civil War]]. Virginia voted to secede from the United States on April 17, 1861, after the [[Battle of Fort Sumter]] and [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s call for volunteers. On April 24, Virginia joined the [[Confederate States of America]], which chose Richmond as its capital.<ref name=Robertson>{{harvnb|Robertson|1993|pp=8–12}}</ref> After the 1861 [[Wheeling Convention]], 48 counties in the northwest separated to form a new state of [[West Virginia]], which chose to remain loyal to the [[Union (Civil War)|Union]]. Virginian general [[Robert E. Lee]] took command of the [[Army of Northern Virginia]] in 1862, and led invasions into Union territory, ultimately becoming commander of all Confederate forces. During the war, more battles were fought in Virginia than anywhere else, including [[First Battle of Bull Run|Bull Run]], the [[Seven Days Battles]], [[Battle of Chancellorsville|Chancellorsville]], and the concluding [[Battle of Appomattox Court House]].{{sfn|Goodwin|2012|pp=4}} After the [[Siege of Petersburg|capture of Richmond]] in April 1865, the state capital was briefly moved to [[Lynchburg, Virginia|Lynchburg]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Tripp|first=Steve|title=Lynchburg During the Civil War|url=http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Lynchburg_During_the_Civil_War|work=Encyclopedia of Virginia|publisher=Library of Virginia|accessdate=May 28, 2013}}</ref> while the Confederate leadership fled to [[Danville, Virginia|Danville]].{{sfn|Robertson|1993|p=170}} Virginia was formally restored to the United States in 1870, due to the work of the [[Committee of Nine]].{{sfn|Heinemann|Kolp|Parent, Jr.|Shade|2007|pp=249–250}} During the post-war [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction era]], Virginia adopted a constitution which provided for free public schools, and guaranteed political, civil, and [[Voting rights in the United States|voting rights]].{{sfn|Morgan|1992|pp=160–166}} The populist [[Readjuster Party]] ran an inclusive coalition until the conservative white [[Democratic Party of Virginia|Democratic Party]] gained power after 1883.{{sfn|Dailey|Gilmore|Simon|2000|pp=90–96}} It passed segregationist [[Jim Crow laws]] and in 1902 rewrote the [[Constitution of Virginia]] to include a [[Poll tax (United States)|poll tax]] and other voter registration measures that effectively [[Disfranchisement after the Civil War|disfranchised]] most African Americans and many poor European Americans.{{sfn|Wallenstein|2007|pp=253–254}} Though their schools and public services were segregated and underfunded due to a lack of political representation, African Americans were able to unite in communities and take a greater role in Virginia society.{{sfn|Davis|2006|pp=328–329}} ===Post-Reconstruction=== [[File:USS Virginia in port.jpg|thumb|Many [[Pre-Dreadnought]] and [[World War I]]-era warships were built in [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]], including the [[USS Virginia (BB-13)|USS ''Virginia'']].|alt=A white battleship with three smokestacks and two tall masts sitting in port.]] New economic forces also changed the Commonwealth. Virginian [[James Albert Bonsack]] invented the tobacco cigarette rolling machine in 1880 leading to new industrial scale production centered on Richmond. In 1886, railroad magnate [[Collis Potter Huntington]] founded [[Newport News Shipbuilding]], which was responsible for building six major [[World War I]]-era battleships for the [[U.S. Navy]] from 1907–1923.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.northropgrumman.com/heritage/index.html |title= Our Heritage |publisher= [[Northrop Grumman]] |date= December 20, 2011 |accessdate= March 28, 2012}}</ref> During the war, [[German Empire|German]] submarines like [[SM U-151|U-151]] attacked ships outside the port.{{sfn|Feuer|1999|pp=50–52}} In 1926, Dr. [[W.A.R. Goodwin]], rector of Williamsburg's [[Bruton Parish Church]], began restoration of colonial-era buildings in the historic district with financial backing of [[John D. Rockefeller, Jr.]]{{sfn|Goodwin|2012|p=238}} Though their project, like others in the state, had to contend with the [[Great Depression]] and [[World War II]], work continued as [[Colonial Williamsburg]] became a major tourist attraction.{{sfn|Greenspan|2009|pp=37–43}} [[File:Virginia Civil Rights Memorial wide.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Virginia Civil Rights Memorial]] was erected in 2008 to commemorate the protests which led to school desegregation.|alt=Bronze sculptures of seven figures marching stand around a large rectangular block of white engraved granite.]] Protests started by [[Barbara Rose Johns]] in 1951 in [[Farmville, Virginia|Farmville]] against segregated schools led to the lawsuit ''[[Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County]]''. This case, filed by Richmond natives [[Spottswood William Robinson III|Spottswood Robinson]] and [[Oliver Hill]], was decided in 1954 with ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'', which rejected the segregationist doctrine of "[[separate but equal]]". But, in 1958, under the policy of "[[massive resistance]]" led by the influential segregationist Senator [[Harry F. Byrd]] and his [[Byrd Organization]], the Commonwealth prohibited [[desegregation|desegregated]] local schools from receiving state funding.{{sfn|Wallenstein|2007|pp=340–341}} The [[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)|Civil Rights Movement]] gained many participants in the 1960s. It achieved the moral force and support to gain passage of national legislation with the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and the [[Voting Rights Act]] of 1965. In 1964 the [[United States Supreme Court]] ordered [[Prince Edward County, Virginia|Prince Edward County]] and others to [[racial integration|integrate]] schools.{{sfn|Wallenstein|2007|pp=357}} In 1967, the Court also struck down the state's ban on [[Interracial marriage in the United States|interracial marriage]] with ''[[Loving v. Virginia]]''. From 1969 to 1971, state legislators under Governor [[Mills Godwin]] rewrote the constitution, after goals such as the repeal of [[Jim Crow laws]] had been achieved. In 1989, [[Douglas Wilder]] became the first African American elected as governor in the United States.{{sfn|Heinemann|Kolp|Parent, Jr.|Shade|2007|pp=359–366}} The [[Cold War]] led to the expansion of national defense government programs housed in offices in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., and correlative population growth.{{sfn|Accordino|2000|pp=76–78}} The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] in [[Langley, Virginia|Langley]] was involved in various [[Timeline of events in the Cold War|Cold War events]], including as the target of [[History of Soviet and Russian espionage in the United States|Soviet espionage activities]]. Also among the federal developments was [[the Pentagon]], built during World War II as the headquarters for the Department of Defense. It was one of the targets of the [[September 11 attacks]]; 189 people died at the site when a jet passenger plane was crashed into the building.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kelly|first=Christopher|url=http://www.dcmilitary.com/dcmilitary_archives/stories/112901/12279-1.shtml|title=Forensic feat IDs nearly all Pentagon victims|publisher=Stripe|date=November 29, 2001|accessdate=September 11, 2009}}</ref> ==Cities and towns== {{Main article|Political subdivisions of Virginia}} {{Largest cities | name = Largest cities | country = Virginia | stat_ref = Source:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.citypopulation.de/USA-Virginia.html |title=Virginia (USA): State, Major Cities, & Places |date=February 19, 2011 |work= |publisher=City Population |accessdate=December 6, 2014}}</ref> | list_by_pop = | class = nav | div_name = | div_link = Counties of Virginia{{!}}County | city_1 = Virginia Beach, Virginia{{!}}Virginia Beach | div_1 = Independent city (United States){{!}}Independent city | pop_1 = 448,479 | img_1 = Virginia_Beach_from_Fishing_Pier.jpg | city_2 = Norfolk, Virginia{{!}}Norfolk | div_2 = Independent city (United States){{!}}Independent city | pop_2 = 246,139 | img_2 = Norfolk,_VA.jpg | city_3 = Chesapeake, Virginia{{!}}Chesapeake | div_3 = Independent city (United States){{!}}Independent city | pop_3 = 230,571 | img_3 = Great_Dismal_Swamp_Canal.jpg | city_4 = Arlington County, Virginia{{!}}Arlington | div_4 = Arlington County, Virginia{{!}}Arlington | pop_4 = 224,906 | img_4 = Arlington_County_-_Virginia_-_2.jpg | city_5 = Richmond, Virginia{{!}}Richmond | div_5 = Independent city (United States){{!}}Independent city | pop_5 = 214,114 | img_5 = | city_6 = Newport News, Virginia{{!}}Newport News | div_6 = Independent city (United States){{!}}Independent city | pop_6 = 182,020 | img_6 = | city_7 = Alexandria, Virginia{{!}}Alexandria | div_7 = Independent city (United States){{!}}Independent city | pop_7 = 148,892 | img_7 = | city_8 = Hampton, Virginia{{!}}Hampton | div_8 = Independent city (United States){{!}}Independent city | pop_8 = 136,699 | img_8 = | city_9 = Roanoke, Virginia{{!}}Roanoke | div_9 = Independent city (United States){{!}}Independent city | pop_9 = 98,465 | img_9 = | city_10 = Portsmouth, Virginia{{!}}Portsmouth | div_10 = Independent city (United States){{!}}Independent city | pop_10 = 96,205 | img_10 = }} [[File:Virginia-Population.svg|thumb|300px|Virginia counties and cities by population in 2010]] Virginia is divided into 95 [[List of counties in Virginia|counties]] and 38 [[independent city (United States)|independent cities]], the latter acting in many ways as [[county-equivalent]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/co_metadata.html|title=County & County Equivalent Areas|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|date=April 19, 2005|accessdate=December 8, 2007}}</ref> This general method of treating cities and counties on par with each other is unique to Virginia, with only three other [[Independent city (United States)#Other states|independent cities in the United States]] outside Virginia, in three different states.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.virginiabusiness.com/index.php/opinion/article/unique-structural-issues-make-progress-in-virginia-difficult/201616/|title=Unique structural issues make progress in Virginia difficult|date=September 28, 2009|first=Bernie|last=Niemeier|work=Virginia Business|accessdate=October 3, 2009}}</ref> Virginia limits the authority of cities and counties to countermand laws expressly allowed by the [[Virginia General Assembly]] under what is known as [[Dillon's Rule]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginia.edu/ien/vnrli/docs/briefs/Dillons_Rule_09.pdf|title=Dillon's Rule: Legal Framework for Decision Making|publisher=University of Virginia|accessdate=November 22, 2010}}</ref> In addition to independent cities, there are also [[List of towns in Virginia|incorporated ''towns'']] which operate under their own governments, but are part of a county. Finally there are hundreds of [[List of unincorporated towns in Virginia|unincorporated communities]] within the counties. Virginia does not have any further political subdivisions, such as villages or townships. Virginia has 11 [[Virginia census statistical areas|Metropolitan Statistical Areas]]; [[Northern Virginia]], [[Hampton Roads]], and [[Richmond-Petersburg]] are the three most populous. Richmond is the capital of Virginia, and its metropolitan area has a population of over 1.2&nbsp;million.<ref name=popnews/> {{As of|2010}}, [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]] is the most populous city in the Commonwealth, with [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]] and [[Chesapeake, Virginia|Chesapeake]] second and third, respectively.<ref name=c2009>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_PL/P1/0400000US51%7C0400000US51.16000|title=Virginia 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File|work=[[United States Census Bureau]]|date=April 1, 2010|accessdate=May 1, 2011}}</ref> Norfolk forms the urban core of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, which has a population over 1.6&nbsp;million people and is the site of the world's largest naval base, [[Naval Station Norfolk]].<ref name=popnews>{{cite news|url=http://hamptonroads.com/2008/01/chesapeake-suffolk-track-pass-neighbors-terms-population|title=Chesapeake, Suffolk on track to pass neighbors in terms of population|first=Marc|last=Davis|work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]|date=January 31, 2008|accessdate=October 20, 2008}}</ref><ref name=hr/> [[Suffolk, Virginia|Suffolk]], which includes a portion of the [[Great Dismal Swamp]], is the largest city by area at {{convert|429.1|sqmi|km2}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.suffolk.va.us/community/history.html|title=All About Suffolk|publisher=[[Suffolk, Virginia|Suffolk]]|date=February 12, 2007|accessdate=February 19, 2008}}</ref> [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]] is the most populous locality in Virginia, with over one&nbsp;million residents, although that does not include its [[county seat]] Fairfax, which is one of the independent cities.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/04/AR2009070402623.html|title=To Be or Not to Be Fairfax County?|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=July 5, 2009|accessdate=August 18, 2009|first1=Sandhya|last1=Somashekhar|first2=Amy|last2=Gardner}}</ref> Fairfax County has a major urban business and shopping center in [[Tysons Corner]], Virginia's largest office market.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fairfaxcountyeda.org/re_tysons.htm|title=Doing Business in Fairfax County|publisher=Fairfax County Economic Development Authority|date=June 26, 2007|accessdate=December 8, 2007}}</ref> Neighboring [[Prince William County, Virginia|Prince William County]] is Virginia's second most populous county, with a population exceeding 450,000, and is home to [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]], the [[FBI Academy]] and [[Manassas National Battlefield Park]]. [[Loudoun County, Virginia|Loudoun County]], with the county seat at [[Leesburg, Virginia|Leesburg]], is both the fastest-growing county in Virginia and has the highest median household income ($114,204) in the country {{as of|2010|lc=on}}.<ref name=ltm>{{cite news|url=http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/loudoun_named_rich909est_c454ounty_in_the_nation/|title=Loudoun named richest county in the nation, again|first=Hannah|last=Hager|work=Loudoun Times-Mirror|date=November 12, 2010|accessdate=May 1, 2011}}</ref> [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington County]], the smallest self-governing county in the United States by land area, is an urban community organized as a county.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/22/AR2005112202165_pf.html|title=Silent Streams|work=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Mary|last=Battiata|date=November 27, 2005|accessdate=April 12, 2008}}</ref> The [[Roanoke, Virginia|Roanoke]] area, with an estimated population of 300,399, is the largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in western Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/2009/tables/CBSA-EST2009-01.csv|title=Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009 (CBSA-EST2009-01)|format=[[comma-separated values|CSV]]|work=2009 Population Estimates|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|date=March 23, 2010|accessdate=March 26, 2010}}</ref> ==Demographics== {{Main article|Demographics of Virginia}} {{US Census population |1790= 691737 |1800= 807557 |1810= 877683 |1820= 938261 |1830= 1044054 |1840= 1025227 |1850= 1119348 |1860= 1596318 |1870= 1225163 |1880= 1512565 |1890= 1655980 |1900= 1854184 |1910= 2061612 |1920= 2309187 |1930= 2421851 |1940= 2677773 |1950= 3318680 |1960= 3966949 |1970= 4648494 |1980= 5346818 |1990= 6187358 |2000= 7078515 |2010= 8001024 |estimate= 8411808 |estyear= 2016 |align-fn=center |footnote=Source: 1860<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civil-war.net/pages/1860_census.html |title=Results from the 1860 Census |publisher=The Civil War Home Page}}</ref> 1910–2010<ref>{{cite web|author=Resident Population Data |url=http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php |title=Resident Population Data – 2010 Census |publisher=2010.census.gov |accessdate=December 22, 2016}}</ref><br />2016 estimate<ref name=PopEstUS/> }} {{stack|float=right| [[File:Elizabeth River at NNSY.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Hampton Roads]] metropolitan area is home to the first [[British colonization of the Americas|British colony in the Americas]], and currently has a population exceeding 1.7 million.