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diff --git a/43884-0.txt b/43884-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b6862a9 --- /dev/null +++ b/43884-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12850 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43884 *** + +Transcriber's note: + +Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + + + + + HALLOWED HERITAGE + + + [Illustration: decorative] + + Hallowed Heritage: + + T H E L I F E O F V I R G I N I A + + [Illustration: publisher's mark] + + _by_ + + DOROTHY M. TORPEY + + _Head of Social Studies Department_ + + FRANCIS C. HAMMOND HIGH SCHOOL + + ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA + + 1961 + + WHITTET & SHEPPERSON, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA + + [Illustration: decorative] + + + + + Copyright 1961 by Dorothy M. Torpey + + Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 60-53266 + + Printed by Whittet & Shepperson, Richmond, Virginia + + + + + TO + MY MOTHER AND BILL + _whose encouragement and understanding + were inspirational_ + + + + +[Illustration: landing on shore] + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +From the founding of the first permanent English settlement in +America at Jamestown to the present-day launching of the country's +largest ships at Hampton Roads, the name "Virginia" suggests a +geographical area which has formed the background for innumerable +local, state, national and international events. An understanding +of "The Life of Virginia"--geographical, historical, economic, +cultural and political phases of living--should result in a +better appreciation of the unique role played by Virginia in the +development and progress of the United States of America. + + --D. M. T. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + Introduction 5 + + Chapter One: Geographical Life 11 + + _Location and Topographical Regions_ + _Unique Features_ + _Rivers and Lakes_ + _Climate_ + _Natural Resources_ + _Human Resources_ + _Summary_ + + Chapter Two: Historical Life, 1584-1775 24 + + _Exploration and Colonization_ + _The Commonwealth and the "Golden Age"_ + _The Pre-Revolutionary War Era_ + _Summary_ + + Chapter Three: Historical Life, 1775-1860 63 + + _The Revolutionary War Era_ + _The Adoption of the United States and State Constitutions_ + _State and National Events (1789-1860)_ + _Summary_ + + Chapter Four: Historical Life, 1860-Present 108 + + _The War Between the States_ + _The Reconstruction Period and Its Aftermath_ + _Twentieth Century Developments_ + _Summary_ + + Chapter Five: Economic Life 150 + + _The Work Force_ + _Types of Employment_ + _Importance of Transportation_ + _Summary_ + + Chapter Six: Cultural Life 163 + + _Literature_ + _Art and Sculpture_ + _Architecture_ + _Music and Drama_ + _Education_ + _Summary_ + + Chapter Seven: Political Life 201 + + _Background of Present State Constitution_ + _The Virginia Bill of Rights_ + _Election Requirements, Offices and Procedures_ + _Legislative, Executive and Judicial Departments_ + _Local Governmental Units_ + _Education and Public Instruction_ + _Miscellaneous Provisions_ + _The Amendment Process_ + _State Symbolism_ + _Summary_ + + + + +HALLOWED HERITAGE + + + + +1 + +Geographical Life + +_Location and Topographical Regions_ + + +The Commonwealth of Virginia is located in the eastern part of the +United States, approximately midway between the North and the South, +and it is classified geographically as a South Atlantic State. The +shape of the state suggests an irregular triangle: the base of +the triangle, the southern boundary of the state which divides it +from North Carolina and Tennessee; the left side or western side, +dominated by the Blue Ridge, the Appalachian and the Allegheny +Mountains; and the right side or eastern side, the Coastal Plain. + +Virginia is bounded on the north by West Virginia, Maryland and +the Potomac River which forms the boundary between Virginia and +Maryland and Virginia and the District of Columbia; on the east by +the Potomac River, Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Atlantic +Ocean; on the south by North Carolina and Tennessee; and on the west +by Kentucky and West Virginia. + +The area of the state is approximately 40,815 square miles. This +area places Virginia thirty-sixth in rank in area among the States +of the Union. Approximately 2,000 square miles of this area consist +of water. The southern boundary extends approximately 450 miles from +east to west and the distance from north to south is approximately +200 miles at its widest point. The geographical center of Virginia +is at a point eleven miles south of east of the town of Amherst in +Appomattox County. The highest point is Mount Rogers located in +Smyth and Grayson Counties with an elevation of 5,719 feet. The +lowest altitude is sea level along the Atlantic Coast. The average +elevation of the state is 950 feet. + +Topographically, Virginia may be conveniently divided into five +major regions: + + (1) the South Atlantic Coastal Plain--As the name suggests, + this region extends along the coast from the Atlantic Ocean + to the Fall Line Zone. The Fall Line Zone refers to a section + where the streams pass from the rocky areas of the mountain + region or high land to the level area or low land; at such + points, falls or rapids develop. The Great Falls of the Potomac + in Maryland and in Virginia, the Falls of the Rappahannock at + Fredericksburg, the rapids of the James River at Richmond and + the Falls of the Appomattox at Petersburg illustrate the concept + of the Fall Line. Consequently, the so-called Fall Line extends + from Washington, D. C., through Alexandria, Fredericksburg, + Richmond, Petersburg and Emporia in Virginia. Thus, the South + Atlantic Coastal Plain region of Virginia is located along + the Atlantic seacoast from the Potomac River at Alexandria to + the North Carolina boundary line and as far west as the Fall + Line Zone. The width of this area varies from 35 miles to 120 + miles. This region is also called "Tidewater" Virginia because + the level land here is so low that the ocean tides may often + be seen in the inland streams. "Tidewater" Virginia includes + five peninsulas formed by the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac, + the Rappahannock, the York and the James Rivers. These five + peninsulas are: + + a. the Eastern Shore--Although most of Tidewater Virginia is + located on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay, a unique + peninsula called the Eastern Shore extends southward from + Maryland and is separated from the rest of Virginia by the + Chesapeake Bay. Thus, in order to travel by land from the + mainland of eastern Virginia to the Eastern Shore, it is + necessary to travel via Maryland. + + b. the Northern Neck--This peninsula lies between the Potomac + and the Rappahannock Rivers and is only 22 miles at its widest + point. + + c. the Middle Peninsula--This peninsula lies between the + Rappahannock and the York Rivers. + + d. the Peninsula of the Lower York-James Peninsula or the + Williamsburg Peninsula--This peninsula is located between the + York and James Rivers. + + e. the Norfolk Peninsula--This peninsula is located between + the James River and the Virginia-North Carolina boundary line. + In general, the land in this region is a flat plain. The tidal + rivers mentioned previously are actually estuaries of Chesapeake + Bay and they flow periodically inland. Therefore, they are an + unusual combination of waters from the Bay itself and from the + Atlantic Ocean whose pressure pushes the tides inland. The + strong influence of geography upon occupations in this region is + exemplified by the importance of commercial fishing (especially + oysters, scallops, clams and crabs), ocean transportation (the + large area of deep water in the Chesapeake Bay encourages + ocean-going commercial ships to seek inland ports in this + region--especially around Hampton Roads), truck farming (the + clay loam soil and the sandy loam soil here provide excellent + productivity of potatoes, early vegetables, corn and hay), and + the manufacturing of fertilizer (particularly from fish and fish + scraps), bricks (an abundance of sand and gravel encourages the + making of bricks), pulpwood, railroad ties, barrel staves and + other lumber products (60% of the Tidewater area is covered with + forests). + + (2) the Piedmont Plateau--This region extends from the Coastal + Plain westward to the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The word + "Piedmont" literally means "at the foot of the mountain." A + plateau is defined as a high lowland; therefore, this section is + higher in elevation than the Coastal Plain region. This area is + characterized by rolling hills and many swift streams. The width + of the plateau varies from forty miles in Northern Virginia + to one hundred ninety miles in the southern part, gradually + broadening as one travels southward. The plateau rises gradually + from an elevation of 200-700 feet at the eastern end of the + plateau until, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it + reaches approximately 1500 feet near the Virginia-North Carolina + border. The Piedmont area located south of the James River is + known as the Southside. Agriculture is the chief occupation + because, in general, this land is fertile due to the presence + of limestone soils and clay deposits. Large amounts of tobacco + are grown here. The Piedmont also has a great variety of rocks, + including granite and soapstone which are currently commercially + important. + + (3) the Blue Ridge and Valleys--Although the Blue Ridge + Mountains are a part of the Appalachian Range, they are, + geographically, sufficiently significant to afford them a + separate listing in a topographical description of Virginia. + The Blue Ridge Mountains, located between the Potomac and + the Roanoke Rivers, cross Virginia in a northeast-southwest + direction and are from three to twenty miles wide. The Blue + Ridge of Virginia originates at the junction of the Potomac and + the Shenandoah Rivers and continues southwestward to the North + Carolina line. From a distance the mountain ridges usually + appear to be covered with a blue haze; therefore, the term "Blue + Ridge" is believed to have originated from such an observation + in early colonial Virginia days. This region constitutes a + distinct contrast to the Piedmont area since the ridges appear + abrupt yet lofty in height: in the northern half of Virginia, + Stony Man Ridge (4,010 feet) and Hawksbill (4,049 feet); in + the central part, Peaks of Otter (Flat Top--4,001 feet and + Sharp Top--3,875 feet) and in the southwestern part, White Top + Mountain (5,520 feet) and Mount Rogers (5,719 feet), the highest + point in Virginia. In the southern part, the Blue Ridge becomes + a rugged plateau with stony land and jagged ravines unsuited for + commercial agricultural pursuits. This entire area is heavily + forested with white pine, white oak, poplar, hemlock, black + oak, yellow pine, chestnut, locust and chestnut oak trees. The + famous Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park extends one + hundred miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in + this area from Front Royal to Waynesboro. + + (4) the Appalachian Ridge and Valleys--This region is located + west of the Blue Ridge and Valleys. The Appalachian Ridge + consists primarily of a narrow strip of land thirty-five + to one hundred miles wide. The Allegheny Mountains border + Virginia along the west and numerous high, narrow ridges are + found here. The Appalachian Valley in Virginia, like the Blue + Ridge, originates at the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah + Rivers. This valley extends for approximately three hundred and + fifty miles to the borderline of Tennessee. The eastern part + of this valley is often referred to as the Great Valley or the + Valley of Virginia. This valley is actually a series of valleys + separated by crosswise ridges and drained by five rivers: the + upper James, Roanoke, New, Holston and Powell. An abundance of + limestone makes the soil exceptionally fertile and productive. + In the northern part of the Valley of Virginia is the famous + Shenandoah Valley, about 150 miles long and ten to twenty miles + wide, divided in the north by the Massanutten Mountain, a high + ridge approximately forty-five miles long. There is a great + variety of soils found here, and most of them have a fair degree + of plant fertility. Corn and winter wheat are the agricultural + specialties of the Shenandoah Valley. Other valleys included in + the Valley of Virginia are the Abingdon Valley, Dublin Valley, + Fincastle Valley, Powell Valley, Roanoke Valley, New River + Valley, Holston Valley and Clinch Valley. + + (5) the Appalachian Plateau--This region is located in + southwestern Virginia and is often referred to as the + Southwestern Plateau or Allegheny Plateau. It extends only a + short distance into Virginia and consists mainly of rough, + rugged terrain. Water gaps, gorges, sandstone walls, rock + formations and dense forested areas make southwestern Virginia's + scenery distinctly different and picturesque. The Cumberland + Mountains form its western boundary. Coal-mining is the chief + occupation in this region, and this is the area where the + largest and most productive coal-fields of Virginia are located. + Lumbering is also carried on extensively. In addition, some + cattle, hogs, corn and vegetables are raised here. + +The combination of these five regions suggests a one-word +description of Virginia's topography, namely, diversified. + +[Illustration: _Topographical Regions of Virginia_] + +[Illustration: VIRGINIA STATE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE + +_Natural Tunnel_] + + +_Unique Features_ + +Each state of the United States generally has at least a few +geographical oddities or unusual geographical formations. Virginia +has been richly endowed with caverns, springs, unusual rock +formations and a dense, swampy wilderness. + +The chief caverns are called Endless (near New Market), Grand (at +Grottoes), Luray (near Luray)--the largest in Virginia, Massanutten +(near Harrisonburg), Melrose (near Harrisonburg), Shenandoah (near +New Market) and Skyline (near Front Royal). These caverns are of +limestone formation and contain stalagmites (upward-projecting forms +on a cavern floor) and stalactites (downward-projecting forms from +a cavern ceiling) in diverse shapes and colors. The Blowing Cave in +Bath County received its name from the inhalation of cold air during +the winter and the expulsion of cold air during the summer. + +Burning Spring is located in Wise County and is so named because of +the liquid flames which seethe through the surface of the earth in +this area from unknown sources. Crystal Spring in Roanoke received +its name from the approximately five million gallons of crystal +water per day which likewise appear from some unknown source. + +The famous Natural Bridge of Virginia is considered one of the seven +natural wonders of the new world. It is located near Lexington in +Rockbridge County (the county so-named because of the existence of +the bridge of rock) and is a bridge of stone ninety feet long and +two hundred and fifteen feet high spanning a gorge cut by Cedar +Creek. So unique is this formation that Indian lore relates that +it was referred to as "the Bridge of God." In this same region, in +Patrick County, may be seen crystals in the shape of crosses in +certain rock strata. So rare is their structure and clarity that +they are often called "Fairy Stones" or "Cross Stones." + +The Natural Tunnel located in Purchase Ridge near Big Stone Gap +and Bristol is a tunnel approximately nine hundred feet long, one +hundred and fifty feet wide and one hundred feet high, carved by +flowing water through solid mountain terrain. The tunnel itself +includes a reverse curve, and, at the present time, railroad tracks +and Stock Creek waters run through it. + +Crabtree Falls in Nelson County, Central Virginia, is believed to +be one of the highest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River. +These falls are formed by a branch of the Tye River, the South Fork, +descending two thousand feet below in cascade formation. + +The Great Falls of the Potomac, located on the boundary between +Virginia and Maryland, is one of the highest waterfalls east of the +Rockies with an elevation of ninety feet. + +The Natural Chimneys located at Mt. Solon are seven large towers of +stone carved by erosion out of a mountain. These rock strata are so +straight and so symmetrical that they resemble a series of chimneys +suggesting their name. Two of the chimneys have tunnels carved +through the bases, and cedar trees appear to grow out of the rock. + +The Great Dismal Swamp, approximately fifteen hundred square miles +in area, is shared by Virginia and by North Carolina. It is noted +for its dense tropical growth, its fur-bearing game (particularly, +black bear), its massive timber varieties and its disorderly plant +vegetation. Juniper trees, sometimes called red cedar, and cypress +trees are abundant around Lake Drummond in the Great Dismal Swamp. +The swamp is more easily accessible from Virginia than from North +Carolina. + +In addition to the above natural wonders, there are numerous mineral +springs, canyons, mountain peaks and deep gorges. Virginia has nine +State Parks including Douthat State Park (near Clifton Forge), +Fairystone State Park (near Bassett and Martinsville), Hungry +Mother State Park (near Marion), Seashore State Park (near Cape +Henry), Staunton River State Park (near South Boston and Halifax), +Westmoreland State Park (near Montross and Fredericksburg), Claytor +Lake State Park (near Dublin and Radford), Prince Edward Lake State +Park (near Burkeville) and Pocahontas Memorial State Park (near +Richmond and Petersburg). The Breaks Interstate Park controlled by +Virginia and Kentucky has scenery so similar to the Grand Canyon +that it is often refered to as "The Grand Canyon of the South." +The Virginia area of the Breaks is located in the northern part +of Dickenson County. Virginia also has a prominent National Park, +Shenandoah National Park, established in 1935, which consists of +approximately 193,000 acres. This park includes the beautiful +Skyline Drive. Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is located in +parts of Kentucky and Tennessee as well as in Virginia. + + +_Rivers and Lakes_ + +Because of the varied topography, there are many swift streams +which are available (although not yet completely utilized) for +water power. Virginia has parts of eight different river systems +within its boundaries. They are the Potomac River (including its +chief tributary, the Shenandoah), the Rappahannock River (including +its chief tributary, the Rapidan), the York River, the James River +(including its tributaries, the Chickahominy and the Appomattox), +the Meherrin, Nottoway and Blackwater Rivers (the chief tributaries +of the Chowan River in North Carolina), the Roanoke River (including +its chief tributary, the Dan), the New River and the Holston, Clinch +and Powell Rivers (the chief tributaries of the Tennessee River +System). These rivers furnish excellent waterpower and drainage. + +In addition to these important rivers, Virginia has several +valuable lakes. Included among these are: Crystal Lake near Cape +Henry, Lake Drummond (the largest body of fresh water in the state, +approximately five square miles in area and twenty-two feet in +altitude) in the heart of the Dismal Swamp and in the highest part +of the Dismal Swamp, Lake Jackson near Centerville, Mountain Lake +near Blacksburg (thirty-five hundred feet above sea level and noted +for the clarity of its water), Pedlar Lake in Long Mountain Wayside +Park, Claytor Lake near Pulaski, Bear Creek Lake near Richmond, +Bedford Lake at Bedford and Prince Edward Lake in Prince Edward +State Park. Some of these lakes are noted for their fish, especially +bass and trout, while others contribute primarily to the scenic +grandeur of Virginia. + + +_Climate_ + +The climate of Virginia is classified as continental--characterized +by frequent moderate extremes in temperature and a medium length +summer growing season. Since elevation generally affects climatic +conditions, the temperature in the Piedmont Plateau and Appalachian +Ridge sections varies according to the altitude. In the Piedmont +and Appalachian areas, during the winter months the temperatures +are lower than on the plains; likewise, in the former areas, +greater seasonal contrasts occur. In general, the climate of the +entire state is mild with few extremes in temperature. The average +temperature is approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit, winter; 60 +degrees Fahrenheit, spring and fall; and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, +summer. The greatest ranges of temperature occur in the Piedmont +and in the Great Valley. Snow falls very infrequently except in the +mountain areas and usually is of short duration whenever it appears. + +With respect to annual precipitation, the average rainfall for +Virginia is approximately forty-five inches, with variations in +different regions. In some regions it is as high as forty-nine or +fifty inches and, in others, as low as thirty-six or thirty-seven +inches. Rainfall typically is abundant and well-distributed +throughout the year. The heaviest rainfall usually occurs, however, +during the summer. As a result of the climatic conditions of +temperature and precipitation, the growing season varies from +approximately one hundred and fifty to two hundred and ten days. +Consequently, agricultural products are well diversified. + + +_Natural Resources_ + +The economic destiny of a region is greatly influenced by its +natural resources as well as by its location. It has already been +pointed out that Virginia has a most desirable location. Virginia +also has numerous natural resources. + +One resource so influential that it often shapes the economic +pattern of a state is soil. Virginia is fortunate in having numerous +types of soil: rich, black loam; light, sandy loam; clay and sand +loam; limestone and clay soils. Most of these soils are easily +adaptable to cultivation, and the use of crop rotation and of marl +(a soil neutralizer) has fostered extensive production. + +Forests constitute approximately three-fifths or 60% of Virginia's +total land area. There are many hardwood and softwood varieties +in Virginia. The term, "hardwood," is sometimes a misleading one +because a few of the so-called "softwood" trees are actually hard +in substance. Hardwood trees shed their leaves annually, and they +are called deciduous trees. Since softwood trees bear cones, they +are called coniferous trees. The southern or yellow pine is the +leading softwood or coniferous tree which thrives in Virginia +because of the sandy soil of the coastal plain. Other softwoods are +red spruce, hemlock, red cedar and cypress. Hardwoods include oak, +chestnut, locust, hickory, walnut, gum, white ash, magnolia and +dogwood. Although the forests are scattered throughout the state, +the Tidewater, Piedmont and western portions of the state have the +largest forested area. + +Fish are plentiful in Virginia because of the Atlantic Ocean, +the Chesapeake Bay and the numerous rivers and mountain streams. +Virginia usually ranks annually among the first ten states in the +value of its fisheries. The principal fish are oysters and clams +in Chesapeake Bay, blue crabs and shrimp in the Tidewater area, +scallops in seacoast inlets, bads, bream, perch, pike, carp, catfish +in inland waters and speckled and rainbow trout in mountain streams. +Menhaden fish, found near the surface of the water, are inedible but +are now being used for making fertilizer and oil in Virginia. + +The amount of waterpower is above average in Virginia due to many +swift streams and rivers and the high elevation. This resource +combined with an ample supply of steam coal has resulted in the +production of electric power in Virginia at a much cheaper rate than +in many other states. Furthermore, it is estimated that Virginia +industry at the present time is using only approximately 10 per cent +of its available waterpower supply. + +With respect to minerals, approximately one hundred and fifty kinds +have been found in Virginia, and approximately forty have been mined +and quarried recently. However, Virginia ranks nineteenth in United +States mineral production and provides approximately 1.25% of the +total United States mineral value. + +The most valuable and most abundant mineral resource found in +Virginia is coal. There are four types: bituminous (soft), +anthracite (hard), semi-bituminous and semi-anthracite. The +bituminous coal far surpasses the other types in quantity. The +coal supply is found primarily in three areas: (1) the Piedmont +region--the Richmond Basin and the Farmville area--bituminous; +(2) the west side of the Great Valley of Virginia--anthracite and +semi-anthracite and (3) the Southwestern Plateau--bituminous and +semi-bituminous. The first coal to be mined in the United States was +located near Richmond in 1745. At the present time, Virginia ranks +sixth in the United States coal production and is believed to have +more coal seams now available than any other mining district in the +United States. Coal is mined most frequently in Buchanan, Wise and +Dickenson Counties. + + * * * * * + +Various types of stone resources rank second in financial value of +minerals. These include: + + Calcareous marl (an earthy deposit containing usually lime, clay + and sand)--in the Tidewater section--used as a soil neutralizer + + Cement rock--limestone, marl, shale and clay--in the + Coastal Plain and in Augusta, Botetourt, Norfolk and Warren + Counties--used in forming portland cement and masonry cement + + Dolomite (a brittle calcium magnesium carbonate)--in the Valley + west of the Blue Ridge Mountains--used as a source of magnesium, + for the manufacture of refractories, for building and crushed + stone + + Granite--in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge provinces--used for + building monumental stone, crushed stone and paving blocks + + Greenstone (a dark-green crystalline rock)--in Lynchburg and in + the Piedmont area--used for crushed stone and one particular + type is used for ornamental stone + + Limestone--west of the Blue Ridge, in the Appalachian Valley and + in the far west of the state--used in the production of lime and + for manufacturing chemicals, for cement, as a soil conditioner, + for crushed stone and rock wool insulation + + Marble--in Rockingham, Rockbridge, Scott and Giles + Counties--used extensively for monumental stone: jet black, + green, white, red, reddish-brown, blue, gray, blue-gray, pink + and variegated (different colors within one type); the pink + marble is similar to the Tennessee marble and is found primarily + in Smyth County + + Shale (a fragile rock resembling slate)--in the Valley--used in + the manufacture of bricks, portland cement and rock wool + + Sandstone--Oriskany sandstone in Frederick and in Rockingham + Counties--chief source for the manufacture of all glass + + Slate--in Piedmont or eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains, + in Albemarle and Buckingham Counties--used chiefly for roofs, + baseboards, blackboards, switchboards, sidewalks, flagstones and + asphalt shingles + +There are several miscellaneous minerals which, when combined, +rank third in financial value of minerals in the state. These +miscellaneous minerals include: + + Aplite--among Piedmont crystalline rocks along the Piney + River in Amherst County--used in the ceramic and glass + industry--Virginia ranks first in quantity and in value + + Bauxite--in Augusta County--used for manufacturing aluminum, + chemicals and abrasives + + Gypsum--in Smyth and Washington Counties--used primarily for the + manufacture of cement, plaster of paris, wallboards, fillers and + chalk + + Iron ore--in central and southwestern parts of the state--used + in furnaces for the extraction of the metal itself + + Kyanite--in Buckingham, Charlotte and Prince Edward + Counties--used in the manufacture of high-temperature + refractories, used by metallurgical and glass industries, for + insulators, for spark plugs, porcelains, boiler furnaces and in + the ceramics industry--Virginia ranks first in quantity and in + value + + Manganese--in central and southwestern parts of the state--in + Augusta, Bland, Smyth, Giles and Wythe Counties--used in the + manufacture of steel, dry batteries, chemicals, ceramics, + fertilizer, drier in varnish and printer's ink + + Petroleum--in Lee and Scott Counties--used primarily for fuel + + Salt--in southwest--in Smyth and Washington Counties--used + in the manufacture of various industrial chemicals and for + specialized used in food, clay, dye, glass and paper industries; + the brine used in manufacturing chlorine and soda ash + + Soapstone--in Albemarle, Franklin and Nelson Counties--used + for the manufacture of switchboards, electric insulators, + insecticides (ground soapstone) and for industrial and research + laboratories + + Talc--in Fairfax and in Franklin Counties--used as paint + extender and as pigment, paper and rubber filler, ceramic + products, lubricant, dusting material and abrasives + + Titanium concentrates--in Nelson, Hanover and Amherst + Counties--these minerals consist of ilmenite (used chiefly in + the manufacture of pigments and to a slight extent in making + steel) and rutile (used mainly for coating on electrical welding + rods); titanium is used for increasing the hardness, strength + and durability of steel and is sometimes used in making pottery, + china and stainless steel--Virginia ranks third in titanium + concentrates + +Sand and gravel, used primarily for roadbuilding and general +construction projects, rank fourth in value. Most of the sand and +gravel is located along the Coastal Plain, especially in Henrico, +Chesterfield, Prince George and Princess Anne Counties. Sand and +gravel are also used for "fill," for engine sands, railroad ballast +and glass. Clay (excluding that type used in the manufacture +of pottery) ranks fifth in financial value. Clay deposits are +widespread throughout Virginia--especially in Botetourt, +Buckingham, Chesterfield, Henrico and Prince William Counties--and +vary from red to light-colored to white. They are used chiefly for +brick and tile construction. + +With respect to metals, Virginia mines the following: + + Barite--widespread deposits--used in the preparation of oil well + drilling, muds, chemicals + + Diatomite--Tidewater section--an earthy material used as an + insulator, as a filter medium for oils, in sugar refining + + Feldspar--widespread deposits--chiefly in Amelia, Bedford and + Prince Edward Counties--used chiefly in the ceramics industry + for making pottery and in the manufacture of glass, enamelware, + enamel brick, and as an abrasive in soaps and cleansers + + Gold--northeast Piedmont and Blue Ridge Plateau--little gold + at present but the best developed gold deposits are located + in Fauquier, Buckingham, Culpeper, Goochland, Louisa, Orange, + Spotsylvania and Stafford Counties--chief uses of gold include + as a bullion for backing of United States currency, in the + manufacture of jewelry, in the process of gilding, lettering, + plating, and in the chemical industry + + Lead and Zinc--lead: in Albemarle, Spotsylvania, Louise and + Wythe Counties--used in the manufacture of paint, in storage + batteries, cable covering and as an alloy; zinc: in Scott, + Wythe, Rockingham and Spotsylvania Counties--used for producing + metallic zinc, for galvanizing and (when alloyed with copper) + for making brass + + Mica--among the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont + Provinces--white mica called muscovite is used chiefly for + electric insulation, for coating wallpaper, for roofing paper, + in lubricants and in heat-resistant windows; sheet mica is used + in electronic equipment--in Amelia, Bedford, and Henrico Counties + + Natural gas--in Buchanan and Dickenson Counties--used for fuel + and power + + Pyrite--widespread deposits, particularly in Carroll + County--used for its sulphur content in the manufacture of + sulfuric acid--Virginia ranks second in quantity + + Tungsten--in Mecklenburg County--used for making high-speed tool + steel and munitions + + Wool-rock--in the Valley of Virginia and the Ridge + provinces--used for the manufacture of rock wool for heat and + sound insulation + +As civilization progresses and new inventions are created, the +demand for natural resources will increase. As new processing +methods are devised, Virginia will undoubtedly increase the +development of such resources. + + +_Human Resources_ + +The natural resources of a state assume a comparatively minor role +unless there are human resources to develop and to utilize them. The +present population of Virginia is approximately 3,900,000 people. +This figure represents a gain of approximately 17% in the last +decade. Virginia now ranks sixteenth in population among the fifty +states of the United States. Of this total population, approximately +40% in 1960 lived in incorporated localities having a population +of 25,000 or more, an increase of approximately 4% over 1950; +approximately 78% are white and 22% are non-white. Of the non-white +population, approximately 21% are Negroes and the remainder consists +primarily of Indians, Chinese and Japanese. Most of the survivors of +the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Indians now live on reservations in King +William County and the Chickahominy Indians in New Kent and Charles +City Counties. Of the white population in Virginia, only 1.03% is +foreign-born. + +Density of population refers to the average number of people per +square mile in a state. Density is found by dividing the total +population of a state by the total land area of the state. The +density of population in 1960 was 96. The counties of Fairfax +(southwest of, and adjacent to, Arlington County) and of Henrico +(adjacent to Richmond) more than doubled their population from 1950 +to 1960. + +From 1880 to 1930, while the population was increasing rapidly in +most states of the United States, it was increasing very slowly +in Virginia--only a 5% increase. During this period, there was +a large migration from Virginia to other regions of the United +States, primarily to seek better employment opportunities. Of +this emigration, 65% consisted of non-whites. This emigration +practically ceased during the 1930's. During the Great Depression, +agricultural workers who had made up the large proportion of the +previous emigration realized the futility of migrating to urban +areas beyond the state, already overcrowded with unemployed people. +Although manufacturing activities in the nation declined during this +period, in Virginia such activities increased, causing the number +of employees in manufacturing to increase in Virginia. At the same +time, governmental activities within Virginia and in areas adjacent +to Virginia greatly expanded, thus affording more opportunities for +additional employment in Virginia than in many other states of the +Union during this time. + +In the 1940's Virginia had a percentage rate of population growth +of 23.9%, the highest percentage rate since the first census of +1790. This growth was partly a result of a high birth rate, a low +death rate and the greatest net immigration of people in Virginia's +history since the colonial period. Approximately 216,900 persons +became residents of Virginia during this decade. At the same time, +there was a high rate of development of employment opportunities +in Virginia as manufacturing, mining, tourist trade, wholesale and +retail trades and service industries expanded rapidly. The chief +factor, however, in the immigration increase was the widespread +increase of federal government employment, civilian and military. + +The total population of the state increased by 18% during the +decade 1950-1960. However, during the same decade, Virginia changed +in population rank from the fifteenth place among the forty-eight +states to the sixteenth place among the fifty states. The ten most +populated cities in Virginia are Norfolk, Richmond, Newport News, +Portsmouth, Roanoke, Alexandria, Hampton, Lynchburg, Danville and +Petersburg. During the past decade, the population of three cities +has been materially increased through annexation. In 1952, Hampton, +Phoebus and Elizabeth City County consolidated into the first class +city of Hampton. In the same year, Warwick County became a city +also. In 1955, Norfolk became the largest city in population in +the state when it annexed the Tanners Creek Magisterial District +of Norfolk County. In 1958, the cities of Warwick and Newport News +were officially consolidated into the one large city of Newport News +which now ranks third in population. + + +S U M M A R Y + +Since Virginia borders the Atlantic Ocean and is located almost +halfway between the northern and southern boundaries of the United +States, it has a very favorable geographical location. An abundance +of mountain and plain areas, rivers and lakes, a moderate climate +and the presence of varying altitudes from sea level to 5,719 feet +furnishes Virginia with five distinct topographical regions and +much scenic beauty. Several unique geographical features found in +Virginia such as Burning Spring, Natural Bridge, Natural Tunnel, +Crabtree Falls, Natural Chimneys, several caverns and the nine state +parks, in addition to the well-known Shenandoah National Park, +help to make Virginia a most desirable tourist area. A variety of +natural resources such as soil, forests, fish, waterpower, coal, +miscellaneous minerals and metals promote numerous occupations +within the boundaries of Virginia. Ranking thirty-sixth in area +and sixteenth in population among the states of the United States, +Virginia has an attractive environmental location with a large +diversity of skills among its inhabitants. Thus, Virginia is +well-endowed geographically and has many potential resources for +future progress. + + + + +2 + +Historical Life: 1584-1775 + +_Exploration and Colonization_ + + +Through the efforts of John Cabot who explored the coast of North +America in 1497, according to a patent granted to him by King +Henry VII, England had a substantial claim to New World territory. +Attempts at founding an English colony in America, however, were +not made until 1583 when Sir Humphrey Gilbert received permission +from Queen Elizabeth to settle a colony in the area now known as +Newfoundland. This attempt was unsuccessful and Sir Humphrey Gilbert +and his colleagues drowned during a storm at sea on their return +voyage. Nevertheless, Gilbert had selected a site for a colony and +had claimed the island for England. The proprietary patent which +Gilbert had received from Queen Elizabeth was renewed and passed to +his half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh. + +In 1584, the name "Virginia" was given to the area of land claimed +by John Cabot, an area extending from Roanoke Island 600 miles in +an arc formation. Some historians state that Raleigh himself named +the area "Virginia" in honor of Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen, +while others indicate that Queen Elizabeth herself named it in her +own honor. From 1584 to 1591, Raleigh made numerous attempts with +the use of his personal fortune to establish an English colony on +Roanoke Island--located off what is now known as the North Carolina +coast--but his efforts were futile and the so-called "Lost Colony" +resulted. In 1587, after Raleigh's second group of colonists had +arrived at Roanoke Island (the first group having returned to +England after unsurmountable difficulties had beset them), they +established a settlement there. This was the settlement where the +first child of English parents was born in America. Her name was +Virginia Dare (named in honor of her birthplace) and she was the +granddaughter of John White, Governor of the settlement. When the +colonists' provisions became low, Governor White returned to England +for additional ones. Four years passed before he returned to the +settlement because of the War between England and Spain, and upon +his return, he found no settlers on the island. Various areas and +locations were searched in vain and only one possible clue was ever +found: the letters, "CROATAN," carved on a tree. These letters +spelled the name of an island which had been inhabited by friendly +Indians of the same name. Thus, the "Lost Colony" remains an +historical mystery which has never been solved. + +The many sincere efforts on the part of Sir Walter Raleigh plus the +vast sums of money which he spent for these colonization attempts +convinced the English people that colonization was too complicated +an activity for individuals to pursue alone. Since the English +government did not desire to undertake these settlement projects, +charters were issued by King James I to stock and joint-stock +companies. Under this system, each stockholder bought a certain +number of shares. If the company succeeded, each stockholder earned +a profit based upon the number of shares he owned. On April 10, +1606, the Virginia Charter was granted under which two companies +were incorporated: the London Company consisting mainly of men +from London and the Plymouth Company consisting mainly of men from +Plymouth and neighboring towns. The charter granted them the right +to settle in the area in that part of the American coast known as +"Virginia" between 30 and 45 degrees north latitude and as far +inland as 100 miles. The London Company was granted for settlement +the coast between 34 and 41 degrees north latitude and fifty miles +north and south of the point of settlement; the Plymouth Company was +granted the coast between 38 and 45 degrees north. The overlapping +area between 38 and 41 degrees could be settled by either company +as long as the company did not colonize within 100 miles of a +settlement established by the other. The charter also guaranteed +the colonists and their descendants all rights, privileges and +franchises enjoyed by Englishmen living in England at this time. + +The government of the colony established by the Virginia Charter was +to consist of a Superior Council of thirteen members in England and +a Resident or Inferior Council in the colony itself, with complete +administrative powers and political control reserved for the King. +Each landholder was required to pay an annual quitrent to the Crown +and was forbidden to carry on trade with any foreign country without +a license. Before the charter was signed, in order to encourage a +large number of stockholders, the London Company agreed to make each +subscriber to its stock who paid twelve pounds and ten shillings the +"lord of 200 acres of land" which would be owned by "him and his +heirs forever." Consequently, the company raised sufficient money +to finance a colonizing expedition, and, shortly after the charter +had been signed officially by the King, the company sent its first +emigrants on the way. + +The settlements of the Plymouth Company were unsuccessful. The +London Company had six hundred fifty-nine members, many of whom +were knights, aristocrats and gentlemen of learning as well as the +usual merchant and middle class citizens. In general, there were two +groups of stockholders: the adventurers who purchased the stock but +remained in England, and the planters who personally established +the colony and then lived in it. Although the company was primarily +organized for profit making, it was also expected to help the mother +country, England, by supplying her with products which she herself +could not produce. Some of the colonists sincerely desired to +acquaint and convert the Indians to Christianity. The leader of the +London Company organization was Bartholomew Gosnold and his chief +associates were Edward Maria Wingfield, a rich merchant, Robert +Hunt, a clergyman, George Percy, a poet and scholar, and John Smith, +a versatile individual. + +On December 6, 1606, the London Company dispatched three ships from +Blackwell, London, England: the Sarah Constant (or Susan Constant), +captained by Sir Christopher Newport, the Admiral of the fleet; the +Goodspeed (or Godspeed), captained by Bartholomew Gosnold; and the +Discovery (or Discoverer), captained by John Ratcliffe. These ships +carried one hundred twenty passengers, men and boys, only sixteen +of whom died on the long journey to Virginia. This is a very small +number lost when one considers the size and type of ships used, the +extremely long voyage which lasted approximately four months, over +the Atlantic Ocean at its greatest width, the lack of proper food +and drinking water and the severe storm which the fleet encountered +off the Florida coast. This storm blew them off their intended +course to two capes which appeared guarding a huge bay. The settlers +sighted these capes on Sunday, May 6, 1607 and named them Cape Henry +for Henry, Prince of Wales, eldest son of James I, and Cape Charles +for Charles, the Duke of York, another son of James I. The bay was +Chesapeake Bay, so-named by the Indians. They sailed up a river +tributary, called Powhatan by the Indians, to the bay and then to a +peninsula located about fifty miles above its mouth. This site is +believed to have been chosen because the water was deep enough to +allow the ships to dock close to the shore and because a peninsula +could be comparatively easily defended against Indian attacks. +Here the settlers landed on May 24, 1607 and established the first +permanent English settlement in America. They called the settlement +Jamestown in honor of their King, James I, and called the river on +which they had traveled the James River. There, the minister, Parson +Robert Hunt, standing under a ship's canvas sail stretched between +four trees, led a thanksgiving service to God on behalf of all +the passengers for their safe arrival in America. He also had the +privilege of celebrating the first Holy Communion in America. Thus, +the settlement of Jamestown became the "Cradle of the Republic" +because it was the birthplace of the area now known as the United +States as well as of the State of Virginia. + +The colonists had been given sealed written instructions concerning +their local governmental leaders, and these instructions were +not to be opened until the ships reached Virginia. The council +members had no power to make laws but were appointed to see that +the laws approved by the King were enforced. Since John Smith had +shown strong leadership qualities, had frequently criticized the +management of the ships, and had exerted much influence on the +voyage to America, he had aroused jealousy on the part of some of +the other voyagers. As a result, the accusation was made that he was +desirous of becoming the King of Virginia. Fearing that he might +assume too much political power, his cohorts arrested him upon the +pretense of treason and mutiny and imprisoned him on shipboard until +the end of the journey. When the unsealed instructions were read, +the first Resident Council consisted of Bartholomew Gosnold, George +Kendall, John Martin, Christopher Newport, John Ratcliffe, John +Smith and Edward Maria Wingfield, president of the first council. +John Smith was later charged with sedition, acquitted, and finally +restored to his rightful council position. + +In addition to naming the members of the Resident Council, the +written instructions for the colonists provided that all the +colonists should work for a "common store." This rule resulted in +a great hardship because some of the physically able and capable +colonists left the tasks of planting, building, and performing of +additional necessary duties to others. Some of the colonists were +gentlemen by profession, unaccustomed to hard physical labor, and +interested mostly in finding gold or attaining a quick fortune and +then returning to England. A majority of the colonists, however, +worked hard and, after building a fort for protection, continued +to construct a storehouse, a church and log huts for residences. +The morale of the colonists became very low when the food supplies +became scanty; diseases of fever and dysentery appeared due to the +humid, marshy, mosquito-laden land area; and Indian attacks became +common. With arrows tipped with deer's horn and with sharp stones, +the Indians had shot at the colonists, severely injuring Captain +Gabriel Archer and one of the sailors. However, the first large +organized Indian attack occurred in the latter part of May when two +hundred Indians attacked the settlers. They were finally driven back +through the efforts of the colonists under the leadership of Captain +Edward Maria Wingfield. + +Captain John Smith, Captain Christopher Newport and twenty other +settlers decided to explore the general area of the Jamestown +region. From June to September, they journeyed the entire length +of the Chesapeake Bay and they witnessed the eastern shore of the +bay, the Potomac River, the Great Falls, the Susquehanna River, the +Rappahannock River, the York River and the Chesapeake River. Smith +carefully drew a map of the entire area and called it a "Map of the +Chesapeake." He sent it to England via Captain Newport, and it was +later published in London. + +The courage and persistent hard work of the settlers and the +leadership of Captain John Smith were invaluable. Captain John Smith +maintained harmony in the Council, encouraged friendly relations +with the Indians (eventually to the extent of getting corn, an +absolute necessity, from them) and changed the "common store" policy +to a "no work-no eat" policy which had most effective results on +the indolent settlers. In 1608, he wrote a fascinating narration +about the founding of the Virginia Colony which he entitled "A True +Relation." He is sometimes referred to as the "Father of Virginia" +because of his participation in so many activities: a governmental +official (president of the Council from September 1608 to September +1609), a diplomat in his relations with the Indians, a leader in +attempting to maintain peaceful, cooperative relations among the +settlers themselves, an observing prisoner of the Indians (during +which time he learned much of their culture and experienced the +miraculous saving of his life by the Indian girl, Pocahontas) and +a writer who tried to picture the happenings of the settlers in an +enjoyable fashion. + +In addition to saving Smith's life, Pocahontas helped the Virginia +settlers by having corn and venison brought to them and, later, by +warning John Smith of a proposed Indian attack. After John Smith +returned to England, Pocahontas stopped visiting the colony, and +the Indians soon refused to bring any more corn to the colonists. +Pocahontas was eventually captured by a Jamestown settler, Captain +Samuel Argall, through the trickery of an Indian who betrayed her +in return for a "copper Kettle and some trinkets." She was held +as a hostage in Jamestown in an effort to restore peace between +the Indians and the English. This strategy was so successful that +friendly relations were re-established. Two years later, in April, +1614, Pocahontas married John Rolfe, an English gentleman, at the +Jamestown Church. Pocahontas had met and had become well acquainted +with John Rolfe during her captivity at Jamestown. She had been +baptized at the Jamestown Church and had been given the name of +Rebecca. They lived for a while at Jamestown and then at Varina, +Rolfe's plantation. Three years after their marriage, Rebecca +and John and their baby, Thomas, age one, traveled to England, +accompanied by approximately a dozen Indians who desired to be +educated in England. Rebecca was received royally at the court, and +she was so well-mannered and charming that this lady who had grown +up in the wilderness of Virginia was readily accepted by London +Society. When Captain John Smith heard of her arrival in England, +he informed Queen Anne of the great help furnished to the Virginia +Colony by this Indian maiden during her youth. Pocahontas then +became Lady Rebecca and remained in England for over a year. As they +were getting ready to return to Virginia, Lady Rebecca died suddenly +and was buried in St. George's Church at Gravesend, England. Today, +two beautiful stained-glass windows may be seen in this church, a +gift of the Colonial Dames of Virginia, as a token of gratitude for +services rendered to the Colony of Virginia by Princess Pocahontas. + +John Ratcliffe and Captain John Smith succeeded to the presidency +of the council after Captain Wingfield. While Smith was president +of the council, King James I granted another charter for Virginia +in 1609 upon the reorganization of the London Company. This charter +provided that: (1) the area of Virginia was henceforth to include +all the land on its eastern coast 200 miles north and 200 miles +south of Old Point Comfort and extending from the Atlantic Ocean +west and northwest to the Pacific Ocean; therefore, Virginia +included at this time land now found in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, +Maryland, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Wisconsin and +part of Minnesota; (2) a Resident Council was to be established +which would have the power to distribute land, make all laws and +appoint all officers for Virginia's government; membership in the +council was to result from election by the members of the company in +England, a majority vote being required for the election; and (3) +the colonists were to take the Oath of Supremacy making the Church +of England the only recognized church of the colony. + +In the same year, Captain John Smith bought a tract of land located +near Richmond from the Indian Chief, Powhatan, and there he founded +a settlement which he called "None Such." He named it thus because +he believed there was "none such" site as scenically beautiful +anywhere. This site was formerly Emperor Powhatan's summer court +location. + +In the same year also Thomas West, Lord de la Warr (Delaware), +became the "Lord Governor and Captaine Generall" of the Virginia +colony. Although he held this office until June 1618, he remained in +England during this time because of ill health with the exception +of the period June 1610-March 1611. In May 1610, Sir Thomas Gates, +the first Governor of the colony of Virginia, arrived at Jamestown. +Captain George Percy had succeeded Captain Smith as president of the +Council. Starvation from a lack of food supplies followed, and the +population of the colony was reduced from 500 to 60 people. These +sixty were approximately fourteen miles away from Jamestown on their +way back to England when some of Lord de la Warr's ships arrived +bringing food and fifty additional settlers. Lord de la Warr was +responsible also for having a trading post established at Hampton. +Today, Hampton is the oldest continuous Anglo-Saxon settlement still +in existence in the United States. + +A short time later, Sir Thomas Dale (better known as "Marshall") +arrived from England as Governor of the colony. He was considered +a harsh Governor because his martial law administration was +characterized by severe punishment for wrongdoing. However, he was +responsible for having common property divided among the colonists +and for allowing them to own their shares privately. He ordered that +three acres of land be given to every man. In return for this land, +the owner was required to give six bushels of corn each year to the +colony. The owner then was allowed to keep the rest of his crops, +two acres of which had to be planted in corn before any tobacco +could be raised. This action was the first official recognition of +the right of owning property in America and such action resulted +in much more industrious efforts put forth on the part of the new +owners. + +In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale founded the third settlement in Virginia: +Henricopolis or the City of Henricus (named for the eldest son of +King James I, Prince Henry). Approximately 350 settlers, mostly +German laborers, soon colonized there. Two years later, Governor +Dale was also responsible for a settlement being established at the +site of the junction of the Appomattox and James Rivers. It was +called New Bermuda or Bermuda Hundred because of its similarity to +the British Island of Bermuda. For many years this settlement served +as a convenient shipping point and the present city of Hopewell is +an outgrowth of this early site. + +In 1612, a third charter was granted by King James I for the +Virginia Colony. This was a most liberal charter as it abolished +the Superior Council and gave full governing powers of the colony +directly to the London Company members, thus making the company a +self-governing corporation. The name was changed from the London +Company to the Virginia Company. The company was to hold four +meetings each year in London, and these meetings were called +meetings of the General Court or "Quarter Courts." At such meetings, +the officers were to be elected by the stockholders and the laws of +the colony were to be passed. The General Court also had the power +to manage the business of the company and to appoint the Governor +and councillors for the Virginia colony. The charter extended the +eastern seaboard boundary to include the Bermudas and, in addition, +gave the company the authority to hold lotteries for its own benefit. + +[Illustration: VA. DEPT. OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT + +_Reproductions of Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery_] + +In the same year, John Rolfe began experimenting at Varina, his +plantation, with some tobacco seeds brought from the West Indies +or from South America. Pocahontas helped Rolfe in this task by +teaching him the necessity of keeping the young, tender leaves +protected from the cold and by showing him how gently the young +tobacco plants must be transplanted. Rolfe became the first white +man to raise tobacco successfully in Virginia. Then the problem of +curing tobacco in such a manner that it could reach England without +spoilage faced him. After some experimentation, his shipment was the +first one to reach England in good condition. As a result, tobacco +became the first important money crop and export of Virginia. In +addition to the price the planters received for this product, the +production of tobacco created employment for merchants and shippers. +After Rolfe's success in growing and curing tobacco, it was grown +by practically everyone in a variety of places: fields, gardens, +between graves and, in some instances, in the streets of Jamestown. +Prosperous times had finally arrived at Jamestown. When the +Englishmen at home realized the profit and excellent opportunities +available in tobacco growing, many journeyed to Virginia and began +tobacco raising. Previously, the settlers' occupations had consisted +primarily of farming (especially the cultivation of grapes) and +of the manufacture of potash, soap, glass and tar. The successful +growing of tobacco caused a tremendous increase in the population of +the colony and in the amount of tobacco shipped from Virginia. This +infant tobacco production was the background for the present day +high rank of Virginia in tobacco production. + +In 1616, the company allowed each settler to have 100 acres of land +for his personal use. A few years later, a 50-acre tract of land +was awarded to each settler who paid his own fare to America and an +additional 50 acres for every pioneer he brought with him. This land +arrangement, called the "Head-Right" system, formed the basis of the +Virginia land system. This system resulted in the creation of large +estates, and in the 1650's the average size land grant in Virginia +was approximately 500 acres. Such areas were commonly called +plantations, and the owners of such plantations, known as Virginia +planters, ultimately became the dominant influence in the Virginia +government. Some of these early plantation owners were William Byrd, +Thomas Warren, William Fitzhugh and Abraham Wood. + +After the Virginia Company had been given full governmental control +of its colony, there were some members in the General Court who +believed that Virginia settlers themselves should be given more +freedom. When these liberal-minded individuals gained control of +the company, their leader, Sir Edwin Sandys, was responsible for +obtaining ratification of "The Great Charter of Privileges, Orders +and Laws" by the General Court on November 28, 1618. In 1619, Sir +Edwin Sandys was elected head of the company and he immediately sent +Sir George Yeardley as Governor to Virginia to put the charter into +effect in order that the settlers would enjoy self-government. +Because of the sincere efforts put forth by Sir Edwin Sandys on +behalf of this self-government in Virginia, he is often referred to +as the "Father of Representative Government in America." + +According to the Great Charter, the Virginia Colony was to be +governed by two councils: one to consist of the Governor and +his advisers chosen in England by the Virginia Company itself +and the other council to consist of representatives, called +Burgesses, chosen by the Virginia settlers themselves. Governor +Yeardley carried out his instructions to have the free inhabitants +of the Virginia Colony choose representatives to help him and +his advisers in matters concerning taxation and laws for the +welfare of the settlers. The settlements were organized into four +"incorporations" or "parishes" with Jamestown, the titular capital +city of the colony: City of Henricus, Charles City, James City and +Kiccowtan (later called Elizabeth City). These parishes were then +further divided into eleven districts called boroughs, hundreds +or plantations. Each of these districts was asked to elect two +Burgesses as representatives in their local government. + +Governor Yeardley, therefore, called the first representative +legislature in America to meet in the little church at Jamestown, +July 30, 1619. This first General Assembly of Virginia consisted +of the Council, the upper house, and the House of Burgesses, the +lower house. This group was the first popular assembly in the New +World. There was a delay in the initial meeting because the local +elections had to be postponed until after the plowing and sowing of +seeds had been done. The session lasted six days and then adjourned +because of the severe heat. The session began with a prayer by the +minister and the Governor and Council members sat in the front pews +of the church. John Pory was the presiding officer of this first +General Assembly and he was called the Speaker. Each burgess was +called by name and then given the oath of supremacy in recognition +of the sovereignty of King James I. After the oath had been taken, +he officially entered the Assembly. Two burgesses were refused +membership in the Assembly due to an unusual land patent condition. +One of these prospective burgesses had been legally excused from +obeying colonial laws by his land grant terms. The action of refusal +was significant because it created the precedent that the Virginia +Assembly has the right to decide the qualifications of its own +members and to expel members even if they have been sworn in and +admitted to the Assembly if conditions so warrant. + +Although the session was very brief, much was accomplished, +including the acceptance of the charter by the General Assembly +members. Since this charter was the foundation of the laws used by +the General Assembly to rule the Virginia Colony, it was called a +constitution and was the first written constitution promulgated in +our country. Other petitions presented at this time are indications +of the trend of thought of these political leaders: former grants +of land should be confirmed and new grants made to the early +settlers, shares of land should be given to all male children born +in Virginia, rents of the ministers' lands should be made payable in +commodities instead of money, a sub-treasurer should be appointed +to live in the colony, and men should be sent to build a college in +the colony. Other laws passed by the Assembly itself concerned the +punishment of idlers, gamblers and drunkards, the payment of church +dues, the religious duty of the colonists, the regulation of trade, +the relations of whites to Indians, the regulation of the duties of +ministers and the conduct of servants. The Assembly also levied a +tax of one pound of tobacco on every male inhabitant over sixteen +years of age, the tax to be used for the payment of services of its +officers (speaker, clerk, sergeant and provost marshal of James +City). The Governor then adjourned the Assembly until March 1, 1620. + +In addition to the regular settlers at Jamestown, from time to time +indentured servants came to America. They were individuals who +signed contracts called "indentures" whereby they agreed to work as +apprentices or tenant farmers for a stated time in return for their +paid passage to America. On August 30, 1619, a ship that looked like +a Dutch man-of-war but actually was believed to be a pirate craft +came to Jamestown with a cargo of twenty Negroes which it sold to +the Governor and the colonists. This was the first recorded selling +of slaves in the area now called the United States. The Negroes +seemed to be more easily adaptable to hard, manual labor than the +Indians or indentured white servants had been. The need for labor +which could endure the intense sun of the tobacco fields made the +Negroes much more desirable than the whites since they seemed to +endure these conditions more satisfactorily. + +During the same year, another historical milestone occurred in +Virginia when a ship arrived at Jamestown with sixty young women +from England. Each bachelor who desired a bride had to pay 120 +pounds of tobacco for his bride's passage. The young women stayed +at the married planters' homes until their marriage. These brave +women made happy homes and helped shoulder the responsibilities so +that community life in Virginia became more settled. They wrote +such cheerful, courageous accounts of their life in Virginia +that a second shipload soon followed and more homes were rapidly +established. + +In July 1621, the London Company issued to Virginia a code of +written laws and a frame of government patterned after the English +type: the Governor of the colony was to be appointed by the company, +a Council was to be appointed by the company, and a House of +Burgesses was to be elected by the colonists themselves. Whenever +making laws, the councilors and burgesses were to sit together. A +law would be proposed, debated and, if passed, be submitted to the +Governor for his approval. The company in England would have the +final ratification or rejection. The right of petition and the right +of trial by jury were guaranteed. A unique feature was the provision +that the burgesses had the power of vetoing any objectionable acts +of the company. Thus, additional political rights were furnished to +the colonists by this so-called Virginia Constitution of 1621. + +At noon on March 22, 1622, the "Great Massacre" occurred. Complete +annihilation of all the Jamestown inhabitants by the Powhatan +Indian Confederacy was prevented primarily by the warning of an +Indian convert, a boy named Chanco. The settlement of Henricopolis +(now called Dutch Gap) was completely destroyed: 347 men, women +and children--approximately one-third of the total population +of the colony--were slain at this time under the strategy of +Opechancanough, the leader of the Indians. An ironic happening of +the Great Massacre was that one of the victims was George Thorpe, +superintendent of the planned college and university of colonial +Virginia. He had been a member of Parliament who had sold his estate +in England and had come to Virginia to spend his personal fortune +and the rest of his life for the conversion and the education of the +Indians. By 1619 the General Assembly had set apart 10,000 acres of +land for the construction and support of a college for educating +Indian youth in "true religion, moral virtue, and civility." The +College of Henrico, the first formal educational institution of +higher learning in the English colonies, was also destroyed during +this Indian Massacre. So strong was the vengeance of the British +upon the Indians that no more serious trouble with the Indians +occurred until 1644. + +Some influential people in England who did not approve of a British +colony in America tried to encourage the King to abolish the +Virginia Company's charter. The Great Massacre gave King James I +the opportunity he sought, and, since the company had been unable +to pay its dividends, he finally annulled the company's charter on +May 24, 1624. Virginia thus became the first royal or crown colony +in England's history. The greatest change under the new governmental +setup was that now the King, rather than the Virginia Company, +appointed the Governor and the councilors, thus making the Governor +a royal Governor rather than a company official. King James I died +the following year and his son, Charles I, succeeded to the throne. +Two years later, the King authorized the General Assembly to meet, +primarily in order that he could obtain the excellent monopoly of +the Virginia tobacco trade. Much to his surprise, the colonists +refused to grant him such monopoly, and, as a result, he did not +authorize another meeting for twelve years. + +From 1629 through 1632, two more provinces were carved from Virginia +by royal grants: the Province of Carolina to Sir Robert Heath and +the Province of Maryland to Lord Baltimore. The Virginians had not +protested much against the grant to Sir Robert Heath, but they did +protest strongly against the grant to Lord Baltimore. The leader of +this protest was William Claiborne who had previously organized a +colony and a trading post on part of the Maryland grant area. + +In 1634, the Virginia Colony was politically reorganized from four +parishes to eight shires or counties: Accawmack (an Indian name +meaning "the-across-the-water-place"; the name was later changed to +Northampton, an English county name and the two present counties of +Accomack and Northampton occupy the same original site), Charles +City (named for King Charles), Charles River (changed to York in +1642-43 in honor of the Duke of York), Elizabeth City (formerly +Kiccotan--named for Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James), +James City (named for King James), Henrico (named for Prince Henry, +son of King James), Warrosquyoake (changed to Isle of Wight in +1637--some of the early patentees had come from the Isle of Wight in +the English Channel: the word, "wight," means a passage or channel; +therefore, it means "island of the channel"), and Warwick River +(changed to Warwick in 1642-1643, named after the Earl of Warwick +who was a prominent Virginia Company member). These counties were +the second oldest unit of local government in the United States, +the New England town being the first. The long distances between +plantations and the difficult transportation facilities on land and +on the rivers discouraged the use of the New England Town Meeting +type of local government in the Virginia Colony. The counties +themselves were patterned after the English counties. At this same +time, suffrage was extended to all free male citizens for electing +members of the House of Burgesses and county officials. + +On February 12, 1634, Benjamin Syms of Elizabeth City County gave +200 acres of land plus 8 cows for the establishment of a free school +for white children. This was the first legacy for the promotion +of public school education, and Elizabeth City County was the +birthplace of the Virginia public school system. + +In 1642 Sir William Berkeley arrived in Virginia as a royal +Governor. Until this time, there had been much religious tolerance +in the Virginia Colony although the Church of England was the +Established Church of the Colony. The religious laws were liberal, +and other religions had existed without interference. Sir Edwin +Sandys had encouraged some Separatists (Puritans) to live in +Virginia, and by the time of the dissolution of the Virginia Company +charter, thirteen parishes had been created and many clergymen had +been active in the colony. Governor Berkeley was an extremely strong +defender of the King and of the Church of England and disliked the +Quakers and the Puritans very much. He was directly responsible for +driving most of them from the Virginia Colony by enforcing a statute +of 1643 which provided that no individual who disbelieved the +doctrines of the English Church could teach, publicly or privately, +or preach the gospel within the limits of Virginia. + +In 1644 another Indian massacre occurred resulting in the death of +300-500 Virginians. This massacre was led by the aged, famous Indian +leader, Opechancanough. It took place on Holy Thursday and the +Puritans believed that this was a direct act of God as punishment +for their previous treatment in Virginia. The settlers finally +dispersed the Indians, destroyed their villages and destroyed the +Powhatan Confederacy which had consisted of approximately fifty +tribes. Opechancanough was later shot and killed. + +In the following year, the General Assembly allowed the election +of vestries by the qualified voters of each parish regardless of +their religious faith. As counties were organized in Virginia, +parishes likewise were established and vestries continued to be +elected by the qualified voters. The vestry was the governing +body of the parish, and although its membership number varied +between the parishes, the number was finally fixed at twelve. They +were self-perpetuating, and could only be removed by the General +Assembly. They had the power to select a rector as well as to carry +on regular parish duties. Under this arrangement, the Established +Church was part of the county government with the officers of a +parish having civil as well as religious duties and authority. Some +of the civil duties included levying tax rates on parish inhabitants +to raise revenue for carrying out their objectives, maintaining +roads to and from the church, keeping the vital statistics (records +of births, marriages, deaths, et cetera) and aiding the poor. + +During this period, the British Parliament began feuding with King +Charles. The Virginians strongly favored the King, and after he was +beheaded, the General Assembly passed a law recognizing Charles +II, the former King's exiled son, as the lawful King of England. +In return for their loyal support upon behalf of his father and +himself, Charles II bestowed the title of "The Old Dominion" on +the Virginia Colony, the only American colony ever to receive such +an honor. Parliament tried to combat this loyalty to the King by +appointing two Virginians, William Claiborne and Richard Bennett, +as commissioners whose duty was to influence Virginia and gradually +bring it under Parliamentary control. Parliament then provided them +with an armed force. Governor Berkeley made military preparations +also, but negotiations finally ended in a peaceful settlement +without resorting to open hostilities in Virginia. Individuals who +had favored the King during the Civil War in England between the +Parliament and the King were called Cavaliers. Since Virginia had +remained loyal to the King throughout this period, many Cavaliers +had sought refuge in Virginia at this time. This action caused the +Virginia Colony to receive the nickname of the "Cavalier State." + +In 1650, Mary, Margaret and Giles Brent erected homes on Aquia +Creek, Virginia. They were the first English Catholic inhabitants +of Virginia. In this same area, twenty-six years later, the first +English-speaking Catholic colony of Virginia was settled. In 1677, +a Catholic Church was erected here. After their nephew, George +Brent, and others had been successful in obtaining a Proclamation +from James II guaranteeing religious freedom on the 30,000 acres of +the Brenton Tract, many settlers came to this area. Today, a large +bronze Crucifix can be seen near the highway in Stafford County as a +reminder of the religious efforts of the Brent Family. + + +_The Commonwealth and the "Golden Age"_ + +The Virginia Colony finally received a charter of self-government +during Oliver Cromwell's rule in England and became the Commonwealth +of Virginia on March 12, 1651. The Treaty of Jamestown provided +that Virginians would be guaranteed the freedoms and privileges +of the English people in return for a recognition of the Puritan +Commonwealth of Cromwell in England. The colony prospered under +Governors Richard Bennett, Edward Digges and Samuel Matthews from +1652-1660. By 1660, the population of the Virginia Colony was +approximately 33,000 or over four times as much as in 1640. Many of +this number consisted of Cavaliers. The population which first had +centered around Jamestown, along the James River to the junction +of the James and Appomattox Rivers and along the navigable inlets, +now had broadened into the Tidewater area. As tobacco production +and the use of tobacco increased and as soil fertility became +exhausted, more land was added to the individual farms until large +plantations appeared almost common. Class society in Virginia +changed, generally, from a middle-class one to two distinct classes: +the wealthy plantation owner who could afford such personal workers +as slaves and servants and the tenant farmer who worked for a +plantation owner. In return for his services, he was usually allowed +to have a small plot of ground for his own use and a small farm +on which to live. When the Cavaliers, mostly wealthy gentlemen, +migrated to Virginia, they brought added aristocracy to the Virginia +Colony. + +In the meantime, other counties had been formed in Virginia. An +area which had been settled originally in Upper Norfolk was named +Nansemond County in 1642. "Nansemond" is an Indian word meaning +"fishing point or angle." In 1648, the county of Northumberland was +formed from a large Indian district formerly known as Chickacoan +and it was named for Northumberland County, England. From this +large area, one hundred sixteen counties were later formed. Within +a twenty-five year period, seven additional counties were created: +Gloucester County (formed from York and named for the third son +of Charles I, Henry-Duke of Gloucester), New Kent County (formed +also from York and believed to have been named either for the +English Kent or for Kent Island), Lancaster County (from York and +Northumberland), Surry (from James City County), Westmoreland (from +Northumberland and later an addition from James City County), +Stafford (from Westmoreland) and Middlesex (from Lancaster)--the +latter five named in honor of English counties. The formation of +many new counties during this time illustrates the great increase in +population which took place. + +When Charles II became King of England in 1660, Britain's colonial +policy changed. Previously, the colonies had been more or less +neglected, and interest in England had been chiefly centered upon +religion, intellectual achievement and local issues. After the +Civil War in England, the importance of the colonies seemed more +apparent, competition in setting up and controlling colonial empires +was greater and mercantilism became the key theory accepted by the +leading countries of Europe. Mercantilism was based upon the idea +that the colonies existed for the benefit of the mother country and +that they had specific obligations or responsibilities to fulfill, +namely: (1) to produce the articles which the mother country needs +and which are impossible for the mother country to produce; (2) to +supply the mother country with foodstuffs which she needs, (3) to +furnish a market for the mother country's manufactured goods, and +(4) to export colonial goods in mother country ships only. Earlier +in 1651, Parliament had passed a law prohibiting foreign vessels +from trading with the American colonists. This law had been aimed +primarily at the Dutch. It also stated that all products sent by the +American colonies to England or sent from one colony to another had +to be carried in either English or American ships. However, there +had not been strict enforcement of this law in Virginia. + +The Navigation Acts of 1660 and 1663 were passed providing that +goods imported into the colonies had to be carried by English, Irish +or American ships. The act further stated that certain "enumerated +articles" or exports could be sent only to the British Isles or +to the English possessions: for example, tobacco, sugar, apples, +wool, indigo and dyewood. The list was increased as time passed, +and the ill feeling of the Virginia Colony as well as the other +English colonies in America toward the mother country can be fully +understood, especially since higher prices for their articles +could be obtained from foreign countries. The second Navigation +Act required that all European goods destined for the American +colonies be sent to England and then shipped to America in English +ships. Thus, England tried to maintain a monopoly of her colonial +trade. The prosperity of the Virginia Colony was affected greatly by +these acts. Virginia's economy at this time was almost completely +dependent upon its export tobacco trade which was far in excess of +the amount of tobacco which England needed. The Navigation Acts +virtually closed all the markets except England and its possessions +to Virginia tobacco. As a result, the English market was suddenly +flooded with Virginia