|alt=The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) transits the Elizabeth River at Norfolk Naval Shipyard.]] }} The [[United States Census Bureau]] estimates that the state population was 8,411,808 on July 1, 2016, a 5.1% increase since the [[2010 United States Census]].<ref name="PopEstUS">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/popest/data/state/totals/2015/tables/NST-EST2015-01.csv|format=CSV|title=Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2016|date=December 22, 2016|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|accessdate=December 22, 2016}}</ref> This includes an increase from net migration of 381,969 people into the Commonwealth since the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]]. [[Immigration to the United States|Immigration]] from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 159,627&nbsp;people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 155,205&nbsp;people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009/tables/09s0015.pdf|format=PDF|title=State Resident Population—Components of Change: 2000 to 2007|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|date=December 27, 2007|accessdate=April 6, 2010}}</ref> As of 2000, the [[center of population]] is located in [[Goochland County, Virginia|Goochland County]], near [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]].<ref name=census>{{cite web|url=https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/INFO/COP/|title=Center Of Population Project|year=2000|accessdate=September 27, 2016|publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]}}</ref> Aside from Virginia, the top birth state for Virginians is [[New York (state)|New York]], having overtaken [[North Carolina]] in the 1990s, with the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]] accounting for the largest number of migrants into the state by region.<ref name=nytmigrationanddiaspora>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/upshot/where-people-in-each-state-were-born.html?_r=2&abt=0002&abg=1#Virginia|title=Where We Came From and Where We Went, State by State|first1=Gregor|last1=Aisch|first2=Robert|last2=Gebeloff|first3=Kevin|last3=Quealy|publisher=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> As of 2015, both the state's [[List of U.S. states by population density|population density]] and [[List of U.S. states by income|median household income]] are nearly identical to that of [[Hawaii]], while Virginia's total population is closest in size to [[New Jersey]]. ===Ethnicity=== The state's most populous ethnic group, [[Non-Hispanic White]], has declined from 76% in 1990 to 62.7% in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|title=Virginia – Race and Hispanic Origin: 1790 to 1990|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html|accessdate=April 17, 2012}}</ref><ref name=2015CensusQuickFacts>http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/51</ref> In 2011, non-Hispanic Whites were involved in 50.9% of all the births.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html|title=Americans under age 1 now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot|last=Exner|first=Rich|date=June 3, 2012|work=[[The Plain Dealer]]|accessdate=August 16, 2012}}</ref> People of [[English Americans|English heritage]] settled throughout the Commonwealth during the colonial period, and others of British and Irish heritage have since immigrated.{{sfn|Miller|Schrier|Boling|Doyle|2003|pp=6, 147}} Those who self-identify as having "[[American ethnicity]]" are predominantly of English descent, but have ancestry that has been in North America for so long that they choose to identify simply as American.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Stanley |last=Lieberson |lastauthoramp=yes |first2=Mary C. |last2=Waters |title=Ethnic Groups in Flux: The Changing Ethnic Responses of American Whites |journal=Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=487 |issue=79 |year=1986 |pages=82–86 |doi=10.1177/0002716286487001004 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first=David Hackett |last=Fischer |authorlink=David Hackett Fischer |title=[[Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America]] |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1989 |pages=633–639 |isbn=0-19-503794-4 }}</ref> Of the English immigrants to Virginia in the 17th century, 75% came as [[indentured servant]]s.<ref>W. J. Rorabaugh, Donald T. Critchlow, Paula C. Baker (2004). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=VL_6X5zWOokC&pg=PA29&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=false America's promise: a concise history of the United States]''. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 29. ISBN 0-7425-1189-8.</ref> The western mountains have many settlements that were founded by [[Scots-Irish American|Scots-Irish immigrants]] before the [[American Revolution]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://206.113.151.20/site/features.asp?featureid=225|title=Scots-Irish Sites in Virginia|publisher=Virginia Is For Lovers|date=January 3, 2008|accessdate=February 2, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginia.org/ScotsIrishHeritage/ |title=Scots-Irish Heritage – Virginia Is For Lovers |publisher=Virginia.org |year= 2011|accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> There are also sizable numbers of people of German descent in the northwestern mountains and [[Shenandoah Valley]],<ref name=dutch/> and German ancestry was the most popular response on the 2010 [[American Community Survey]], with 11.7%.<ref name=ancestry>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/B04003/0400000US51.05000|title=Total Ancestry Reported|work=2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|year=2010|accessdate=September 3, 2012|ref=CITEREFancestry}}</ref> 2.9% of Virginians also describe themselves as [[biracial]].<ref name=demographics/> The largest minority group in Virginia is African American, at 19.7% {{As of|2015|lc=on}}.<ref name=2015CensusQuickFacts/> Most African American Virginians have been descendants of enslaved Africans who worked on tobacco, cotton, and [[hemp]] plantations. These men, women and children were brought from West and West-Central Africa, primarily from [[Angola]] and the [[Bight of Bonny|Bight of Biafra]]. The [[Igbo American|Igbo]] ethnic group of what is now southern [[Nigeria]] were the single largest African group among slaves in Virginia.<ref>{{harvnb|Pinn|2009|p=175}}; {{harvnb|Chambers|2005|pp=10–14}}</ref> Though the black population was reduced by the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]], since 1965 there has been a reverse migration of blacks [[New Great Migration|returning south]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2004/05demographics_frey/20040524_Frey.pdf|first=William H.|last=Frey|title=The New Great Migration: Black Americans' Return to the South, 1965–2000|publisher=[[Brookings Institution]]|journal=The Living Cities Census Series|date=May 2004|pages=1–3|accessdate=September 10, 2008|format=PDF}}</ref> According to the [[Pew Research Center]], the state has the highest concentration of black and white interracial marriages.<ref name=blackwhite>{{cite web|url=http://hamptonroads.com/2012/03/virginia-ranks-highest-us-blackwhite-marriages|title=Virginia ranks highest in U.S. for black-white marriages|publisher=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]}}</ref> More recent immigration in the late 20th century and early 21st century has fueled new communities of Hispanics and Asians. {{As of|2015}}, 9.0% of Virginians are [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]] or Latino (of any race), and 6.5% are [[Asian people|Asian]].<ref name=2015CensusQuickFacts/> The state's Hispanic population rose by 92% from 2000 to 2010, with two-thirds of Hispanics living in [[Northern Virginia]].<ref name=demographics>{{cite news|url=http://hamptonroads.com/2011/02/virginians-census-8-million-total-1m-fairfax-county|title=Virginians in the census: 8 million total, 1M in Fairfax County|work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=February 3, 2011|accessdate=February 4, 2011|first=John|last=Raby|ref=CITEREFdemographics}}</ref> Hispanic citizens in Virginia have higher median household incomes and educational attainment than the general Virginia population.<ref name=hispanics>{{cite web|url=http://www.coopercenter.org/demographics/publications/hispanic-immigrants-and-citizens-virginia|title=Hispanic Immigrants And Citizens In Virginia|first=Qian|last=Cai|work=Numbers Count|date=February 2008|accessdate=February 7, 2012}}</ref> As far as Hispanic groups, there is a large [[Salvadoran American|Salvadoran]] population in the DC suburbs of Northern Virginia,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/06032011/polinew194910_32543.php|title=Centreville: The Gazette|work=Gazette|first=Layla|last=Wilder|date=March 28, 2008|accessdate=February 15, 2016}}</ref> and a large [[Puerto Rican American|Puerto Rican]] population in the [[Hampton Roads]] region of Southeast Virginia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_14_1YR_DP05&prodType=table|title=Centreville: The census|work=census|first=Layla|last=Wilder|date=August 1, 2015|accessdate=February 15, 2016}}</ref> Northern Virginia also has a significant population of [[Vietnamese American]]s, whose major wave of immigration followed the [[Vietnam War]],<ref>{{cite journal|title=Vietnamese American Place Making in Northern Virginia|first=Joseph|last=Wood|journal=Geographical Review|volume=87|issue=1|date=January 1997|pages=58–72|doi=10.2307/215658|jstor=215658}}</ref> and [[Korean American]]s, whose migration has been more recent and was induced in part by the quality school system.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wtop.com/?nid=722&sid=1374240|title=Centreville: The New Koreatown?|work=Fairfax County Times|first=Layla|last=Wilder|date=March 28, 2008|accessdate=November 30, 2009}}</ref> The [[Filipino American]] community has about 45,000 in the Hampton Roads area, many of whom have ties to the [[U.S. Navy]] and armed forces.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://hamptonroads.com/2008/06/locals-celebrate-philippine-independence-day|title=Locals celebrate Philippine Independence Day|work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]|date=June 12, 2008|first=Nora|last=Firestone|accessdate=September 30, 2008}}</ref> Additionally, 0.5% of Virginians are [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]] or [[Alaska Native]], and 0.1% are [[Native Hawaiian]] or other [[Pacific Islander]].<ref name=2015CensusQuickFacts/> Virginia has extended state recognition to eight [[Native American tribes in Virginia|Native American tribes]] resident in the state, though some lack federal recognition status. Most Native American groups are located in the [[Tidewater region of Virginia|Tidewater region]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/22/AR2007112201416_pf.html|title=As Year's End Nears, Disappointment|first=Brigid|last=Schulte|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 23, 2007|accessdate=June 25, 2008}}</ref> {|class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto 1em auto" | {| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em; border:none;" |- ! colspan="2" style="background:#ccf;"|Ethnicity<ref name=2015CensusQuickFacts/> |rowspan=6 style="border:none"|&nbsp; ! style="background:#ccf;"|Largest ancestries by county ! colspan="3" style="background:#ccf;"|Ancestry ([[#CITEREFancestry|2010]]) |- |Non-Hispanic White |align=right|62.7% | rowspan="5" style="text-align:center; width:280px;"|[[File:Virginia Ancestries by County 2010.svg|270px|alt=Virginia counties colored either red, blue, yellow, green, or purple based on the populations most common ancestry. The south-east is predominately purple for African American, while the west is mostly red for American. The north has yellow for German, with two small areas green for Irish. Yellow is also found in spots in the west. A strip in the middle is blue for English.]]<br /><span style="font-size: 80%; line-height: 1.3em">[[American Community Survey]] 5-year estimate</span> | style="border-right:0;"|<div class="key" style="background:#fc0; width:1.5em; height:1.5em; border:2px solid black;">&nbsp;</div> | style="border-left:0;"|German |align=right|11.7% |- |Black or African American |align=right|19.7% | style="border-right:0;"|<div class="key" style="background:#2a7fff; width:1.5em; height:1.5em; border:2px solid black;">&nbsp;</div> | style="border-left:0;"|English |align=right|10.7% |- |Hispanic or Latino (of any race) |align=right|9.0% | style="border-right:0;"|<div class="key" style="background:green; width:1.5em; height:1.5em; border:2px solid black;">&nbsp;</div> | style="border-left:0;"|Irish |align=right|9.8% |- |Asian |align=right|6.5% | style="border-right:0;"|<div class="key" style="background:#a00; width:1.5em; height:1.5em; border:2px solid black;">&nbsp;</div> | style="border-left:0;"|American |align=right|9.7% |- |American Indian and Alaska Native&nbsp; |align=right|0.5% | style="border-right:0;"|<div class="key" style="background:#5a2ca0; width:1.5em; height:1.5em; border:2px solid black;">&nbsp;</div> | style="border-left:0;"|Subsaharan African&nbsp; |align=right|1.7% |} |} As of 2011, 49.1% of Virginia's population younger than age 1 were minorities (meaning that they had at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Exner|first1=Rich|title=Americans under age 1 now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot|url=http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html|website=cleveland.com|publisher=Advance Ohio|accessdate=5 July 2016|ref=02 June 2012}}</ref> ===Languages=== The [[Piedmont region of Virginia|Piedmont]] region is known for its dialect's strong influence on [[Southern American English]]. While a more homogenized [[American English]] is found in urban areas, various accents are also used, including the [[Tidewater accent]], the [[Old Virginia accent]], and the anachronistic [[Early Modern English|Elizabethan]] of [[Tangier Island]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/niceandcurious/manyvoices.htm|title=Virginia's Many Voices|first1=Edwin S.|last1=Clay III|first2=Patricia|last2=Bangs|publisher=[[Fairfax County, Virginia]]|date=May 9, 2005|accessdate=November 28, 2007|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221203242/http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/niceandcurious/manyvoices.htm|archivedate=December 21, 2007|deadurl=yes}}</ref><ref name="Miller">{{cite news|url=http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjU1OTc0Y2ViOWQ1MjJmMTA5NTQ1ODJlZTUyNzY3MmI|title=Exotic Tangier|work=[[National Review]]|first=John J.|last=Miller|date=August 2, 2005|accessdate=October 9, 2008}}</ref> {{As of|2010}}, 85.87% (6,299,127) of Virginia residents age 5 and older spoke [[English language|English]] at home as a [[primary language]], while 6.41% (470,058) spoke [[Spanish language|Spanish]], 0.77% (56,518) [[Korean language|Korean]], 0.63% (45,881) [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], 0.57% (42,418) [[Chinese language|Chinese]] (which includes [[Standard Mandarin|Mandarin]]), and [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] was spoken as a [[main language]] by 0.56% (40,724) of the population over the age of five. In total, 14.13% (1,036,442) of Virginia's population age 5 and older spoke a [[mother language]] other than English.<ref name ="MLA Data">{{cite web|url=http://www.mla.org/map_data|title=Virginia|publisher=[[Modern Language Association]]|accessdate=August 20, 2013}}</ref> English was passed as the Commonwealth's official language by statutes in 1981 and again in 1996, though the status is not mandated by the [[Constitution of Virginia]].{{sfn|Joseph|2006|p=63}} ===Religion=== {{See also|Religion in early Virginia}} {|class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:15px; margin-top:0;" |- ! style="background:#ccf;" colspan="3"|Religion (2008) |- |colspan="2" style="border-bottom:0;"|[[Christianity|Christian]]<ref name=aris/> |align=right|76% |- |rowspan="6" style="border-top:0; border-bottom:0;"| |[[Baptist]] |align=right|27% |- |[[Roman Catholicism in the United States|Roman Catholic]]&nbsp; |align=right|11% |- |[[Methodism|Methodist]] |align=right|8% |- |[[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] |align=right|3% |- |[[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] |align=right|2% |- |[[List of Christian denominations|Other Christian]] |align=right|28% |- |colspan="3" style="border-top:0;"| |- |colspan=2|[[Buddhism]] |align=right|1% |- |colspan=2|[[Hinduism]] |align=right|1% |- |colspan=2|[[Judaism]] |align=right|1% |- |colspan=2|[[Islam]] |align=right|0.5% |- |colspan=2|[[Irreligion|Unaffiliated]] |align=right|18% |} Virginia is predominantly Christian and [[Protestantism|Protestant]]; [[Baptists]] are the largest single group with 27% of the population {{as of|2008|lc=on}}.