tobacco. There was much excess tobacco in +Virginia itself, some tobacco even rotting on the farms. The price +of tobacco accordingly dropped from fourpence a pound to a halfpenny +per pound by 1667. Virginia, as well as the other American colonies, +at times violated the above regulations and sent some of its goods +directly to other European countries in order to survive these +economic blows. Thus, the Restoration Period which the Virginians +had favored had some unexpected results for them. After the +Virginians had urged Sir William Berkeley to resume the governorship +prior to the Restoration, he had gone to England to intercede for +the colonists concerning the tobacco trade and the other Navigation +Acts, but his efforts had been futile. + +Another surprise was received by the Virginians at this time. While +Charles II was in exile in France in 1649, he granted more than five +million acres of land lying between the Potomac and the Rappahannock +Rivers to four Cavalier friends. This grant was called the "Northern +Neck Proprietary" of Virginia. Twenty years later, he granted a new +charter for the same territory to the surviving grantees. These +actions were unknown to the colonists, and much of this same land +had been settled under patents issued by the Colony itself. When +the colonists learned of the new charter, there was much protest, +and some of the colonists tried to buy out the grantees' interests. +However, in most cases, their efforts were in vain. This grant was +later referred to as the Fairfax Proprietary or Fairfax Grant. In +1673, the colonists found out that King Charles II had bestowed the +rest of the Colony as a gift upon the Earl of Arlington and Lord +Culpeper for thirty-one years. This eventually had no lasting ill +effects upon the colonists because Lord Culpeper later purchased the +Earl of Arlington's interest and King Charles himself bought back +the entire area from him for a six hundred pounds per year pension. +Lord Fairfax V became the owner in 1689 and the proprietary itself +was abolished by the Virginia General Assembly in 1786. + +In 1671, two explorers, Thomas Batts and Robert Fallon, traveled by +horseback from Fort Henry (present Petersburg area) up the Roanoke +Valley and across the Blue Ridge Mountains until they reached the +top of the Allegheny Mountains. They proceeded to the New River +and to an area in the present town of Narrows in Giles County. In +order to claim this land for their King, Charles II of England, they +had their Indian guides peel the bark off of four trees and then +burn a symbol--the initials of King Charles, of Governor William +Berkeley and of Colonel Abraham Wood (who was responsible for this +expedition)--on each tree with a pair of marking irons. Thus, they +took possession of this land and all the area west of it in the +King's name and provided a basic claim of land in Southwest Virginia. + +In this same year, a unique attitude concerning public education +was expressed by royal Governor Berkeley when he stated: "I thank +God, there are no free schools or printing presses and I hope we +shall not have them these hundred years: for learning has brought +disobedience and heresy, and sects into the world, and printing has +divulged them, and libels against the best government. God keep us +from both." + +In 1672, Parliament passed an act compelling each ship which left +the colonies for Europe to post bond that it would deliver its cargo +in England or otherwise pay the required duty. Colonial customs +collectors were to be appointed whose chief duty was to supervise +this trade. An export duty was to be paid on certain "enumerated" +articles--tobacco, indigo, sugar, apples, dyewood and later, naval +stores, molasses, lumber and hides--if such articles were sent from +one colony to another. Strict enforcement of this act would have +dire results on the Virginia colonists because their ships had been +carrying products from the West Indies and from Virginia to northern +ports and then to Europe. The colonists began to be extremely +dissatisfied with the mother country. + +Governor Berkeley at this time was aggravating the home situation of +the Virginia colonists. He had limited suffrage to freeholders and +householders only, had strongly influenced the election of Assembly +members to individuals who were personal friends and who favored +the King's policies and had been keeping the Assembly technically +in session for fourteen years without any elections taking place. +The grievance about which the colonists felt the most bitter, +however, was the inadequate protection of the frontier from the +Susquehannock Indian attacks. After these Indians had attacked a +plantation owned by Nathaniel Bacon and had killed his overseer and +one of his servants, Bacon decided that the colonists themselves +should take organized action against the Indians since the Governor +had practically ignored the attacks. One possible reason for the +Governor's hesitancy in interfering in these Indian affairs was the +high profit which he was receiving from the Indian fur trading. +Many of Bacon's neighbors agreed with him, and they prepared to be +the aggressors against the Indians. Bacon asked the Governor for +permission to do so and for a military commission for himself as +the leader. Both requests were refused, and Bacon and his friends +were declared rebels by the Governor. Consequently, Bacon and his +followers decided to take matters into their own hands without the +Governor's permission. They proceeded and successfully defeated +the Indians. This action aroused Governor Berkeley who immediately +considered Bacon a traitor, and a civil war or rebellion resulted. + +Bacon, in the meantime, had been elected as a member of the House of +Burgesses, and he went to Jamestown to participate in the Assembly. +Upon his arrival, he was arrested, brought to the State House and +charged with being a rebel. Governor Berkeley and the King's Council +discussed Bacon's activities, and Bacon agreed to apologize for +his actions if the Governor would grant him his commission. The +Governor agreed, but Bacon felt that the Governor had no intention +of carrying out his promise for a commission. Bacon discussed this +meeting with his neighbor friends who decided to accompany him +to Jamestown where he was to receive his commission. Bacon and +approximately four hundred planters marched to the State House at +Jamestown and demanded his commission. When none was forthcoming, +he ordered his men to aim their guns at the windows of the State +House where the House of Burgesses sat. At this drastic move, the +Burgesses quickly prepared the commission paper and persuaded +Governor Berkeley to sign it and then issued it to Bacon. Bacon +and his followers then returned home. Governor Berkeley thereupon +decided to fight Bacon and his associates. Berkeley then departed +from Jamestown and crossed the York River to Gloucester where he +called upon his friends to help him. Upon hearing that Bacon was +approaching Gloucester, Berkeley fled across the Chesapeake Bay +to Accomack. In August 1676, Bacon and his followers signed an +agreement whereby they all pledged to fight any and all soldiers +that Governor Berkeley might order from England to the colony. After +some Indians living near Richmond made new attacks upon the settlers +there, Bacon and his friends captured the Indian fort and killed or +imprisoned the remaining Indians. + +While Bacon was thus engaged, Governor Berkeley with eight hundred +soldiers and eighteen ships in the James River had occupied +Jamestown. Bacon proceeded next to Jamestown and defeated Governor +Berkeley's forces there. Governor Berkeley and many of his soldiers +fled to the ships and sailed away. Bacon realized that although he +had won on land, he would have no chance of holding out an attack +from the ships. Therefore, he and his friends burned the State House +and the rest of the capital, Jamestown, to prevent Governor Berkeley +from repossessing it. Bacon had become ill with a fever and died +shortly afterwards in October at the home of a friend in Gloucester +County. Governor Berkeley had twenty-three of Bacon's followers put +to death, but the principle for which they fought remained alive: +"the people must be heard." Bacon's Rebellion is remembered in +history primarily as a revolt of the plain, common man against a +privileged few. Governor Berkeley was later recalled to England, +and, upon his return, instead of being treated as a hero by the +King, he was regarded with contempt. + +In 1682, tobacco had been grown so extensively in Virginia that +the price of tobacco on the London market had declined rapidly. +When the British government refused a request from the Virginia +colonists to either restrict tobacco acreage or order a temporary +cessation of its growth, tobacco riots occurred in Virginia. During +many nights, thousands of young tobacco plants throughout the colony +were destroyed. Finally, after the execution of six tobacco plant +cutters, the riots ceased. Eventually, the customs duty on tobacco +was increased tremendously, and taxes in Virginia were increased at +the same time. + +In 1682, John Buckner established the first printing press in +Virginia at Jamestown. His printer was William Nuthead who published +several papers and two sheets of the acts of the Assembly of +November 1682, supposedly without a license. The Colonial Council +issued an order prohibiting anything from being printed until the +King had given his permission as there was strong opposition against +"the liberty of a press." Consequently, in December 1683, when King +Charles II prohibited all printing in Virginia, William Nuthead +moved his printing press to St. Mary's City, Maryland. + +From 1691 to 1703, seven additional counties were formed in the +Virginia Colony: Norfolk County (created from Lower Norfolk which +had become extinct and named for Norfolk County in England which +is also located on the water), King and Queen County (created from +New Kent County and named for the joint rulers of England: King +William III, Prince of Orange, and Queen Mary), Princess Anne County +(created also from Lower Norfolk and named for Princess--later +Queen--Anne of England), Essex (created from the then extinct +Rappahannock County and named either for Essex County, England or +the Earl of Essex), Richmond (created also from the then extinct +Rappahannock County and either named for territory resemblance to +Richmond, Surry County, England or in honor of an English Earl +or Duke of Richmond), King William County (created from King and +Queen County and named for William of Orange, King of England), +and Prince George County (created from one of the original eight +shires--Charles City County--and was named for Prince George of +Denmark, Queen Anne's husband). + +As mentioned previously, education in the Virginia Colony was +generally thought of as a family responsibility, not as a community +one. Nevertheless, by 1690, some families decided that there should +be an educational institution for higher learning in Virginia in +order that their sons would not have to travel abroad to obtain such +an education. A conference was held in Jamestown to consider the +founding of a college in the Virginia Colony. Those present led by +Colonel John Page drew up plans for such an institution and asked +the Governor and the King's Council to explain to the rulers of +England and to Parliament the purpose and the need of a college in +Virginia and to make a request for financial contributions for such +an enterprise. Reverend James Blair, a Scotch minister in Virginia, +went to England to ask King William III and Queen Mary for their +consent. He stayed in England for two years and, upon his return, +had a royal charter and numerous contributions consisting of land, +special tax funds and personal finances which had been encouraged +and strongly supported by King William and Queen Mary. Donations +from interested colonists themselves increased the building fund +considerably. On February 8, 1693, the official charter for the +college was granted. The college was named William and Mary College +in honor of the King and Queen who had granted its charter. Out of +respect for King William who belonged to the House of Orange, the +official college colors were designated as orange and white. The +General Assembly selected Middle Plantation as the most suitable +location for the college and the plans for the original building +were drawn up by the now-famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren. +The Wren Building, named in his honor, was constructed by 1698 and +it is the oldest academic structure still in existence. William and +Mary College was the second oldest college established in America: +Harvard College, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, having been +established in 1636. The first regular faculty consisted of six +professors and Reverend Blair, who had personally raised much of the +fund for the college, became its first president. + +After the burning of Jamestown during Bacon's Rebellion, the State +House was rebuilt, but it burned again in October 1698. Since the +Assembly then had no meeting place, it met in 1699 at the private +residence of Mrs. Sarah Lee and in a building of William and Mary +College. At one meeting, Governor Granci Nicholson suggested that +the capital be moved to Middle Plantation. After a successful vote, +the seat of the Virginia Colony government was officially moved +from Jamestown, the first capital, to Middle Plantation, the name +of which was changed to Williamsburg in honor of King William +III. Plans for the State House were immediately made and the main +street was named Duke of Gloucester Street, in honor of the Duke +of Gloucester who was Queen Anne's oldest son. The first official +Capitol building was constructed at one end of the main street and +the College of William and Mary had been constructed at the other +end. + +In 1698, a Scotsman, Francis Makemie, a Presbyterian missionary, +migrated from Pennsylvania to Accomack County, Virginia, where he +held services in his home. He was soon arrested for not having +a license to preach, but he was so sincere in his religious +beliefs that he was later awarded a license. He is the founder of +Presbyterianism in Virginia and, near Temperanceville, one may see a +monument consisting of a stone figure of Francis Makemie attired in +his usual clerical garb. + +Shortly before the beginning of the eighteenth century, the General +Assembly passed an act requiring an import tax of twenty shillings +upon each Negro imported into the Virginia Colony. England, however, +opposed such action and, as additional laws were passed by the +Virginia General Assembly levying high import taxes on slaves, +she consistently vetoed them. The number of Negroes in Virginia +increased as the production and the value of tobacco increased +until, by 1700, there were approximately 7,000 Negroes out of 72,000 +inhabitants within the colony. The colonists expressed their desire +to prohibit or at least restrict the importation of Negroes in 1713, +but the mother country would not authorize the Virginia Colony to +forbid slave importation. + +Another law passed at this time provided that any settler could buy +an unlimited area of land from the colony itself at the cost of +five shillings per fifty acres. This action was referred to as a +"Treasury Right." Therefore, the "Head-Right" system was no longer +the most common method of acquiring land settlements in the Virginia +Colony. The population of the Virginia Colony was predominantly +English and all types of social classes were now represented here: +from the aristocratic nobles to the uncouth convicts. With the +influx of the Cavaliers and with the reputation of the prosperity +of the Virginia Colony, the number of middle class and upper class +residents increased considerably during the Eighteenth Century until +such residents soon made up a majority of the inhabitants. By 1700, +the population of Virginia was approximately 70,000 including about +5,500 Negroes. + +By 1710, the practice had been established of allowing the Governor +of a British Colony to remain in England and to appoint deputies +to live in the colony and actually to rule the colony. At this +time, Alexander Spotswood arrived in Virginia as a royal Governor, +technically the Deputy to Lord George Hamilton, Earl of Orkney, the +official Lieutenant and Governor-General of the Virginia Colony. He +was the first royal Governor to live in the new Governor's Palace +at Williamsburg. Governor Spotswood remained in this position for +twelve years and was responsible for many improvements and much +progress in the Virginia Colony. He encouraged and helped carry out +the beautifying of Williamsburg, the new capital city. Ravines were +filled, streets leveled, some college buildings, a public magazine +(a storehouse for arms and ammunition) and a church were erected +primarily due to his influence. Since he believed in developing the +natural resources of Virginia, he had iron foundries established +along the Rapidan River, near Fredericksburg. As a result, the first +mining village in Virginia, Germanna, located near the Blue Ridge +Mountains, came into existence. This village was named in honor of +the German miners who came to Virginia to work the iron mines and in +honor of the German ruler, Queen Anne. + +In 1716, the Governor and some friends started out to explore the +Northwest. They stopped at Germanna to shoe the horses as protection +for them on the rocky, mountain roads. The Governor traveled by +stagecoach from Williamsburg to Germanna. Here he changed to +horseback and accompanied by two groups of rangers and four Indian +guides, in addition to the original group, he traced the Rapidan +River to its headwaters and then proceeded to climb the east side +of the Blue Ridge Mountains. They reached the top near Swift Run +Gap and, from this summit, viewed the great Shenandoah Valley and +the Allegheny Mountains about twenty miles away. They spent the +night there on the summit and then descended the west slope of the +mountain, finally arriving at a river which they called Euphrates. +This same river is known today as the Shenandoah River, an Indian +name meaning "Daughter of the Stars." As had happened earlier on the +Batts-Fallon expedition, a volley of gunfire was shot, and Governor +Spotswood claimed possession of the land in the name of George I, +then King of England. The highest mountain peak which they had +climbed they called Mount George in his honor, and the next highest +one was called Mount Alexander in honor of the Governor himself. +The expedition had been such a pleasant one for the Governor that +legend states that he sent to England for small individual golden +horseshoe pins with diamonds symbolizing the nailheads and presented +one to each of his companions on this memorable trip, bestowing +upon them the title of "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe." Governor +Spotswood also was a most able diplomat with the Indians, and he +tried conscientiously to help them get better educated. For example, +he sent white teachers to help them to develop their handicraft +and the arts of civilization, and later, he encouraged many of the +Indian boys to attend William and Mary College where they could +specialize in their particular abilities. Spotswood was later +appointed Postmaster General for the Colonies and was responsible +for initiating a postal system extending from Charleston to Boston. +Colonel Hugh Drysdale succeeded him as Governor for the next four +years. + +In 1716, the first theater in America was built by William +Levingston at Williamsburg. It was constructed for the acting of +"Comedies, Drolls and other kind of stage plays ... thought fitt to +be acted there." Mary Stagg, the wife of Charles Stagg, who was the +manager of the theater, is considered the first theatrical leading +lady in America. Although many British actors and musicians were +participants in this theater, it often suffered from financial +stress. Thus, twenty-nine years later, this theater was donated to +Williamsburg to be used as a town hall. + +In 1722, Williamsburg, the capital of Colonial Virginia (1699-1780), +became the first incorporated municipality in Virginia. It became +the leading political, economic, educational and social center of +the colony, especially during legislative sessions. Eight years +after Williamsburg had been incorporated, William Parks arrived +there as a public printer. He set up the first permanent printing +press in Virginia and approximately six years later, Virginia's +first colonial newspaper, the "Virginia Gazette," was printed. + +Colonel Robert Carter, President of the Council, succeeded Governor +Drysdale in July 1726. Carter was a very wealthy man whose land +holdings--300,000 acres total--were second in Virginia only to the +Fairfaxes. Because of his enormous wealth and arrogant manner, he +was nicknamed "King" Carter. + +In 1728, William Byrd II was the leader of a survey group +which followed the Virginia-North Carolina borderline from the +Atlantic Ocean two hundred and forty miles westward. This action +provided Virginians with knowledge of the type of terrain and its +potentiality along this important borderline. + +It was in the period 1730-1760 that a majority of the beautiful +brick and stone plantation mansions were constructed. The wealthy +families preferred the country-side. Some of the mansions built at +this time included Westover (William Byrd family), Stratford Hall +(Thomas Lee family), Ampthill (Archibald Cary family), Carter's +Grove (Robert Carter Burwell family) and Mount Airy (John Tayloe +family). + +Sir William Gooch was acting chief executive of Virginia for +twenty-two years, 1727-1749. His greatest project during this period +was the development of settlements in the Shenandoah Valley. At the +beginning of the Eighteenth Century, some Scotch-Irish, Germans +and French Huguenots settled in Virginia. The Scotch-Irish had +migrated first to Pennsylvania and to New Jersey. Upon hearing about +the beautiful valley seen by Governor Spotswood, they decided to +settle there. Their main settlement was located in the area now +included in the Winchester and Staunton areas and in the counties of +Augusta and Rockbridge. It became so densely populated with people +originally from Northern Ireland that it was called the "Irish +Tract." Later, additional Scots direct from Scotland migrated here +in large numbers. Germans had already migrated in large numbers to +Germanna, the mining town. The French Huguenot immigrants settled +mainly along both sides of the James River at Manakintown. Thus, +the Shenandoah Valley and the area beyond the Blue Ridge and the +Allegheny Mountains were colonized primarily by the Scotch-Irish, +German, and French Huguenots. + +Two years later, the Quakers organized a church at Hopewell which is +the oldest church in northern Virginia. Six years later, the oldest +Lutheran church in the South was built in Madison County by some of +the Germans from Germanna. Its financial support originally came +from friends in Germany, and it was called Hebron Church. + +In 1749, Augusta Academy was founded by the Presbyterians in Augusta +County, and it was the first classical school located west of the +Blue Ridge Mountains. Its name was later changed in 1775 to the +patriotic title of Liberty Hall. This academy was the forerunner of +the Washington and Lee University. + +Colonel Thomas Lee was acting Governor from 1749 to 1751. He +encouraged westward expansion in the Virginia Colony and believed +that the French should be expelled from America. He was the father +of the most famous family in Virginia history: the Lee family. He +built the now-famous family homestead, Stratford, in Westmoreland +County in 1725-1730. During his governorship, some wealthy +Virginians formed the Ohio Company whose purpose was to settle a +colony west of the Allegheny Mountains on a tract of land 500,000 +acres in size. Four years later, the company constructed a fort +at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers where the +present city of Pittsburgh is now located. One hundred and twenty +miles north of this fort, the French proceeded to construct Fort +LeBoeuf on the Allegheny River. Since many Virginians and other +Englishmen from other colonies had been settling in the Ohio Valley, +they became much alarmed at the construction and occupation of this +French fort. Consequently, the British-Americans began to observe +carefully the activities of the French in this region. Colonel Lee +had the unusual distinction of being the only Virginian to have a +Crown Commission of Governor awarded to him even though he died +before the commission reached him. + +From 1721 to 1750, nineteen new counties were created: Hanover +(formed from New Kent and named for the Duke of Hanover who later +became King George of England), Spotsylvania (formed from Essex, +King William and King and Queen Counties and named for Lieutenant +Governor Spotswood), King George (formed from Richmond and later +a part of Westmoreland County and named for George I, King of +England), Goochland (formed from Henrico County and named for +William Gooch, the Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia at the time), +Caroline (formed from Essex, King and Queen and King William +Counties and named for Queen Caroline, George II's wife), Prince +William (formed from Stafford and King George Counties and named for +William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland), Brunswick (formed from Prince +George and parts of Surry and Isle of Wight Counties and named for +the Duchy of Brunswick in Germany), Orange (formed from Spotsylvania +and named for William, Prince of Orange, an English king), Amelia +(formed from Prince George and Brunswick Counties and named for +Princess Amelia, King George II's youngest daughter), Fairfax +(formed from Prince William County and named for Lord Fairfax), +Frederick (formed from Orange County and named for Frederick, +Prince of Wales, George II's son and George III's father), Louisa +(formed from Hanover County and named for King George II's daughter, +Princess Louisa, who was also the wife of King Frederick V of +Denmark), Albemarle (formed from Goochland County and named for +William Anne Keppel, the second Earl of Albemarle, Governor-General +of the Colony who remained in England during the entire time), +Augusta (formed from Orange and named for Princess Augusta, wife of +Frederick, Prince of Wales, George III's father), Lunenburg (formed +from Brunswick and named for one of George I's titles: Duke of +Brunswick-Lunenburg), Chesterfield (formed from Henrico and named +for the famous Lord Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope), Culpeper +(formed from Orange County and named for Lord Thomas Culpeper, +Governor of Virginia, 1680-1683), Southampton (formed from Isle +of Wight County and named for Henry Wriothesley, the third Earl +of Southampton and a leading member of the Virginia Company) and +Cumberland (formed from Goochland County and part of Buckingham +County and named in honor of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland). + +By 1750, the Virginia colony was enjoying prosperity. Numerous large +plantations had come into existence. As more and more soil became +impoverished due to a lack of crop rotation, non-use of fertilizer +and the intensive planting of the tobacco crop which requires a +rich soil, additional land was purchased and added to the existing +homestead. Consequently, plantations of 100,000 to 300,000 acres +became common, especially around the Tidewater area. The larger the +tobacco plantation, the greater the need for cheap labor became +apparent. Consequently, the number of Negro slaves increased in +Virginia until by 1750, there were approximately 115,000 Negroes and +approximately 170,000 free whites. The increase in huge plantations +caused the middle class tobacco farmer to migrate westward as he +could not successfully compete with the larger tobacco planters. +The Virginia plantation owners had become accustomed at this time +to allowing the London tobacco merchants to act as their bankers: +they would order their necessities, supplies and luxuries (glass, +silver, china) via their tobacco credits. Such a system furnished +an immediate advantage for the plantation owners but also created +a situation whereby the Virginia planters became heavily indebted +financially to the London merchants. The plantation owners also +became the influential individuals within the colony--politically, +economically and socially. Thus, Virginia at this time was +practically ruled by an aristocracy. Although the governing power +of the assembly had increased gradually, the political power of +the commoner or average citizen had not increased accordingly. +Membership in the Virginia Council was considered a position of the +greatest prestige and was almost an hereditary position. The two +required qualifications were wealth and social position. The era +of aristocratic living which predominated in the Virginia Colony +between 1700-1750 is often referred to as the "Golden Age" of +Virginia's colonial history. + + +_The Pre-Revolutionary War Era_ + +While Robert Dinwiddie was the acting Governor of Virginia, the +English and French rivalry in colonial settlements was becoming +bitter in America. In 1753, Governor Dinwiddie selected George +Washington to visit General St. Pierre, the commander in charge of +the French fort at Presque Isle on the shore of Lake Erie, and to +inform him that the Ohio country belonged to the English and that he +should withdraw his troops from there at once. Dinwiddie sincerely +believed that the land upon which the French fort had been built was +English territory. Washington and four comrades rode on horseback +from Williamsburg to Fredericksburg where he hired Jacob Vanbraam as +an interpreter since Washington could not speak French. They rode to +Alexandria where Washington purchased food and essential equipment +because there were no towns between Alexandria and Winchester. +Two weeks later he reached Winchester, after having made the +dangerous crossing of the unbridged Shenandoah River. At Winchester, +Washington hired a well-known guide, Christopher Gist, to assist +him on his journey to Fort LeBoeuf where the French General had +arrived to supervise its fortifications. Two Indian traders also +accompanied him. They traveled to Maryland and to Pennsylvania until +they reached the French fort, Fort LeBoeuf. The destination was +approximately five hundred miles from Williamsburg. Although St. +Pierre was polite and friendly, Washington was informed that the +French had been ordered to eject every Englishman from the Ohio +Valley and that the French had the rightful claim to such territory. +Before he departed, Washington noticed a large fleet of birch-bark +canoes and boats of pine and was convinced that a war between the +English and French would be necessary to settle the dispute over the +control of the Northwest. + +Washington returned to Williamsburg in January 1754, and reported +to Governor Dinwiddie a detailed account of his journey. Washington +then prepared a written report which persuaded the members of the +General Assembly to realize the seriousness of this matter. Colonel +Joshua Fry, with Washington second in command, marched with a +troop of one hundred and fifty men against the French in the Ohio +Valley. On March 28, near Great Meadows, Washington's group killed +the French commander, Coulon de Jumonville, and killed or captured +all his soldiers except one. On March 31, 1754, Washington was +granted a commission as Lieutenant Colonel of the Virginia Regiment, +which he later received at Gadsby's Tavern in Alexandria. In the +meantime, Colonel Fry had died suddenly from an accidental fall, and +Washington had succeeded to the command. + +Fort Necessity, near Farmington, Pennsylvania, a crude structure of +defense, was in the process of being constructed by the Virginians +at the forks of the Ohio River when seven hundred French soldiers +appeared, outnumbering the Virginian troops by at least four +hundred men. Washington and his troops were forced to surrender, +were allowed to leave with the honors of war and finally trudged +back to Winchester. The Battle of Great Meadows and the Battle of +Fort Necessity were of historical importance because they marked +the beginning of the French and Indian War in America, they were +actually the first fighting attacks in the Seven Years War in Europe +between the English and the French, and they provided the first +real combat fighting experience for George Washington who was only +twenty-two years old at the time. The French proceeded to occupy +Fort Necessity and after improving it considerably, they changed its +name to Fort Duquesne, in honor of Canada's governor. + +The following summer, in 1755, Washington returned with a larger +army to the Ohio area. Two regiments, one thousand, of British +regulars had been sent from England under the command of General +Edward Braddock. These soldiers arrived at Alexandria from +England, and Washington, having been assigned as an aide-de-camp +to General Braddock, joined them there. A conference of five royal +Governors--Dinwiddie (Virginia), Morris (Pennsylvania), Sharp +(Maryland), DeLacey (New York) and Shirley (Massachusetts)--was +held at the Carlyle House in Alexandria on April 14 to formulate +plans for the protection of the western frontier against the French +and Indian raids along the Ohio River. After much discussion, a +campaign plan was adopted whereby General Braddock was to capture +Fort Duquesne and expel the French from the Ohio Valley. At this +same conference, the suggestion was made that the British Ministry +could levy taxes on the colonies to help pay the expense of the war. + +Braddock and his troops marched westward from Alexandria into +western Pennsylvania near Fort Duquesne through dense wilderness +from April 12 to July 9. General Braddock had been accustomed to +fighting the European tactics way, but he was wholly unfamiliar with +Indian and ambush fighting. Washington anxiously warned Braddock +of ambush possibilities, but Braddock continued to have his army +march in regular step in close order and in full uniform regalia +through the underbrush. Indian scouts daily reported the progress +of Braddock's army to the French at Fort Duquesne. When the British +troops were within eight miles of the fort, they were attacked by +the French and the Indians. The Virginia soldiers, many of whom were +experienced in wilderness fighting, ran for cover behind the trees. +Braddock, however, ordered his men to keep their formation and fire +simultaneously. Thus, they were easy targets for the French and the +Indians. Finally, they became so frightened at this unusual type of +fighting that they broke ranks and tried to flee. Half of Braddock's +1600 troops were killed or wounded, Braddock himself being fatally +wounded in action. This defeat occurred on July 9, 1755. + +In addition to this military slaughter, numerous Cherokee Indian +raiding parties took place from 1759-1760 in the Shenandoah Valley +of Virginia where homes were burned and men, women and children were +killed unmercifully. Washington was put in charge of this frontier +campaign with his headquarters at a fort in Winchester. Eventually, +the General Assembly of Virginia raised troops of its own for its +defense. The General Assembly then passed a law whereby a "Scalp +Market" was established, and anyone bringing male scalps of hostile +Indians above the age of twelve years to the market would receive +ten pounds per scalp in 1755 to forty-five pounds per scalp in 1758 +when the law expired. In July, the British General John Forbes with +a large number of English soldiers and some Cherokee allies went to +Fort Duquesne via Philadelphia. They were rejoined in September by +Colonel Washington. Fort Duquesne was finally won by the English and +colonial and Indian soldiers, and Washington, himself, raised the +British flag over its ruins on November 25, 1758, ending the Indian +attacks also on the frontier. Fort Duquesne had its name changed to +Fort Pitt in honor of William Pitt the Elder, a British statesman, +who had given ample support to Virginia's colonial policies. Thus, +the inhabitants of Virginia played their role in the French and +Indian War, apparently a misnomer because the war was actually +fought between the French and the Indians and the British and the +Indians. + +In December 1763, Patrick Henry distinguished himself as a young +lawyer by challenging the authority of Parliament and the King in +a case commonly called the "Parsons' Cause." The Church of England +was the established church of Virginia, and the people were taxed +for the parsons' salaries. Because coin money was scarce in the +colonies, Virginia, like the other colonies, had adopted the custom +of paying their clergymen in tobacco. One disadvantage of this +system was the fluctuation of the value of the tobacco, based upon +the law of supply and demand. Whenever there was a tobacco crop +failure, the value of tobacco increased considerably. This occurred +in 1758 when there was so little tobacco available that the House of +Burgesses passed a law stating that all debts payable ordinarily in +tobacco might be paid in money at the rate of two pence per pound +of tobacco. The parsons' salary was 16,000 pounds of tobacco. When +the above law was passed allowing the parsons to be paid in money, +they felt that it was unfair because tobacco at that time was more +valuable at the rate of six pence per pound of tobacco than the +money value itself. Furthermore, the parsons had had to accept the +same amount of tobacco when the prices had previously declined. King +George agreed with the parsons and requested that they be given +their 16,000 pounds of tobacco or else a sum of money equivalent +to the amount which 16,000 pounds of tobacco would be worth. Such +an order was contrary to the law passed by the House of Burgesses +and was a continuation of a custom which England had been using +of "disallowing" a law passed by the colonial legislature. The +Burgesses refused to accept the "disallowing" of their law; in turn, +the parsons, knowing that the King had favored their opinion in +the matter, took their problem to the Hanover County Court as they +believed they were entitled to the back pay for the time which the +House of Burgesses' law was in effect. The court had ruled that the +parsons were entitled to the back pay and was ready to proceed with +the problem of deciding upon the amount which it believed was due +each parson. + +When this case was first brought to the court for consideration, the +individual citizens of the colony tried to obtain the services of +a lawyer who would fight against the parsons. Since such a lawyer +would be fighting not only against the parsons but against the +King himself, some of the lawyers, when asked to act as attorney +against the parsons, refused the offer. Patrick Henry, who was only +twenty-seven at the time and practically an unknown individual as +far as law was concerned, accepted the offer. The self-educated +Hanover County resident surprised the people in the court when he +began to speak, at first hesitatingly and then most confidently. He +first criticized the parsons for trying to take advantage of the +scarcity of the tobacco which caused its extraordinarily high price. +He then dared to speak against the British Parliament and the King +for usurping the power of "disallowing" a law passed by the Virginia +legislature. The following quotation illustrates the strong language +which he used to express his attitudes in these matters: "The king, +by ... disallowing acts of this salutary nature, from being the +Father of his people degenerates into a Tyrant, and forfeits all +the rights to his subjects' obedience." Thus, he questioned the +right of the King to veto a colonial law. He followed these words +with comments concerning the rights and privileges of the colonists +and the unjust taxing of the colonists for goods brought to the +Virginia Colony from England. The jury handed down the verdict that +the parsons were entitled to their back pay but awarded damages +of one penny to each parson. As a direct result of this case, +Patrick Henry became famous and he became a member of the Virginia +House of Burgesses shortly afterward. He had dramatically, though +unexpectedly, expressed the attitude of most of the colonists toward +Parliamentary and royal control of their colony. + +In spite of Patrick Henry's strong protests against the taxes +imposed upon the colonists, Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765 +whereby the colonists were required to put stamps of differing value +upon