<ref name=aris>{{cite web|title=American Religious Identification Survey|url=http://www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org|publisher=Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture|year=2008|accessdate=April 21, 2008}}</ref> Baptist congregations in Virginia have 763,655 members.<ref name="www.thearda.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/51/rcms2010_51_state_adh_2010.asp |title=The Association of Religion Data Archives &#124; State Membership Report |publisher=www.thearda.com |accessdate=December 12, 2013}}</ref> Baptist denominational groups in Virginia include the [[Baptist General Association of Virginia]], with about 1,400&nbsp;member churches, which supports both the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] and the moderate [[Cooperative Baptist Fellowship]]; and the [[Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia]] with more than 500 affiliated churches, which supports the Southern Baptist Convention.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://hamptonroads.com/node/180361|title=2nd Georgia church joins moderate Va. Baptist association|date=November 10, 2006|first=Steven G.|last=Vegh|work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]|accessdate=December 18, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=26884|title=SBCV passes 500 mark|date=November 20, 2007|accessdate=December 18, 2007|publisher=[[Baptist Press]]}}</ref> [[Roman Catholicism in the United States|Roman Catholics]] are the second-largest religious group with 673,853 members.<ref name="www.thearda.com"/> The [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington]] includes most of Northern Virginia's Catholic churches, while the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond|Diocese of Richmond]] covers the rest. [[File:Christchurchalexandria.jpg|thumb|left|[[Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia)|Christ Church in Alexandria]] was frequented by [[George Washington]] and [[Robert E. Lee]].|alt=An 18th-century red brick church with white steeple behind a modern road in autumn.]] The Virginia Conference is the [[Annual Conference|regional body]] of the [[United Methodist Church]] in most of the Commonwealth, while the Holston Conference represents much of extreme Southwest Virginia. The [[Virginia Synod]] is responsible for the congregations of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America|Lutheran Church]]. [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]], [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]], [[Congregational church|Congregationalist]], and Episcopalian adherents each composed less than 2% of the population {{as of|2010|lc=on}}.<ref name="www.thearda.com"/> The [[Episcopal Diocese of Virginia]], [[Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia|Southern Virginia]], and [[Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia|Southwestern Virginia]] support the various [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal churches]]. In November 2006, 15 conservative Episcopal churches voted to split from the Diocese of Virginia over the ordination of openly [[gay bishops]] and clergy in other dioceses of the Episcopal Church; these churches continue to claim affiliation with the larger [[Anglican Communion]] through [[Anglican realignment|other bodies outside the United States]]. Though Virginia law allows parishioners to determine their church's affiliation, the diocese claimed the secessionist churches' buildings and properties. The resulting property law case, ultimately decided in favor of the mainline diocese, was a test for Episcopal churches nationwide.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/supreme-court-wont-hear-appeal-of-dispute-over-episcopal-churchs-property-in-va/2014/03/10/8f22e72a-a886-11e3-8599-ce7295b6851c_story.html|title=Supreme Court won't hear appeal of dispute over Episcopal Church's property in Va.|first=Michelle|last=Boorstein|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=March 10, 2014|accessdate=May 1, 2014}}</ref> Among other religions, adherents of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] constitute 1% of the population, with 197 [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Virginia|congregations in Virginia]] {{as of|2014|March|lc=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-statistics/country/united-states/state/virginia|title=USA-Virginia|work=Mormon Newsroom|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]|date=March 14, 2014|accessdate=May 1, 2014|first=Lance|last=Walker}}</ref> [[Fairfax Station, Virginia|Fairfax Station]] is the site of the [[Ekoji Buddhist Temple]], of the [[Jodo Shinshu]] school, and the Hindu [[Durga]] Temple. While the state's Jewish population is small, organized Jewish sites date to 1789 with [[Congregation Beth Ahabah]].{{sfn|Olitzky|1996|p=359}} [[Muslims]] are a growing religious group throughout the Commonwealth through immigration.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailyprogress.com/cdp/news/state_regional/article/muslims_visibility_in_region_growing/27575/|title=Muslims' visibility in region growing|work=[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]]|publisher=[[Charlottesville Daily Progress]]|first=Sarah|last=Alfaham|date=September 11, 2008|accessdate=May 2, 2009}}</ref> [[Megachurch]]es in the Commonwealth include [[Thomas Road Baptist Church]], [[Immanuel Bible Church]], and [[McLean Bible Church]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hirr.hartsem.edu/cgi-bin/mega/db.pl?db=default&uid=default&view_records=1&ID=*&sb=3&so=descend|title=Megachurch Search Results|publisher=Hartford Institute for Religion Research|year=2008|accessdate=November 7, 2008}}</ref> Several Christian universities are also based in the state, including [[Regent University]], [[Liberty University]], and [[Lynchburg College]]. ==Economy== {{Main article|Economy of Virginia}} {{See also|Virginia locations by per capita income}} [[File:Virginia-Median household income.svg|thumb|300px|Virginia counties and cities by median household income (2010).]] Virginia is an [[At-will employment|employment-at-will]] state;<ref>{{cite web|title=The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry: Frequently Asked Questions: Labor & Employment Law|url=http://www.doli.virginia.gov/laborlaw/laborlaw_faqs.html|accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> its economy has diverse sources of income, including local and federal government, military, farming and business. Virginia has 4.1&nbsp;million civilian workers, and one-third of the jobs are in the [[service sector]].<ref name=energy>{{cite web|url=http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=VA|work=Energy Information Administration|title=Virginia State Energy Profiles|publisher=[[United States Department of Energy]]|date=June 26, 2008|accessdate=June 27, 2008}}</ref><ref name=ng>{{cite web|title=Virginia facts|publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]]|date=April 2, 2008|url=http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/states/state_virginia.html|accessdate=April 12, 2008}}</ref> The unemployment rate in Virginia is among the [[List of US states by unemployment rate|lowest in the nation]], at 4.8%, {{as of|December 2014|lc=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deptofnumbers.com/unemployment/virginia/ |title=Virginia State Unemployment Rate and Total Unemployed |publisher=Department of Numbers |date= December 2012 |accessdate=March 3, 2013}}</ref> The second fastest job growth town in the nation is [[Leesburg, Virginia|Leesburg]], {{as of|2011|lc=on}}.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/top25s/financial/jobgrowth.html |title=Best Places to Live 2011 – Top 25: Fastest job growth – from MONEY Magazine |publisher=CNN |date=July 14, 2010 |accessdate=February 18, 2012}}</ref> The Gross Domestic Product of Virginia was $452 billion in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Total Gross Domestic Product by State for Virginia|url=http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/VANGSP?cid=27330|publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis|year=2013|accessdate=August 12, 2014}}</ref> According to the [[Bureau of Economic Analysis]], Virginia had the most counties in the top 100 [[Highest-income counties in the United States|wealthiest in the United States]] based upon median income in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bea.gov/regional/reis/drill.cfm?table=CA1-3&catable=CA1-3&lc=30&years=2005&rformat=display&areatype=LOCAL&sort=1|title=Per capita personal income|work=Regional Economic Information System|publisher=[[Bureau of Economic Analysis]]|date=April 2007|accessdate=November 24, 2007}}</ref> [[Northern Virginia]] is the [[Highest-income counties in the United States|highest-income region]] in Virginia, having six of the twenty [[highest-income counties in the United States]], including the three highest {{As of|2011|lc=on}}.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/2008/01/22/counties-rich-income-forbeslife-cx_mw_0122realestate.html Matt Woolsey, America's Richest Counties, Forbes.com, 01.22.08, 6:00 p.m. ET] Forbes.com Web site. Retrieved on February 8, 2008.</ref> According to CNN Money Magazine the highest-income town in the nation is [[Great Falls, Virginia|Great Falls]], {{as of|2011|lc=on}}.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/top25s/financial/index.html |title=Best Places to Live 2011 – Top 25: Biggest earners – from MONEY Magazine |publisher=CNN |date=July 14, 2010 |accessdate=February 18, 2012}}</ref> According to a 2013 study by Phoenix Marketing International, Virginia had the seventh-largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States, with a ratio of 6.64%.<ref>{{cite web|last=Frank|first=Robert|title=Top states for millionaires per capita|url=http://www.cnbc.com/id/101338309|publisher=CNBC|accessdate=January 25, 2014}}</ref> ===Government=== [[File:The Pentagon January 2008.jpg|thumb|The [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] is headquartered in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington]] at [[The Pentagon]], the world's largest office building.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/23/AR2007052301296.html|title=How the Pentagon Got Its Shape|first=Steve|last=Vogel|date=May 27, 2007|accessdate=April 21, 2009|work=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>|alt=Aerial view of the huge five-sided building and its multiple rings. Parking lots and highways stretch away from it.]] Virginia has the highest defense spending of any state per capita, providing the Commonwealth with around 900,000 jobs.<ref name=lovehate>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/05/AR2010050505205.html|title=Virginia's love-hate relationship with federal spending|first=Rosalind S.|last=Helderman|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 6, 2010|accessdate=May 26, 2010}}</ref><ref name=fedspend/> Approximately 12% of all [[Government procurement in the United States|U.S. federal procurement]] money is spent in Virginia, the second-highest amount after California.<ref name=fedspend>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxbusiness.com/government/2012/08/03/states-that-get-most-federal-money/|title=States That Get The Most Federal Money|publisher=[[Fox Business Network]]|first1=Michael B.|last1=Sauter|first2=Lisa|last2=Uible|first3=Lisa|last3=Nelson|first4=Alexander E. M.|last4=Hess|date=August 3, 2012|accessdate=May 1, 2014}}</ref><ref name=weighdefense>{{cite news|title=Virginia weighs its dependence on defense spending|first=Nicole Anderson|last=Ellis|date=September 1, 2008|work=Virginia Business|url=http://www.virginiabusiness.com/index.php/news/article/virginia-weighs-its-dependence-on-defense-spending/1829/|accessdate=May 26, 2010}}</ref> Many Virginians work for [[List of United States federal agencies|federal agencies]] in [[Northern Virginia]], which include the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]], as well as the [[National Science Foundation]], the [[United States Geological Survey]] and the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]]. Many others work for [[government contractor]]s, including defense and security firms, which hold more than 15,000 federal contracts.<ref name=fedjobs>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1587284-2,00.html|title=The Federal Job Machine|date=February 8, 2007|work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|first=Justin|last=Fox|accessdate=November 7, 2007}}</ref> Virginia has one of the highest concentrations of veterans of any state,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2012/jun/11/bob-mcdonnell/bob-mcdonnell-no-1-state-veterans-capita/|title=Bob McDonnell says Virginia is No. 1 state in veterans per capita|publisher=[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]]}}</ref> and is second to [[California]] in total Department of Defense employees.<ref name=weighdefense /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/17/eveningnews/main4530304.shtml|title=Virginia Finally Comes Into Play|date=October 17, 2008|accessdate=October 20, 2008|publisher=[[CBS News]]}}</ref> The [[Hampton Roads]] area has the largest concentration of military personnel and assets of any metropolitan area in the world,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/vtm/hampton_roads.asp|title=Virginia Transportation Modeling Program|publisher=[[Virginia Department of Transportation]]}}</ref> including the largest naval base in the world, [[Naval Station Norfolk]].<ref name=hr>{{cite web|url=http://www.navsea.navy.mil/shipyards/norfolk/History/Home.aspx|title=NNSY History|publisher=[[United States Navy]]|date=August 27, 2007|accessdate=April 6, 2010}}</ref> In its state government, Virginia employs 106,143&nbsp;public employees, who combined have a median income of $44,656 {{as of|2013|lc=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://datacenter.timesdispatch.com/databases/salaries-virginia-state-employees-2012/|title=Salaries of Virginia state employees 2012–13|work=Richmond Times-Dispatch|date=June 30, 2013|accessdate=May 1, 2014}}</ref> ===Business=== [[File:Virginia Beach waterfront.jpg|thumb|right|Ocean tourism is an important sector of [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach's]] economy.|alt=High-rise hotels line the ocean front covered with colorful beach-goers.]] Virginia has the highest concentration of technology workers of any state,<ref>{{cite news|first=Gregory|last=Poersch|title=1 of Out of 11 Workers in Virginia in Tech Industry, Highest Concentration in the Nation, AeA Says|date=April 2, 2008|agency=[[Reuters]]|work=American Electronics Association|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS44925+02-Apr-2008+PRN20080402|accessdate=October 7, 2007}}</ref> and the fourth-highest number of technology workers after [[California]], [[Texas]], and [[New York (state)|New York]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Marjorie |last=Censer|title=Virginia loses tech jobs but maintains highest concentration in U.S.|date=October 4, 2011|agency=[[Washington Post]]|work=TechAmerica|url=http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-10-04/business/35279112_1_tech-jobs-techamerica-foundation-jobs-in-software-services|accessdate=December 14, 2012}}</ref> [[Integrated circuit|Computer chips]] became the state's highest-grossing export in 2006, surpassing its traditional top exports of coal and tobacco combined,<ref name=chips>{{cite news|url=http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=120082&ran=25886|title=Computer chips now lead Virginia exports|first=Gregory|last=Richards|work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]|date=February 24, 2007|accessdate=September 29, 2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310155937/http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=120082&ran=25886|archivedate=March 10, 2007}}</ref> reaching a total export value of $717 million in 2015.<ref name=chips_census>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/state/data/va.html|title=State Exports from Virginia|access-date=2016-07-23|website=census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census]]}}</ref> [[Northern Virginia]], once considered the state's dairy capital, now hosts software, communication technology, defense contracting companies, particularly in the [[Dulles Technology Corridor]]. The state has the highest average and peak Internet speeds in the United States, with the third-highest worldwide.