wills, deeds, mortgages, newspapers, almanacs, advertisements, +college diplomas and all other legal documents. This tax was not +directly levied for protection as the regular duty tax on imports +had been but was levied for revenue purposes. The revenue from the +sale of these stamps was to be used in paying the governmental +cost in the territory acquired from the French and Indian War and +for defending the colonists. Previous acts and taxes had affected +a comparatively small number of colonists and usually only one or +two social classes. The Stamp Act, however, affected practically +every class, particularly editors, lawyers and parsons who usually +exert strong influence upon any group of people. The Stamp Act was +the controversial issue at the time Patrick Henry became a member +of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Some of the members felt that +Parliament had the right to tax the colonists and others felt +that it was illegal for them to do so. Patrick Henry offered five +resolutions against the Stamp Act to the effect that the "General +Assembly of the colony have the only sole and exclusive right and +power to levy taxes." A fiery discussion then occurred over these +resolutions, and, after hearing the heated arguments on both sides +on May 29, 1765, Patrick Henry rose in the House and described +Virginia as being tethered in chains under the rule of Parliament +and the King. Then he shouted: "Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I, +his Cromwell, and George III...." Here he was interrupted by cries +of "Treason! Treason!" Very calmly he finished the sentence by +saying "may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the +most of it!" Patrick Henry's brilliant oratory persuaded public +opinion again, and his "Virginia Resolves" against the Stamp Act +were passed by a majority of one vote. Such a small majority seems +insignificant, but these Resolves were publicized throughout the +colonies and played an important part in creating serious opposition +to England throughout the British colonies. Soon similar resolutions +were adopted in the other colonies. + +The first Colonial Congress was called to meet in New York City +in October 1765 to form a plan of resistance to the Stamp Act. +Although delegates from nine colonies attended, Virginia was not +represented because the Virginia legislature had adjourned before +Massachusetts had sent its invitation circular to her. However, +Virginia approved a three point program of this "Stamp Act Congress" +at its next legislative session: namely, a Bill of Rights, a +statement of grievances and the principle of no taxation without +actual representation. The colonists believed that, since they had +no actual representation in Parliament, there could be no taxation +except that authorized by their individual legislatures. Therefore, +the members of the Stamp Act Congress adopted petitions to the +King, the House of Commons and the House of Lords asking repeal of +the Stamp Act. This congress was the first significant step in the +direction of unity for the British colonies in America. In addition +to this orderly method of opposition, in some of the colonies mob +violence, rioting and even personal molesting of the stamp officials +took place. + +On February 8, 1766, the Northampton County Court severely opposed +the Stamp Act by stating that "the said act did not bind, affect or +concern the inhabitants of this colony, inasmuch as they conceive +the same to be unconstitutional, and that the said several officers +may proceed to the execution of their respective offices, without +incurring any penalties by means thereof." + +On February 27, 1766, a group of one hundred and fifteen planters +met at Leedstown in the Northern Neck to publicly oppose the Stamp +Act. A series of resolves or resolutions written by Richard Henry +Lee but presented by Thomas Ludwell Lee, his brother, were passed by +those present. These resolves condemned the Stamp Act and defiantly +acclaimed the rights which they considered essential to civil +liberty. These resolves are usually referred to as the Leedstown +or Westmoreland Resolves because they were presented at Leedstown +which is located in Westmoreland County. In March of the same year +a pamphlet, entitled "An Enquiry into the Rights of the British +Colonies," was written and circulated by Richard Henry Bland which +strongly opposed the Parliamentary measures and stated that the +colonies were bound to England directly by the King and not by +Parliament. Therefore, Bland concluded that Parliament technically +had no jurisdiction over the American colonies. + +Finally, on March 18, 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but +at the same time passed the Declaratory Act stating that Parliament +had the authority to pass laws for the colonies "in all cases +whatsoever." In their triumph over the repeal of the Stamp Act, many +of the colonists overlooked the strong, powerful wording of the +Declaratory Act. + +Soon after the repeal of the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts were +passed in 1767. They were called the Townshend Acts because the +British Chancellor of the Exchequer (a position similar to the +present-day United States Secretary of the Treasury) who originated +them was Charles Townshend. The acts placed a duty (an external +tax) upon glass, paper, painters' colors, white lead and tea. The +revenue collected from these duties was to be used for the payment +of salaries of judges and other colonial officials in the attempt +to make such positions less influenced by the colonial legislature. +The colonists objected strongly to the Townshend Acts, again stating +that the taxes so collected were for the purpose of revenue and not +for protection. + +The merchant class of the large cities in the colonies and the +Virginia planters in particular were so strongly affected by +these acts that they formed a retaliatory organization called the +Non-Importation Association. Although Lord Botetourt, the royal +Governor of Virginia at this time, dissolved the Virginia Assembly, +and individual members met privately at the Raleigh Tavern in +Williamsburg and agreed to enter into such a non-importation +agreement. This group agreed not to import slaves, wines or goods +from Great Britain unless the objectionable taxes were abolished. +This agreement caused a great reduction in the number of imports +from Great Britain to these colonies. Since Virginia had the largest +amount of commerce trade in England at this time, this method +proved effective. Acts of violence even occured in some of the +colonies--for example, the Boston Massacre. Finally, on March 5, +1770, the Townshend Acts were repealed with the exception of the tax +on tea: three pence per pound. This tax was retained supposedly to +assert the right of Parliament to tax the colonists whenever it so +desired. + +In spite of this repeal, friction between colonial legislatures and +royal Governors continued. Under the leadership of Samuel Adams of +Massachusetts, Committees of Correspondence were appointed in 1773 +whose chief objective was to keep the various colonies informed by +correspondence of the events occurring within their colony which +were contrary to the rights and privileges of the colonists. The +Virginia General Assembly appointed a Committee of Correspondence +under the leadership of Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick +Henry and George Mason. The condition which caused this permanent +committee to be organized at this time was the continuous threat +of England to force Americans to be tried in England for offenses +against the law. These committees within the various colonies became +very active and persuasive. The British soon abandoned their idea of +sending Americans to England to be tried. However, these committees +increased rapidly in number as the grievances of the colonists +increased, and they gradually created a feeling of unity in the +colonies as a result of a better understanding of common problems. + +The next act which is believed to have led directly to the +Revolutionary War is the Tea Act. After the three pence per pound +tax on tea was levied, some of the colonists bought their tea from +smugglers who had purchased it from the Dutch East Indies. In +1773, in an attempt to curb this illegal trade and to help create +a monopoly of the tea trade for the East India Company, Parliament +passed a law allowing this company to ship tea from Asia directly +to the American colonies without bringing it to English warehouses +first, as had previously been the regulation. This situation +resulted in the East India Company selling its tea cheaper than the +other companies. In spite of this change, Parliament refused to +repeal the three pence duty tax on tea which still had to be paid by +the colonists. + +The American colonists realized the scheme of England, and not +wanting to admit the right of Parliament to tax them even under +these conditions, they decided not to submit to the payment of the +duty tax. When the ships from the East India Company sent cargoes +of tea to Charleston, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, some of it +was stored indefinitely (at Charleston), some was returned (from +Philadelphia and from New York City) and the rest was dumped into +the Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773. The famous Boston Tea Party +caused Parliament to pass the "Intolerable Acts" as punishment for +the colonists of Massachusetts: (1) the Boston Port Bill closed +the port of Boston to all trade until the colonists there had paid +for the tea which had been destroyed and had agreed to obey the +laws of Parliament and to maintain peace in the future, (2) the +Massachusetts Government Act changed the charter of Massachusetts so +that more governing power was in the hands of the royal officials +and much less in the hands of the colonists, (3) the Administration +of Justice Act provided that British officials in Massachusetts who +had been charged with serious violations of colonial laws were from +that time on to be sent to England for their trial and (4) an act +provided that any colonial Governor was empowered from that time on +to quarter British soldiers in barns or vacant buildings whenever +the need arose. The first of these acts was to go into effect on +June 1, 1774. Therefore, the colonists realized that something had +to be done immediately if their resentment and ill feeling was to be +recognized by Parliament and acted upon accordingly. + +A description of the Boston Tea Party first reached Virginia from +a visitor to the old Market Square in Alexandria. The Virginia +House of Burgesses was in session when the Virginians learned of +the "Intolerable Acts." Led by Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and +Richard Henry Lee, the members of the House of Burgesses passed a +resolution designating June 1, the day on which the "Intolerable +Acts" were to be enforced, as a day of fasting and prayer to God to +encourage Parliament to abandon its unwise punitive policy towards +the people of Massachusetts. When Governor Lord Dunmore, who had +succeeded upon the death of Governor Botetourt, heard of this +resolution, he dissolved the House of Burgesses. Before all the +members had left Williamsburg, a messenger arrived from Boston with +a circular letter which pleaded with the colonies for united support +and which suggested the cessation of all trading relations with +Great Britain. The twenty-five Burgesses members, who were in the +Apollo Room of the Raleigh Tavern when the letter arrived, discussed +its contents and decided that it was too important a matter for +the Committee of Correspondence to assume complete responsibility. +Consequently, they asked the counties to appoint deputies to a +special convention to be held on August 1, 1774 at Williamsburg +for a two-fold purpose: to consider the possibility of complete +cessation of trade with Great Britain and to choose delegates to +a proposed Continental Congress. Peyton Randolph, Speaker of the +House of Burgesses, is believed to have been the leader of this +special convention movement. The actual summons was signed by Thomas +Jefferson, George Washington and Henry Lee. The calling of this +First Virginia Convention is most significant in American history as +well as in Virginia history because it was a positive action on the +part of the American colonists to assert the people's sovereignty +over and against the King's authority. + +The convention at Williamsburg which began August 1, 1774 lasted +for six days and representatives attended from fifty-six counties +and four boroughs. Each county sent two delegates and each borough, +one. Peyton Randolph was chosen as president of the convention. +The convention members agreed to purchase no goods, with the +exception of medicine, from Great Britain after November 1, 1774 and +agreed neither to import slaves nor to buy imported slaves after +November 1. Seven members were selected to represent Virginia at a +Continental or General Congress: Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, +Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Edmund Pendleton, Peyton Randolph +and George Washington. The convention delegates also stated that +unless American grievances were diminished by August 10, 1775, all +exports of Virginia products to Great Britain would be stopped. It +was at this convention that a written treatise on American rights +was prepared for the convention by Thomas Jefferson. This paper, +later entitled "A Summary View of the Rights of British America," +was published by the Virginia convention and was responsible for +making Jefferson's great ability as a writer well known. This +pamphlet was a forerunner of the Declaration of Independence. + +While the colonists were having political and economic difficulties +with Great Britain, other domestic difficulties were occurring +on the frontiers. As mentioned previously, the Piedmont area +of Virginia, located between the Fall Line and the Appalachian +Mountains, was actually the first American frontier. People who +settled there came originally for several purposes: to acquire +fertile but cheap land, to enjoy new personal freedom (in many +cases, the settlers were former indentured servants), to carry +on fur trade with the Indians, to obtain fresh pasture land for +cattle and to establish plantations. After the Piedmont area became +heavily settled, the westward movement continued. The settlements +in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia followed directly after the +crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the late 1760's, William +Bean, a Virginian, constructed the first cabin along the Watauga +River, and later, James Robertson and John Sevier pioneered in the +Watauga Valley. Settlements were also made at this time along the +fertile Holston River Valley in eastern Tennessee. During this +period, Daniel Boone explored the Cumberland Gap area and started a +settlement in the region now known as Kentucky. While he was taking +a group of approximately eighty settlers to this region, he was +attacked by a band of Indians. The group decided to return to North +Carolina with the exception of the Boone family, and they stopped +near the Kentucky-Tennessee border. + +Indian uprisings were common until the soldiers of Virginia defeated +them in Lord Dunmore's War. As the settlers pushed westward, more +and more of the Indians' hunting grounds were being seized and +used for farming. Since the Indians felt that this was most unjust +treatment, they resorted to making war upon the settlers. In +1774, many frontier Indian raids occurred involving the Shawnees, +Cherokees, Mingos, Delaware and Wyandots. One incident which had +great repercussion was the killing of nine members of the family of +John Logan, a friendly Mingo chief, by a group of white settlers. +This incident caused the Indians to be extremely revengeful. + +When Lord Dunmore became the new royal Governor, the settlers +appealed to him for protection and asked that he send military +troops at once. He decided personally to command one group of troops +at the Forks of the Ohio River and he ordered Major Andrew Lewis, a +pioneer's son of Augusta County whose father had founded Staunton, +Virginia, to raise a force of Virginia troops and bring them to a +meeting-place located at Camp Union (now known as Lewisburg, West +Virginia). With approximately 1100 men, General Lewis started on +his march to the Ohio River in September 1774 to fight the Indians. +After nineteen days of marching, they arrived at Point Pleasant, +the site at which the Kanawha River empties into the Ohio River, +approximately 160 miles from their starting point. General Lewis +and his troops waited four days and heard no word from Lord Dunmore +although he had ordered them to this particular position. On October +10, two of Lewis' men went hunting, strictly against his orders. +Two miles from camp they were attacked by the Shawnee Indians, and +one of them was killed. The other escaped, rushed back to the camp +and reported to General Lewis that he had observed "four acres of +ground" of Indians. General Lewis then commanded his men to form +two lines of battle, one to be under the leadership of his brother, +Colonel Charles Lewis, and the other under the leadership of Colonel +William Fleming. He himself was to be the supreme commander. The +battle began immediately, and after the Indians rushed forward +the first time, Charles Lewis was killed and Colonel Fleming was +wounded. The Indian leader was Chief Cornstalk who was a popular +and powerful Indian warrior. However, after fighting all day, the +Indians finally retreated across the Ohio River, and the Virginians +were considered the victors of the Battle of Point Pleasant or the +Battle of Great Kanawha because they were not driven back by the +Indians. Consequently, Lord Dunmore's War was fought without his +presence, although it is believed that he may have been negotiating +a peace treaty with the Indians simultaneously at some distant +place. The winning of this war by the Virginians made the winning of +the west much easier for the later settlers. + +On September 5, 1774, the first Continental Congress was called +by Virginia, and invitations were issued by Committees of +Correspondence. The purpose of this Congress was "to deliberate +and determine wise and proper measures, to be by them recommended +to all the colonies, for the recovery and establishment of their +just rights and liberties, civil and religious, and the restoration +of union and harmony between Great Britain and the colonies most +ardently desired by all good men." The Continental Congress +began in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, on September 5, 1774 +with 56 members present. Two-thirds of these were lawyers, and +the membership itself consisted of representatives of both the +liberal and the conservative groups although the majority appeared +to be in the former group. The Virginian, Peyton Randolph, was +unanimously elected President of the First Continental Congress. +During the Congress, Patrick Henry expressed the need for unity +when he exclaimed: "The distinctions between Pennsylvanians, New +Yorkers and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian but an +American." Concerning its chief accomplishments, the Congress (1) +drew up a Declaration of Rights (a series of resolutions declaring +that the colonists were entitled to certain rights: life, liberty +and property, the right to vote their own taxes and the right to +trial by jury; that these rights had been violated by the King and +by Parliament since 1673; that unjust taxes and standing armies +had been imposed upon them and their local assemblies unfairly +interfered with by Parliament; that their repeated petitions for +a redress of their grievances had been practically ignored in +England) and (2) adopted "a non-importation, non-consumption and +non-exportation agreement" called the Continental Association Plan. +It should be noted that complete separation from England was not +demanded at this time but rather cooperation from, and peace under, +English rule. The session lasted approximately seven weeks, and then +on October 26, 1774, after a motion had been passed setting May +10, 1775 as the date of a second congress meeting, the session was +adjourned to await a reply from the King of England. + +The resolutions passed by this Congress were circulated throughout +the colonies for their approval. All sections of the Virginia colony +approved them, even sections as far west as the area now occupied by +the State of Kentucky. Two illustrations of such approval are the +Fairfax Resolutions and the Fincastle Resolutions. The freeholders +of Fairfax County met in Alexandria in July 1774 and passed the +so-called Fairfax Resolutions, written by George Mason. The Fairfax +Resolutions or Resolves, as they are sometimes called, reflected +Virginia's attitude toward taxation, Parliament and even the +King. In January 1775, at Lead Mines, Fincastle County seat, the +freeholders met and prepared a paper congratulating and thanking the +Virginia delegates for their part in the First Continental Congress. +These Fincastle Resolutions also included strong written opposition +to English tyrannical power. + +In November 1774, Virginia had a tea party, similar in purpose to +Boston in that it was an act of defiance against Great Britain's +tea tax. On November 7, the Virginians discovered that a British +ship, "Virginia," which had docked in the York River at an earlier +date, contained tea cargo. The Committee of Safety for York County +immediately sent to the House of Burgesses (which was meeting at +Williamsburg) a message in the form of a protest against accepting +this tea for sale in the colony. The Committee received a reply to +the effect that the matter would be discussed in the House and an +answer would be forthcoming the next Monday morning. Large groups +of people gathered at Yorktown where the boat had been docked and +waited for the reply. The House of Burgesses failed to send the +reply, and the captain of the ship declared that he had received no +message. The Committee waited a while longer and then proceeded to +throw the tea out of the ship's hold into the York River. By this +time, the Yorktown inhabitants had been informed of the "Intolerable +Acts" which had been passed to punish the inhabitants of Boston. +Therefore, they filled the ship with necessary supplies and sent it +to the Bostonians. This incident was another example of the methods +by which the colonists were learning to unite and to help each other +in their common objectives. + +When the American colonists began to carry out the non-importation +agreement, the British merchants were very much affected: for +example, the import trade from Great Britain to the American +colonies declined about 95% by 1775. The Americans had some great +British leaders on their side, but they were definitely in the +minority. Edmund Burke and William Pitt urged that the "Intolerable +Acts" be repealed and predicted that war was approaching with +the American colonies if most of the objectionable laws were not +repealed at this time. Burke and Pitt were overruled, however, in +Parliament. Thus, the breach between the American colonies and the +mother country became wider as time passed. + +Continued growth in the number of counties reflected increases in +population and a trend toward the rising importance of community +life. From 1750 to 1775, several additional counties were formed: +Halifax (formed from Lunenburg and named for George Montagu Dunk, +Second Earl of Halifax and the first Lord of the Board of Trade), +Dinwiddie (formed from Prince George County and named for Lord +Dinwiddie, acting Lieutenant Governor of the Virginia Colony +from 1751-1758), Prince Edward (formed from Amelia County and +named for Edward Augustus, Prince of Wales), Bedford (formed from +Lunenburg and part of Albemarle County and named for John Russell, +Fourth Duke of Bedford, Secretary of State in Great Britain from +1748-1757), Sussex (formed from Surry County and named for Sussex +County, England), Loudoun (formed from Fairfax County and named +for John Campbell, Fourth Earl of Loudoun, Commander-in-Chief +of the British forces during the latter part of the French and +Indian War and Governor-General of the American Colonies from 1756 +to 1763), Fauquier (formed from Prince William County and named +after Francis Fauquier, Lieutenant Governor from 1758 to 1768), +Buckingham (formed from Albemarle County and named probably for +the Duke of Buckingham), Charlotte (formed from Lunenburg and +named for Princess Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg, George III's +queen), Mecklenburg (formed from Lunenburg and named in honor of +the same queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz), Pittsylvania +(formed from Halifax County and named for Sir William Pitt, a famous +English statesman who was pro-American toward the British Colonies +in America), Botetourt (formed from Augusta County and part of +Rockbridge County and named for Norborne Berkeley, Lord Botetourt, +Governor of Virginia from 1768 to 1770) and Amherst County (formed +from Albemarle County "and certain islands in the Fluvanna River" +and named for Sir Jeffrey Amherst, Governor-General of Virginia, +1759-1768). + + +S U M M A R Y + +The historical Life of Virginia from 1584 to 1775 illustrates +the "trial and error" method of learning to live cooperatively, +comfortably and profitably in the New World. The inhabitants of +the "Cradle of American Civilization" were faced with severe +personal handicaps, problems of government (many of which had to +be solved in an original fashion), explorations into untrodden and +often uncivilized areas, the task of establishing a land economy, +rebellions of the common man against the privileged few and the +establishment of a culture and way of life adapted to the type of +environment and peoples living in the area. The efforts of such +leaders as John Smith, John Rolfe, Edwin Sandys, George Yeardley, +Benjamin Syms, Thomas Eaton, James Blair, Alexander Spotswood, +Thomas Lee, Robert Dinwiddie, George Washington, Patrick Henry, +Richard Bland, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Peyton Randolph +and Andrew Lewis helped unite the colonists in Virginia in their +development of democratic living. + +During this period, the first representative legislative assembly in +America was held, the first group of Negro slaves were imported to +America, the first group of unmarried women arrived in the colonies, +the first royal colony of England was organized, a county system of +local government was established, the Commonwealth of Virginia was +created, the second oldest college in America was founded, the first +theater in America was built, many of the most beautiful plantation +houses were constructed, the British became the dominant colonists +in America, slavery became an accepted characteristic of plantation +life, fifty-four counties were formed and strong opposition of the +colonists in Virginia to political and economic control by the +British King and Parliament was becoming very apparent. The first +special Virginia Convention held in Williamsburg to determine +the extent of Virginia's boycott of British goods and to choose +delegates to a Continental Congress and the York River Tea Party +at Yorktown exemplified mounting opposition. The stage of life in +Virginia seemed naturally set for specific action against strict +foreign regulation and control. + + + + +3 + +Historical Life: 1775-1860 + +_The Revolutionary War Era_ + + +A second Virginia Convention was held from March 20 to March 27, +1775 at St. John's Church, Richmond. Peyton Randolph was again +chosen president of the convention. The members of this convention +soon were divided into distinct groups: (1) the conservative group, +led by Peyton Randolph, which deplored radical thinking and actions +and still favored reconciliation with the mother country, England, +and (2) the aggressive group, led by Patrick Henry, which believed +conciliation and compromise were no longer possible or feasible and +advocated military preparedness within the colony. + +On the first day, March 20, Patrick Henry delivered his famous +speech, the most significant and oft-repeated section stating: +"Gentlemen may cry: Peace! Peace! but there is no peace. The war +is actually begun!... Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be +purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty +God! I know not what course others may take, but, as for me, give +me liberty, or give me death!" This fiery speech combined with +his others earned for Patrick Henry the title, "The Tongue of the +Revolution" or "The Mouthpiece of the Revolution." The first three +days passed without either group committing itself. On the fourth +day, however, a resolution was adopted bestowing thanks upon the +Assembly of Jamaica for its petition to the King on behalf of the +American colonies and stating an ardent desire for peace. Patrick +Henry then proposed an unusual resolution to follow the preceding +one, namely: the establishment of "a well-regulated militia, +composed of gentlemen and yeomen." His brilliant oratorical powers +of persuasion caused the resolution to be carried, and the military +resources of the colony were immediately directed to be organized +and made efficient. The convention also appealed to all the people +for contributions for the relief of the Bostonians because they +were "suffering in the common cause of American freedom." Later at +this convention, delegates to the Second Continental Congress were +elected: Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, Peyton +Randolph and George Wythe. + +On April 21, 1775, Governor Dunmore, who had unsuccessfully tried +to prevent the Richmond convention from taking place in order that +delegates could not be elected to attend the Second Continental +Congress, became very much aroused over the bitter feeling of the +colonists toward Great Britain. He decided that he could break down +some of the colonial assuredness and resistance against the King +and against his personal orders if he could remove from the powder +magazine at Williamsburg the munition powder which belonged to the +colony. Therefore, he ordered twenty sailors from a British ship +anchored at Williamsburg to obtain this powder. They hid in the +Governor's Palace; during the night, they visited the magazine, +removed all the powder which they could fit into the Governor's +wagon and took it to their armed ship, the "Fowey," in the harbor +for safekeeping. When the colonists learned the next morning of +this activity, a company of Hanover volunteers, led by Patrick +Henry, marched upon Williamsburg and forced the King's sailors to +compensate by giving bills for the value of the powder taken from +the magazine. Governor Dunmore was then beseeched to pay for the +cost of the powder, at least in sterling. He finally paid this +amount because of the persistence of Patrick Henry. Only strenuous +efforts on the part of Patrick Henry's personal friends kept him and +the local militia from imprisoning the Governor himself for such +action. Patrick Henry was declared an outlaw by Governor Dunmore. +Anti-British feeling rapidly increased on the part of the colonists +after this incident. + +Approximately a week after this unpleasant incident, John Paul +Jones, a Scottish-Virginian who was a resident of Fredericksburg, +recommended that the colonies should have an official navy. He was a +former British seaman, and he offered his services to the colonies +at this time in an attempt to raise a naval force. The Second +Continental Congress later appointed a Naval Committee whose chief +duty was to organize a naval force. At its invitation, John Paul +Jones explained to the Committee the great strength of the British +Navy and the futility of the colonists to try to compete with it. +He stated, however, that, if the colonists had fifteen ships armed +with guns, these could be successfully utilized to annoy British +ships. His suggestion was accepted, and thirteen frigates plus two +brigs made up the first American Navy. John Paul Jones received the +first naval commission at Independence Hall on December 22, 1775. +Therefore, he is often referred to as "The Father of the American +Navy." + +Before the Second Continental Congress was due to meet, the Battle +of Lexington and Concord (near Boston) had taken place on April 19, +1775. After this "shot heard 'round the world," the Americans were +most sympathetic toward their fellow-colonists of Massachusetts. On +May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress began in Independence +Hall, Philadelphia. Although there was a majority of the members +who now believed a revolution was inevitable, there were also many +conservatives who preferred compromise of any type rather than war. +This congress proceeded to take necessary steps for organizing and +equipping an American army. On June 16, 1775, it assumed control +of the colonial forces already formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, +after the Battle of Lexington and Concord. It appointed George +Washington as Commander-in-Chief of this American Continental Army +and assumed complete responsibility for the salaries and supplies of +the servicemen. + +On June 1, 1775 Governor Dunmore called the Virginia House of +Burgesses together for the purpose of discussing some British +proposals originated by Lord North. The members did not favor +these, however, and proceeded to suggest the levying of a tax +of five pounds per head on each imported slave as an attempt to +raise revenue for payment of the recent Lord Dunmore War with the +Indians. In order to protect the slave trade benefits for England, +the Governor vetoed this proposal. This action was his last veto +in the Colony of Virginia. Later that month, Lord Dunmore, sensing +the sincerity of the Americans in this revolution, feared for +his royal governorship life. Consequently, on June 8, he fled +from Williamsburg to a British man-of-war ship, the "Fowey," in +the Yorktown harbor. His flight practically dissolved the royal +government in Virginia. The Virginia Assembly asked Governor Dunmore +to return under its protection but he refused to do so. His refusal +to return after an official petition had been issued was considered +by the Virginians as abdication on his part from office. Thus, when +it adjourned on June 20, 1775, the last Virginia colonial General +Assembly ended. + +On July 3, 1775, Washington took official command of the American +Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his first military +objective was to drive the British away from Boston. After he had +been there a few weeks, he visited some troops for inspection. Upon +inquiring about the place of origin of one company, he was surprised +and delighted to hear the answer, "General, from the Banks of the +Potomac." The speaker was Daniel Morgan, who had accompanied his +corps of riflemen from Winchester, Virginia to Boston, 600 miles +distance in twenty-one days without a single death. Morgan had +fought with Washington during the French and Indian War and had +participated in the war against the Indians in the Ohio Valley +campaign. Washington was so happy to see these fellow-Virginians +that he took time from his busy schedule to shake hands personally +with each member of the corps. After Morgan and his troops had +participated successfully in the Massachusetts Campaign, he +later sent them to Canada for the Quebec campaign. This campaign +unfortunately resulted in a defeat for the Americans, and Morgan +was taken prisoner. Although Morgan was offered a commission in the +British army while he was imprisoned, he violently rejected the +offer. Although he remained a prisoner for a long time, he rejoined +the American Army as soon as he was free to do so. The famous +American victory at the Battle of Saratoga is now accredited to the +military strategy and tactics of General Daniel Morgan. Another +important later victory for which he was directly responsible was +the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina. He is one of the many great +military men furnished by the colony and by the state of Virginia. + +From July 17 to August 26, 1775, the Third Virginia Convention +was held. The meeting place was Richmond, and Peyton Randolph was +elected president of the convention. George Mason had been appointed +to succeed George Washington at this convention because Washington +was busily engaged as Commander-in-Chief of the American Army. +Since Governor Dunmore had already fled from the colony, the royal +government had been theoretically dissolved and Virginia gained +the status of an independent state. Therefore, the members of this +convention believed that they had to assume responsibility for +governing Virginia under the circumstances. Consequently, the one +hundred and fifteen delegates present proposed acts and passed them +as laws called ordinances. Ordinances passed contained the following +provisions: (1) the organization of military forces for the defense +of Virginia into two regiments; (2) the creation of an executive +body called the Committee of Safety to act as the government while +the convention was in recess; (3) a plan for adequate revenue for +the provisional government and for the Army of Virginia; (4) the +establishment of executive county committees; (5) the regulation of +the election of delegates to future conventions; (6) the election of +new representatives to a future Continental Congress, and (7) the +division of Virginia into sixteen military districts. + +On August 17, 1775, the first Committee of Safety for Virginia was +appointed by the Virginia Convention of July 1775. It consisted +of eleven members, namely, Richard Bland, Carter Braxton, William +Cabell, Paul Carrington, Dudley Digges, Thomas Ludwell Lee, George +Mason, James Mercer, John Page, Edmund Pendleton and John Tabb. +Edmund Pendleton was the chairman of this committee. Various members +of the Committee of Safety actually ruled Virginia from the time +it ceased to be a British colony until it officially became an +independent state. + +On December 1, 1775 the Fourth Virginia Convention was held at +Richmond, but soon after the convention had become organized, it +moved to Williamsburg. Edmund Pendleton was elected president +of the convention. The chief problem of this convention was +military protection and security for Virginia in the face of war. +The army was increased from two regiments to nine regiments with +an enlistment requiring two years of military service. The chief +measures passed during the Fourth Virginia Convention of December +1775-January 1776 included the appointment of a commission of five +men in each county to try cases of those individuals believed to be +enemies of America, the creation of an admiralty court to hear cases +involving maritime or naval affairs, the granting of permission +for county courts to elect a sheriff for a one-year term and the +issuing of special instructions to the Virginia delegates to the +next Continental Congress to encourage the opening of American ports +to the commerce of all foreign nations except Great Britain and the +British West Indies. It was also decided at this convention to allow +the Virginia troops to be merged or absorbed into the Continental +Army and to have future military officers commissioned by the +Continental Congress rather than by individual state or colonial +legislatures. Another Committee of Safety for Virginia was named: +nine members were re-appointed and two new members were substituted. +Edmund Pendleton was still the chairman and the other committee +members were Richard Bland, William Cabell, Paul Carrington, Dudley +Digges, Joseph Jones, Thomas Ludwell Lee, James Mercer, John Page, +John Tabb and Thomas Walker. On January 20, 1776, the convention +adjourned. + +During the convention, another Lord Dunmore episode took place. Lord +Dunmore had become a real threat to the Virginians because, after he +had fled from Williamsburg and from Yorktown, he armed many Negroes +and persuaded them to fight for the King in return for their future +freedom. He commanded a force which at this time was in possession +of Norfolk and its adjacent areas. Eight days after the convention +began, Lord Dunmore dispatched a few of his British regulars to +attack some of the Virginian troops under Colonel William Woodford. +These Virginians had constructed a breastwork along the southern +branch of the Elizabeth River, approximately twelve miles from +Norfolk. Colonel Woodford's Virginia troops killed almost all the +British regulars, much to the surprise of Lord Dunmore, who quickly +retreated to a part of the British fleet docked in Norfolk harbor. +Later, while