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://z6mag.com/featured/virginia-has-the-fastest-internet-speed-within-the-us-report-shows-1624659.html|title=Virginia has the Fastest Internet Speed within the US, Report Shows|work=The Week|first=Allan|last=Soldner|date=August 8, 2014|accessdate=August 8, 2014}}</ref> Northern Virginia's [[data center]]s can carry up to 70% of the nation's internet traffic,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesdispatch.com/business/economy/va-power-certifies-west-creek-as-potential-data-center-site/article_f2d98326-32c9-52d1-8ecc-2f3416de0542.html|title=Va. Power certifies West Creek as potential data center site|first=Peter|last=Bacqué|work=[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]]|date=December 13, 2013|accessdate=February 25, 2014}}</ref> with [[Loudoun County, Virginia|Loudoun County]] alone home to as much data center space as [[northern California]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://datacenterfrontier.com/red-hot-in-nova-burst-of-leasing-new-construction-in-ashburn/|title=Red Hot in NoVa: Burst of Leasing, New Construction in Ashburn|publisher=Data Center Frontier}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.theregistrysf.com/bay-area-data-centers-move-quickly-on-expansion-plans/|title=Bay Area Data Centers Move Quickly on Expansion Plans|publisher=The Registry}}</ref> Virginia companies received the fourth-highest amount of venture capital funding in the first half of 2011 after California, [[Massachusetts]], and New York.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/08/04/interactive-map-the-united-states-of-venture-capital/|first=Scott|last=Austin|title=Interactive Map: The United States of Venture Capital|date=August 4, 2010|accessdate=August 6, 2010|work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> In 2009, ''[[Forbes]]'' magazine named Virginia the best state in the nation for business for the fourth year in a row,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/23/best-states-for-business-beltway-best-states.html|first=Kurt|last=Badenhausen|title=The Best States for Business|date=September 23, 2009|accessdate=March 27, 2010|work=[[Forbes]]}}</ref> while [[CNBC]] named it the [[America's Top States For Business|top state for business]] in 2007, 2009, and 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2011-06-28-cnbc-virginia-top-state_n.htm|first=Scott|last=Cohn|title=Virginia named America's Top State for Business in 2011|date=June 28, 2011|accessdate=June 28, 2011|work=[[CNBC]]}}</ref> Additionally, in 2014 a survey of 12,000 small business owners found Virginia to be one of the most friendly states for small businesses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fundivo.com/tips/best-and-worst-states-for-business-owners/|title=Best and Worst States for Business Owners|work=Fundivo}}</ref> Virginia has 20 [[Fortune 500]] companies, ranking the state eighth nationwide.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MN_FORTUNE_500_MINNESOTA_MNOL-|title=20 Minn. companies make newest Fortune 500|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=May 5, 2011|accessdate=May 5, 2011|work=[[Rochester Post-Bulletin]]}}</ref> [[Tysons Corner]] is one of the largest business districts in the nation. Tourism in Virginia supported an estimated 210,000 jobs and generated $21.2 billion in 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2013/09/04/virginia-tourism-sets-record.html |title= Virginia tourism sets record |work= Washington Business Journal |date= September 4, 2013 |accessdate= September 5, 2013 |first= Jeff |last= Clabaugh}}</ref> [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington County]] is the top tourist destination in the state by domestic spending, followed by [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]], [[Loudoun County, Virginia|Loudoun County]], and [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]].<ref name=fairfaxnarrowly>{{cite web|url=http://www.sungazette.net/mclean-greatfalls-vienna-oakton/news/fairfax-narrowly-misses-out-on-no-ranking-in-va-tourism/article_816ea98e-193e-11e3-87d7-001a4bcf887a.html|title=Fairfax Narrowly Misses Out on No. 1 Ranking in Va. Tourism Spending|publisher=Sun Gazette|author=Scott McCaffrey}}</ref> ===Agriculture=== [[File:US Navy 100428-N-3154P-149 Sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion (ACB) 2, use heavy machinery to load oyster shells for two new artificial oyster reef sites in the mud flats of Little Creek Cove.jpg|thumb|U.S. Navy sailors unload oysters to help establish an [[artificial reef|artificial oyster reef]]. Virginia is the third largest producer of seafood in the nation, after [[Alaska]] and [[Louisiana]].<ref name="govoyster">{{cite web|url=https://governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/newsarticle?articleId=5820|title=Governor McAuliffe Announces Creation of Virginia Oyster Trail |publisher=Office of the Governor}}</ref>]] Agriculture occupies 32% of the land in Virginia. {{As of|2012}}, about 357,000 Virginian jobs were in agriculture, with over 47,000&nbsp;farms, averaging {{convert|171|acre|sqmi km2|2|abbr=on}}, in a total farmland area of 8.1&nbsp;million acres (12,656&nbsp;sq&nbsp;mi; 32,780&nbsp;km²). Though agriculture has declined significantly since 1960 when there were twice as many farms, it remains the largest single industry in Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/agfacts/index.shtml|title=Virginia Agriculture&nbsp;— Facts and Figures|year=2012|accessdate=December 9, 2012|publisher=Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services}}</ref> Tomatoes surpassed soy as the most profitable crop in Virginia in 2006, with peanuts and hay as other agricultural products.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://hamptonroads.com/node/354831|title=Tomato moves into the top money-making spot in Virginia|date=October 17, 2007|first=Linda|last=McNatt|work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]|accessdate=October 18, 2007}}</ref> Although it is no longer the primary crop, Virginia is still the fifth-largest producer of tobacco nationwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Online_Highlights/County_Profiles/Virginia/cp99051.pdf|format=PDF|title=Virginia|work=2007 Census of Agriculture|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|date=July 17, 2009|accessdate=October 6, 2009}}</ref> Virginia is the largest producer of seafood on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]], with [[scallop]]s, [[oyster]]s, [[blue crab]]s, and [[clam]]s as the largest seafood harvests by value, and [[France]], [[Canada]], and [[Hong Kong]] as the top export destinations.<ref name="govoyster"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.farmflavor.com/us-ag/virginia/virginia-food/virginias-bountiful-seafood-harvest/|title=Virginia’s Bountiful Seafood Harvest|first=John|last=McBryde}}</ref> [[Eastern oyster]] harvests have increased from 23,000 bushels in 2001 to over 500,000 in 2013.<ref name="govoyster"/> <!--[[Eastern oyster]] harvests are an important part of the [[Chesapeake Bay]] economy, but declining oyster populations from disease, pollution, and overfishing have diminished catches.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.magazine.noaa.gov/stories/mag165.htm|title=NOAA Working to Restore Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay|work=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]|date=March 31, 2005|accessdate=February 14, 2008}}</ref>--> Wineries and vineyards in the [[Northern Neck]] and along the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] also have begun to generate income and attract tourists.<ref name=wine>{{cite web|url=http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pdffiles/vawinery.pdf|title=Assessment of the Profitability and Viability of Virginia Wineries|date=June 2007|work=MKF Research LLC|publisher=Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services|accessdate=June 26, 2008|format=PDF}}</ref> Virginia has the fifth-highest number of wineries in the nation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wineamerica.org/policy/by-the-numbers|title=About the United States Wine and Grape Industry|publisher=National Association of American Wineries}}</ref> ===Taxes=== Virginia collects personal [[income tax]] in five income brackets, ranging from 3.0% to 5.75%. The state sales and [[use tax]] rate is 4.3%, while the tax rate on food is 1.5%. There is an additional 1% local tax, for a total of a 5.3% combined [[sales tax]] on most Virginia purchases and 2.5% on most food.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tax.virginia.gov/site.cfm?alias=SalesUseTax|title=Sales and Use Tax|work=Virginia Department of Taxation|date=April 25, 2014|accessdate=September 23, 2014}}</ref> Virginia's [[property tax]] is set and collected at the local government level and varies throughout the Commonwealth. Real estate is also taxed at the local level based on 100% of fair market value. Tangible personal property also is taxed at the local level and is based on a percentage or percentages of original cost.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tax.virginia.gov/Documents/Tax%20Facts%20-%20%207-1-2011.pdf|format=PDF|title=Virginia Tax Facts|publisher=Virginia Department of Taxation|date=July 1, 2011|accessdate=November 26, 2011}}</ref> ==Culture== {{Main article|Culture of Virginia}} [[File:Colonial Williamsburg ladies.jpg|thumb|Colonial Virginian culture, language, and style are reenacted in [[Colonial Williamsburg|Williamsburg]].|alt=Five women dressed in long colonial style clothing sit on the stairs of tan and beige buildings talking. In front of them is a wooden wheelbarrow full of wicker baskets.]] Virginia's culture was popularized and spread across America and the [[Southern United States|South]] by figures such as [[George Washington]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], and [[Robert E. Lee]]. Their homes in Virginia represent the birthplace of America and the South.{{sfn|McGraw|2005|p=14}} Modern Virginia culture has many sources, and is part of the [[culture of the Southern United States]].{{sfn|Fischer|Kelly|2000|pp=102–103}} The [[Smithsonian Institution]] divides Virginia into nine cultural regions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.folklife.si.edu/resources/2007Festival/VA_Signs/SFF07_VA_Intro_Map.pdf|format=PDF|title=Roots of Virginia Culture|work=Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2007|publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]]|date=July 5, 2007|accessdate=September 29, 2008}}</ref> Besides the general [[cuisine of the Southern United States]], Virginia maintains its own particular traditions. [[Virginia wine]] is made in many parts of the state.<ref name=wine/> [[Smithfield ham]], sometimes called "Virginia ham", is a type of [[country ham]] which is [[Geographical indication|protected by state law]], and can only be produced in the town of [[Smithfield, Virginia|Smithfield]].{{sfn|Williamson|2008|p=41}} [[Virginia furniture]] and architecture are typical of [[American colonial architecture]]. Thomas Jefferson and many of the state's early leaders favored the [[Neoclassical architecture]] style, leading to its use for important state buildings. The [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] and their style can also be found in parts of the state.<ref name=dutch>{{cite journal|url=http://www.vahistorical.org/publications/Abstract_1091_Keller.htm|title=Pennsylvania and Virginia Germans during the Civil War|publisher=Virginia Historical Society|first=Christian B.|last=Keller|journal=Virginia Magazine of History and Biography|volume=109|year=2001|pages=37–86|accessdate=April 12, 2008}}</ref> Literature in Virginia often deals with the state's extensive and sometimes troubled past. The works of [[Pulitzer Prize]] winner [[Ellen Glasgow]] often dealt with social inequalities and the role of women in her culture.{{sfn|Gray|Robinson|2004|pp=81, 103}} Glasgow's peer and close friend [[James Branch Cabell]] wrote extensively about the changing position of gentry in the [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction era]], and challenged its moral code with ''[[Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/cabell1/summary.html|title=Summary of Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice|first=Mary Alice|last=Kirkpatrick|accessdate=August 18, 2009|work=Library of Southern Literature|publisher=[[University of North Carolina]]}}</ref> [[William Styron]] approached history in works such as ''[[The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967)|The Confessions of Nat Turner]]'' and ''[[Sophie's Choice (novel)|Sophie's Choice]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/02/books/02styron.html|title=William Styron, Novelist, Dies at 81|first=Christopher|last=Lehmann-Haupt|date=November 2, 2006|accessdate=August 18, 2009|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> [[Tom Wolfe]] has occasionally dealt with his southern heritage in bestsellers like ''[[I Am Charlotte Simmons]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26738-2004Nov4.html|title=A Coed in Full|first=Michael|last=Dirda|date=November 7, 2004|accessdate=October 3, 2009|work=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> [[Mount Vernon, Virginia|Mount Vernon]] native [[Matt Bondurant]] received critical acclaim for his [[historical fiction|historic novel]] ''[[The Wettest County in the World]]'' about moonshiners in [[Franklin County, Virginia|Franklin County]] during [[Prohibition in the United States|prohibition]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/fairfax-native-matt-bondurants-book-is-now-the-movie-lawless/2012/05/27/gJQAZqy1uU_story.html |title= Fairfax native Matt Bondurant's book is now the movie 'Lawless' |first= Tom |last= Jackman |work= [[The Washington Post]] |date= May 27, 2012 |accessdate= May 28, 2012}}</ref> Virginia also names a [[Poet Laureate of Virginia|state Poet Laureate]], currently [[Ron Smith (American poet)|Ron Smith]] of [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], who will serve until mid-2016.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailypress.com/news/politics/shad-plank-blog/dp-gov-taps-new-oig-elections-chief-hires-house-member-20140627,0,6770516.post|title=Gov. taps new OIG, elections chief, hires House member|first=Travis|last=Fain|date=June 27, 2014|accessdate=July 9, 2014|work=[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]]}}</ref> ===Fine and performing arts=== {{See also|Music of Virginia}} [[File:Wolf Trap (national park) meadow pavilion.jpg|thumb|The Meadow Pavilion is one of the theaters at [[Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts]].|alt=A small, boxy, wooden stage with a trapezoidal overhang stands in the center of meadow. In the foreground is a running stream with a stone embankment.]] Rich in cultural heritage, Virginia however ranks near the bottom of U.S. states in terms of public spending on the arts, at nearly half of the national average.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.nasaa-arts.org/Research/Grant-Making/2010_funding_and_grantmaking.pdf|title=State Arts Agency Funding and Grant Making|publisher=National Assembly of State Arts Agencies|date=March 2010|accessdate=May 3, 2010|format=PDF}}</ref> The state government does fund some institutions, including the [[Virginia Museum of Fine Arts]] and the [[Science Museum of Virginia]]. Other museums include the popular [[Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center]] of the [[National Air and Space Museum]] and the [[Chrysler Museum of Art]].{{sfn|Smith|2008|pp=22–25}} Besides these sites, many open-air museums are located in the Commonwealth, such as [[Colonial Williamsburg]], the [[Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia|Frontier Culture Museum]], and various historic battlefields.{{sfn|Howard|Burnham|Burnham|2006|pp=88, 206, 292}} The [[Virginia Foundation for the Humanities]] works to improve the Commonwealth's civic, cultural, and intellectual life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginia.edu/vfh/mission.html|title=Mission & History|work=[[Virginia Foundation for the Humanities]]|year=2007|accessdate=December 9, 2007|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070827202050/http://www.virginia.edu/vfh/mission.html|archivedate=August 27, 2007}}</ref> Theaters and venues in the Commonwealth are found both in the cities and suburbs. The [[Harrison Opera House]], in [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], is home of the [[Virginia Opera]]. The [[Virginia Symphony Orchestra]] operates in and around [[Hampton Roads]].{{sfn|Howard|Burnham|Burnham|2006|pp=165–166}} Resident and touring theater troupes operate from the [[American Shakespeare Center]] in [[Staunton, Virginia|Staunton]].{{sfn|Goodwin|2012|p=154}} The [[Barter Theatre]], designated the State Theatre of Virginia, in [[Abingdon, Virginia|Abingdon]] won the first ever [[Regional Theatre Tony Award]] in 1948, while the [[Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia)|Signature Theatre]] in [[Arlington, Virginia|Arlington]] won it in 2009. There's also a Children's Theater of Virginia, [[Theatre IV]], which is the second largest touring troupe nationwide.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://tribune-democrat.com/events/x519134240/Holiday-magic-Arcadia-play-tells-tale-of-Christmas-poem |title= Holiday magic: Arcadia play tells tale of Christmas poem |first= Ruth |last= Rice |work= [[The Tribune-Democrat]] |date= November 27, 2006 |accessdate= July 7, 2010}}</ref> Virginia has launched many award-winning traditional musical artists and internationally successful popular music acts, as well as Hollywood actors.<ref name=factpack/> Virginia is known for its tradition in the music genres of [[Old-time music|old-time string]] and [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]], with groups such as the [[Carter Family]] and [[Stanley Brothers]], as well as [[Gospel (music)|gospel]], [[blues]], and [[shout band]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/virginia.aspx|title=The Roots and Branches of Virginia Music|work=Folkways|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|year=2007|accessdate=January 29, 2014}}</ref> Contemporary Virginia is also known for [[folk rock]] artists like [[Dave Matthews]] and [[Jason Mraz]], [[hip hop]] stars like [[Pharrell Williams]] and [[Missy Elliott]], as well as [[thrash metal]] groups like [[GWAR]] and [[Lamb of God (band)|Lamb of God]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2013/08/12-virginia-bands-you-should-listen-to-now.html|title=12 Virginia Bands You Should Listen to Now|first=Reggie|last=Pace|work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|date=August 14, 2013|accessdate=January 29, 2014}}</ref> Notable performance venues include [[The Birchmere]], the [[Landmark Theater (Richmond, Virginia)|Landmark Theater]], and [[Jiffy Lube Live]].{{sfn|Howard|Burnham|Burnham|2006|pp=29, 121, 363, 432}} [[Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts]] is located in [[Vienna, Virginia|Vienna]] and is the only national park intended for use as a performing arts center.<ref name=wolftrap>{{harvnb|Scott|Scott|2004|pp=307–308}}</ref> ===Festivals=== [[File:Chincoteague pony swim 2007.jpg|thumb|The annual [[Chincoteague Pony]] Swim features over 200 wild ponies swimming across the [[Assateague Channel]] into [[Chincoteague, Virginia|Chincoteague]].|alt=Dozens of brown and white ponies surge out of the shallow water onto a grassy shore crowded with onlookers.]] Many counties and localities host [[county fair]]s and festivals. The [[Virginia State Fair]] is held at the [[Meadow Event Park]] every September. Also in September is the [[Neptune Festival]] in [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]], which celebrates the city, the waterfront, and regional artists. [[Norfolk, Virginia#Parks and recreation|Norfolk's Harborfest]], in June, features boat racing and [[air show]]s.{{sfn|Goodwin|2012|pp=25, 287}} [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]] also sponsors [[Celebrate Fairfax!]] with popular and traditional music performances.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/06/AR2007060601032.html|title=Live!|date=June 7, 2007|first=Marianne|last=Meyer|work=[[The Washington Post]]|accessdate=November 7, 2008}}</ref> The Virginia Lake Festival is held during the third weekend in July in [[Clarksville, VA|Clarksville]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginia.org/site/description.asp?attrID=39216|title=Virginia Lake Festival|year=2008|publisher=Virginia Tourism Corporation|accessdate=September 8, 2008}}</ref> Wolf Trap hosts the [[Wolf Trap Opera Company]], which produces an opera festival every summer.<ref name=wolftrap/> Each September, Bay Days celebrates the Chesapeake Bay as well as Hampton's 400-year history since 1610, and Isle of Wight County holds a County Fair on the second week of September as well. Both feature live music performances, and other unique events. On the [[Eastern Shore of Virginia|Eastern Shore]] island of [[Chincoteague, Virginia|Chincoteague]] the annual Pony Swim & Auction of [[feral]] [[Chincoteague Pony|Chincoteague ponies]] at the end of July is a unique local tradition expanded into a week-long carnival. The [[Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival]] is a six-day festival held annually in [[Winchester, Virginia|Winchester]] that includes parades and [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]] concerts. The [[Old-time music|Old Time]] Fiddlers' Convention in [[Galax, Virginia|Galax]], begun in 1935, is one of the oldest and largest such events worldwide. Two important film festivals, the [[Virginia Film Festival]] and the [[VCU French Film Festival]], are held annually in [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]] and Richmond, respectively.{{sfn|Goodwin|2012|pp=25–26}} ==Media== {{Main article|List of radio stations in Virginia|List of television stations in Virginia}} [[File:USA Today building.jpg|thumb|''[[USA Today]]'', the nation's most circulated newspaper, has its headquarters in McLean.|alt=Two geometric all glass towers connected by a central atrium stand in front of a grassy walkway and under a dark and cloudy sky]] The [[Hampton Roads]] area is the 45th-largest [[media market]] in the United States as ranked by [[Nielsen Media Research]], while the [[Richmond-Petersburg]] area is 57th and [[Roanoke, Virginia|Roanoke]]-[[Lynchburg, Virginia|Lynchburg]] is 66th {{as of|2013|lc=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/docs/solutions/measurement/television/2013-2014-DMA-Ranks.pdf|title=Local Television Market Universe Estimates|date=September 12, 2013|accessdate=February 26, 2014}}</ref> Northern Virginia is part of the much larger Washington, D.C. media market. There are 36 [[List of television stations in Virginia|television stations in Virginia]], representing each major [[List of United States over-the-air television networks|U.S. network]], part of 42 stations which serve Virginia viewers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mondotimes.com/world/usa/tv.html?state=46|title=Virginia TV Stations|publisher=MondoTimes|year=2011|accessdate=May 6, 2011}}</ref> More than 720 [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]-licensed FM [[radio]] [[List of radio stations in Virginia|stations broadcast in Virginia]], with about 300 such AM stations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?state=VA|title=FM Query|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|date=May 6, 2011|accessdate=May 6, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?state=VA|title=AM Query|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]|date=May 6, 2011|accessdate=May 6, 2011}}</ref> The nationally available [[Public Broadcasting Service]] (PBS) is headquartered in [[Arlington, Virginia|Arlington]]. Independent PBS affiliates exist throughout Virginia, and the Arlington PBS member station [[WETA-TV]] produces programs such as the ''[[PBS NewsHour]]'' and ''[[Washington Week]]''. The most circulated [[List of newspapers in Virginia|native newspapers in the Commonwealth]] are [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk's]] ''[[The Virginian-Pilot]]'' (142,476 daily subscribers), the ''[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]]'' (108,559), and ''[[The Roanoke Times]]'' (78,663), {{As of|2014|lc=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Highest Circulation Virginia Newspapers|work=Mondo Newspapers|url=http://www.mondotimes.com/newspapers/usa/usatop100.html|accessdate=February 26, 2014|year=2014}}</ref> Several [[Washington, D.C.]] papers are based in [[Northern Virginia]], such as ''[[The Washington Examiner]]'' and ''[[Politico (newspaper)|Politico]]''. The paper with the nation's widest circulation, ''[[USA Today]]'', with 1.83 million daily subscriptions, is headquartered in [[McLean, Virginia|McLean]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=302485|date=April 20, 2011|work=Reading Eagle|agency=[[Associated Press]]|title=USA Today posts small circulation gain as it undergoes a revamp to counter Internet threat|accessdate=April 20, 2012}}</ref> Besides traditional forms of media, Virginia is the home base for telecommunication companies such as [[Voxant]] and [[XO Communications]]. In Northern Virginia, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' is the dominant newspaper, since Northern VA is located in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. ==Education== {{Main article|Education in Virginia}} [[File:Rotunda-dusk.jpg|thumb|The [[University of Virginia]], a [[World Heritage Site]], was founded by President [[Thomas Jefferson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/442|title=Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville|publisher=[[UNESCO]]|date=October 15, 2008|accessdate=October 14, 2008}}</ref>|alt=A red brick, Neoclassical dome with a large portico on the front and covered walkway on the sides lit up at dusk. Dark trees border the building on both sides.]] Virginia's educational system consistently ranks in the top ten states on the [[United States Department of Education|U.S. Department of Education's]] [[National Assessment of Educational Progress]], with Virginia students outperforming the average in all subject areas and grade levels tested.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nces.ed.gov/programs/stateprofiles/sresult.asp?mode=full&displaycat=7&s1=51|title=State Education Data Profiles|publisher=[[National Assessment of Educational Progress]]|year=2005|accessdate=December 25, 2007}}</ref> The 2011 ''[[Education Week#Quality Counts|Quality Counts]]'' report ranked Virginia's K–12 education fourth best in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edweek.org/media/ew/qc/2011/QualityCounts2011_PressRelease.pdf|title=Quality Counts 2011|work=[[Education Week]]|date=January 11, 2011|format=PDF|accessdate=May 5, 2011}}</ref> All school divisions must adhere to educational standards set forth by the [[Virginia Department of Education]], which maintains an assessment and accreditation regime known as the [[Standards of Learning]] to ensure accountability.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/src/index.shtml|title=Virginia School Report Card|publisher=[[Virginia Department of Education]]|year=2007|accessdate=February 2, 2008}}</ref> In 2010, 85% of high school students graduated on-time after four years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/30/AR2010093007174.html|title=Virginia high school graduation rate increases|date=October 1, 2010|work=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Kevin|last=Sieff|accessdate=May 6, 2011}}</ref> Between 2000 and 2008, school enrollment increased 5%, the number of teachers 21%.<ref>{{Cite news|first=George F.|last=Will|authorlink=George Will|title=Why should education be exempt from recession budgeting?|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/04/AR2010060403753.html|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 6, 2010|accessdate=May 10, 2011}}</ref> [[Public school (government funded)|Public]] [[K–12 (education)|K–12 schools]] in Virginia are generally operated by the counties and cities, and not by the state. {{As of|2011}}, a total of 1,267,063&nbsp;students were enrolled in 1,873&nbsp;local and regional schools in the Commonwealth, including three [[charter school]]s, and an additional 109&nbsp;alternative and special education centers across 132&nbsp;[[List of school divisions in Virginia|school divisions]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://p1pe.doe.virginia.gov/reportcard/report.do?division=All&schoolName=All|format=PDF|title=State Report Cards|work=[[Virginia Department of Education]]|date=April 28, 2011|accessdate=May 1, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://doe.virginiainteractive.org/vdoe_directories/PublicSchoolsByDivisions.aspx|title=Virginia Public Schools&nbsp;— By Division|publisher=[[Virginia Department of Education]]|year=2010|accessdate=April 6, 2010}}</ref> Besides the general public schools in Virginia, there are [[Governor's Schools (Virginia)|Governor's Schools]] and selective [[magnet school]]s. The Governor's Schools are a collection of more than 40 regional high schools and summer programs intended for gifted students.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/governors_school_programs/index.shtml|title=Governor's School Program|publisher=[[Virginia Department of Education]]|year=2010|accessdate=February 12, 2010}}</ref> The Virginia Council for Private Education oversees the regulation of 320&nbsp;state accredited and 130&nbsp;non-accredited private schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vcpe.org/2011-02-20%20VCPE%20Accredited.pdf|format=PDF|title=State Recognized Accredited Schools|publisher=Virginia Council for Private Education|date=February 20, 2011|accessdate=May 6, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vcpe.org/2011-03-08%20VCPE%20Non-Accredited.pdf|format=PDF|title=Non-Accredited Schools|publisher=Virginia Council for Private Education|date=March 8, 2011|accessdate=May 6, 2011}}</ref> An additional 24,682 students receive homeschooling.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doe.virginia.gov/statistics_reports/enrollment/home_school_religious_exempt/2010_2011.xls|format=XLS|title=Home-Schooled Students and Religious Exemptions|date=December 16, 2010|accessdate=May 5, 2011|publisher=[[Virginia Department of Education]]}}</ref> {{As of|2011}}, there are 176&nbsp;[[List of colleges and universities in Virginia|colleges and universities in Virginia]].<ref name=nces>{{cite web|url=http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?s=VA|title=College Navigator&nbsp;— Search Results|work=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|publisher=[[United States Department of Education]]|year=2011|accessdate=May 1, 2011}}</ref> In the ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' ranking of public colleges, the [[University of Virginia]] is second, [[The College of William & Mary]] is sixth, and [[Virginia Tech]] is 25th.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-top-public|title=Top Public National Universities 2010|work=[[U.S. News and World Report]]|date=April 15, 2010|accessdate=July 6, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wm.edu/about/history/|title=History & Traditions|publisher=[[College of William and Mary]]|year=2008|accessdate=October 22, 2008}}</ref> [[Virginia Commonwealth University]] is ranked the top public graduate school in fine arts, while [[James Madison University]] has been recognized as the top regional public master's program in [[Southern United States|The South]] since 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-fine-arts-schools/rankings |title=Rankings&nbsp;— Fine Arts&nbsp;— Graduate Schools|work=[[U.S. News and World Report]]|date=April 15, 2010|accessdate=July 2, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jmu.edu/jmuweb/general/news/general8824.shtml|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830075957/http://www.jmu.edu/jmuweb/general/news/general8824.shtml|archivedate=August 30, 2007|title=JMU Holds Top Public Regional Rank for 14th Year in 'U.S. News' Survey|work=Public Affairs|publisher=[[James Madison University]]|date=August 17, 2007|accessdate=April 11, 2008}}</ref> The [[Virginia Military Institute]] is the oldest state [[military academy|military college]] and a top ranked public [[liberal arts college]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/127669|title='Just like the guys': A decade of women at VMI|work=[[The Roanoke Times]]|first=Jay|last=Conley|date=August 12, 2007|accessdate=October 22, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Roanoke Times]]|title=HVMI retains U.S. News' rank as No. 3|url=http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/174003|first=Jay|last=Conley|date=August 22, 2008|accessdate=September 30, 2008}}</ref> [[George Mason University]] is the largest university in Virginia with over 32,000&nbsp;students.<ref>{{cite web|title=In head count, George Mason edges VCU |year=2009|publisher=Richmond Times-Disbatch|url=http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/education/article/GMUU15_20091014-221605/299431/|accessdate=July 1, 2009}}</ref> [[Virginia Tech]] and [[Virginia State University]] are the state's [[land-grant university|land-grant universities]]. Virginia also operates 23 [[Virginia Community College System|community colleges]] on 40 campuses serving over 260,000&nbsp;students.