the convention was still in session, on January 1, +1776, Lord Dunmore with a small land and sea force bombarded and +burned Norfolk itself which consisted of about 6,000 residents +at the time. Many houses were completely burned and others badly +damaged. St. Paul's Church was the only building to survive this +bombardment and embedded cannon balls in the south wall of the +church may still be seen which were fired from the ships in the +harbor. Dunmore and his forces finally sailed up the Chesapeake +Bay and stationed themselves off Gwynn's Island, near the present +Mathews County mainland. From this area, Dunmore and his friends +made repeated plunder attacks along the coast of Virginia until +summer. + +During the same month of January, a dramatic episode occurred at +Woodstock. John Peter Gabriel Mühlenberg, an ex-German soldier +who had migrated to Virginia and had become a minister, was very +strongly pro-Virginia and very strongly anti-British King. He had +received a military commission as a colonel from General George +Washington due to his past military experience. His duty was to +form a regiment of Germans living in the valley. On this particular +Sunday, he ascended the pulpit and began to preach concerning the +theme, "There is a time to every purpose ... a time to war and a +time to peace!" He proceeded to describe the unjust treatment which +the American colonies had received from the British King and the +Parliament. At the conclusion of his sermon, he stated: "There is +a time for all things--a time to preach and a time to pray; but +there is a time to fight, and that time has come now." With these +surprising words, he threw back his minister's attire and stood +fully clothed in the blue and buff uniform of a Continental Colonel +with the official sword at his side. He immediately descended +from the pulpit and, in a very short time, had enlisted three +hundred citizens within this small community in the Eighth Virginia +Regiment. Thus, Mühlenberg earned for himself the title of the +"Fighting Parson" and with his regiment marched directly to help +the South Carolina Army. The regiment was later referred to as the +German Regiment because it was made up solely of German Americans. +It served with great honor during the Revolutionary War. Mühlenberg +himself had the distinction of being with General Washington when +Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. + +The Fifth Virginia Convention, now called the Virginia +Constitutional Convention, began on May 6, 1776 at Williamsburg. By +this time, the British had been driven out of Boston and out of the +New England area in general. The American attempt to invade Canada +had been unsuccessful, but the British had been defeated in North +and South Carolina. Public opinion in Virginia which had been only +"lukewarm" to complete separation from England at the early stages +of the war now became very strongly in favor of it--particularly +after the bombardment and burning of Norfolk. Most of the delegates +had been instructed before coming to the convention to work toward +two specific objectives: American independence and a representative +government for Virginia. There were one hundred and thirty-one +delegates present at this convention, representing sixty-six +counties and corporations. Some of the outstanding members at this +convention were James Madison, Edmund Randolph and Archibald Cary. + +The various sections of Virginia were represented at the Fifth +Convention. The type of clothing worn at the convention made the +sections easily recognizable: there was an outstanding contrast +between the homespun, practical clothing of the frontiersmen and the +fancy British-made clothing of the wealthy traders and plantation +owners. The convention members elected delegates to the Continental +Congress and instructed them to propose American independence from +England. The delegates chosen were George Washington, John Blair, +James Madison, George Mason, James McClurg, Edmund Randolph and +George Wythe. On May 15, a resolution was introduced by Archibald +Cary and passed which declared the colony of Virginia a free and +independent State. Immediately the British flag was lowered from the +Capitol at Williamsburg and the colonial colors were raised instead. +At this same convention, on May 27, Archibald Cary presented to the +members the "Declaration of Rights" prepared by George Mason for +this convention. This document stated the fundamental rights of +English colonists as well as of Englishmen. + +On June 12, 1776 Mason's "Declaration of Rights" was unanimously +adopted. Its principles were considered so important that they +were later the basis of the Bill of Rights in the United States +Constitution and eventually were used as the background for state +constitution Bills of Rights. The Virginia Bill of Rights is often +referred to as the "Magna Charta of Virginia." George Mason also +recommended the original motto of the official seal of the State of +Virginia at this convention: "Sic Semper Tyrannis"--"Thus Always (or +ever) to Tyrants." + +In the same session, James Madison actively participated in a +discussion concerning religious liberty and tolerance. He proposed a +clause in the Virginia Bill of Rights to allow the "free exercise of +religion" because he strongly believed that the state should have no +coercive power over religious thought. This clause was adopted, and +James Madison for the first time attracted state-wide attention to +his thinking and philosophy. + +Once the idea of independence from England was formally expressed +and a specific objective was established, the Virginians at this +convention proceeded to write a state constitution for Virginia. +This constitution, the first written state constitution, was +officially adopted on June 29, 1776, making this the birth date of +the State of Virginia. Since George Mason was primarily responsible +for the actual wording of the constitution, he is called the +"Father of the Virginia Constitution." Virginia was organized as +the Commonwealth of Virginia, the name believed patterned after the +Commonwealth of England, the title acquired by the government of +England after its Civil War. The first constitution for Virginia +provided for a bicameral (two-house) legislature: the Senate and +the House of Delegates. Membership in these groups was to be by +election by the qualified voters. Each county was to choose two +delegates annually to represent them and one-fourth of the Senate +was to be elected annually. The combined balloting of the House and +the Senate was to determine the election of the Governor (whose +term was to be one year with a maximum three years possible), an +eight-man Council of State and members of the Congress of the United +States. A general system of courts was created. Patrick Henry was +elected the first Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia and he +served from 1776 to 1779. The Commonwealth of Virginia was now ready +to function, and the new government went into effect immediately. +The Williamsburg Convention which began May 6, 1776 adjourned on +July 5, 1776. + +While this convention was in session, the Second Continental +Congress was meeting at the State House, now called Independence +Hall, in Philadelphia. On June 7, 1776 Richard Henry Lee, a +Virginian, introduced a resolution "that these United Colonies are, +and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they +are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all +political convention between them and the State of Great Britain is, +and ought to be, totally dissolved." The motion was seconded and +urged strongly by John Adams of Massachusetts. The usual discussion +and argumentation period followed, and it became obvious that six +states hesitated to vote favorably for the resolution at this time. +Consequently, the official voting was postponed for three weeks, +but Lee's resolution was adopted by the Congress on July 2, 1776. +However, a committee of five was selected on June 10 to draw up a +declaration of independence: Thomas Jefferson (Virginia), Benjamin +Franklin (Pennsylvania), John Adams (Massachusetts), Roger Sherman +(Connecticut) and Robert H. Livingston (New York). Although Thomas +Jefferson was one of the youngest Continental Congressmen, he +was selected as the chairman of this committee. Since only a few +deletions in the original plan drawn up by Jefferson were made +by the other members of the committee, the writing of the formal +Declaration of Independence is justly attributable to Thomas +Jefferson, the Virginian. This Declaration of Independence coupled +with his "A Summary View of the Rights of British America" later +earned for Thomas Jefferson the title "The Pen of the Revolution." + +The logical, thorough reasoning behind the content of the +Declaration is easily apparent. The first part of this document +describes the nature and the purpose of a government and the +belief that a people have the right to change their government +when it no longer fulfills the purpose for which it was created. +Then Jefferson enumerated the various acts of the King and of the +British Parliament which the American colonists considered most +unfair and contrary to the purpose of the original founding of the +colonies, as justification for their desire to change their type of +government. The next section reaches a conclusion from the previous +two sections: namely, that the colonists are renouncing their +allegiance to the King and are declaring that "these colonies are, +and of right ought to be, Free and Independent States." + +On July 4, 1776 twelve states had voted for the adoption of the +Declaration of Independence. The thirteenth one, New York, accepted +it on July 9. On July 19, a resolution was adopted by the Second +Continental Congress to have the July 4 Declaration engrossed on +parchment entitled "The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United +States of America" and, upon its completion, to have it signed by +each member. Fifty of the fifty-six members signed the official +document by August 2, and, of the remaining six signers, two were +Virginians: George Wythe who signed it later in August and Richard +Henry Lee who signed it in September. The seven Virginia delegates +who signed the Declaration of Independence were Carter Braxton +(farmer), Benjamin Harrison (farmer), Thomas Jefferson (lawyer), +Richard Henry Lee (farmer), Francis Lightfoot Lee (farmer), Thomas +Nelson, Jr. (soldier) and George Wythe (lawyer). + +After Richard Henry Lee had introduced his independence resolution, +he proposed another one suggesting that a permanent central +government be created for the new United States. A committee was +appointed to draw up such a plan and, in 1777, it submitted the +Articles of Confederation to Congress. From 1775 to 1781, the +Continental Congress acted as the central governing body of the +United States. + +After Lord Dunmore had bombarded Norfolk in January 1776, he went up +the Chesapeake Bay to Gwynn's Island, near the present-day Mathews +County mainland. With about 500 men he set up a camp there in May +1776. General Andrew Lewis, whom he had fought previously along +the Ohio River, encamped with a small Virginia army on the shore +opposite the island on July 8. Although it was very difficult to +plant the cannon on the sandy shores, the next day General Lewis +and his troops fired upon the camp and the fleet and badly damaged +many of the ships. However, when his men invaded the island on the +next day, they found it evacuated. Lord Dunmore had sailed away +from Virginia taking with him the last governorship endowed with +royal power. Thus, the Battle of Gwynn's Island or Cricket Hill was +famous because of its effect of driving the last royal Governor +from Virginia. It was, in a sense, ironic that Patrick Henry, who +had been detested by Lord Dunmore while Dunmore was Governor of +Virginia, became the first elected Governor of the Commonwealth of +Virginia. + +During the governorship of Patrick Henry, population growth was +again apparent by the formation of eight new counties in 1777-1778. +These counties were: Montgomery (formed from Fincastle County and, +later, parts of Botetourt and Pulaski and named for General Richard +Montgomery--an American Revolutionary officer), Fluvanna (formed +from Albemarle County and named for Queen Ann), Washington (formed +from Fincastle County and, later, parts of Montgomery, named for +George Washington and having the distinction of being the first +locality in the United States so named), Powhatan (formed from +Cumberland County and named for Powhatan, the father of Pocahontas), +Rockbridge (formed from Augusta and Botetourt Counties and named +in honor of the Natural Bridge--a natural wonder of Virginia), +Rockingham (formed from Augusta County and believed named for +the Marquis of Rockingham, England's Prime Minister), Shenandoah +(originally, Dunmore County and named for the Indian-named +Shenandoah River which translated means "Beautiful Daughter of the +Stars") and Henry (formed from Pittsylvania County and named in +honor of Patrick Henry). + +George Rogers Clark, an older brother of William Clark of the +well-known Lewis and Clark expedition, had explored and had +surveyed much of the territory south of the Ohio River in the +area now called Kentucky: at this time, it was the western part +of Fincastle County. He believed that this section was ready to +become an independent county and felt that, under such political +status, the settlers could better organize and protect themselves. +Only the Virginia Assembly could authorize the formation of this +new county in 1776. Clark, therefore, called the settlers together, +explained his objective for Kentucky and succeeded in getting +John Gabriel Jones and himself elected as delegates to make a +personal visit to the Virginia General Assembly at Williamsburg. +The trip was long, difficult and dangerous, and to their dismay, +the Assembly had already adjourned before they arrived. Being a +determined individual, however, Clark decided to talk to the newly +elected Governor, Patrick Henry, at his home. Hence, he traveled +to Hanover County, discussed his problem with the Governor and +sought permission to fight the Indians of the Kentucky area and to +secure powder for the settlers' muskets. His trip was successful +and, on December 7, 1776, the western part of Fincastle County was +authorized to become the County of Kentucky in Virginia. + +The British had been helping and encouraging Indian raids at this +time in Kentucky, along the border settlements of Virginia and in +the Illinois area. Clark believed that the Illinois area rightfully +belonged to Virginia and felt that it must be conquered in order +to attain peace for the Virginia settlers. The reports of official +observers convinced him that this land could be invaded and captured +with little effort. He returned to Williamsburg to get Governor +Henry's approval for this objective and was happy to be commissioned +to raise several companies of soldiers to be used in the invasion +of the Illinois territory. Clark obtained his troops, and, after +traveling north through Virginia and then westward to the Ohio +River, they floated down the Ohio River on rafts and in boats. They +landed near Louisville on the northern bank of the Ohio and marched +westward approximately two hundred miles to Fort Kaskaskia. On July +4, 1778, they captured Fort Kaskaskia and its leader, Colonel Henry +Hamilton. Marching another 150 miles northeastward, on February +25, 1779 they captured Fort Vincennes on the banks of the Wabash +River. The post of Cahokia was also captured. In honor of his great +bravery and extremely difficult marching, Clark was entitled the +"Hannibal of the West." This entire area was known as the Northwest +Territory, and these conquests of Clark and his troops gave Virginia +complete claim for the control of this area as part of the Virginia +state at the end of the American Revolution in 1783. Without such +conquests, England would undoubtedly have held this territory after +the Revolution, and it would probably have been an important part of +Canada today. Simultaneously, the capture of these forts reduced the +danger of Indian attacks considerably. + +When the city of Philadelphia was about to be occupied by British +troops on September 18, 1777, the famous Liberty Bell was taken from +the State House in Pennsylvania for safekeeping. It was camouflaged +with the heavy baggage of the American army in a supply train of +700 wagons and was carefully guarded by two hundred Virginian and +North Carolinian cavalry-mounted troops. It was hidden in the Zion +Church in Allen town, Pennsylvania, until June 27, 1778 when it was +returned to its tower in Independence Hall. + +During the same month and year, Henry Lee, a native of Westmoreland +County, Virginia, who had been a captain in Colonel Thomas +Bland's legion of Virginia cavalry, joined Washington's army in +Pennsylvania. His personal achievements were many in this assignment +and his excessive courage was noted by Washington. He was soon +promoted to major and was given special command of three troops of +horsemen plus an infantry company. He became a great annoyance to +the British while they were on the march as well as in camp. This +comparatively small group became so distinguished that they earned +the tide of "Lee's Legion" and Henry Lee was nicknamed "Light Horse +Harry" Lee. He later captured an important British post at Paulus +Hook, New Jersey, and fought diligently also in South Carolina, +North Carolina and Georgia. He was awarded a gold medal by the +Continental Congress for his brilliant cavalry exploits during the +Revolutionary War. + +On May 9, 1779, a Britisher, General George Collier, arrived at +Hampton Roads with approximately 2,000 troops. They used Portsmouth +as a base and after making several raids in that area, destroyed not +only the American navy yard at Portsmouth (called Gosport at this +time) but also large supply deposits stored there. After awaiting +reinforcements from General Henry Clinton in New York, they decided +to abandon Virginia because they believed a Virginia blockade had +prevented these reinforcements from arriving. Upon their departure, +the inhabitants of Virginia were once more able to carry on +necessary and important trade with the West Indies. + +During this same year, a most unusual naval feat occurred in the +Revolutionary War. John Paul Jones was in command of an American +ship called the "Bonhomme Richard" off the coast of England when +he spotted a British warship, the "Serapis." After fierce fighting +between the two ships, although his own ship sank, he captured the +"Serapis" and sailed away in it. Virginia had the honor of providing +the greatest naval hero of the Revolutionary War, John Paul Jones. + +Thomas Jefferson was the second elected Governor of the Commonwealth +of Virginia. He held this office during most of the Revolutionary +War Period. In addition to peace and military warfare, Jefferson +had personal interest in religion and in education. In 1779, he +wrote a proposed "Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom." He +believed that the State Constitution had not included practical +religious liberty although the theory of religious freedom had +been guaranteed. Jefferson's proposal was finally passed by the +General Assembly of Virginia in 1785. It is considered as one of the +greatest Virginia documents because it guaranteed religious freedom +to all. + +While serving as Governor, Jefferson proposed a plan for education +called "A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge." He +based this plan upon the premise that democracy would be more +successful if greater numbers of individuals were educated. The plan +was an attempt on his part to encourage the establishment of free +public schools for the children of the wealthy and the poor alike. +This proposal suggested three years of free elementary schooling for +all children regardless of their social or financial condition, free +secondary education for those individuals who were mentally equipped +to gain from this experience and free higher education for those who +had displayed above average scholastic qualifications. The bill was +not passed, but it resulted in a consideration of the possibility +of public education at this time. Another example of Jefferson's +enthusiastic interest in education was his personal establishment, +in 1779, of a chair of law at William and Mary College in honor of a +former teacher, a great lawyer and a personal friend, George Wythe. +As a result, George Wythe had the distinction of being the first +professor of law in the United States in the first law school in +America. + +While Jefferson was still Governor, the capital was moved in 1780 +from Williamsburg to Richmond in an effort to escape the invading +British soldiers and to provide a safer place of protection for +the future. Lord Cornwallis, at this time, was proceeding with his +plans to move north through the Carolinas to Virginia. Cornwallis +had had a great victory at Camden, South Carolina, and had decided +to persuade many of the western mountain people to fight on behalf +of the British. Americans who favored the British in this revolution +were called "Tories" and those who favored the Americans were called +"Patriots." + +Cornwallis sent Major Patrick Ferguson and approximately a +thousand Tories to threaten these mountain folk in North Carolina +and Southwest Virginia to the extent of marching over their +land, causing destruction and hanging their leaders unless they +discontinued their past resistance to the British army. Two American +military frontiersmen, Colonel John Sevier and Colonel Isaac Shelby, +decided to organize a group of riflemen and attack Ferguson before +he had the opportunity to cross the mountains and attack them. +They contacted Colonel William Campbell whose duty had been to +protect the lead mines in Wythe County whose resources were being +mined and smelted for equipment for the American soldiers. Colonel +Campbell was invited to join Colonel Sevier and Colonel Shelby in +their attack against Ferguson. He accepted and later was selected +by the officers as their commander. Ferguson heard of their plan +and selected a wooded mountain ridge on the border between North +Carolina and South Carolina, called King's Mountain, for his +battlefield. Ferguson's troops far outnumbered Colonel Campbell's +troops and were much better equipped with military supplies. Colonel +Campbell's troops, however, defeated the British badly on October 7, +1780. Major Ferguson and two hundred other Britishers were killed in +battle. This Battle of King's Mountain is often called the turning +point of the Revolutionary War in the South because not only did it +upset the military strategy of Cornwallis but it also encouraged the +southern patriots at a time when the morale had been low. Colonel +Campbell was promoted to a Brigadier-General as a direct result of +this battle. The British in the meantime had sent General Alexander +Leslie to Portsmouth with approximately 3,000 troops. After the +severe British defeat at King's Mountain, he left Portsmouth and +headed his troops south to join Cornwallis. + +Morale in Virginia at this time was very low because there was a +great shortage of clothing, military equipment and supplies, there +was a lack of money in the state treasury, Virginia soldiers were +fighting outside their state and British soldiers in large numbers +were stationed in eastern and central Virginia. General William +Phillips and Cornwallis had seized and destroyed property valued at +ten million dollars in eastern Virginia alone by the spring of 1781. + +Meanwhile, by March 1, 1781, the Articles of Confederation had been +ratified by all the states and thereby became the basis for the +central government of the United States. Since Maryland had refused +to ratify the Articles until the states which owned large western +land-holdings would cede them to the central government, Virginia, +following a pattern of New York State, surrendered most of its large +holding claims in 1784. By this action, Virginia ceded the Northwest +Territory to the new nation, the United States. The entire region +beyond the Ohio River (now comprising the states of Ohio, Indiana, +Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin) had rightfully been claimed by +Virginia and cession to the United States for the beginning of its +public domain was a most generous gesture on the part of Virginia. +This action played an important part in creating a stronger feeling +of unity on the part of the thirteen original colonies and in giving +Virginia another nickname, "Mother of States." + +The Confederation Congress was later faced with the problem of +raising revenue for the new government under the Articles of +Confederation and for payment of debts caused by the Revolutionary +War. The Northwest Territory which Virginia had ceded to the central +government had become part of the national domain, public lands of +the United States. Congress decided to sell some of this land to +obtain necessary revenue. It passed the Land Ordinances of 1785 +and 1787, which became practically the written bases for the rest +of the frontier settlements. The plan which was the forerunner of +these ordinances concerning the public domain was proposed by Thomas +Jefferson and enacted on April 23, 1784. In his plan, he outlined +the territorial status preceding statehood and originated the idea +of dividing the public domain into districts before statehood could +be achieved. Two years later, the Confederation Congress gave a +grant of 150,000 acres of land to George Rogers Clark and his +followers as a reward for their great services in conquering the +Northwest Territory and in establishing the only legal claim to this +land on behalf of the United States. Virginia also reserved the +ownership of 6,000 square miles of land called the Virginia Military +District (presently located in the southern part of Ohio). + +While General William Nelson, commander of the Virginia forces, +was recruiting additional militia in the counties near the coast, +twenty-seven British ships entered the Chesapeake Bay and headed +for the mouth of the James River. Since Governor Jefferson believed +Richmond was not militarily prepared for such an attack, he had the +only five brass cannon of the capital city thrown into the river +and had the remaining arms and ammunition taken seven miles from +Richmond to Westham. On July 4, the Governor evacuated from Richmond +and most of the inhabitants did likewise. On the next afternoon, +General Benedict Arnold, the American traitor who had joined the +British forces, accompanied by nine hundred British soldiers +captured and burned Richmond unopposed. For two days the British +burned and destroyed public and private property and later returned +leisurely to Portsmouth. + +Subsequently, as some of the British vessels attempted to sail up +the Appomattox River, General Smallwood accompanied by three hundred +American soldiers armed only with muskets attacked the British +fiercely and drove them down the river. A short time later, General +William Phillips brought additional British troops to combine with +those of Arnold and took command over General Arnold. The combined +forces marched first to Petersburg and then to Manchester (now, +South Richmond). Lafayette had been placed in charge of the defense +of Virginia at this time and he arrived in Richmond two days after +Phillips had arrived. When General Phillips heard that Lafayette +was in Richmond, he changed his mind and decided not to attack this +city. In the meantime, Colonel Simcoe had been sent by General +Arnold to Westham where he destroyed the military stores and the +foundry. During this same period, General Phillips had sent General +Arnold to Chesterfield Court House where he destroyed the barracks +and burned the flour as they had previously burned the tobacco +at Petersburg. As General Phillips was proceeding down the James +River towards Chesapeake Bay, he received a message from General +Cornwallis ordering him to meet with his forces at Petersburg so +Phillips returned to Petersburg. Four days after he had arrived, +General Phillips died of a fever in Petersburg and General Arnold +succeeded to the command once more. + +General Arnold, however, realized the hatred of the Virginians +toward him for the burning and destruction for which he was +responsible in Richmond. Consequently, after his army had united +with Cornwallis' troops at Petersburg, he asked for a transfer to +New York. Cornwallis, who disliked Arnold himself, granted the +request. When Lafayette was informed of the tremendous number of +British soldiers massed in Petersburg, he realized that it would +be futile for his comparatively small force of 3,000 men to try +to combat them. Consequently, he retreated slowly from Richmond +towards Fredericksburg where he was joined by General Anthony Wayne. +Cornwallis who had expected to trap Lafayette and his army was +surprised by the orderly retreat and decided not to attack Richmond +again as the legislature had already withdrawn to Charlottesville. +On May 10, 1781, as the British neared Richmond, Governor Jefferson +had ordered the General Assembly, which was then in session, to +leave Richmond and continue the session at Charlottesville on May +24. Thus, Charlottesville for a brief time was the official capital +of Virginia. Governor Jefferson's home, Monticello, was used as a +guest house for many of Jefferson's legislative friends. Cornwallis +decided to capture Jefferson who was at his home at Monticello, +approximately three miles from Charlottesville, to seize the +legislators at Charlottesville and to destroy a large quantity of +military stores at a place called Point-of-Fork (at the junction of +the Rivanna and James Rivers). Cornwallis believed that such a plan, +if successfully carried out, would result in the complete surrender +of the State of Virginia. Therefore, Cornwallis divided his cavalry +into two groups: one commanded by Colonel John G. Simcoe who was to +proceed to Point-of-Fork and the other commanded by Colonel Banastre +Tarleton who was to proceed to Charlottesville, approximately +seventy miles from his headquarters. After accomplishing these +objectives, Tarleton was to continue to Point-of-Fork and help +Colonel Simcoe. + +General Baron Von Steuben heard about Simcoe's plan and was able +to have all the military stores hauled across the river before his +arrival. Simcoe, however, used military strategy in this instance +which worked most successfully: he had his men spread out, cut +down trees and build large camp-fires at great distances apart +thus giving the impression that all of Cornwallis' army was on +this campaign. General Steuben observing the large radius of camp +concluded that Cornwallis' entire force was across the river. +Consequently, he had his lighter baggage moved and had his troops +evacuate the area. Simcoe destroyed all the heavy baggage and +military stores and returned successfully to Cornwallis the next +morning. + +The British soldiers under Colonel Tarleton stopped for refreshments +in Louisa County at a place called Cuckoo Tavern. The tavern keeper +had an American soldier son, Captain Jack Jouett of the Virginia +Militia, who happened to be at the tavern but out of sight of tavern +visitors on that particular Sunday afternoon. He observed the two +hundred and fifty British soldiers, overheard some of their personal +conversations and their casual references to their military mission. +He waited until the British had departed from the tavern and then he +traveled on horseback over a different road--forty miles of brush +and thicket, field and forest, vines and brambles. He rode without +delay although the scars of some of the branches which struck him +in the face as he was riding so rapidly became permanent ones. He +believed that the British would probably make another stop for +refreshments at the home of Dr. William Walker, the only one in the +vicinity. Thus, he took time out to warn them of Tarleton's plans +and to urge them to delay the British as long as possible. Jouett +reached Monticello at dawn, roused the inhabitants within and +informed them of Tarleton's plan. Jefferson and his guests fled on +horseback and Mrs. Jefferson and their three children escaped to a +neighbor's house by carriage. As the British rode up one side of +the steep hill of Monticello, the Governor and his friends reached +the bottom of the hill on the other side. Jouett then safely led +the Governor's party via a secluded road to Staunton, which became +another temporary capital. In the meantime, Tarleton had tarried +before coming to Monticello to burn a wagon train filled with +Continental Army supplies and had stopped as predicted at Castle +Hill, the home of the Walkers. Mrs. Walker fed the soldiers before +the officers, thus causing an added delay in their departure. Jack +Jouett can be truly classified as the "Paul Revere of the South." +The Assembly members were so appreciative of the courage and +perseverance of Jouett that they subsequently presented him with a +sword and a pair of pistols. + +[Illustration: RICHMOND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE + +_Gunston Hall_ + +_Home of George Mason, Author of "Declaration of Rights"_] + +On July 4, 1781, General Cornwallis and his troops left +Williamsburg, fought an inconsequential battle at Greenspring (near +Jamestown) and then crossed the James River to Portsmouth where +he proceeded to Yorktown. By September 1781, he had approximately +eight thousand soldiers garrisoned on the peninsula at Yorktown. He +had selected this site because he thought it was a secure one: the +Chesapeake Bay was on the east, the York River on the north and the +James River on the south. Actually, he had placed his soldiers in a +most penetrable trap. + +Marquis de Lafayette played an important part in the Revolutionary +War. An outstanding example of foreign help received by the +Americans, Lafayette had volunteered at the age of nineteen to +serve in the American Army in 1777. After arriving from France +in North Carolina, he rode horseback to Philadelphia to appear +personally before the Continental Congress to offer his services +to the American colonies. He had been appointed a Major-General by +Congress and had been placed on Washington's staff. He had fought +in the Battle of Brandywine Creek (Pennsylvania) and had been +seriously wounded. His outstanding bravery had been recognized by +Washington and they had begun a strong friendship which was to +continue throughout their lives. He had endured with Washington the +terrible winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (1777-1778) and acted +as a morale builder to Washington's disheartened forces. He had +been the hero at the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey. After France +had officially recognized the independence of the United States, +Lafayette had returned to France, and, after encouraging many French +soldiers to help the Americans fight, he had rejoined Washington. +In 1781, Washington had sent him to defend and protect Virginia +where he had cleverly pursued Cornwallis from near Charlottesville +to Yorktown. After his role in the final strategy of Yorktown +defense and his return to France, one can understand why Virginians +consider Lafayette one of their heroes and have a famous bust of him +created by the great sculptor, Jean Antoine Houdon, located in the +rotunda of the State Capitol Building in Richmond. + +As soon as Lafayette had noticed Cornwallis gathering his troops at +Yorktown, he realized the possibility of surrounding Cornwallis and +his forces since Lafayette was so well acquainted with this terrain. +He immediately informed Washington of this situation and Washington +quickly headed for his home state. In the meantime, General +Lafayette surrounded Cornwallis and his troops on the south and on +the west. Simultaneously, a fleet of twenty-five French warships +from the West Indies under command of Admiral de Grasse sailed up +the Chesapeake Bay with 3,000 French troops. This movement prevented +Cornwallis from either receiving British enforcements or from +escaping out to sea. General Washington, after feigning an attack +against General Henry Clinton in New York, rapidly moved his army +southward, joined with the forces of General Count de Rochambeau. +Washington soon attacked the British on the north and on the west. +Although Cornwallis realized that he was completely surrounded by +American and French forces, he and his troops fought valiantly for +weeks. + +The home of General Thomas Nelson, the Governor of Virginia at +this time, was located in Yorktown. General Cornwallis had taken +possession of this house for his headquarters at Yorktown. Out of +deference to the Governor, the American soldiers had refrained from +firing upon it. However, General Nelson ordered them to fire upon +the house, regardless of its sentimental value, because it housed +British officers. The first shot killed two British officers and a +cannon ball still embedded in one wall may be observed today in the +Nelson House at Yorktown. + +Finally recognizing the futility of fighting any longer, on October +17, 1781, General Cornwallis requested a parley, ordered a cease +firing, and exchanged messages with Washington. At two o'clock of +the next afternoon, Cornwallis selected the Moore House in Yorktown +for a discussion of surrender terms: this house was out of range of +the firing and conveniently located. The British, the French and the +Americans sent representatives for the consultation, John Laurens +representing the Americans. After long discussion and debate, the +articles of capitulation were agreed upon and the generals signed +them the next day. At twelve o'clock on October 19, 1781, the +British signing was done by General Cornwallis and Thomas Symonds, +the American signing by General Washington, and the French signing +by General Rochambeau and Count de Barras for Count de Grasse. On +October 19, at 2 p.m., as agreed upon by the surrender terms, the +British army of 7,000 troops left Yorktown and laid down their arms +at Surrender Field, just south of the town. They marched between two +long lines of the French on one side and the Americans on the other +side. General Charles O'Hara, the leader of the British, apologized +to Washington for the non-appearance of Lord Cornwallis who was +reported ill. The Battle of Yorktown ended the Revolutionary War +although the peace treaty was not signed until 1783. + +In this same year, the American army was demobilized. George +Washington bade farewell to his officers at Fraunces' Tavern, New +York City, on December 4, resigned on December 23 and returned to +Mt. Vernon to retire. Already he had won the admiration of the +new nation for his continued courage, bravery and great military +strategy so ably exemplified during the American Revolutionary +War. He also had earned the well-deserved title: "The Sword of the +Revolution." + + +_The Adoption of the United States and State Constitutions_ + +By 1785, the Americans began to realize that the Articles of +Confederation were too weak to become effective. The central +government did not have sufficient political power to govern, +the lack of a single executive resulted in a lack of leadership, +the Confederation Congress could make laws but had no power to +enforce them, the Congress could issue paper money and coins but +had no power to buy gold and silver for backing this money and the +Congress could levy taxes but had no power to collect them. There +was no provision for a national court system. In order to pass a +law, nine states had to agree in its favor; in order to amend the +Articles, all thirteen states had to agree. Under the Articles of +Confederation, the government was a confederacy in which each state +retained its own political authority and the central government was +responsible to the states. The control of foreign and interstate +commerce was left entirely to the individual states. Chaos and +confusion resulted. Consequently, in 1785, George Washington invited +some representatives from Maryland and from Virginia to meet with +him to discuss the problem of a stronger central government and to +settle a dispute which had arisen concerning the navigation of the +Potomac River. + +The conference started at the City Tavern (later known as Gadsby's +Tavern) in Alexandria and was later continued at Mount Vernon, +home of Washington. During the discussion, Washington stated +that there should be a common money system for all the states +as well as a common plan for regulating domestic and foreign +commerce. James Madison was one of the Virginians present, and +he felt that there must be other problems of common