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vccs.edu/WhoWeAre/FastFacts/tabid/79/Default.aspx|title=Fast Facts|publisher=Virginia's Community Colleges|year=2008|accessdate=August 3, 2009}}</ref> There are 129 private institutions, including [[Hampton University]], [[Washington and Lee University]], [[Randolph College]], [[Hampden–Sydney College]], [[Emory & Henry College]], [[Roanoke College]], the [[University of Richmond]], and [[Randolph-Macon College]].<ref name=nces/> ==Health== [[File:Sentara Norfolk General.jpg|thumb|right|[[Sentara Norfolk General Hospital]], part of the [[Hampton Roads]] based [[Sentara Health System]] and a teaching institution of [[Eastern Virginia Medical School]], was the site of the first successful [[in-vitro fertilization]] birth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usnews.com/listings/hospitals/6340620|title=Sentara Norfolk General Hospital-Sentara Heart Hospital, Norfolk, Va.|work=Best Hospitals|publisher=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|year=2007|accessdate=February 6, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-05-12-testtube-baby-usat_x.htm|title=America's first 'test-tube baby'|first=Liz|last=Szabo|work=[[USA Today]]|date=May 12, 2004|accessdate=February 6, 2008}}</ref>]] Virginia has a mixed health record, and is ranked as the 26th overall healthiest state according to the 2013 United Health Foundation's Health Rankings.<ref name=ahr>{{cite web|title=Virginia|work=America's Health Rankings 2013|publisher=United Health Foundation|date=|url=http://www.americashealthrankings.org/VA |accessdate=August 28, 2014}}</ref> Virginia also ranks 21st among the states in the rate of premature deaths, 6,816 per 100,000. In 2008, Virginia reached its lowest ever rate of [[infant mortality]], at 6.7 deaths per&nbsp;1,000.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/04/AR2009080401672.html|title=Infant Mortality in Virginia Falls to All-Time Low|first=Anita|last=Kumar|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=August 4, 2009|accessdate=August 4, 2009}}</ref> There are however racial and social health disparities, in 2010 African Americans experienced 28% more premature deaths than whites, while 13% of Virginians lack any [[health insurance]]. According to the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]]'s 2009 survey, 26% of Virginians are obese and another 35% are overweight. 78% of residents claim to have exercised at least once in the past three months.<ref>{{cite web|title=Virginia – 2009 Overweight and Obesity (BMI)|publisher=[[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]]|year=2010|url=http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/BRFSS/display.asp?cat=OB&yr=2009&qkey=4409&state=VA|accessdate=May 6, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Virginia – 2007 Exercise|publisher=[[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]]|year=2010|url=http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/BRFSS/display.asp?cat=EX&yr=2009&qkey=4347&state=VA|accessdate=May 6, 2011}}</ref> About 30% of Virginia's 10- to 17-year-olds are overweight or obese.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vaperforms.virginia.gov/indicators/healthFamily/obesity.php|title=Measuring Virginia's Obesity Rates|publisher=Virginia Performs|year=2009|accessdate=March 25, 2009}}</ref> Virginia banned smoking in bars and restaurants in January 2010.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/30/restaurant-owners-to-brace-for-smoke-ban|title=Va. restaurant owners bracing for smoke ban|work=[[The Washington Times]]|date=November 30, 2009|accessdate=May 6, 2011|agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> 19% of Virginians smoke tobacco.<ref name=ahr/> Residents of [[Virginia's 8th congressional district]] share the longest average [[life expectancy]] rate in the nation, over 83 years.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.measureofamerica.org/the-measure-of-america-2010-2011-book/quick-facts/ |title= Quick Facts |year= 2012 |work= American Human Development Project |publisher= Social Science Research Council |accessdate= January 19, 2012}}</ref> <!--unclear importance: [[File:Medicare Reimbursement per Enrollee by County in Virginia.png|thumb|According to 2016 County Health Rankings published by the University of Wisconsin, this map shows the average reimbursement, per enrollee, throughout the state of Virginia.]]--> There are 89&nbsp;[[List of hospitals in Virginia|hospitals in Virginia]] listed with the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/hospital-results.aspx?state=VA&htype=0&stype=GENERAL&|title=Hospital Compare|publisher=[[United States Department of Health and Human Services]]|date=December 11, 2010|accessdate=April 12, 2011}}</ref> Notable examples include [[Inova Fairfax Hospital]], the largest hospital in the [[Washington Metropolitan Area]], and the [[VCU Medical Center]], located on the medical campus of [[Virginia Commonwealth University]]. The University of Virginia Medical Center, part of the [[University of Virginia Health System]], is highly ranked in [[endocrinology]] according to ''[[U.S.News & World Report]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usnews.com/listings/hospitals/6344000|title=University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville|work=Best Hospitals|publisher=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|year=2007|accessdate=February 6, 2008}}</ref> Virginia has a ratio of 127 [[primary care physician]]s per 10,000 residents, which is the 16th highest nationally.<ref name=ahr/> Virginia was one of five states to receive a perfect score in disaster preparedness according to a 2008 report by the [[Trust for America's Health]], based on criteria such as detecting pathogens and distributing vaccines and medical supplies.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.insidenova.com/isn/news/local/article/va._gets_high_disaster_preparedness_marks/25973/|title=Va. gets high disaster preparedness marks|date=December 9, 2008|accessdate=December 10, 2008|first=Keith|last=Walker|publisher=Inside NoVA}}</ref> ==Transportation== {{Main article|Transportation in Virginia}} [[File:WMATA 5000-Series train at Rosslyn station lower level.jpg|thumb|right|Located at the confluence of major bridges, roads, bus lines, and subway lines, [[Rosslyn station]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington]] is the biggest choke point of the [[Washington Metro]] system.<ref name="choke1">{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/metro-planners-consider-inner-loop-of-new-stations-to-strengthen-systems-core/2013/12/17/a46a2fc8-667b-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html|title=Metro considers building ‘inner loop’ of new stations to ease congestion in system’s core|publisher=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Arlington accounts for 40% of Virginia's public transit trips.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/36079630?rel=0&startSlide=7|title=FY 2015-FY 2024 Proposed Capital Improvement Plan|publisher=|accessdate=October 3, 2014}}</ref>]] Because of the 1932 [[Byrd Road Act]], the state government controls most of Virginia's roads, instead of a local county authority as is usual in other states.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/98-r29.pdf|format=PDF|title=Beyond the Byrd Road Act: VDOT's Relationship with Virginia's Urban Counties|first=Amy A.|last=O'Leary|date=April 1998|accessdate=October 3, 2009|work=[[Virginia Department of Transportation]]}}</ref> {{As of|2011}}, the [[Virginia Department of Transportation]] owns and operates {{convert|57867|mi|km}} of the total {{convert|70105|mi|km}} of roads in the state, making it the third largest state highway system in the United States.<ref name=vdot>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginiadot.org/about/vdot_hgwy_sys.asp|title=Virginia's Highway System|publisher=[[Virginia Department of Transportation]]|date=January 12, 2011|accessdate=May 1, 2011}}</ref> Although the Washington Metropolitan Area, which includes [[Northern Virginia]], has the second worst traffic in the nation, Virginia as a whole has the 21st-lowest congestion and the average commute time is 26.9&nbsp;minutes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/18/AR2007091800777.html|title=A Ranking Writ In Brake Lights: D.C. 2nd in Traffic|first=Jonathan|last=Mummolo|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 19, 2007|accessdate=March 29, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://vaperforms.virginia.gov/indicators/transportation/trafficCongestion.php|title=Measuring Traffic Congestion in Virginia|publisher=Virginia Performs|date=April 9, 2009|accessdate=April 30, 2009}}</ref> Virginia hit [[peak car]] usage before the year 2000, making it one of the first such states.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/16/the-american-decline-in-driving-actually-began-way-earlier-than-you-think/?tid=trending_strip_2|first=Emily|last=Badger|title=The American decline in driving actually began way earlier than you think|publisher=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> [[File:Washington Dulles International Airport at Dusk.jpg|thumb|left|The main terminal of [[Washington Dulles International Airport]] is one of the few surviving examples of [[Googie architecture|Space Age architecture]].]] Virginia has [[Amtrak]] passenger rail service along several corridors, and [[Virginia Railway Express]] (VRE) maintains two commuter lines into Washington, D.C. from [[Fredericksburg, Virginia|Fredericksburg]] and [[Manassas, Virginia|Manassas]]. VRE is one of the nation's fastest growing commuter rail services, handling nearly 20,000 passengers a day.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dr-gridlock/2010/10/vre_sets_ridership_record.html|title=VRE sets ridership record|work=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Jennifer|last=Buske|date=October 14, 2010|accessdate=April 12, 2011}}</ref> The [[Washington Metro]] rapid transit system serves Northern Virginia as far west as communities along I-66 in Fairfax County, with [[Silver Line (Washington Metro)|expansion plans]] to reach [[Loudoun County, Virginia|Loudoun County]] by 2017.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/federal-va-officials-object-to-underground-metro-station-at-dulles-airport/2011/04/13/AF6SK7kD_story.html|title=Federal, Va. officials object to underground Metro station at Dulles airport|first=Kafia A.|last=Hosh|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=April 15, 2011|accessdate=May 6, 2011}}</ref> Major freight railroads in Virginia include [[Norfolk Southern]] and [[CSX Transportation]]. Commuter buses include the [[Fairfax Connector]] and the [[Shenandoah Valley Commuter Bus]]. The Virginia Department of Transportation operates several free ferries throughout Virginia, the most notable being the Jamestown-Scotland ferry which crosses the James River in [[Surry County, Virginia|Surry County]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/ferry.asp|title=Ferry Information|publisher=[[Virginia Department of Transportation]]|date=December 4, 2007|accessdate=February 14, 2008}}</ref> Virginia has five major airports: [[Washington Dulles International Airport|Washington Dulles International]] and [[Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport|Reagan Washington National]] in Northern Virginia, both of which handle over 20 million passengers a year; [[Richmond International Airport|Richmond International]]; and [[Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport]] and [[Norfolk International Airport|Norfolk International]] serving the Hampton Roads area. Several other airports offer limited commercial passenger service, and sixty-six public airports serve the state's aviation needs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doav.virginia.gov/airports.htm|title=Airports|publisher=Virginia Department of Aviation|year=2006|accessdate=April 12, 2008}}</ref> The [[Virginia Port Authority]]'s main seaports are those in [[Hampton Roads]], which carried {{convert|17726251|ST|t|lk=on}} of bulk cargo in 2007, the sixth most of United States ports.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hamptonroadsperforms.org/indicators/economy/ports.php|title=Port/Maritime|publisher=Virginia Performs|year=2009|accessdate=May 2, 2009}}</ref> The [[Eastern Shore of Virginia]] is the site of [[Wallops Flight Facility]], a rocket testing center owned by [[NASA]], and the [[Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport]], a commercial spaceport.{{sfn|Goodwin|2012|p=305}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121600880.html|title=At Va. Spaceport, Rocket Launches 1,000 Dreams|first=Michael E.|last=Ruane|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 17, 2006|accessdate=September 10, 2009}}</ref> [[Space tourism]] is also offered through [[Vienna, Virginia|Vienna]]-based [[Space Adventures]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003675354_spacetours21.html?syndication=rss|title=Travel agency launches tourists on out-of-this-world adventures|first=Kim|last=Hart|date=April 21, 2007|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|accessdate=May 26, 2008}}</ref> ==Law and government== {{Main article|Government of Virginia}} [[File:Va State Capitol.JPG|thumb|The [[Virginia State Capitol]], designed by [[Thomas Jefferson]] and begun by Governor [[Patrick Henry]] in 1785, is home to the [[Virginia General Assembly]].|alt=All white Neoclassical building with pediment and six columns rises on a grassy hill with a large American elm tree in the left foreground. Two boxier, but similarly styled wings are attached at the building's rear.]] In colonial Virginia, free men elected the lower house of the legislature, called the [[House of Burgesses]], which together with the Governor's Council, made the "General Assembly". Founded in 1619, the [[Virginia General Assembly]] is still in existence as the oldest legislature in the Western Hemisphere.<ref name=burgesses>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/06/AR2006050601099_pf.html|title=Latest Budget Standoff Met With Shrugs|first1=Rosalind S.|last1=Helderman|first2=Chris L.|last2=Jenkins|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 7, 2006|accessdate=November 24, 2007}}</ref> In 2008, the government was ranked by the [[Pew Research Center|Pew Center on the States]] with an A− in terms of its efficiency, effectiveness, and infrastructure, tied with [[Utah]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. This was the second consecutive time that Virginia received the highest grade in the nation.<ref name=pew>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/03/03/ST2008030303550.html|title=Government Takes Top Honors in Efficiency|first=Sandhya|last=Somashekhar|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=March 4, 2008|accessdate=March 11, 2008}}</ref> Since 1971, the government has functioned under the seventh [[Constitution of Virginia]], which provides for a strong legislature and a unified judicial system. Similar to the [[federal government of the United States|federal structure]], the government is divided in [[Separation of powers|three branches]]: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislature is the [[Virginia General Assembly|General Assembly]], a bicameral body whose 100-member [[Virginia House of Delegates|House of Delegates]] and 40-member [[Senate of Virginia|Senate]] write the laws for the Commonwealth. The Assembly is stronger than the executive, as it selects judges and justices. The Governor and [[Lieutenant Governor of Virginia|Lieutenant Governor]] are elected every four years in separate elections. Incumbent [[List of Virginia Governors|governors]] cannot run for re-election, however the Lieutenant Governor and [[Attorney General of Virginia|Attorney General]] can, and governors may serve non-consecutive terms.<ref name=constitution>{{cite journal|title=Commentaries on the Constitution of Virginia by A. E. Dick Howard|first=Albert L.