interest to +all the states. Therefore, when the next General Assembly met in +January 1786, Madison proposed that representatives from all the +states should meet at Annapolis, Maryland on September 11, 1786 +to discuss trade problems and other areas of mutual interest. The +Virginia legislature, therefore, invited all the states to send +representatives to Annapolis to attempt to formulate a uniform +currency and commerce system for all the states. + +In September 1786, only five states sent delegates to the Annapolis +meeting: Virginia, Delaware, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. +These delegates, nevertheless, suggested that a convention be held +on May 25, 1787 at the State House in Philadelphia for the purpose +of revising the Articles of Confederation. After this recommendation +had been submitted to the Confederation Congress, it hesitatingly +invited all the states to meet the next year at Philadelphia. +Virginia sent seven delegates to this Philadelphia convention: +George Washington, John Blair, James Madison, George Mason, James +McClurg, Edmund Randolph (Governor at this time) and George Wythe. + +Seventy-three individuals had been chosen as delegates from the +twelve states, but only fifty-six members were present at the +convention. All the states were represented at the convention except +Rhode Island. When the convention began on May 25, 1787, George +Washington was unanimously chosen President of the convention to +preside over the meetings and rules of procedure were adopted. +It is significant to note the absence of three of the Virginia +Revolutionary Period leaders: Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson +and Patrick Henry. Lee declined membership because he believed that, +since he was a member of the Confederation Congress and since he +thought the revised Articles would be submitted to this Congress +for approval, he should not become a member of the Convention to +revise the same and, subsequently, be a member of the Confederation +Congress which would be asked to pass upon the revised plan. +Jefferson was the United States Minister to France at this time and +was out of the country. Although Patrick Henry had been elected as a +delegate to the convention, he had refused to accept the assignment +because he was skeptical about governmental changes which the +convention might make. Two Virginians who were present made written +comments concerning the type of individuals who represented their +states as follows: + + (1) George Mason (in a letter to his son)--"America has + certainly, upon this occasion, drawn forth her first + characters.... The eyes of the U. S. are turned upon this + assembly, and their expectations raised to a very anxious + degree." Mason's personal attitude toward the responsibility of + being a state delegate at this convention is summarized in this + remark: "I would not serve upon pecuniary reasons alone in this + convention for a thousand pounds a day." + + (2) James Madison--"It contains in several instances the most + respectable characters in the U. S., and in general may be said + to be the best contribution of talents the States could make for + the occasion." + +The meetings were held secretly behind closed doors because of +the grave problems which the convention had to solve. After the +delegates began to discuss the necessary changes which had to +be made, they realized the impossibility of simply revising the +Articles of Confederation and the absolute necessity of writing a +new constitution which would make the central government a much +stronger political power. James Madison, a most profound student +of government, is considered as the most influential member of the +convention. He was the most active speaker at the convention and he +kept careful notes of the entire session. Madison is regarded as the +"Father of the United States Constitution." + +One of the first questions to be decided at the convention was the +type of organization of the government. Governor Edmund Randolph +presented Madison's "Virginia" Plan recommending a strong, central +government and one in which each state would be represented in +proportion to its population. This plan is sometimes referred to as +the "Large State" Plan because most of the larger states favored +it: according to this plan, the more population a state had, the +greater the representation. The small states had their plan also: it +was presented by William Paterson of New Jersey and is known as the +"Paterson" or "New Jersey" or "Small State" Plan. The small states +favored states' rights rather than a strong, central government and +believed that each state should be represented equally regardless of +its population. The "Great Compromise" which was finally adopted was +a combination of both plans: a bicameral legislature called Congress +was to be created consisting of (1) the House of Representatives +with membership from each state based upon the population of +the state and (2) the Senate with membership based upon equal +representation from each state--two Senators from each state. The +plan of government finally adopted provided for a strong central +government but with the state governments retaining essential +reserve powers. + +After the Constitution had been completed on September 17, 1787, it +was submitted to the Confederation Congress with the recommendation +that Congress inform each state legislature about the Constitution +and ask for state ratification. The Constitutional requirement for +making the document effective was ratification by nine states. +Washington was very eager for the Constitution of the United States +to be adopted. He wrote many personal letters favoring its adoption +including a public letter in which he reminded the states that each +state must be willing to make certain concessions for the benefits +of the country as a whole. + +Thirty-nine of the fifty-six delegates signed the Constitution. +Only three of the six delegates from Virginia signed it: George +Washington, John Blair and James Madison. Madison, in fact, was +consulted for an opinion on almost every phase of the Constitution. +During the campaign period for and against ratification, Madison +joined Alexander Hamilton and John Jay of New York and contributed +to a series of essays called "The Federalist." The essays included +a discussion of the meaning of the various provisions of the +Constitution and attempted to prove that the federal or central +government would not misuse the power granted to it. Madison wrote +twenty of the eighty-five essays contained in "The Federalist." This +series of essays is believed to have influenced more people to favor +the adoption of the Constitution than any other written or oral +effort. + +The most influential writings against the adoption of the +Constitution were authored by Richard Henry Lee in his "Letters of +a Federal Farmer." George Mason and Edmund Randolph refused to sign +the Constitution of the United States because it contained no bill +of rights, it did not provide either for the immediate prohibition +of slave traffic or for the eventual abolition of slavery and, +in their opinion, gave Congress too much control over navigation +and tariff policies. Edmund Randolph, Governor of Virginia and a +delegate at the Philadelphia Convention, played an unusual role: he +did not sign the Constitution himself because he did not approve of +the final document but he did urge the State of Virginia to accept +it because he believed that a union of states was necessary. James +McClurg and George Wythe did not sign it because they were absent, +but they did encourage the ratification of the Constitution by +Virginia. + +On June 2, 1788, a Virginia State Convention was held in Richmond to +determine whether or not Virginia would accept the new Constitution +of the United States. There were one hundred and sixty-eight +official delegates present, and they elected Edmund Pendleton +president of the convention. Sectionalism appeared obvious in +the state at this time: the Piedmont area and the southwest area +which did not have many slaves opposed ratification while the +Tidewater area and the northwest area favored the adoption of the +Constitution. James Madison, John Marshall (who actually explained +much of the Constitution to the members of the convention), Edmund +Randolph, George Wythe and General "Light Horse Harry" Lee spoke on +behalf of the Constitution; George Mason, Patrick Henry, Richard +Henry Lee, James Monroe and William Grayson spoke very strongly +against it. The chief arguments against ratification were that +the central government had been given far too much power and the +individual states far too little power, that the commerce clause +was too powerful and that the continuance of the slave trade was +permitted. Finally, after Madison had agreed to suggest and to urge +adoption of many amendments, the Virginia convention ratified the +Constitution of the United States by the close vote of 89 to 79 on +June 26, 1788. It is interesting to note that, at this time, the +State of Virginia included the present area of Virginia and the +area now included in the States of Kentucky and of West Virginia. + +The State of Virginia missed by five days the honor of being the +necessary ninth state to ratify the Constitution, New Hampshire +having this honor. As Virginia became the tenth state to ratify +it, the following declaration was officially recorded: "We, the +Delegates of the People of Virginia, ... Do, in the name and in +behalf of the People of Virginia, declare and make known, that the +powers granted under the Constitution, being derived from the People +of the United States, may be resumed by them whensoever the same +shall be perverted to their injury or oppression, and that every +power not granted thereby remains with them and at their Will; that +therefore no right of any denomination can be canceled, abridged, +restrained, or modified by the Congress ... or any department or +Officer of the United States, except in those instances in which +power is given by the Constitution for those purposes: and that, +among other essential rights, the liberty of Conscience and of the +press cannot be canceled, abridged, restrained or modified by any +Authority of the United States." This declaration expressed fear +on the part of Virginians concerning the new Constitution. At the +same time, the members of the Virginia convention proposed forty +amendments which became the bases of the ten amendments of the Bill +of Rights in the Constitution of the United States: James Madison +introduced the first nine amendments and Richard Henry Lee, the +tenth amendment, to the Constitution of the United States--all +eventually adopted in 1791. + +Between 1783 and 1789, on the domestic scene, Virginia had gained +five new counties: Campbell (formed from Bedford County and named +for General William H. Campbell, the hero of the Battle of King's +Mountain), Greensville (formed from Brunswick County and, later, +parts of Sussex County and named for General Nathaniel Greene or Sir +Richard Grenville), Franklin (formed from Bedford and Henry Counties +and, later, parts of Patrick and named for Benjamin Franklin), +Russell (formed from Washington County and named for General William +Russell, a military hero also at the Battle of King's Mountain in +the Revolutionary War) and Nottoway (formed from Amelia County and +named for an Indian tribe, "Nottoway"--the word meaning "snake or +enemy"). Two years later, Patrick County was formed from Henry +County and was named in honor of the patriot, Patrick Henry. + +Another domestic problem during this period concerned the boundary +dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia. When the Penns colonized +Pennsylvania, they claimed the 39th degree parallel as their +southern boundary. Virginia, however, claimed all the territory as +far north as the 40th degree parallel including the choice section +of Fort Pitt (now the site of Pittsburgh). After Pennsylvania +authorities had established courts at Hanna's Town (now Greensburg), +Governor Dunmore of Virginia sent Dr. John Connelly to establish a +rival court with competing magistrates in 1773. The struggle for +ownership of this area was temporarily postponed during the American +Revolution, although the Virginia courts continued to remain +in session in western Pennsylvania from 1774 to 1780. Finally, +negotiations took place, and an agreement was adopted to allow a +survey to be made in the region and to accept a boundary recommended +by the joint boundary commission. The Mason and Dixon Line was +extended to the southwest corner of Pennsylvania in 1784; the +western boundary line of Pennsylvania was permanently agreed upon in +1785-1786. + +In the following year, in December, an historical event took +place which contributed greatly to science. James Rumsey, a +native Marylander who had moved to Bath, Virginia (now Berkeley +Springs, West Virginia), was interested in boat-building and in the +possibility of steam propulsion. After the Virginia General Assembly +had given him exclusive permission to navigate specific types of +boats constructed by himself on the state waterways for ten years, +he successfully transported six individuals for the first time in a +steamboat four miles up the Potomac River near Shepherdstown. Rumsey +continued to experiment with additional steamboats on the Potomac. +In order to obtain financial assistance, he traveled subsequently +to London and ironically died there before his second boat, the +"Columbia Maid," had been completely constructed. This event +occurred twenty years before Robert Fulton made his historic trip up +the Hudson River in the "Clermont." + +By 1789 George Washington had retired to Mount Vernon and had +become a gentleman farmer at the time of the adoption of the +Constitution. He was overseeing his fields on horseback one day when +a messenger arrived from New York City informing him that his name +had appeared unanimously on the ballot of every elector, electing +him as the first President of the United States--"The Father of His +Country." The American people still remembered his great leadership +qualities during the Revolutionary War and during the Constitutional +Convention. Thus, Washington was faced with a most difficult task: +to make a new government work successfully though it was practically +only in outline form and even though there was opposition and +criticism awaiting the first President. Washington was also informed +that the new government was to begin operating on March 4, 1789 +and that Congress desired that he arrive in New York City for his +inauguration on that date. + +It took the Congressmen themselves longer to arrive from their +various states, however, than they had expected. John Adams, the +Vice-President, did not arrive until April 22 from Massachusetts +to take his oath of office. Washington had much farther to travel +than did John Adams and had many preparations to make before +leaving Mount Vernon. He visited Fredericksburg to bid his mother +farewell and traveled via stagecoach through Maryland, Delaware +and Pennsylvania to New York. Roads were in poor condition making +traveling very slow and Washington was such a prominent figure that +he was stopped along the way by his old friends, especially in New +Jersey. One significant incident was his welcome at Trenton, New +Jersey, part of which consisted of a presentation of flowers by +thirteen young ladies dressed in white, symbolic of the thirteen +stars of the flag of the United States and of the thirteen states +that had honored him by electing him to the Presidency. When he +arrived at the New York ferry, thirteen sailors in red, white and +blue uniforms were waiting to row him across the Hudson River to New +York City. On April 30, 1789, Washington took his official oath of +office in Federal Hall as the first President of the United States. +A marble statue stands today on the spot on Wall Street where this +event took place. New York became the first capital city of the +United States. Since the capital was changed to Philadelphia in the +following year, Washington was the only President of the United +States to be inaugurated in New York City. + + +_State and National Events (1789-1860)_ + +Since Washington was a strong believer in the Constitution of the +United States and had put forth much effort in getting it ratified, +he tried conscientiously to set up a government satisfactory to all +Americans. He wisely used his talent of recognizing individuals with +a particular skill when he selected his first cabinet to advise him: +Thomas Jefferson (Virginia), Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Alexander +Hamilton (New York), Secretary of the Treasury, and Henry Knox +(Massachusetts), Secretary of War. Edmund Randolph, a Virginian, was +appointed Attorney-General, but this office did not become a cabinet +post until 1814. The men holding these positions for the first time +had a heavy responsibility in deciding specifically the range of +duties each position should include and in properly carrying out +these duties. + +The practice of "log-rolling," defined as the "joining together of +politicians to mutually further each other's plans of activities," +was followed at this early time of our new government. The question +had arisen in Congress whether or not Congress should assume +the state debts, most of which had been accumulated during the +Revolutionary War. The Congressmen who favored such assumption +believed that such action would not only tend to strengthen security +and confidence of the American people in their new government but +would also make it easier for the United States to borrow money, +either at home or from a foreign country. Since Virginia and many +of the Southern States had already assumed and had paid most of +their debts, the Virginia legislature opposed this bill strongly +in 1790 and believed that it placed an unjust hardship upon the +State. This state legislative objection was the first official +action of a state against a federal bill. Since the Northern States +preferred a location in the north for the national capital, Hamilton +and Jefferson encouraged their friends to vote for each other's +proposals. Hamilton's friends in the north voted for locating the +capital along the Potomac in return for Jefferson's friends in the +south voting for the assumption of state debts by the national +government. + +There had been discussion for a long time about changing the +location of the national capital from New York City to a more +central location along the Atlantic seaboard. When a site along the +Potomac River was finally agreed upon, Maryland and Virginia agreed +to cede part of its land for the establishment of a Federal District +to become the seat of government of the United States. On December +3, 1789, Virginia ceded thirty and three-quarters square miles of +land including the town of Alexandria and part of Fairfax County. +The stone locating the original southern corner boundary, officially +laid by Dr. Elisha Cullen Dick, may still be seen near Jones Point, +Alexandria. + +Early efforts to commercialize waterways materialized in 1790. +One of the earliest commercial canals built in either Virginia +or in the United States as a whole was the James River Canal. It +was constructed by the James River Company, and, although it was +only seven miles in length, it connected Richmond with Westham and +was parallel to the James River. This marked the beginning of the +canal-building era in the United States. + +An event which affected the United States and the State of Virginia +occurred in 1792 when Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the +fifteenth state (Vermont had entered as the fourteenth one in +1791). This action deprived the State of Virginia of approximately +75,000 inhabitants, of 40,395 square miles of territory and of nine +counties. Kentucky was originally part of Fincastle County, Virginia +and later had gained status as an independent county in Virginia, +called Kentucky County. Virginia gave the necessary consent for +the independence of Kentucky, required before statehood could be +granted. The boundaries of the State of Virginia thereafter remained +fixed from 1792 until 1861 when West Virginia became a separate +state. + +Washington, during his Presidency, showed his ability to lead in +civilian affairs as well as in military affairs. His diplomatic +ability predominated in the torn loyalty toward England and toward +France when these nations fought each other in 1793: he issued +the Neutrality Proclamation whereby the United States would take +neither side in this conflict. Throughout his two terms, he created +precedents and made decisions of lasting value for the United +States. Such a precedent was his refusal to run for a third time as +President of the United States, a precedent which was not broken +until 1940 when Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the nomination for +the Presidency. + +While Washington was President, the population of Virginia continued +to grow. Six new counties were created during this period: Wythe +(formed from Montgomery County with later additions from Montgomery +and Grayson Counties and named in honor of George Wythe, a Virginia +signer of the Declaration of Independence, a famous lawyer and +the first Professor of Law in the United States), Mathews (formed +from Gloucester County and named for Major Thomas Mathews of the +Revolutionary War), Bath (formed from Augusta, Botetourt and +Greenbrier Counties and named because of the medicinal springs +located in the area), Grayson (formed from Wythe County and, later, +additions from Patrick County and named for Colonel William Grayson, +a United States Senator from Virginia), Lee (formed from Russell +County and, later, additions from Scott County and named for General +Henry Lee, Governor of Virginia, as well as an outstanding military +leader), and Madison (formed from Culpeper County and named for +James Madison, a state legislator and member of the United States +House of Representatives during this period). + +After John Adams had been elected to the Presidency in 1796, the +Democratic-Republican Party began to use the typical political +method of attacking the party in power, namely the Federalists, +through newspaper articles and through written pamphlets. Since +many of the foreigners who had come to America at this time were +Democratic-Republican in their political beliefs, numerous articles +criticizing President John Adams and his administration were written +by them. In order to combat these political attacks, the Federalist +leaders were responsible for getting two most unusual laws passed: +the Alien and Sedition Laws. The Alien Act provided that the +residence time required of foreigners for naturalization (the +process whereby a foreigner becomes a citizen) was to be fourteen +years instead of five years and that the President was henceforth +authorized to imprison or deport without trial foreigners whom he +considered dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States +or to allow others to remain. The Sedition Act stated that any +person convicted of defaming, either by spoken or by written word, +the government of the United States or the President of the United +States or the Congress of the United States was subject to a fine of +not more than $2,000 and to imprisonment for not more than two years. + +Several Federalists considered the passage of these laws unjust. +Thomas Jefferson, the Vice-President of the United States at the +time of their passage, decided to attract the attention of voters +to the passage of such laws. He drew up resolutions in 1789 which +stated that: (1) the Alien and Sedition Laws were unconstitutional +because the President of the United States had no power to imprison +or deport any person without a judicial trial and because Congress +did not have the right to limit the freedom of speech and of +press and (2) since the Union was a compact of states and since +the federal government had only the particular powers granted +to it by the states, each state had the right to decide the +constitutionality of Congressional laws. Because these resolutions +were first introduced into the Kentucky legislature, they were +later called the Kentucky Resolutions. At the same time, James +Madison drew up similar resolutions which were introduced into the +Virginia Assembly. The Virginia Resolutions are significant since +they explain the theory of "strict construction" (that the federal +government has only those powers specifically delegated to it) and +they illustrate the strong "states' rights" feeling which existed +in the State of Virginia. Virginia and Kentucky were the only two +states to openly protest the Alien and Sedition Acts. Many of the +northern states denied on this occasion the right of a state to +judge a federal law. They affirmed, on the contrary, the belief +that only the federal courts can decide the constitutionality of a +federal law. + +On December 14, 1799, George Washington died at Mount Vernon where +he had retired after his Presidency. His military genius and +brilliant statesmanship are probably best summarized in the "Funeral +Oration upon President Washington" by Henry Lee in his now-famous +phrase: "First in War, First in Peace and First in the Hearts of His +Countrymen." + +In 1800, Virginia was considered first among the sixteen states of +the Union (Vermont, Kentucky and Tennessee having been admitted into +the Union before 1800) in wealth and in population: 447,800 whites +and 359,777 Negroes. The influence of Virginia in the political, +economic and social life of the country was a profound one. The +majority of residents now consisted of "average" individuals who +regarded the democratic ideas of Thomas Jefferson as a basic +philosophy for everyday living. The polite courtesy and hospitality +of the olden days still remained, but many of the traditional, +dignified ceremonies had become outmoded. The descendants of the +aristocratic planters of the early nineteenth century were usually +people of limited means and limited acreage because the war and +its aftermath had decreased much of their wealth. However, the +typical Virginian who could afford it still preferred to live in the +country, own horses, dogs and fine cattle, enjoy fox hunting and the +social gatherings of friends, celebrate traditional activities and +understand and cherish the rich heritage which was theirs. + +In 1800, Thomas Jefferson, a native of Shadwell, Virginia, was +elected third President of the United States. He was the first +President to be inaugurated at Washington, D. C. His ideas +concerning government were so numerous and thought-provoking that +his political philosophy has been termed "Jeffersonian Democracy." +He had strong faith in the ability of the common man, believed +in government economy and practiced this belief throughout his +administration. He exhibited his broadmindedness by allowing many +government officials of opposite political party beliefs to retain +their same positions after he became President and he was a strong +advocate of States' Rights. After Jefferson became President, +he appointed John Marshall of Germantown and Richmond as Chief +Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Marshall had +been a member of the state legislature, an outstanding lawyer, a +Congressman and had served as Secretary of State under President +John Adams. John Marshall remained Chief Justice for thirty-four +years and holds the record for length of service on the Supreme +Court of the United States. He was personally responsible for +creating a strong foundation for the Supreme Court. Although he +was the second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, it was during +his judgeship that for the first time, a Congressional law was +declared unconstitutional in the case of Marbury versus Madison. +This decision greatly strengthened the theory of judicial review of +national legislation. It is interesting to note that John Marshall +was as strong a Federalist as his cousin, Thomas Jefferson, was a +strong "States' Rights" man. + +While Jefferson as President was solving national problems, his home +state was solving problems, too. In August 1800, Virginia had its +first organized slave insurrection. Led by Gabriel, approximately +one thousand slaves in the area around Richmond decided to march on +Richmond and massacre the white inhabitants there. However, at the +scheduled time for the march to begin, a severe rainstorm delayed +the march. During the delay, Pharaoh, one of the Negroes, decided +to warn the Richmonders of their impending disaster. In spite of +the heavy rains and the fact that it became necessary for him to +swim certain swollen streams without being caught by one of his own +group, he continued to Richmond and warned the authorities in time. +He informed them of the proposed plan to kill the male inhabitants, +capture the women inhabitants, seize the public arms and create +a general slave insurrection. Consequently, the conspirators, +including Gabriel, were caught, convicted and executed. The +Virginia Assembly rewarded Pharaoh for his courageous act by giving +him complete freedom. + +While the State of Virginia was increasing its counties, the +United States was beginning to expand beyond its original boundary +established after the Revolutionary War. President Jefferson had +heard rumors that Spain had ceded Louisiana back to France in secret +diplomatic relations. If true, such a condition could ruin American +trade along the Mississippi River and could suggest a possibility of +a French empire in America. Jefferson decided to have the government +of the United States purchase the Island of Orleans, near the mouth +of the Mississippi River. After the United States Ambassador to +France had been unable to purchase only the Island of Orleans, +Jefferson sent James Monroe, a native of Westmoreland County, to +assist the Ambassador. In 1803, the treaty making the purchase of +Louisiana, that vast area of land west of the Mississippi, official +was ratified by the United States. This purchase added 827,000 +square miles to the area of the land under the jurisdiction of the +United States government at the cost of $15,000,000. + +President Jefferson was also very much interested in the Oregon +Country. He had made frequent attempts to have this region explored +but all his attempts were unsuccessful. However, after the purchase +of Louisiana, he persuaded the federal government to finance, by +means of a $2500 appropriation, an official government expedition +to make the first overland route to the Pacific Ocean and to +explore the region which the United States had recently acquired. +He selected Captain Meriwether Lewis of Ivy, Virginia, to head this +expedition and Lieutenant William Clark, a very close Virginian +friend of Lewis' to accompany him. Their group left St. Louis in +the spring of 1804, traveled up the Missouri River, spent a rigid +winter in an area now located in North Dakota, continued traveling +up the Missouri in the spring of 1805, crossed the Rocky Mountains, +and built and paddled canoes until they reached the mouth of the +Columbia River in November, 1805. There they built a fort near the +present site of Astoria. They remained on the Pacific Coast during +the winter and returned to St. Louis in 1806. Lewis and Clark were +aided considerably in their travel route directions by an Indian +woman guide, Sacajawea. This expedition to the Northwest furnished +the best claim of the United States in later ownership disputes with +England. + +Aaron Burr, long the political opponent of Alexander Hamilton, +lived in Petersburg. In 1807, Burr was accused of a conspiracy to +invade Mexico, to snatch it from Spanish control and to establish an +independent Mexican government with himself as the self-appointed +ruler. Furthermore, he was accused of having laid plans for setting +up a government in the western territory of the United States with +the objective of eventually organizing this area into a separate, +independent government with himself the self-appointed ruler. +Burr was officially tried on a charge of treason at the State +Capitol Building in Richmond. Chief Justice John Marshall was the +presiding judge. Jefferson, who had disliked Burr for political +reasons for a long time and who believed that Burr was guilty of the +aforementioned treasonous actions, wanted Burr convicted. Although +the trial involved many political entanglements, Burr was finally +acquitted. + +During the same year, Virginia made national headlines again when +the "Leopard-Chesapeake" Affair took place. France and Britain had +been having personnel problems with their navy crews, each accusing +the other of trying to encourage desertions. Britain had sent a +fleet over to Norfolk in an attempt to intercept some French ships +harbored in the Chesapeake Bay. One of the British ships had its +entire crew desert, and it was believed that they had dashed to +Norfolk and would be hiring out soon on a French or American ship. +The British captain of the fleet had been informed that these crew +members supposedly had enlisted on the "Chesapeake," a new American +naval vessel. A British vessel, the "Leopard," was ordered to search +the "Chesapeake" outside the jurisdiction of the United States. +Consequently, the "Leopard" followed the "Chesapeake" out beyond +Cape Henry and then demanded that the "Chesapeake" be searched +by British officers. When the "Chesapeake," under the command of +Commodore James Barron, denied having any deserters and refused +the right to search, the "Leopard" approached very closely the +"Chesapeake" and fired at it broadside. Three Americans were killed, +seventeen others wounded and four deserters were surprisingly found +aboard the "Chesapeake." Although many Americans clamored for +war as a result of this incident, Jefferson, who still preferred +peace, retaliated by having Congress pass the Embargo Act whereby +no American ship could depart for any foreign port. Jefferson +believed the lack of American exports would cause the countries of +Europe to cease the practice of impressment of American seamen. The +Americans, however, suffered more from this act than did the French +and the British; eventually, it was repealed and a law was passed +allowing American vessels to trade with any country except England +and France. By the end of Jefferson's administration, nevertheless, +the American people were very restless, and in some sections of +the country war was believed to be inevitable with England or with +France. + +On March 4, 1809, Virginia had another one of her sons, James +Madison, inaugurated as President of the United States. He was born +in Port Conway, Virginia, and, after graduating from Princeton, he +had fought in the Revolutionary War. He had served in the state +legislature, had been a member of the Second Continental Congress, +had been a member of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia +where he had earned the title "Father of the Constitution of the +United States" and had contributed to the "Federalist" papers +encouraging the adoption of the Constitution. After serving in the +United States House of Representatives, he had retired from national +politics and had centered his interest upon state government +functions. He had written the "Virginia Resolutions" and had served +as United States Secretary of State at the request of President +Jefferson. Therefore, he came to the Presidency well prepared to +assume presidential duties. + +In contrast with his desire for peace, Madison held the office of +President of the United States during the War of 1812 with England. +Only a few battles were fought near Virginia in this war. The +British had as one of their objectives the capture of the City of +Norfolk. George Cockburn, a British Admiral, entered Chesapeake Bay +with a fleet of approximately 1800 men, and they plundered many +plantations along the coast of Maryland and Virginia. An American +ship, the "U. S. S. Dolphin," was captured by the British ship, "St. +Domingo," in the Rappahannock River. A sea battle was later fought +at Craney Island, located at the entrance of Norfolk Harbor where +American sailors, marines and militia men were defending the small +island. As the British rowed toward the island shore on barges, +heavy artillery fire sank many of the boats causing hundreds of the +Britishers to drown. The British subsequently withdrew and Norfolk +escaped serious damage. The British soon desired to attack Hampton. +They successfully pillaged the town and proceeded to the Carolinas. +Several Virginians participated in the War of 1812 and the students +of Hampden-Sydney College, as in the Revolutionary War, volunteered +as an entire student body to fight for their country. + +Virginia became a famous place of refuge during the War of 1812. +When the British invaded Washington in August 1814, President +Madison and his wife, Dolly Madison, fled from the White House on +August 24 to Salona, a house located in Falls Church. It is believed +that Dolly Madison crossed the Chain Bridge over the Potomac River +and traveled rapidly over the secondary roads until she finally +reached the house of Reverend and Mrs. William Maffitt. Dolly +Madison carried with her the Declaration of Independence and the +famous portrait of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart. Mrs. +Maffitt quickly admitted Dolly Madison, and the President himself +and some of his cabinet members arrived later with Reverend Maffitt. +They could see the burning White House from the Maffitt residence. +Although the President had to depart shortly afterwards, Dolly +Madison stayed there for the duration of the war. + +After his Presidency had ended, James Madison returned to +Montpelier, the family homestead near Orange, where he lived until +his death in 1836. + +While Madison was occupied with national affairs, there were +several important events happening in his home state. In 1809-1810, +a Literary Fund for Virginia was established as an aid to public +education by providing money for school expenses. The state +legislature under the direction of Governor John Tyler, Sr., +provided that "all escheats (land the title to which was reclaimed +by the state), confiscations, penalties and forfeitures, and all +rights in personal property found derelict (deserted or abandoned) +should be appropriated to the encouragement of learning." As time +passed, this fund expanded considerably and was used to improve +elementary education. Only the most proficient students were allowed +to attend public secondary schools. The General Assembly encouraged +the establishment of classical schools and academies via revenue +secured from lotteries. In 1816, the Federal Government paid +$1,210,550 to Virginia in return for a loan granted to the Federal +Government by Virginia for the defraying of expenses incurred during +the War of 1812. This payment was allotted to the Literary Fund. + +From 1800 through 1816, the State of Virginia had four new counties +formed: Tazewell (formed from Wythe and Russell Counties and named +for Henry Tazewell, a United States Senator), Giles (created from +Montgomery, Monroe and Tazewell Counties and named for William +Branch Giles, a Congressman from Virginia who served four terms), +Nelson (formed from Amherst County and named for General Thomas +Nelson, military leader and Governor of Virginia in 1781), and Scott +(formed from Lee, Russell and Washington Counties and named for +General Winfield Scott, lawyer and military leader). + +In 1811, Richmond suffered from a dreadful tragedy. Richmond had +grown in approximately twenty-five years from a village to a +thriving city. As the capital city of the state, it had become a +center of wealth, social activities and entertainment. The leading +actors and actresses of the country played at the Richmond Theater +with pride. On the evening of December 26, 1811 as a play was in +progress, the scenery at the back of the stage caught fire. When an +actor shouted "The house is on fire!", chaos and confusion resulted. +In addition to the flames which rapidly roared through the theater, +the panic and hysteria contributed to the death of seventy-three +individuals, including Governor George W. Smith and many other +distinguished citizens. Gilbert Hunt, a slave, is credited with +saving approximately twenty women and children by catching them as +they were hurled to safety from flaming windows. The doors of this +theater had been constructed in such a way that they only opened +inwardly. Thus, when the audience madly rushed for an exit, numerous +individuals were crushed since the doors could not be opened +outwardly. As a result of this terrible tragedy, theater doors in +Virginia and in other states were constructed in the future to open +outwardly from