|last=Strum|journal=The American Political Science Review|volume=71|issue=2|date=June 1977|pages=714–715|jstor=1978427|doi=10.2307/1978427|last2=Howard|first2=A. E. Dick|authorlink2=A.E. Dick Howard}}</ref> The judicial system, the oldest in America, consists of a hierarchy from the [[Supreme Court of Virginia]] and the [[Court of Appeals of Virginia]] to the [[Virginia Circuit Court|Circuit Courts]], the trial courts of general jurisdiction, and the lower [[Virginia General District Court|General District Courts]] and [[Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court|Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/cib.pdf|format=PDF|title=Virginia Courts In Brief|publisher=Virginia Judicial System|date=May 5, 2009|accessdate=August 17, 2009}}</ref> The [[Code of Virginia]] is the statutory law, and consists of the codified legislation of the General Assembly. The [[Virginia State Police]] is the largest [[List of law enforcement agencies in Virginia|law enforcement agency in Virginia]]. The [[Virginia Capitol Police]] is the oldest police department in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.vcp.state.va.us/message.htm|title=Message from the Chief|year=2008|first=Kimberly|last=Lettner|publisher=The Division of Capitol Police|accessdate=September 10, 2009}}</ref> The [[Virginia National Guard]] consists of 7,500&nbsp;soldiers in the [[Virginia Army National Guard]] and 1,200&nbsp;airmen in the [[Virginia Air National Guard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/VirginiaGuard/history/overview.html|title=Serving Commonwealth and Country|first1=John W.|last1=Listman, Jr.|first2=Lt. Col. Chester C.|last2=Carter, III|publisher=[[Virginia Army National Guard]]|date=August 20, 2007|accessdate=February 11, 2008}}</ref> Since the resumption of [[capital punishment in Virginia]] in 1982, [[List of individuals executed in Virginia|107 people have been executed]], the second highest number in the nation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-condemned-women-20100924,0,1991421.story|title=Virginia's execution of a woman may signal shift in national thinking|first=Carol J.|last=Williams|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=September 23, 2010|accessdate=September 24, 2010}}</ref> The "total crime risk" is 28% lower than the national average.<ref name=quick>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/local-explorer/quick-facts?search=VA|title=Quick Facts for Virginia|work=[[The Washington Post]]|year=2009|accessdate=September 11, 2009}}</ref> Since Virginia ended prisoner parole in 1995, the rate of [[recidivism]] has fallen to 28.3%, among the lowest nationwide.<ref>{{cite news|title=Va. returning prisoners to jail at lower-than-average rate, study shows|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=April 13, 2011|first=Michael S.|last=Rosenwald}}</ref> Virginia is an [[Open carry in the United States|open-carry state]]. ==Politics== {{Main article|Politics of Virginia}} {{See also|Democratic Party of Virginia|Green Party of Virginia|Independent Greens of Virginia|Libertarian Party of Virginia|Political party strength in Virginia|Republican Party of Virginia}} {| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin:2em; font-size:90%;" |+ '''Presidential elections results'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=51&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|title=Presidential General Election Results Comparison – New York|publisher=US Election Atlas|accessdate=January 10, 2010|author=Leip, David}}</ref> |- style="background:lightgrey;" !Year ![[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] ![[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] |- | [[United States presidential election in Virginia, 2016|2016]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|44.43% ''1,769,443'' | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|'''49.75%''' ''1,981,473'' |- | [[United States presidential election in Virginia, 2012|2012]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|47.28% ''1,822,522'' | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|'''51.16%''' ''1,971,820'' |- | [[United States presidential election in Virginia, 2008|2008]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|46.33% ''1,725,005'' | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|'''52.63%''' ''1,959,532'' |- | [[United States presidential election in Virginia, 2004|2004]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|'''53.68%''' ''1,716,959'' | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|45.48% ''1,454,742'' |- | [[United States presidential election in Virginia, 2000|2000]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|'''52.47%''' ''1,437,490'' | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|44.44% ''1,217,290'' |- | [[United States presidential election in Virginia, 1996|1996]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|'''47.10%''' ''1,138,350'' | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|45.15% ''1,091,060'' |- | [[United States presidential election in Virginia, 1992|1992]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|'''44.97%''' ''1,150,517'' | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|40.59% ''1,038,650'' |- | [[United States presidential election in Virginia, 1988|1988]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|'''59.74%''' ''1,309,162'' | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|39.23% ''859,799'' |- | [[United States presidential election in Virginia, 1984|1984]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|'''62.29%''' ''1,337,078'' | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|37.09% ''796,250'' |- | [[United States presidential election, 1980|1980]] | style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|'''53.03%''' ''989,609'' | style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|40.31% ''752,174'' |- |} Over the 20th century, Virginia shifted from a largely rural, [[Politics of the Southern United States|politically Southern]] and conservative state to a more urbanized, pluralistic, and politically moderate environment. Up until the 1970s, Virginia was a racially divided [[Solid South|one-party state]] dominated by the [[Byrd Organization]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5001263885|title="Sheep without a Shepherd": The New Deal Faction in the Virginia Democratic Party|first=James R.|last=Sweeney|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|volume=29|year=1999|accessdate=March 31, 2008|doi=10.1111/1741-5705.00043|page=438|issue=2}}</ref> The [[History of slavery in Virginia|legacy of slavery in the state]] effectively [[disfranchisement|disfranchised]] African Americans until after passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Promise and prejudice: Wise County, Virginia and the Great Migration, 1910–1920|first=Michael H.|last=Burchett|journal=The Journal of Negro History|volume=82|issue=3|date=Summer 1997|doi=10.2307/2717675|jstor=2717675|pages=312–327}}</ref> Enfranchisement and immigration of other groups, especially Hispanics, have placed growing importance on minority voting,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://hamptonroads.com/node/172411|title=Webb, Allen court Hispanic, white-collar voters in N. Va.|date=October 25, 2006|first=Dale|last=Eisman|work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]|accessdate=March 29, 2008}}</ref> while voters that identify as "white working-class" declined by three percent between 2008 and 2012.<ref name=obama12/> Regional differences play a large part in Virginia politics.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/12/AR2008021203200_pf.html|title=In Virginia, Results Signal A State in Play for November|first1=Bill|last1=Turque|first2=Ovetta|last2=Wiggins|first3=Nikita|last3=Stewart|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=February 13, 2008|accessdate=September 29, 2008}}</ref> Rural southern and western areas moved to support the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in response to its "[[southern strategy]]", while urban and growing suburban areas, including much of [[Northern Virginia]], form the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] [[base (politics)|base]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Activists and Partisan Realignment in the United States|first1=Gary|last1=Miller|first2=Norman|last2=Schofield|journal=The American Political Science Review|volume=97|issue=2|date=May 2003|pages=245–260|jstor=3118207|doi=10.1017/s0003055403000650}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/12/10/ST2007121001571.html|title=Tensions Could Hurt Majority in Va. Senate|first=Tim|last=Craig|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 11, 2007|accessdate=December 23, 2007}}</ref> Democratic support also persists in union-influenced [[Roanoke, Virginia|Roanoke]] in [[Southwest Virginia]], college towns such as [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]] and [[Blacksburg, Virginia|Blacksburg]], and the southeastern [[Black Belt Region]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=African American Legislative Politics in Virginia|first1=Michael L.|last1=Clemons|first2=Charles E.|last2=Jones|journal=[[Journal of Black Studies]]|volume=30|issue=6, Special Issue: African American State Legislative Politics|date=July 2000|pages=744–767|doi=10.1177/002193470003000603|jstor=2645922}}</ref> [[Political party strength in Virginia]] has likewise been in flux. In the [[Virginia state elections, 2007|2007 state elections]], Democrats regained control of the [[Senate of Virginia|State Senate]], and narrowed the Republican majority in the [[Virginia House of Delegates|House of Delegates]] to eight seats.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/07/AR2007110700553_2.html|title=Kaine Hails 'Balance' in New Political Landscape|first1=Tim|last1=Craig|first2=Anita|last2=Kumar|date=November 8, 2007|work=[[The Washington Post]]|accessdate=November 7, 2007}}</ref> Yet [[Virginia elections, 2009|elections in 2009]] resulted in the election of Republican [[Bob McDonnell]] as [[Governor of Virginia|Governor]] by a seventeen-point margin, the election of a Republican [[Lieutenant Governor of Virginia|Lieutenant Governor]] and [[Attorney General of Virginia|Attorney General]], as well as Republican gains of six seats in the House of Delegates.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/03/AR2009110300371.html|title=GOP reclaims Virginia|first1=Rosalind S.|last1=Helderman|first2=Anita|last2=Kumar|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 4, 2009|accessdate=November 4, 2009}}</ref> In 2011, the Republican caucus took over two-thirds (68–32) of the seats in the House of Delegates, and a majority of the Senate based on the Lieutenant Governor [[Bill Bolling]] as the tie-breaker.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2011/11/10/gop_claims_va_senate_majority_after_dem_concedes/|title=GOP claims Va. Senate majority after Dem concedes|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|first=Bob|last=Lewis|date=November 10, 2011|accessdate=November 15, 2011}}</ref> Following the [[Virginia elections, 2013|2013 elections]], Democrat [[Terry McAuliffe]] was elected Governor by two percentage points,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://apps.washingtonpost.com/elections/guide/2013/VA/general/|title=Decision 2013: Virginia general election results|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 6, 2013|accessdate=November 6, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57611013/mcauliffe-wins-nailbiter-virginia-governors-race/|title=McAuliffe wins nailbiter Virginia governor's race|work=[[CBS News]]|date=November 6, 2013|accessdate=November 6, 2013}}</ref> and Democrat [[Ralph Northam]] was elected Lieutenant Governor by double digits.<ref name="elections.huffingtonpost.com">{{cite news|url=http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2013/results?rr|title=2013 Elections: Governor, Mayor, Congress|work=[[Huffington Post]]|date=November 6, 2013|accessdate=November 6, 2013|first=Aaron|last=Bycoffe}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/05/virginia-election-results_n_4175432.html|title=Virginia Election Results: Terry McAuliffe Beats Ken Cuccinelli In Governor's Race|work=[[Huffington Post]]|date=November 6, 2013|accessdate=November 6, 2013|first=Paige|last=Lavender}}</ref> Republicans, however, maintained their super-majority (68–32) in the House of Delegates.<ref name="elections.huffingtonpost.com"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://electionresults.virginia.gov/resultsSW.aspx?type=SWR&map=CTY|title=2013: Virginia House of Delegates election results|work=Virginia Board of Elections|date=November 12, 2013|accessdate=November 12, 2013}}</ref> State election seasons traditionally start with the annual [[Shad Planking]] event in [[Wakefield, Virginia|Wakefield]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30248457/|title=Shad Planking kicks Virginia race into gear|publisher=[[MSNBC]]|first=Mark|last=Murray|date=April 16, 2009|accessdate=May 7, 2009}}</ref> In federal elections since 2006, both parties have seen successes. Republican Senator [[George Allen (U.S. politician)|George Allen]] lost close races in [[Virginia United States Senate election, 2006|2006]], to Democratic newcomer [[Jim Webb]], and again in [[United States Senate election in Virginia, 2012|2012]], to Webb's replacement, former Governor [[Tim Kaine]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/in-the-aftermath-of-the-2012-election-battleground-virginias-political-winners-and-losers/2012/11/11/0ea30b1c-2c17-11e2-b631-2aad9d9c73ac_story.html|title=In the aftermath of the 2012 election, battleground Virginia's political winners and losers|first=Bob|last=Lewis|work=[[Washington Post]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=November 11, 2012|accessdate=November 24, 2012}}</ref> In [[United States Senate election in Virginia, 2008|2008]], Democrats won both [[United States Senate]] seats; former Governor [[Mark Warner]] was elected to replace retiring Republican [[John Warner]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/04/AR2008110404091.html|title=Warner Rolls Past His Fellow Former Governor|first=Anita|last=Kumar|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 5, 2008|accessdate=November 5, 2008}}</ref> The state went Republican in 11 out of 12 [[United States presidential election|presidential elections]] from 1948 to 2004, including 10 in a row from 1968 to 2004. However, Democrat [[Barack Obama]] carried Virginia's 13 [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral votes]] in both the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008]] and [[United States presidential election, 2012|2012]] presidential elections.<ref name=obama12>{{cite news |url= http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-11-07/obama-repeats-victory-in-former-republican-stronghold-virginia |title= Obama Repeats Win in Former Republican Stronghold Virginia |work= [[Bloomberg Businessweek]] |first= Heidi |last= Przybyla |date= November 7, 2012 |accessdate= November 24, 2012}}</ref> In the [[Virginia elections, 2010|2010 elections]], Republicans won three [[United States House of Representatives]] seats from the Democrats. Of the state's [[List of United States Representatives from Virginia|eleven seats]] in the House of Representatives, Republicans hold eight and Democrats hold three. Virginia is considered a "[[swing state]]" in future presidential elections.<ref name=purple>{{cite news|url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/44/2007/10/12/the_purpling_of_america.html|title=Painting America Purple|first=Dan|last=Balz|authorlink=Dan Balz|date=October 12, 2007|work=[[The Washington Post]]|accessdate=November 24, 2007}}</ref> In the 2016 Presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton carried Virginia, marking the third consecutive win for the Democratic Party at the presidential level. Even so, the gerrymandered Congressional Districts continue to return a majority of Republican Representatives, although a Federal District Court redrew the malapportioned 3rd District as violating the Voting Rights Act. That allowed Virginians to choose in an additional black Representative from the 4th District, and added to the Democratic total.<ref>[https://ballotpedia.org/Virginia%27s_4th_Congressional_District_election,_2016 Virginia’s 4th Congressional District election, 2016] Ballotpedia: the Encyclopedia of American Politics. viewed November 13, 2016.</ref> ==Sports== {{See also|Sports teams in Virginia}} [[File:Greg Stroman at the 2014 Military Bowl.jpg|thumb|alt=A receiver dressed in white with maroon and orange stripes is tackled by an opposing player in black and red.|The [[Virginia Tech Hokies football]] team has the second-longest [[List of Virginia Tech Hokies bowl games|bowl game streak]] in the nation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.roanoke.com/sports/colleges/va_tech/bowl-bound-hokies-rally-to-top-uva-again/article_e94d0eb4-9d22-5abb-b7b2-df69c999967f.html|title=Bowl-bound Hokies rally to top UVa again|work=[[The Roanoke Times]]|accessdate=December 1, 2015|date=November 28, 2015|first=Andy|last=Bitter}}</ref>]] Virginia is the most populous U.S. state without a [[Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada|major professional sports league]] franchise.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.facilityplanners.com/news/pdf/Professional%20Sports%20in%20Hampton%20Roads.pdf|format=PDF|title=Region Works to Attract Franchise Area Makes "Short List" for Existing Team's Move|date=July 19, 2001|first=Harry|last=Minium|work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]|accessdate=December 9, 2007}}{{dead link|date=August 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The reasons for this include the lack of any dominant city or market within the state, the proximity of [[Sports in Washington, D.C.|teams in Washington, D.C.]] and [[Sports in North Carolina|North Carolina]], and a reluctance to publicly finance stadiums.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heritage.org/research/urbanissues/bg1223.cfm|date=October 2, 1998|title=Cities in Denial: The False Promise of Subsidized Tourist and Entertainment Complexes|first=Ronald D.|last=Utt|work=[[The Heritage Foundation]]|accessdate=October 3, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.timesdispatch.com/sports/professional/football/redskins/virginia-contemplates-making-play-for-new-redskins-stadium/article_10394059-d05a-5bb8-91d5-a15be072eea3.html |title= Virginia contemplates making play for new Redskins stadium |work= [[Richmond Times-Dispatch]] |first= Michael |last= Phillips |date= August 17, 2013 |accessdate= September 5, 2013}}</ref> However, in recent years, the city of [[Virginia Beach]] has proposed [[Virginia Beach Arena|a new arena]] designed to lure a major league franchise. [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]] is host to two minor league teams: The [[Triple-A (baseball)|AAA]] [[Norfolk Tides]] and the [[ECHL]]'s [[Norfolk Admirals (ECHL)|Norfolk Admirals]]. The [[San Francisco Giants]]' [[Double-A (baseball)|AA team]], the [[Richmond Flying Squirrels]], began play at [[The Diamond (Richmond, Virginia)|The Diamond]] in 2010, replacing the AAA [[Richmond Braves]], who relocated after 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/sports/minors/minors_baseball/article/BASE02_20100401-221608/334637/|title=Squirrels will nest at Diamond for several years|first=John|last=O'Connor|date=April 2, 2010|work=[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]]|accessdate=April 27, 2010}}</ref> Additionally, the [[Washington Nationals]], [[Boston Red Sox]], [[Cleveland Indians]], [[Atlanta Braves]], [[Pittsburgh Pirates]], [[New York Yankees]], and [[Toronto Blue Jays]] also have Single-A and Rookie-level [[farm team]]s in Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginia.org/baseball/|title=Baseball in Virginia|publisher=[[Virginia is for Lovers]]|year=2011|accessdate=November 26, 2011}}</ref> The [[Washington Redskins]] have Redskins Park, their headquarters, in [[Ashburn, Virginia|Ashburn]] and their training facility is in Richmond,<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.roanoke.com/sports/2167786-12/washington-redskins-go-home-to-spruced-up-facility.html |title= Washington Redskins go home to spruced-up facility |work= [[The Roanoke Times]] |date= August 22, 2013 |accessdate= September 5, 2013 |first= Michael |last= Phillips}}</ref> and the [[Washington Capitals]] train at [[Kettler Capitals Iceplex]] in [[Ballston, Arlington, Virginia|Ballston]]. Virginia has many professional caliber golf courses including the [[Greg Norman]] course at Lansdowne Resort and Kingsmill Resort, home of the [[Kingsmill Championship]], an [[LPGA Tour]] tournament. [[NASCAR]] currently schedules [[Sprint Cup Series|Sprint Cup]] races on two tracks in Virginia: [[Martinsville Speedway]] and [[Richmond International Raceway]]. Virginia natives currently competing in the series include [[Denny Hamlin]] and [[Elliott Sadler]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginia.org/nascar/|title=NASCAR in Virginia|work=[[Virginia is for Lovers]]|year=2011|accessdate=November 26, 2011}}</ref> Virginia does not allow state appropriated funds to be used for either operational or capital expenses for intercollegiate athletics.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2004-02-18-athletic-spending-cover_x.htm|title=Athletic spending grows as academic funds dry up|first1=MaryJo|last1=Sylwester|first2=Tom|last2=Witosky|date=February 18, 2004|work=[[USA Today]]|accessdate=August 16, 2010}}</ref> Despite this, both the [[Virginia Cavaliers]] and [[Virginia Tech Hokies]] have been able to field competitive teams in the [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] and maintain modern facilities. [[Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry|Their rivalry]] is followed statewide. [[List of college athletic programs in Virginia|Twelve other universities]] compete in [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[NCAA Division I|Division I]], particularly in the [[Atlantic 10 Conference]], [[Big South Conference]], and [[Colonial Athletic Association]]. Three [[historically black colleges and universities|historically black schools]] compete in the Division II [[Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association]], and two others compete in the Division I [[Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference]]. Several smaller schools compete in the [[Old Dominion Athletic Conference]] and the [[USA South Athletic Conference]] of NCAA Division III. The NCAA currently holds its [[Division III (NCAA)|Division III]] [[NCAA Division III national football championship|championships in football]], men's basketball, volleyball and softball in [[Salem, Virginia|Salem]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2006-12-13-focus-salem_x.htm|title=Virginia town is big game central|first=Erik|last=Brady|work=[[USA Today]]|date=December 14, 2006|accessdate=February 6, 2008}}</ref> ==State symbols== {{Main article|List of Virginia state symbols}} [[File:Virginia new sign.jpg|thumb|The Virginia welcome sign at the Virginia welcome center on [[Interstate 95|I-95]] employs the state bird, the [[Northern cardinal|cardinal]], and the state tree and flower, the [[Cornus florida|dogwood]]. This sign is gradually being replaced by a new sign bearing the slogan "[[Virginia is for Lovers]]"|alt=A large square metal sign, mostly white, with the words Virginia Welcomes You in blue and red. In the center a red cardinal bird sits on a branch with two white flowers around it.]] The state nickname is its oldest symbol, though it has never been made official by law. Virginia was given the title "[[Dominion]]" by King [[Charles II of England]] at the time of [[The Restoration]], because it had remained loyal to the crown during the [[English Civil War]], and the present moniker, "Old Dominion" is a reference to that title. Charles' supporters were called [[Cavalier]]s, and "The Cavalier State" nickname was popularized after the [[American Civil War]] to romanticize the antebellum period. Sports teams from the [[University of Virginia]] are called the [[Virginia Cavaliers|Cavaliers]].{{sfn|Welch|2006|pp=1–3}} The other nickname, "Mother of Presidents", is also historic, as eight Virginians have served as [[Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state of birth|President of the United States]], including four of the first five.<ref name=factpack/> The state's motto, ''[[Sic semper tyrannis|Sic Semper Tyrannis]]'', translates from Latin as "Thus Always to Tyrants", and is used on the state seal, which is then used on the flag. While the seal was designed in 1776, and the flag was first used in the 1830s, both were made official in 1930.<ref name=factpack>{{cite web|url=http://legis.state.va.us/1_cap_class/class_media/4_5_pdfs/factpack-1.pdf|title=Factpack|publisher=[[Virginia General Assembly]]|date=January 11, 2007|accessdate=October 14, 2008|format=PDF}}</ref> The majority of the other symbols were made official in the late 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://legis.state.va.us/1_cap_class/9-12/9_12_emb_symb.html|title=Capitol Classroom|publisher=[[Virginia General Assembly]]|date=December 13, 2007|accessdate=April 12, 2008}}</ref> The [[Virginia reel (dance)|Virginia reel]] is among the [[square dance]]s classified as the [[List of U.S. state dances|state dance]].<ref name=eov/> In March 2015, after 20 years without a [[List of U.S. state songs|state song]], Virginia received two: "[[Our Great Virginia]]" (official traditional state song) and "[[Sweet Virginia Breeze]]" (official popular state song).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://patch.com/virginia/fairfaxcity/listen-virginia-now-has-2-state-songs|title=Listen: Virginia Now Has 2 State Songs|work=Patch|date=March 27, 2015|accessdate=July 29, 2015}}</ref> In 1940, Virginia made "[[Carry Me Back to Old Virginny]]" the state song, but it was retired in 1997 and reclassified as the state song emeritus.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.roanoke.com/columnists/berrier/wb/146590|title=Carry me back to the state song search|work=[[The Roanoke Times]]|date=January 11, 2008|accessdate=September 10, 2009|first=Ralph|last=Berrier}}</ref> {|border="0" style="margin:auto;" |- |valign="top"| *[[List of U.S. state mammals|Mammal]]: [[Virginia big-eared bat]] *[[List of U.S. state beverages|Beverage]]: [[Milk]] *[[List of U.S. state ships|Boat]]: [[Chesapeake Bay deadrise]] *[[List of U.S. state birds|Bird]]: [[Northern cardinal|Cardinal]] |valign="top"| *[[List of U.S. state dances|Dance]]: [[Square dance|Square dancing]] *[[List of U.S. state mammals|Dog]]: [[American Foxhound]] *[[List of U.S. state fish|Fish]]: [[Brook trout]], [[striped bass]] *[[List of U.S. state flowers|Flower]]/[[List of U.S. state trees|Tree]]: [[Cornus florida|Dogwood]] |valign="top"| *[[List of U.S. state fossils|Fossil]]: ''[[Chesapecten jeffersonius]]'' *[[List of U.S. state insects|Insect]]: [[Papilio glaucus|Tiger swallowtail]] *[[List of U.S. state mottos|Motto]]: [[Sic semper tyrannis|Sic Semper Tyrannis]] *[[List of U.S. state nicknames|Nickname]]: The Old Dominion |valign="top"| *[[List of U.S. state shells|Shell]]: [[Eastern oyster]] *Slogan: [[Virginia is for Lovers]] *[[List of U.S. state songs|Songs]]: "[[Our Great Virginia]]", "[[Sweet Virginia Breeze]]" *[[List of U.S. state tartans|Tartan]]: [[Virginia Quadricentennial Tartan|Virginia Quadricentennial]] |} {{clear}} ==See also== {{portal|United States|Virginia}} *[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Virginia]] *[[History of Virginia]] *[[History of Virginia on stamps]] *[[History of Kentucky]] *[[History of West Virginia]] *[[Virginia in the American Civil War]] {{clear}} ==References== {{reflist|30em}} ==Bibliography== {{Refbegin|30em}} *{{Cite book|last=Abrams|first=Ann Uhry|title=The pilgrims and Pocahontas: rival myths of American origin|publisher=[[Westview Press]]|year=1999|isbn=0-8133-3497-7|url=https://books.google.com/?id=y4-ljMLfwp4C&pg=PR15|location=Boulder, CO|ref=harv}} *{{Cite book|last=Accordino|first=John J.|title=Captives of the Cold War Economy|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|year=2000|isbn=0-275-96561-9|location=Westport, CT|url=https://books.google.com/?id=S6TuEMY2clQC|ref=harv}} *{{Cite book|title=Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754–1766|last=Anderson|first=Fred|authorlink=Fred Anderson (historian)|year=2000|publisher=[[Random House]]|location=New York|isbn=0-375-40642-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-vMxLslZopgC|ref=harv}} *{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=VkKEooYDuToC|title=Hiking Virginia: A Guide to Virginia's Greatest Hiking Adventures|first1=Bill|last1=Burnham|first2=Mary|last2=Burnham|publisher=Globe Pequot|location=Guilford, CT|year=2004|isbn=0-7627-2747-0|ref=harv}} *{{Cite book|title=Wild Virginia: A Guide to Thirty Roadless Recreation Areas Including Shenandoah National Park|first1=Steven|last1=Carroll|first2=Mark|last2=Miller|publisher=Globe Pequot|location=Guilford, CT|year=2002|isbn=0-7627-2315-7|url=https://books.google.com/?id=ymATg0mq8jkC|ref=harv}} *{{Cite book|first=Douglas B.|last=Chambers|title= Murder at Montpelier: Igbo Africans in Virginia|publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]]|location=Jackson|year=2005|isbn=1-57806-706-5|url=https://books.google.com/?id=vqpoxEl_0_4C&pg=PA10|ref=harv}} *{{Cite book|title=The American Past: A Survey of American History|first=Joseph R.|last=Conlin|year=2009|authorlink=Joseph R. 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Robertson, Jr.|title=Civil War Virginia: Battleground for a Nation|year=1993|publisher=[[University of Virginia Press]]|location=Charlottesville|isbn=0-8139-1457-4|url=https://books.google.com/?id=RKDkDZ6GLPcC|ref=harv}} *{{Cite book|last=Stewart|first=George|title=Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States|authorlink=George R. Stewart|year=2008|publisher=[[Random House]]|location=New York|isbn=1-59017-273-6|ref=harv}} *{{Cite book|last=Van Zandt|first=Franklin K.|title=Boundaries of the United States and the several States|year=1976|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=skxAAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA95&lpg=PA95|ref=harv}} *{{Cite book|last=Vollmann|first=William T.|authorlink=William T. Vollmann|title=Argall: The True Story of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith|url=https://books.google.com/?id=hh0WYbclptAC&pg=PA695|publisher=[[Penguin Group]]|year=2002|location=New York|isbn=0-14-200150-3|ref=harv}} *{{Cite book|last=Wallenstein|first=Peter|authorlink=Peter Wallenstein|title=Cradle of America: Four Centuries of Virginia History|publisher=[[University Press of Kansas]]|location=Lawrence, KS|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7006-1507-0|url=https://books.google.com/?id=qiwSAAAAYAAJ|ref=harv}} *{{Cite book|last=Welch|first=Deborah|title=Virginia: An Illustrated History|year=2006|publisher=Hippocrene Books|isbn=0-7818-1115-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R2-yNS6PqBcC&pg=PA1|ref=harv}} *{{Cite book|last=Williamson|first=CiCi|url=https://books.google.com/?id=pnuFW6zT0T8C&pg=PA41|title=The Best of Virginia Farms Cookbook and Tour Book|publisher=Menasha Ridge Press|location=Birmingham, AL|year=2008|isbn=0-89732-657-1|ref=harv}} {{Refend}} ==External links== {{Sister project links|voy=Virginia}} *{{dmoz|Regional/North_America/United_States/Virginia}} *[http://encyclopediavirginia.org/about Encyclopedia Virginia] ;Government *[http://portal.virginia.gov/ State Government website] *[http://virginiageneralassembly.gov/ Virginia General Assembly] *[http://www.courts.state.va.us/ Virginia's Judicial system] *[http://legis.state.va.us/Laws/search/Constitution.htm Constitution of Virginia] *[http://www.mycountycourthouse.com/virginia/ Virginia State and County Government Websites] ;Tourism and recreation *[http://www.virginia.org/ Virginia Tourism Website] *[http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/state_park.shtml Virginia State Parks] *[http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/VAmainstreet/ Virginia Main Street Communities Travel] ;Culture and history *[http://www.vahistorical.org/ Virginia Historical Society] *[http://virginiaindians.pwnet.org/index.php Virginia's First People] *[http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/VAGuide/frame.html WPA Guide to the Old Dominion] *[http://www.lva.virginia.gov/ Library of Virginia] ;Maps and Demographics *[http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=VA USGS geographic resources of Virginia] *[http://climate.virginia.edu/ Virginia State Climatology Office] *[http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=51&StateName=Virginia#.U8BDivldUeo Virginia State Facts from USDA, Economic Research Service] *{{OSM relation|224042}} {{clear}} {{s-start}} {{s-bef|before=[[New Hampshire]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union]]|years=Ratified [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] on June 25, 1788 (10th)}} {{s-aft|after=[[New York (state)|New York]]}} {{s-end}} {{Geographic location |West = {{flag|Kentucky}} |Northwest = {{flag|West Virginia}} |North = {{flag|Maryland}} |Northeast = {{flag|Washington, D.C.|name=District of Columbia}} |Centre = {{flag|Virginia}}: [[Outline of Virginia|Outline]] • [[Index of Virginia-related articles|Index]] |East = [[Atlantic Ocean]] |Southeast = |South = {{flag|North Carolina}} |Southwest = {{flag|Tennessee}} }} {{Virginia|expanded}} {{Southern United States}} {{United States political divisions}} {{Featured article}} {{Coord|display=title|37.5|N|79|W|region:US-VA_type:adm1st_scale:3000000}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Virginia| ]] [[Category:States of the United States]] [[Category:States of the Mid-Atlantic]] [[Category:Southern United States]] [[Category:States of the Confederate States of America]] [[Category:States of the East Coast of the United States]] [[Category:1788 establishments in the United States]]'