the inside. A structure of stuccoed brick, known as +Monumental Church, has been built by the architect, Robert Mills, +upon the site of the old theater, and on a monument at the door is +an inscription bearing the names of those who died in this incident. + +In 1816, thirty-five western counties of Virginia held a convention +at Staunton and demanded that the General Assembly be informed of +their grievances and be asked to adjust same. After the War of +1812, the western counties believed that the State Constitution +of 1776 was no longer appropriate and that the earlier counties, +in spite of their longer political experiences, were greatly +over-represented in proportion to their population as compared with +the population of the western counties. One particular criticism +was the representation plan of membership in the General Assembly. +Although the white population was much greater in number west of +the Blue Ridge than in the east, the western counties had only four +delegates in the Assembly in comparison to thirteen delegates from +the east. Therefore, these convention delegates demanded a revised +or new state constitution which would include fair treatment, in +their opinion, for the western counties of Virginia. The Staunton +convention of 1816 caused other residents of Virginia, especially +the politicians, to realize that this mountainous area was +increasing in population and in interest in state and in national +affairs and that it expected a similar increase in power and in +influence in the state government of Virginia. + +In 1817, James Monroe was inaugurated the Fifth President of the +United States. A native of Westmoreland County, Monroe had had +considerable political and diplomatic experience before becoming +President. He had been a practicing lawyer in Fredericksburg, a +Revolutionary War participant who had been wounded in the Battle +of Trenton, New Jersey, a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional +Convention at Williamsburg, a member of the Virginia General +Assembly, a United States Senator, an American envoy to France, a +Governor of Virginia, a United States Minister to France where he +helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase, a United States Minister +to Spain, a United States Secretary of State and a United States +Secretary of War under President Madison. His two presidential terms +are often referred to as the "Era of Good Feeling" because wars and +international disputes were unknown in this period. + +Foreign policy was a highlight of Monroe's two years. A treaty +with Spain in 1819 transferred East Florida to the United States, +included an official admission that West Florida rightfully belonged +to the United States, provided that the United States would assume +and pay claims of citizens of the United States against the Spanish +government amounting to five million dollars and defined the +boundary of the Louisiana Purchase. Another incident taking place in +this general area of the United States was the permission granted +by the government of Mexico to Stephen Fuller Austin, a native of +Austinville, Virginia, to establish a settlement for colonization +on a land grant in Texas. He became the leader of the section and +participated in so many happenings in the history of Texas that +later, the capital, Austin, was named in his honor. + +While Monroe was President, Congress had a difficult situation to +face. Missouri applied for admission to the Union in 1819. Since +there were eleven free and eleven slave states in the Union at this +time, there was equal representation in the Senate from the North +and from the South. However, the North had increased much more +rapidly in population than had the South with the result that there +were 105 Northern representatives in the House of Representatives +and only 81 Southern representatives in the same body. Therefore, +the South did not want any additional free states admitted to +the Union at this time to upset the equal balance in the Senate. +Consequently, a bill which had been proposed to admit Missouri to +the Union with the understanding that slavery was to be abolished +there directly upon such admission failed to pass in the Senate. +In the same year, Maine, a free state, applied for statehood. +Slavery had become a significant sectional issue by 1819 and Henry +Clay, a native of Hanover County, proposed the now-famous Missouri +Compromise of 1820: Maine was to be admitted as a free state, +Misouri as a slave state; slavery was to be forever excluded in +the rest of the Louisiana Purchase Territory north of the parallel +of 36´ 30´´ (southern boundary of Missouri). Although Henry Clay, +later known as the "Great Pacificator" or "Peacemaker" because of +his ability to make compromises in difficult situations, moved to +Kentucky in his "twenties," he studied law with the famous Virginia +lawyer, George Wythe, and acquired many of his political beliefs in +Virginia. President Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise expressing +his approval of this bill. + +A new trend in foreign policy was formulated by President Monroe, +with the help of his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, in +his annual message to Congress on December 2, 1823. The Monroe +Doctrine, as it was later termed, stated that there was to be no +further European colonization in the Western Hemisphere, that no +European nation was to interfere in the government of any nation in +the Western Hemisphere and that violation of either of the previous +principles would be considered unfriendly to the government of the +United States. In return, the government of the United States would +not interfere in the governments of Europe. + +From the time of the Revolutionary War, societies opposed to slavery +were organized in the United States. Religious and non-religious +groups favored the emancipation of the slaves, but the greatest +problem facing those who favored freedom for the slaves was the +finding of a suitable environment for the freed, uneducated Negroes. +The South which had the greatest number of Negroes would have +favored emancipation much more readily if this problem could have +been solved satisfactorily. Washington and Jefferson both opposed +slavery and Washington in his will provided for the freeing of his +slaves upon the death of his wife. Jefferson proposed that the +Negroes be freed and then sent out of the United States. Monroe +likewise strongly opposed slavery and suggested that the Negroes be +allowed to settle in an independent country of their own. + +In 1816, an American Colonization Society was formed which was +granted permission by the Congress of the United States to send +emancipated volunteer Negro slaves to Liberia, Africa where they +could organize an independent country of their own. The Virginia +legislature heartily supported this project. Bushrod Washington, +a nephew of George Washington, served as one of the presidents of +this national colonization society. John Marshall was the first +president of the state branch at Richmond. The capital of Liberia, +an independent republic since 1847, is Monrovia, named in honor +of James Monroe, who personally urged the establishment of this +independent country for Negroes. + +On March 4, 1825, the "Virginia Dynasty" ended, and President +Monroe returned to his home state, Virginia, where he remained +until the death of his wife. Virginia had earned the title of +"Mother of Presidents" because it had furnished four of the first +five Presidents of the United States: George Washington, Thomas +Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe. By 1825, Virginia had +lost its first rank in population to New York State, primarily +because of the large number of immigrants in the North. The +population of Virginia, however, had passed the million mark. + +During Monroe's presidency, an ex-President of the United States +undertook a task in his home state which he had patiently +waited to perform. In 1819, the Virginia legislature passed an +act establishing a state university in Virginia. Jefferson had +worked very hard to get this personal ambition of his realized +because he believed that a state has the obligation of educating +its citizens. He constantly discussed his idea with influential +men of the time and was elated when the University of Virginia +was finally created by law. Jefferson personally recommended +the accepted site of Central College in Charlottesville, drew +up the plans for the university building and grounds, chose the +materials for construction, selected the workmen and then assumed +the responsibility of personally supervising and directing the +actual building project. One of the outstanding architectural +characteristics of the University grounds is the famous Serpentine +Wall designed and built by Jefferson himself. Jefferson's interest +did not cease with the supervision and construction of the buildings +but extended to the intellectual area with his outlining the course +of study which was followed carefully at the University for several +years. The University of Virginia was opened for students for the +first time in 1825 with an enrollment of forty students and seven +faculty members. It has continued to be an outstanding institution +for higher education in the United States. This institution, unlike +the former ones in America, was independent of a church and was the +first institution to offer the elective system of subject matter, +allowing students to make their choice with music and liberal arts +first included in any curriculum of higher education. Jefferson thus +participated significantly in the education field in addition to +making political, historical and inventive contributions. + +In 1829 the citizens of Virginia voted for a special state +convention to be held for the purpose of drafting a new state +constitution. When the delegates met in Richmond on October 5, +ex-President James Madison was selected as President of this +Virginia Convention. Other notables present included ex-President +Monroe, Chief Justice Marshall and John Randolph. It was soon +obvious that there were two distinct types of delegates: the +eastern "conservatives" and the western "reformers." Debates and +discussions became so heated that this convention is often compared +to the federal convention of 1787 which exposed sharp differences +between the North and the South as separate sections. Governor +William B. Giles, A. P. Upshur, Benjamin Leigh, John Randolph and +Littleton Waller represented the east or Tidewater section while +Alexander Campbell, John R. Cooke, Philip Doddridge and Charles +Faulkner represented the western or mountainous counties. The most +objectionable features of the State Constitution of 1776, in the +opinion of the western counties delegates, were the following: (1) +the voting requirement of freehold land tenure, (2) the election +of the Governor by the state legislature rather than by the voters +themselves, (3) the actual carrying out of some of the Governor's +duties by a nine-man Council of State, (4) the equal representation +in the House of Delegates from each county regardless of population, +and (5) a procedure in the local and state courts which often +resulted in favoritism. The easterner combatted the criticism about +representation with the fact that he paid much higher taxes on his +land (in some instances as much as nine times more per acre). After +lengthy discussions, the new state constitution was finally written +and recommended for adoption. The following changes were included: +(1) voting was extended to leaseholders and householders, (2) the +Governor was chosen by a joint ballot of the Senate and the House +of Delegates, (3) the power and the responsibility of the Governor +was increased and the number of men and the powers of the Council of +State were decreased, (4) the representation of the western counties +in the Assembly was increased slightly, and (5) state courts were +slightly revised but county courts were practically unchanged. The +Constitution of 1829 was adopted, and John Floyd was the first +Governor elected under the new system. + +The strong feeling of states' rights in Virginia became apparent +once more. When President Andrew Jackson threatened to use armed +force upon South Carolina in his attempt to coerce South Carolina +into paying Federal taxes, according to the Tariff of 1828 ("The +Tariff of Abominations"), Virginians became very alarmed. John +Randolph, a sick man at the time, traveled throughout the country +denouncing Jackson's coercive attitude. Virginia then sent Benjamin +Watkins Leigh to South Carolina to try to bring peace within the +Union again and to prevent South Carolina from seceding from the +Union. Governor John Floyd of Virginia stated that federal troops +would meet armed opposition if President Jackson ordered them to +march through Virginia to South Carolina and to force South Carolina +to pay the exorbitant tariff rates. Henry Clay's compromise tariff +law providing for gradually reduced tariff rates prevented possible +secession from occurring at this time. + +In August 1831, a Negro preacher of Southampton County, Nat Turner, +started a local slave insurrection by persuading the Negro slaves +that it was time to kill the white people. Sixty whites, mostly +women and children, were killed before the rebellion could be +suppressed. Nat Turner and twelve of his accomplices were hung. +Many Virginians believed that Nat Turner's Rebellion took place +as a direct result of the writings of William Lloyd Garrison of +Massachusetts who published the "Liberator," a newspaper which +demanded the immediate abolition of slavery. The southerners, +in general, were so aroused by this rebellion that southern +legislatures passed laws prohibiting slaves from being taught to +read. In fact, a reward was offered for Garrison himself. Many +southern states passed resolutions requesting the northern states to +forbid the publication of abolitionist papers. In 1832 at a regular +session of the Virginia General Assembly, an act was proposed +whereby all slaves born after July 4, 1840 were to be free and to +be removed from the State of Virginia. The act was defeated in the +House of Delegates by a close vote of 67 to 60. + +In 1831, Cyrus Hall McCormick of Rockbridge County invented the +"Virginia Reaper," a mechanical harvester which could harvest wheat +at a much faster rate than previously harvested by hand with a +sickle or a cradle. He did not get it patented, however, until +three years later. This was a most significant invention for the +State of Virginia as well as for the nation as a whole. The Virginia +Reaper affected grain, as the cotton gin had affected cotton, by +making it possible for grain to be grown and harvested in much +larger quantities. When Virginians first used the reaper, Virginia's +total wheat production increased so rapidly that Virginia ranked +fourth among the wheat-raising states in 1840. However, the climate +and soil of the West were more conducive to wheat-raising than in +Virginia, and, when the western farmers heard about the Virginia +Reaper, they were anxious to acquire such a machine for their own +use. The usual journey for such reapers included a wagon trip from +Rockbridge County over the Blue Ridge Mountains to Scottsville, a +canal trip from there to Richmond, a boat trip from Richmond down +the James River to the Atlantic Ocean, from Norfolk an ocean trip to +New Orleans and then a boat trip up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers +to their specific destination in Kentucky or Ohio--a water trip of +approximately 3,000 miles. Since the demand for his invention was +much greater in the West, McCormick moved from Virginia to Chicago +to build his factory in order that he could reduce his shipping +costs considerably. However, one may still see one of the original +binders at Walnut Grove, the restored McCormick homestead located +near Midway, Virginia. + +In 1836, Samuel Houston, a native Virginian of Rockbridge County who +had migrated to Texas, became the heroic leader at the Battle of +San Jacinto in the Texas Revolt from Mexico. General Houston with +a small group of Texans captured Santa Anna, President of Mexico, +in this battle and forced him to grant Texas its independence from +Mexico. Houston became the first President of the Republic of Texas +and, later, the first Governor of the State of Texas after its +annexation to the United States. The City of Houston was named in +his honor. + +On November 11, 1839, the Virginia Military Institute, the first +state military school in the United States, was founded at +Lexington. This school was located adjacent to the Washington +Academy which is now known as Washington and Lee University. The +Virginia Military Institute was greatly appreciated because it +was no longer necessary for the Southern young men to travel to +West Point for military training and discipline. V. M. I. opened +originally with twenty-three cadets and two teachers: Francis Smith +and J. T. L. Preston, a lawyer who is accredited with having the +concept of a state military institute. It became the first normal +school in the state because during the first year of its existence, +the state legislature passed a law stating that the training of +teachers was to be considered as its chief objective. When the War +between the States took place, V. M. I. supplied the Confederate +forces with many of its military leaders, earning for itself the +title, "The West Point of the Confederacy." At the Battle of New +Market in 1864, V. M. I. cadets led by General John C. Breckinridge +defeated the Union Army by the remarkable capture of a Union battery. + +From 1822 to 1850 thirteen additional counties had been created: +Alleghany (formed from Bath, Botetourt and Monroe Counties and named +for the Indian word, "Alleghany" meaning "Lost"), Page (formed +from Rockingham and Shenandoah Counties and named in honor of John +Page, Virginia Governor [1802-1805]), Floyd (formed from Montgomery +County and later, part of Franklin County and named for John Floyd, +Virginia Governor [1830-1834]), Smyth (formed from Washington and +Wythe Counties and named for Alexander Smyth, Inspector-General +of the Army in 1812 and a Congressman), Rappahannock (formed from +Culpeper County and named for the Rappahannock Indian tribe which +lived along the Rappahannock River which flows in this county), +Clark (formed from Frederick and named for General George Rogers +Clark), Warren (formed from Shenandoah and Frederick Counties +and named for Major General Joseph Warren who died in the Battle +of Bunker Hill), Roanoke (formed from Botetourt County and named +for the term, "Roanoke," which was used by the colonists to +indicate the shell-beads which the Indians used for money and +for decoration), Greene (formed from Orange County and named +for General Nathaniel Greene of the Revolutionary War), Pulaski +(formed from Montgomery and Wythe Counties and named for Count +Casimir Pulaski, Revolutionary War Polish Patriot), Carroll (formed +from Grayson County and named in honor of Charles Carroll of +Carrollton), Appomattox (formed from Buckingham, Prince Edward, +Charlotte and Campbell Counties and named from the Indian word, +"Appomattox," meaning "tobacco plant country") and Highland (created +from Pendleton and Bath Counties and named for the extremely high +altitude of this mountainous area). + +In 1841, William Henry Harrison became the ninth President of the +United States and John Tyler became the Vice-President of the +United States. Both were born in Charles City County, approximately +twenty-four miles from Richmond. William Henry Harrison had +successfully defeated the Indian chief, Tecumseh, and his brother, +"The Prophet," at Tippecanoe River in Indiana. From this experience +he earned the title, "Old Tippecanoe" which became a part of the +1840 presidential campaign slogan: "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." +William Henry Harrison has a most unique distinction in the history +of the United States in that he served the shortest term of any +President--March 4, 1841 to April 4, 1841. Upon his death from +pneumonia, believed contracted during the inauguration ceremonies, +the other Virginian, John Tyler, succeeded to the Presidency. +Tyler had been a Congressman, a state legislator, a Governor of +Virginia and a United States Senator before becoming President. +During his term of office, the United States and Canada agreed upon +a final boundary in the Treaty of Washington. Tyler approved the +annexation of Texas to the Union near the end of his Presidential +administration. + +The annexation of Texas to the United States caused bitter feeling +between Mexico and the United States. In the Mexican War which +followed, two Virginians, General Zachary Taylor of Orange County +and General Winfield Scott of Dinwiddie County, participated in +an outstanding manner: the former, in charge of the campaign at +Monterey and at Buena Vista and the latter, in charge of the +campaign at Vera Cruz and Mexico City. Other Virginians who received +first-hand military experience during the Mexican War were Robert E. +Lee, Thomas J. Jackson and Joseph E. Johnston. + +On September 7, 1846, the land including the town of Alexandria +(originally Belhaven) which Virginia had ceded to Congress in +1789 was retroceded to Fairfax County. In the following year, +Alexandria County was formed from that part of the District of +Columbia which had formerly been a part of Fairfax County and the +town of Alexandria became the county seat. Five years later, the +town of Alexandria became the city of Alexandria through a charter +regulation of the General Assembly, and its status as an independent +city (not subject to county jurisdiction) was granted. + +While Alexandria was changing from a town to a city, another +Virginian was elected President of the United States. Zachary +Taylor, a native of Orange County, became the twelfth President of +the United States. He had achieved national fame during the Mexican +War and had earned the title "Old Rough and Ready." He defeated his +military colleague, General Winfield Scott, at the Whig convention +by winning the presidential candidacy and proceeded to defeat Martin +Van Buren for the Presidency. After serving only sixteen months of +his term, he died of typhus on July 9, 1850. The most important +issue during his administration was the slavery controversy. + +As in the slavery issue in 1820, Henry Clay once more proposed a +compromise measure in an attempt to prevent, or at least postpone, a +secession movement. The Compromise of 1850 was eventually passed and +is often referred to as the "Omnibus Bill" because it included many +miscellaneous provisions, namely: (1) California was to be admitted +as a free state, (2) slavery limitation in the Mexican cession land +was to be decided upon by the residents of the particular area +involved, (3) Texas was to pay ten million dollars for giving up +its claim to territory west and north of its present boundary, (4) +slave trade but not slavery was to be prohibited in the District +of Columbia, and (5) a more effective fugitive slave law was to be +passed and to be enforced. + +While the United States government had numerous national problems +with which to cope during this period, Virginia had several +governmental problems. In 1850-1851, a second state constitutional +convention was held. The age-old feud concerning representation, +voting qualifications and election of the Governor continued until, +finally, a compromise was reached. Main provisions of the compromise +were: (1) every white male citizen, except the insane, minors, +paupers and criminals, was to be allowed to vote from that time +forward, (2) the Governor was to be elected directly by the voters +themselves rather than by the General Assembly and his term was +to be extended from three to four years, (3) the Council of State +was to be abolished, (4) membership in the House of Delegates was +to be selected upon the basis of population, thereby giving the +western counties a majority number; membership in the Senate was to +be based upon population and property, thereby giving the eastern +counties a majority, and (5) the voters were to be allowed to vote +for judges, county officials and members of the Board of Public +Works. In addition, the General Assembly was to meet every other +year instead of annually. The 1851 State Constitution was ratified +by the voters by an overwhelming majority at the next election. +The western counties of Virginia had finally been recognized as +an important area whose ideas and opinions were to be considered +seriously. Although the economic and social life of the inhabitants +of the western part of Virginia were different from those of the +inhabitants of the eastern part of Virginia, this Constitution which +granted the western counties most of their desired reforms fostered +better unity within the state. + +In 1855, a dreadful epidemic of yellow fever spread throughout +Norfolk and approximately one tenth of its total population +succumbed. A Negro gravedigger, nicknamed "Yellow Fever Jack," was +considered the hero of this situation because he painstakingly kept +burying the dead until he too died from the fever. A monument has +been erected in his honor in the Norfolk Cemetery. + +In 1857 James Ethan Allen Gibbs, a native of Rockbridge County, +secured a patent to make a "twisted loop rotary hook sewing +machine," an invention which he had created as a result of watching +his mother sew by hand. He was unaware at the time of Elias Howe's +sewing machine invention of 1846. After a few years, James A. +Willcox added some improvements to Gibbs' sewing machine, and their +combined efforts resulted in the Willcox and Gibbs Sewing Machine. + +On October 16, 1859, John Brown, a freesoiler and an ardent white +abolitionist of Kansas and Ohio, led his five sons, eight northern +white men and a group of five Negroes on a raid of the federal +arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia (now located in West Virginia). +Rifles were made and stored here. John Brown had decided to show +these slaves how to revolt against their masters. Therefore, he +equipped them with arms, ammunition and with steel-tipped pikes +which he had brought with him from Kansas. After they had seized +the arsenal, he urged them to start an insurrection. They captured +many of the gentlemen slaveholders of this area, and then John +Brown suggested that they use their pikes to "strike for freedom!" +The Negroes of this area and those of the south in general did not +respond to his encouragement. His band killed five people including +the mayor of Harper's Ferry and a free Negro porter of the Baltimore +and Ohio Railroad. On October 18, Colonel Robert E. Lee of the +United States Army, who was a native Virginian, was placed in charge +of the situation. James Ewell Brown Stuart (later, commonly known +as "J. E. B." Stuart) was appointed aide-de-camp to Lee. Stuart +was assigned the task of presenting the summons to John Brown to +surrender after one hundred United States Marines had surrounded +the arsenal and had captured the raiders. Stuart successfully +performed his task and was admired by many Americans for his staunch +courage in this action because John Brown was such an unpredictable +individual. Lee then sent John Brown to Charlestown, Virginia (now +located in West Virginia) where he was tried by a Virginia Circuit +Court for treason and for murder because of the capture of guns +and supplies belonging to the government, was found guilty and was +hanged on December 2, 1859. Ten of his followers were also killed. +This incident caused hostile feelings between the sections to +increase and made the Virginians very angry upon finding out the +extent to which some individuals would conspire to incite Negro +hatred for their masters. + +By 1860, the population of Virginia had reached over one and a half +million including 490,865 slaves and 58,042 free Negroes. From 1851 +to 1861, four counties were added: Craig (formed from Botetourt, +Giles, Monroe and Roanoke Counties and named for Robert Craig, a +Virginia Congressman), Wise (formed from Lee, Scott and Russell +Counties and named for Henry Alexander Wise, Governor of Virginia, +1856-1860), Buchanan (formed from Tazewell and Russell Counties and +named in honor of President James Buchanan) and Bland (formed from +Giles, Wythe and Tazewell Counties and named for Richard Bland, a +Virginia statesman during the Revolutionary War Period). + + +S U M M A R Y + +After Virginia had furnished many leaders for the First Continental +Congress, another special Virginia convention was held in Richmond +where a resolution for military preparedness was passed and +delegates were elected to the Second Continental Congress. Three +additional special conventions were later held in the Virginia +colony alone which resulted in the abdication of the last colonial +Governor of the colony, the declaration of Virginia as a free +and independent State, the writing of the Virginia Declaration +of Rights, the adoption of an official State seal and motto, the +creation and adoption of a State Constitution establishing the +Commonwealth of Virginia, the adoption of the Statute of Virginia +for Religious Freedom and the eventual ratification of the United +States Constitution. In the political field, the names of Patrick +Henry, Peyton Randolph, George Washington, George Mason, George +Wythe, Edmund Pendleton, James Madison, Edmund Randolph, Archibald +Cary, Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe suggest numerous +contributions made by Virginians during the period, 1775-1860. + +Virginians also had major roles in the military history of our +country during this same period: George Washington, John Mühlenberg, +Henry Lee, Jack Jouett, Andrew Lewis, Daniel Morgan, John Paul +Jones, Samuel Houston, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, +Winfield Scott and Robert E. Lee. In the meantime, the capital had +been moved from Williamsburg to Richmond, Virginia had ceded its +Northwest Territory to the new national government and Yorktown had +become internationally famous as the area where the British had +surrendered to the Americans. It is a unique historical fact that +the site where the British armies were forced to surrender in 1781 +was located only a few miles from the site where the first permanent +English settlement in America was established. + +The Presidency of George Washington started the so-called "Virginia +Dynasty" of Presidents. By 1861, the Commonwealth had furnished +the United States with seven Virginia-born Presidents: George +Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William +Henry Harrison, John Tyler and Zachary Taylor. For this achievement, +Virginia has earned the title of "Mother of Presidents." + +During the period of 1775 to 1860, many significant activities +of Virginians took place at both the state and federal levels of +government: the "Leopard-Chesapeake" Affair, Jeffersonian Democracy, +John Marshall's role as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme +Court, the consent of Virginia allowing Kentucky County to become +an independent state in the Union, the Lewis and Clark Expedition +to the Northwest, the role of Norfolk, Hampton and Falls Church +during the War of 1812, the Monroe Doctrine, the efforts of Henry +Clay ("The Great Compromiser"), the historical connotation of the +capital city, Monrovia, in Liberia, the creation of a non-sectarian +state university and of the first state military school in the +country, the attitude of Virginians toward the sectional issues +of tariff, secession and slavery, the inventions of the McCormick +Virginia Reaper and the Willcox-Gibbs Sewing Machine and the active +participation of Virginians in the Texan Revolt and the Mexican +War. John Brown's Raid at Harper's Ferry increased sectionalism +and intensified the slavery problem. By 1860, the population of +Virginia had reached over one and one-half million people, including +approximately 500,000 slaves. + + + + +4 + +Historical Life: 1860-Present + +_The War Between the States_ + + +In November 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the +United States. He represented the Republican Party which strongly +opposed slavery, and he had made numerous speeches stating his +personal opposition to it. Although Lincoln had declared that he had +no desire to interfere with slavery in the states where it already +existed, he also had made the following statement: "A house divided +against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure +permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to +be dissolved: I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect +that it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or +all the other." Thus, on December 20, it was not a complete surprise +that a special convention held at Charleston, South Carolina, +resulted in the secession of South Carolina, a strong pro-slavery +state, from the Union. By February 1861, six other southern states +had acted likewise. The Confederate States of America was organized +at Montgomery, Alabama, with Jefferson Davis as its President. + +Until this time, Virginia had not declared herself. Like her +neighboring states, she had to make the momentous decision. The +Governor of Virginia at this time was John Letcher, later known +as the "War Governor" of Virginia. The people of Virginia did not +enthusiastically favor secession, that is, they did not have an +ardent desire to leave the Union as South Carolina had had. Neither +did Virginia believe in the national policy of coercion of a state +to return to the Union. In an attempt to bring the seceded states +back into the Union and to try to find some solution to the slavery +problem, the Virginia legislature invited delegates from all the +states to attend a national "Peace Conference" at Washington on +February 4. Virginia appointed John Tyler (ex-President), Judge John +Robertson, James A. Seddon, William C. Rives and George W. Summers +to attend this conference. There was so much sectionalism bitter +with political and economic rivalries at the conference that it was +unsuccessful. + +On February 13, 1861, a special state convention was held in +Richmond to discuss the possibility of secession. When the counties +elected the 152 delegates to this special state convention, their +choice resulted in several pro-Union, anti-secession residents of +the state. John Janney was the presiding officer of the convention. +It was evident that the majority of the delegates hesitated to +leave the Union because they had very strong ties with the Federal +government. Virginia had played an important role in creating +the Union and had furnished one-third of all the Presidents, +numerous cabinet members, a Supreme Court Chief Justice who held +this position for thirty-four years (John Marshall), and other +less important Federal officials. The convention delegates sent a +committee consisting of William B. Preston, George W. Randolph and +Alexander H. H. Stuart to President Lincoln to plead for a peaceful +solution to the slavery and secession problems. + +On March 10, 1861, the Committee on Federal Relations at the +Richmond convention submitted reports consisting of fourteen +resolutions to the convention. These resolutions expressed the +doctrine of states' rights, criticized slavery interference, +advocated the right of secession and resolved that Virginia would +be justified in seceding only if the Federal government usurped +state powers or if it attempted to force the payment of tax duties +from the seceded states or if it recaptured certain Southern forts. +The first twelve resolutions had been adopted at the time of the +unofficial firing on Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina +on April 12th and the forced surrender of the Federal garrison. +The Federal government had sent arms, troops and provisions to the +aid of Colonel Robert Anderson at Fort Sumter. The Confederate +government had considered the action a hostile act and had acted +accordingly. The actual signal for the attack was given by Roger +Pryor, a strong secessionist from Virginia; furthermore, the actual +shot was fired by another Virginia secessionist, Edmund Ruffin. The +ultimate surrender of Fort Sumter to the Confederates resulted in +an immediate call from President Lincoln for volunteers to save the +Union. + +Even as late as April 4, the Richmond convention had rejected +secession by a vote of two to one. Some of the minority were strong +in their wishes to secede immediately and to join the Confederacy, +and they used the issues of self-government, states' rights and +slavery as their points of variance with the national government. +Furthermore, these advocates believed that an alliance with the +Confederacy would at least remove them from the direct influence +of high protective tariffs since a clause prohibiting protective +tariffs had been included in the Constitution of the Confederacy. +Two days after the firing on Fort Sumter, April 15, President +Lincoln called on all the states in the Union to send volunteers, +numbering 75,000 total, to invade the seceding states and to coerce +them back into the Union. + +Two days later, April 17, 1861, the Virginia Convention passed +an ordinance of secession by a vote of 88 to 55. Many pre-Union +Virginians at this convention preferred to choose secession rather +than to send troops to fight against their southern neighbor +states. In the previous election, the Virginia people voted +overwhelmingly to have the convention submit its results for their +voting approval or disapproval via referendum. On May 4, a large +majority of the Virginia citizens voted their approval of secession. +Nevertheless, although eastern Virginia voted almost solidly +for secession, western Virginia voted almost as solidly against +secession. Governor John Letcher of Virginia sent the following +reply to the United States Secretary of War, Simon Cameron: "In +reply to this communication I have only to say that the militia +of Virginia will not be furnished to the powers at Washington for +any such use of purpose as they have in view. Your object is to +subjugate the Southern States, and a requisition made upon me for +such an object--an object, in my judgment, not within the purview +of the Constitution, or the Act of 1795--will not be complied with. +You have chosen to inaugurate civil war, and having done so, we +will meet it in a spirit as determined as the Administration has +exhibited towards the South." + +On April 25, the same convention members passed an act which +provided for the adoption of the Constitution of the Provisional +Government of the Confederate States of America, and Virginia became +the eighth state of the Confederate States of America. Although +Montgomery, Alabama, had been the capital of the Confederacy, one +month after Virginia joined, Virginia invited the Confederacy +to make Richmond its capital. The offer was accepted on May 21. +Virginia thus became the focus of major battles of the War between +the States during the four-year period: 1861-1865. + +Colonel Robert E. Lee was a United States Army officer at this +time and had one of the most difficult decisions to make. He +was recognized as a man of great military ability, and the high +regard which the Federal government had for him was expressed in +the tremendously responsible position offered to him by President +Lincoln. Lincoln was familiar with his great military strategy which +had been followed in the Mexican War, his efficient administration +as Superintendent of West Point, his excellent cavalry supervision +on the frontier and his carefully planned capture of John Brown +and his raiders at Harper's Ferry. Consequently, on April 18, +President Lincoln had offered him the command of the Union forces. +Lee realized the wonderful honor for which he had been selected and +was deeply appreciative. However, he was a Virginian, and, after +his state had seceded from the Union, he believed that there was +no choice in the matter. His love of country was great, but the +love of his state and his fellowmen was greater. Therefore, he +sadly declined Lincoln's offer and stated that "though opposed, to +secession and deprecating war, I could take no part in an invasion +of the Southern States." Thus, as soon as Virginia seceded from the +Union, he resigned his United States Army Commission on April 20 +with the words: "Sir: I have the honor to tender the resignation +of my commission as Colonel of the first regiment of cavalry. Very +respectfully, your obedient servant--Robert E. Lee." + +Lee then went to Richmond at the invitation of the convention and +was made Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia forces +on April 23. It should be noted here that Virginia did not have an +aggressive, warlike attitude toward the Union. Governor John Letcher +is quoted as speaking to Robert E. Lee in the convention itself in +the following manner: "Yesterday, your mother, Virginia, placed her +sword in your hand upon the implied condition that we know you will +keep to the letter and in spirit, that you will draw it only in her +defense, and that you will fall with it in your hand rather than +that the object for which it was placed there shall fail." + +For the first three and a half years of the War between the States, +the military actions took place simultaneously in two different +areas: a small area in northern and northeastern Virginia and a +western area in the region bounded by the Mississippi River, the +Cumberland River, and the Appalachian Mountains. For most of the +war, the Confederate forces were on the defensive side. With General +Robert E. Lee as Commander-in-Chief, the Confederates had unity +of command whereas the Union forces actually had five successive +generals before appointing Ulysses S. Grant as the supreme +commander. Many of the best military minds were fighting on the +Confederate side, and it is believed by several historians that only +their great strategic ability and planning against larger military +forces with better equipment and clothing kept the war from being +concluded at a much earlier date. + +The major objective of the Federal government became a clearcut one, +namely, to capture Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. Thus, +a chief aim of the military forces in Virginia was the protection +and defense of Richmond at all times. Virginia lost Accomack and +Northampton Counties on the Eastern Shore at the beginning of the +war and was unable to obtain control of Union Fort Monroe. + +On May 24, 1861 the Fire Zouaves, a unit of the United States Army, +marched from Washington to Alexandria, the first point of invasion +in Virginia in the War between the States. They took possession of +Alexandria in the name of the United States and found no organized +opposition because there were no Southern troops here. Virginia had +not been ready for war and had made no preparations for war. The +only standing army in the state at the time of her secession was a +group of soldiers whose duty had been to guard public property in +Richmond. Several volunteer companies had organized in various parts +of the state for the first time after John Brown's Raid. One of the +first immediate tasks to be done was the training of soldiers in +Virginia and the acquiring of cannon and fire-arms. Consequently, it +was not unusual for Alexandria not to have had an organized force +by May 24, awaiting Federal invasion. As these Fire Zouaves entered +Alexandria, they noticed a Confederate flag flying from the top of +a small hotel called the Marshall House. Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, +the Federal commander, decided to obtain this flag. He entered the +hotel, ran up the stairs to the roof and grabbed it. He had started +to descend the stairs with his trophy when, at the first landing, +he met the hotel owner, James W. Jackson, who had been curious to +know who had been rushing up the stairs and invading his hotel. When +he saw the Confederate flag in the hands of the Federal officer, +he shot him in the breast. Ellsworth died instantly and Jackson +was immediately killed by bullets and bayonets used by Ellsworth's +troops. This was the first blood shed in Virginia in the War between +the States. + +A skirmish took place at Fairfax Court House on June 1, 1861, which +caused the death of Captain John Quincy Marr of the Warrenton +Rifles. His death is considered the first Confederate battle death. + +In the same month, the first land battle of the War between the +States took place around and near the town of Philippi located in +western Virginia (today, in West Virginia). On June 3, Union troops +led by Colonel B. F. Kelly clashed with Confederate troops led by +Colonel George A. Portfield. This fighting was not only a victory +for the Union forces, but the retreat of the Confederates from the +surprise Union attack on a dark, rainy night was exceedingly rapid. +The Confederates fled more than thirty miles in one day to a town +called Beverly, thereupon earning for their action the title, the +"Philippi Races." + +On July 21, along a creek called Bull Run, near Manassas, +approximately twenty-five miles from Washington, some Union forces +under the leadership of General Irvin McDowell met Confederate +forces under the leadership of General Pierre G. T. Beauregard. +Manassas was the site of a key railroad junction, an important line +of supply and communication. Although the Union forces were at +first successful, the firm stand taken by the Confederate forces +on Matthews Hill and on Henry Hill led by General Thomas Jonathan +Jackson and a counter-attack led by Confederate General Joseph E. +Johnston's forces resulted in chaos in the Union army and a panicky +retreat to Washington. This was a most unexpected defeat for the +Union forces. "J. E. B." Stuart served under Joseph Johnston at +this time and led a successful mounted charge against the Federal +infantry. He also helped create disorder and panic in their lines. +This first Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Manassas was the occasion +for T. J. Jackson's famous nickname: "Stonewall." General Bernard +E. Bee, a South Carolinian, headed some troops which had become +panicky, and, as he saw T. J. Jackson's brigade in correct line +formation, he is said to have made the following comment to his +group: "Look! There is Jackson and his brigade standing like a stone +wall. Rally behind the Virginians." From that time on, T. J. Jackson +was called "Stonewall" Jackson. As the Union forces neared Manassas, +Captain Alexander, a Confederate officer, spotted their coming from +his lookout station. He relayed their approach by wigwagging signals +with flags. This action is believed to be the origin of semaphoring. +This battle caused the North to realize that the conquering of the +South was not the easy task that it had predicted or had assumed. +Their military slogan "On to Richmond" became a military challenge +rather than an accepted conclusion. + +President Lincoln had declared a blockade of the Southern ports as +soon as the war had started. The Federal Navy Yard at Norfolk was +captured by the Confederates without resistance. The United States +ships were only twelve in number at the beginning of the war, but +others were quickly constructed. The Confederates hoped to keep +the James River open at all times. They needed ships badly, having +had no navy to draw upon for ships. When the Federal employees had +abandoned the Norfolk Navy Yard, they had sunk a wooden frigate +called the "Merrimac." Governor Letcher of Virginia ordered that +this ship be raised and be converted into an effective, usable +frigate. Lieutenant John M. Brooke, John L. Porter, W. P. Williamson +and others planned together for a converted ship. Finally, the +hull of the old ship was covered with pine, oak and iron plates +from the famous Tredegar Iron Works of Richmond. It was equipped +with ten guns and an inexperienced crew under the ex-United States +Naval Commander, Franklin Buchanan. This iron-clad vessel was +renamed the "Virginia," and it traveled to Hampton Roads to attack +the Federal fleet on March 8, 1862. When it first received gunfire +from a Federal ship, the shots surprisingly glanced off its sides. +The vessel moved very slowly. When at close range, it pierced the +"Cumberland" with its iron ram causing it to sink. The next day, +much to its surprise, it was matched by a Union ship, the "Monitor," +designed by John Ericsson, which was ironclad, smaller, more agile +and newly constructed throughout. The ships fired upon each other, +but they could not inflict serious damage. The Battle of the +"Monitor" and the "Virginia" (formerly "Merrimac") was a draw or +indecisive from a victory point of view. However, it is important +historically as the first battle of ironclad vessels in the United +States. The "Virginia" was later blown up when the Confederates +evacuated Norfolk. + +On March 23 of the same year, "Stonewall" Jackson became the +aggressor and attacked a Union force at Kernstown, near Winchester. +However, when one of his brigade became short of ammunition, he had +to retreat southward. This battle was the beginning of Jackson's +"Valley Campaign." + +Beginning on April 5 and continuing for approximately one month, +an important siege took place at Yorktown. After a line of +fortifications had been erected across the Peninsula from the +Warwick River to Yorktown by the Confederate Commander John B. +Magruder, General Joseph E. Johnston entrenched his army here. +Union General George B. McClellan coming from Fort Monroe besieged +the area for weeks and finally mounted his large size guns. With +this action, Johnston withdrew since he was not equipped for such +heavy fighting. As General Johnston's forces were retreating from +Yorktown, they met an advance section of McClellan's army about one +mile east of Williamsburg. Johnston was forced to fight at this +time because he did not want them to capture his wagon train. Both +armies fought valiantly, and neither side could get the advantage of +the other. When night came, after a rainy day of fighting, Johnston +retreated westward toward Richmond under cover of darkness. Two days +later, Union General W. B. Franklin attempted to intercept Johnson +on his retreat toward Richmond by landing just south of West Point +on the eastern bank of the York River. However, General G. W. Smith +came to Johnston's rescue and successfully drove Franklin forces +back to the York River in order that Johnston could continue on his +way to Richmond. + +On May 8, 1862, "Stonewall" Jackson decided to prevent two Union +generals, John C. Fremont and Nathaniel P. Banks, from combining +their forces. He selected a position on a mountain top near +McDowell, a village in Highland County. When Fremont's troops +arrived under the leadership of General R. H. Milroy, they rushed up +the sides of the mountain, only to be attacked by the Confederate +forces under Jackson and driven back to a retreating position. + +On May 23, Jackson successfully captured the town of Front Royal +located in Warren County--an important area which had been held by +Union forces under General Banks. This was a great blow to Banks +as well as to his troops who rapidly retreated to Winchester. A +unique feature of this battle was that among the opposing forces was +the First Maryland Regiment, U. S. A. being attacked by the First +Maryland Regiment, C. S. A. (Confederate States of America). + +Two days later, Jackson rushed Banks at Winchester and surprised his +troops to such an extent that they were routed from the town and +driven across the Potomac in panic. Jackson who had been ordered by +Lee to strike at Banks unexpectedly and to create the impression +that it would be utterly impossible for him to converge with Fremont +had carefully and painstakingly carried out such an order. Jackson +is considered by many as second in military stature only to Lee +himself. + +On May 31-June 1, 1862 the Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks took +place. The left wing of the Union army under McClellan was attacked +by Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston at Fair Oaks Station and +Seven Pines, located just east of Richmond. The Confederates won +at Seven Pines but were driven back at Fair Oaks. The Battle of +Seven Pines was considered indecisive. General Johnston was wounded +seriously in this battle, and, at this time, General Robert E. Lee +was put in command of the Army of Northern Virginia. + +On June 8-9, Jackson was slowly retreating up the Shenandoah Valley +when he decided to prevent two Union generals, John C. Fremont and +James Shields, from combining forces by checking or holding back +Fremont and then attacking Shields. He sent part of his troops +under General Richard S. Ewell to attack the forces under Fremont +at Cross Keys in Rockingham County. General Ewell defeated the +forces of Fremont very badly and kept Fremont's help completely +away from Shields. Jackson then led his remaining forces north +of Port Republic and encountered Shields there. Bitter fighting +followed. Shields was eventually defeated and driven down the +Shenandoah Valley. This was the final engagement of the so-called +Valley campaign. Jackson had proven himself a great military man +who had fought on both sides of the Shenandoah Valley and who had +marched approximately 700 miles in seven weeks in almost continuous +fighting with one or more of the Federal fighting forces. This +campaign included five major engagements: Kernstown, McDowell, Front +Royal, Winchester and Port Republic. Jackson suffered defeat only at +Kernstown by the Union General James Shields. Jackson then proceeded +toward Richmond to prevent General McClellan from entering there. + +On June 11, General Lee dispatched General James Ewell Brown ("J. +E. B.") Stuart with 1200 cavalry and infantrymen from Richmond +to obtain information behind the lines of the enemy concerning +the specific position of McClellan. In three days, Stuart and his +contingent had courageously ridden completely around the army of +McClellan, acquiring much valuable information for General Lee. Only +one of Stuart's men was killed during the assignment. Based upon +the information furnished by General "J. E. B." Stuart, General Lee +decided to advance his army on June 26. The Union forces under +General Fitz-John Porter had outposts near Richmond just north of +the Chickahominy River in the town of Mechanicsville. Confederate +General Ambrose P. Hill successfully occupied Mechanicsville and +then continued to attack General Fitz-John Porter's troops along +Beaver Dam Creek where he severely defeated them. + +From June 26 to July 2, the Seven Days' Battle occurred. This +included the fighting at Mechanicsville and at Gaines' Mill. +In these two skirmishes, Lee, after severe fighting, drove the +right wing of McClellan's army under General Porter across the +Chickahominy River. At Glendale, Confederate Generals James +Longstreet and Ambrose Hill fought terrific hand-to-hand skirmishes +with gun butts and bayonets against the rearguard of the forces +under McClellan. At nightfall, the Confederates retreated to Malvern +Hill. On the following day, the forces under McClellan set up +infantry fire with cannon fire just preceding it at the top of the +hill. As the separate Confederate detachments charged up the steep +hill, they were literally mowed down by the thousands. McClellan +retreated during the night to Harrison's Landing. In spite of these +military maneuvers, the army under McClellan was finally forced to +retreat at the end of the Seven Days' battle, and Richmond, the +"City of Seven Hills," still remained in Confederate control. + +On August 9, as Jackson was on his way to encounter the Union +General, John Pope, who had started southward, he unexpectedly met +Union General Nathaniel P. Banks near Cedar Mountain (later called +"Slaughter Mountain"), located just south of Culpeper. Severe +fighting resulted, and the forces under Jackson had almost been +annihilated when they received reinforcements which pushed the +Union forces back. Since the number of casualties was extremely +high during this battle, Jackson allowed Banks to bury his dead the +following day. + +On August 30, the Union troops made a second attempt to capture +Manassas. Jackson defeated Union General Pope in the Second Battle +of Manassas or Second Battle of Bull Run, after destroying large +quantities of his supplies. When the Confederate troops had used all +their available ammunition, they used stones until reenforcements +under General James Longstreet arrived. These soldiers forced the +Union troops under Pope to retreat to Centerville and eventually to +Alexandria. + +On September 5, 1862, General Lee, believing the time was suitable +for invading the North, advanced across the Potomac River into +Maryland. As they approached Frederick, they sang and marched to +"Maryland, My Maryland" but this gesture did not result in large +numbers of Marylanders joining the Confederate armed troops as they +had hoped. After Jackson had successfully captured Harper's Ferry, +Lee moved his remaining troops to Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, +Maryland. Severe fighting with McClellan's troops resulted and the +Confederate forces in this area finally were forced to recross the +Potomac River into Virginia. + +On December 13, the Battle of Fredericksburg took place between +Confederate forces under General Lee and Union forces under General +Ambrose Burnside. Burnside had supplanted General McClellan. The +town itself was used as a battlefield and many of the individual +houses were completely destroyed. The city had been evacuated when +it was first bombarded by Burnside on December 11. He proceeded to +use five pontoon bridges to get his troops across the Rappahannock +River. Although this battle resulted in some of the heaviest losses +of the war, Burnside with his remaining forces was finally driven +back across the Rappahannock River with the Union casualties twice +as many as the Confederates. + +On March 8, 1863, an unusual incident occurred. At midnight, a group +of Confederate raiders, led by Colonel John S. Mosby, made a raid on +the Fairfax Court House which had become federally occupied. Noted +for its ruthless guerilla actions, this group of raiders then made a +daring invasion of the Union lines and continued to the headquarters +of Union Brigadier-General Edwin H. Stoughton. After cleverly +getting past Stoughton's guards in the middle of the night, Mosby +himself quickly captured Stoughton as a choice Confederate prisoner. + +On April 30, 1863, the Union army under General Joseph E. Hooker, +Burnside's successor, crossed the Rappahannock River again, +this time at Chancellorsville, approximately ten miles north of +Fredericksburg. "Stonewall" Jackson was in charge of the attack on +Hooker at Chancellorsville and his troops were forcing back the +troops under Hooker when fate seemed to take a hand. On May 2, +"Stonewall" Jackson had ridden beyond his own line of battle and was +returning at dusk when he was mistaken for one of the enemy and was +fired upon by a group of his own soldiers. He was wounded in the +left shoulder, forearm and right hand and had to have his left arm +amputated the next day. He was mortally wounded and died on May 10. +His death was a great shock to the Confederate forces. General A. +P. Hill had also been wounded at Chancellorsville. "J.E.B." Stuart +voluntarily took command of the corps originally under Jackson and +by his own audacious actions successfully led them in pursuit of +the Union forces under Hooker, as Jackson had originally planned. +Attacked by troops from the west under Stuart and by forces from the +east under Lee, Hooker and his army were finally driven back across +the Rappahannock River. + +On June 9, the famous Confederate cavalry leader, "J.E.B." +Stuart, met in combat the great Union cavalry leader, General +Alfred Pleasanton at Brandy Station, near Culpeper. Stuart had +been on a scouting trip between the Union forces and Washington, +seeking information for the proposed advance of Lee to Gettysburg; +Pleasanton had been seeking Confederate information for General +George G. Meade, who had succeeded Hooker in command of the Union +Army. Both cavalry groups consisted of approximately 10,000 troops +each. Excellent horsemanship was displayed in this action with +sabers as the chief weapons. Pleasanton and his men inflicted much +damage and then left in orderly fashion. Stuart withstood the +surprise attack very well and did not retreat in a panic, as might +have been expected. Since the Unionists lost more men than did +the Confederates in this practically evenly-matched fighting, the +Battle of Brandy Station is considered as a notable victory for +"J.E.B." Stuart and his men because Pleasanton had a highly skilled +group of infantrymen. This battle was the first real cavalry battle +of the War between the States. It is considered by many military +strategists as the greatest cavalry battle of the nineteenth +century. As soon as his battle ended, Stuart made another famous +ride directly behind the Federal fighting lines. He was later +criticized for this trip, however, because he had not been ordered +to make such a trip and was badly needed by Lee at this time to +screen planned operations and to keep Lee informed of the activities +of Meade and his troops. + +From June 13 to June 15, 1863, a second Battle of Winchester +occurred. Union General R. H. Milroy was forced to evacuate +Winchester and retreat across the Potomac due to the hard fighting +of Confederate General Richard S. Ewell whose troops had captured +not only valuable cannon and wagons but also approximately 4,000 +Union soldiers. + +At the beginning of the War between the States, forty western +counties of Virginia preferred not to secede from the Union. +Consequently, when Virginia joined the Confederacy, a majority +of the residents of the western counties voted to secede from +Confederate Virginia at a special Wheeling convention. They formed +a separate Unionist Virginia government and selected Francis H. +Pierpont as their Governor. They had already chosen two United +States Representatives from their Virginia government and they +proceeded to elect two United States Senators. State officers of +the Unionist Virginia government were required to take an oath of +allegiance to the federal government. This Pierpont government +was accepted by the President of the United States and Congress +as the official government of Virginia. Three months later, at a +second Wheeling convention, the strong desire on the part of many +residents of this area to become a separate state in the Union +resulted in Pierpont's calling together his legislature which gave +the necessary consent for the creation of an independent state from +within the original state of Virginia government boundaries. The +new area was first called "Kanawha" but later the name was changed +to West Virginia. On June 20, 1863, West Virginia was admitted +as the thirty-fifth state to the Union. Although this procedure +was apparently illegal and unconstitutional because the United +States Constitution provides that no new state can be formed within +the jurisdiction of any other state without the consent of the +state legislature so involved, President Lincoln and the United +States Congress overlooked this technicality because of a need for +military and political expediency in wartime. Governor Pierpont +and his Unionist government in August 1863 changed the location +of his "restored" or "reorganized" government from Wheeling to +Alexandria, which he termed the West Virginia capital city at that +time. Alexandria maintained this West Virginia capital city status +until the end of the war and the residents of Alexandria were +forced to live under the provisions of a Pierpont-drafted "state" +constitution. Later, Berkeley County and Jefferson County were +annexed to West Virginia by November 1863 and became an official +part of the state of West Virginia. Eventually, Virginia lost fifty +counties altogether to West Virginia, approximately one-third of its +total land area, with their human and natural resources as well as +their financial support. + +After the victories of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Lee +decided to cross the Potomac again and invade the north once more. +When Lee found out that a large Union force under the command of +General George G. Meade, who had replaced General Joseph Hooker, +was at Frederick, Maryland, Lee decided to center his forces at +Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On July 1, 1863, the Confederate forces +attacked Meade's forces and made temporary gains. Two days later, +three Confederate brigades commanded by General George E. Pickett +advanced to the Federal cannon center, now called Cemetery Ridge, +where mass slaughter of the Confederates took place. On July 4, +the remaining Confederates returned sadly across the Potomac +River into Virginia. Approximately two weeks after the Gettysburg +defeat, a surprise attack on Wytheville, Virginia, was thwarted by +the courageous efforts of Molly Tyres who rode rapidly over forty +miles of mountain road between Tazewell and Wytheville to warn the +inhabitants of the coming attack. Thus, did Virginians--military +and civilian--strive to help the Confederate cause in which they so +strongly believed. + +On May 5 and 6, 1864 the so-called Battle of the Wilderness was +fought in the heavily forested terrain of Spotsylvania County. As +General R. S. Ewell was returning his forces from Fredericksburg +to Orange, he encountered General Ulysses S. Grant who had become +commander of the Union army. At the same time forces under General +Ambrose P. Hill encountered the left wing force under Grant which +resulted in terrific fighting within the dense woods of the +wilderness. As the left wing force under Grant was breaking through +the forces under Hill, General James Longstreet approached and +forced the Union troops back to Spotsylvania Courthouse, southwest +of Fredericksburg. Grant retreated in this direction in an attempt +to keep Lee away from Richmond. However, Lee was ahead of Grant. +Although Grant tried repeatedly from May 8 to May 18 to break +through the Confederate lines at Spotsylvania with exceptionally +heavy musketry fire causing thousands of casualties, he was unable +to penetrate Lee's lines. Therefore, he moved southward to the North +Anna River. + +In the meantime, on May 10, when General Philip Sheridan tried to +make an unexpected rush on Richmond, "J.E.B." Stuart, with only +part of his cavalry, blocked Sheridan's way at Yellow Tavern and +saved the Confederate capital. Stuart was mortally wounded by a +close pistol shot in this fighting and he died on May 11, 1864 in +Richmond. He is considered by many military strategists as the +greatest cavalryman in United States history. + +On May 15, General Franz Sigel, a Union leader, decided to capture +Staunton in order to ruin the communication system there which Lee +had used to be kept informed about activities in the Shenandoah +Valley. He arrived as far as New Market, in Shenandoah County, +when he met Confederate General John C. Breckinridge who had a +comparatively small army consisting mostly of young Virginia +Military Institute cadets. They showed the benefits of their +military training and successfully captured a Union battery. After +this had been done, General Breckinridge advanced, defeated Sigel +and drove him down the Shenandoah Valley. + +On May 23-27, 1864, the North Anna River in Hanover County became +the next area of military concentration. General Lee and General +Grant were on opposite sides of the river. Although the forces +led by Grant were able to cross the river at various intervals, +they were unable to penetrate the forces led by Lee. Consequently, +Grant turned southwest and proceeded to march to Cold Harbor, +approximately ten miles north of Richmond. When Grant arrived at +Cold Harbor, he decided to have an all-out offensive against the +forces of Lee at this location. His attempt was in vain, however, +and he received very heavy losses on June 3. This caused him to +retreat to the James River south of Richmond. + +On June 11, 1864 there was an important cavalry battle at +Trevillians Station, in Louisa County, between Union General Philip +Sheridan and Confederate cavalrymen led by Wade Hampton and Fitzhugh +Lee. Sheridan had been trying to reach Union General Hunter who +was on his way to Lynchburg. After heavy fighting on both sides, +Sheridan was defeated and retreated eastward. + +In the meantime, after General Grant had found it impossible to +penetrate the lines established by Lee north of Richmond, he had +crossed the James River south of Richmond and had set up camp on +the outskirts of Petersburg. On June 15, 1864, Confederate General +Beauregard held the forces under Grant back for three days until +reenforcements under Lee arrived. Fighting continued between these +two groups until April of the following year. During this siege, +the Union forces decided to make a tunnel under the Confederate +defenses which surrounded the city of Petersburg and to blow up +the fortifications via a mine blast. Some Pennsylvania coal miners +in one Union regiment were assigned the task of making the tunnel +and laying the mine. On July 30, 1864 the mine was exploded, and +the shape of the area after the explosion resembled a huge crater +of a volcano. For this reason, this action is often referred to as +the Battle of the Crater. Two hundred Confederate soldiers lost +their lives due to the explosion. However, as the Union soldiers +were ordered to charge up the sides of the recently carved crater, +they found them too steep and while they were struggling to get out +of the crater, about 4,000 Unionists lost their lives. The Union +men could not see from behind the lines and continued to advance +according to their orders into the crater until the crater was +practically filled with struggling Union soldiers. The remaining +Unionists were driven at the point of bayonets out of the crater +back to their own lines. + +While the Petersburg siege was taking place, Lynchburg became +the next objective of the Union forces. When General Jubal Early +reached Charlottesville on his mission to block Union General +Hunter, he learned that Hunter was heading for Lynchburg, the +chief center of supplies of the Army of Northern Virginia and its +center of communications. Early's forces in this battle consisted +of two extremes in age: very young men cadets from the Virginia +Military Institute and older men whose hair locks were so white +that they were nicknamed "Silver grays." The fighting lasted from +the afternoon of the 17th to the end of the next day when Hunter +withdrew unexpectedly to the west. Early pursued him down the +Shenandoah Valley and across the Potomac River to the outskirts of +the Federal capital. Since Early, however, was not prepared for a +fight on Washington, D. C., he returned to Winchester. + +At approximately noon, on September 19, 1864, General Early +survived a surprise attack by General Sheridan and his forces near +Winchester. Early, in a victorious mood, even turned the tables +on the attackers and attacked them. Much to his surprise at three +o'clock of the same day, Sheridan returned and badly defeated Early, +driving him back to Winchester and eventually to a retreat up the +Shenandoah Valley. Sheridan, whose forces had been savagely attacked +by some Confederate guerilla bands, now retaliated by destroying +houses, barns and foodstuffs and by capturing or killing livestock. +The valley was completely devastated by his destructive campaign. + +One month later, however, Early made a surprise crossing of a branch +of the Shenandoah River and drove the forces of Sheridan northward +from Cedar Creek in Frederick County. As Sheridan and his forces +were fleeing, Union reenforcements arrived under the leadership of +General Horatio Wright. The combined forces of Sheridan and Wright +attacked the troops of Early and drove them from the area in great +chaos. This victory was the shortest victory in the War between the +States. + +During the war, several attempts had been made by the Union +forces in the Shenandoah Valley to capture and destroy the Salt +Works at Saltville, located in southwestern Virginia. In 1864, +the Confederate General John H. Morgan with a small cavalry +force successfully repulsed a Union force under General William +Averell. On December 18, 1864, however, the salt mines and the +Salt Works were destroyed by a small detachment of Union forces +who were ordered to Saltville while the Confederates were engaged +in severe fighting with the major Union troops at nearby Marion. +The destruction of the Salt Works was significant because this +location had furnished the principal source of salt supply for the +Confederacy. + +In spite of the many Unionist casualties at the Crater in 1864, +Grant continued to keep his army near Petersburg. Finally, both +sides made their camp there for the winter. General William Mahone +was the Confederate general in charge of the Petersburg defense at +this time. While the winter passed, the Union forces kept receiving +enforcements while the Confederate forces had no reenforcements. As +the Union forces were increased over a large area, the Confederates +were forced to station their meager forces farther apart. There +was a scarcity of food and clothing for the Confederates; the cold +climate was most uncomfortable and demoralizing for them. On April +2, General Grant succeeded in breaking through the Confederate +lines. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, was informed +while attending services at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond +that Petersburg could be held no longer by the Confederate forces. +The Virginians knew that, if and when Petersburg fell, Richmond +would fall next because Petersburg was the key to Richmond. The +next day, April 3, Richmond fell. As General Richard S. Ewell and +his Confederate troops evacuated the city, they burned bridges and +large tobacco and cotton warehouses to prevent the Union forces from +receiving beneficial goods. However, a surprising wind spread the +flames rapidly and resulted in approximately thirty million dollars +worth of damage to the City of Richmond. + +Three days later, the final battle of the Army of Northern Virginia +occurred at Sailor's Creek near Farmville. The rearguard of Lee's +Army on the way to Lynchburg was completely surrounded and attacked +by Unionists. The Confederates lacked equipment, especially cannon, +and were quickly overpowered by artillery fire. In the mass +surrender which resulted, two generals were captured: R. S. Ewell +and Custis Lee, son of General Robert E. Lee. + +While the rearguard of Lee's army was retreating toward Lynchburg, +the rest of his army was retreating from Petersburg. On April 8, +1865, two Confederate corps consisting of starved, poorly equipped +soldiers under General John B. Gordon and General James Longstreet +arrived at a village called Appomattox Court House. When General +Lee arrived, he noticed that his men were actually surrounded and +far outnumbered by General Grant's Army of the Potomac. He had been +corresponding with Grant concerning a surrender ever since the fall +of Petersburg. Lee, realizing the futility of the comparatively +small group of poorly equipped troops which he now commanded against +Grant's large army, asked for an official meeting at Appomattox +Court House. The meeting took place at noon on April 9, 1865, on +Palm Sunday in the parlor of Wilmer McLean's House. General Lee and +Colonel Charles Marshall, one of Lee's staff members and a most +distinguished officer, represented the Army of Northern Virginia +at the meeting while General Grant and fourteen federal officers +including General George A. Custer and Major General Philip H. +Sheridan constituted the remaining membership of the famous meeting. + +The contrasting appearance of the two leaders was very noticeable: +Grant, the victor, appeared straight from the battlefield in a +dusty, fatigue uniform of a private without side arms and Lee, +the vanquished, appeared in a new dress uniform of a Confederate +general--the only one he owned after his personal effects had been +burned in a wagon raid during an earlier retreat. Although the +two leaders had had only casual meetings in their earlier years, +their previous acquaintance seemed to lighten the tenseness of +the situation. After an exchange of formal greetings and general +conversation, the talks gradually shifted to a discussion of peace +terms of surrender. + +The terms have been described as most fair and generous and they +included the following: parole was given to the Confederate officers +and soldiers with the understanding that they were not to take +up arms against the United States during the period of exchange, +military weapons were to be relinquished to Union military officers +with the exception of the side-arms belonging to the Confederate +officers and baggage and privately-owned animals were to be kept +for the spring plowing. Thus, after four years of brave fighting, +General Robert E. Lee, in the name of the Army of Northern +Virginia, graciously accepted with dignity the surrender terms of +General Ulysses S. Grant and stated that the terms "will do much +toward the conciliation of our people." General Grant then proceeded +to furnish food for the starving Confederate forces. The formal +surrender took place the next day. When the Union forces began to +cheer during the surrendering of Confederate arms, Grant immediately +ordered the cheers to cease with the remark: "The war is over; the +rebels are our countrymen again." Thus, Virginia, where the first +blood of the War between the States was shed, was also the scene +where the final negotiations for the conclusion of the war were made. + +From April 3 to April 10, 1865, Danville was the capital of the +Confederacy. As the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond took +place, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, and his +cabinet moved to Danville. The present Danville Public Library +occupies the building known as the Confederate Memorial Mansion +where Jefferson Davis held his last cabinet meeting, making Danville +the Confederate capital for a few days. At the time of the meeting, +this beautiful building was the home of Major W. T. Sutherlin. +Governor William Smith of Virginia also evacuated from Richmond to +Lynchburg where the state archives had been sent earlier. + +After the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, Jefferson +Davis and his cabinet fled to Greensboro, North Carolina, and +eventually, to Washington, Georgia, where they finally dispersed. +Davis was later confined for two years at Fort Monroe, Old Point +Comfort, Virginia, from May 10, 1865 to May 15, 1867. He was finally +released on bail furnished surprisingly by Horace Greeley and other +individuals who had strongly opposed Davis and his Confederate ideas +a few years previously. + +All the remaining Confederate troops had surrendered by the first +week of June, and the War between the States had ended. Since a +majority of the battles had been fought in Virginia, tremendous +damage had been inflicted upon Virginia during the war. The state +had been a constant battleground. Virginia troops, however, had +distinguished themselves in their excellent fighting tactics, +and the most brilliant military leaders of the Confederacy were +Virginia-born. + +Not only from a military viewpoint had the Confederacy welcomed +the addition of Virginia within its membership, but also from an +economic viewpoint. War munitions had been manufactured in huge +quantities for the Confederate forces by the Tredegar Iron Works +of Richmond. Richmond was also the home of the country's largest +flour mills at that time. Because of its plentiful farm products, +particularly wheat and corn, the Shenandoah Valley was called the +"Granary of the Confederacy." + +Even in defeat, the courageous spirit of the Virginians continued. +The rôle of women in Virginia as well as in the entire South cannot +be overemphasized. They had suffered physically, emotionally and +economically during the war. They made military uniforms by hand, +stood by helplessly as their homes and, often, life fortunes were +burned to the ground, experienced certain types of deprivation +such as a lack of proper food (particularly sugar, salt and meat), +clothing, shelter and medicinal needs and performed numerous +physical household tasks previously done by the Negro slaves +although many of these women were unaccustomed to such hard labor. + +Individual examples of bravery and courage, far too numerous to +mention, were common throughout the entire war. A most unusual +contribution of the women was their continuous experimentation +in the discovery of food substitutes: the use of blackberry and +sassafras leaves for tea; parched wheat, rye and corn for coffee +beans; sea water for salt; and corncob ashes for cooking soda. A +lack of processed candles and kerosene oil left only grease and wax +to be utilized for making handmade candles. Wood was frequently +substituted for leather and seeds for buttons. Formal education, of +necessity, was almost non-existent; with a few exceptions, like the +Virginia Military Institute, education became solely one of family +training. + +An incident of special interest was the activity of Sally Tompkins +of Gloucester who was eventually commissioned by President Jefferson +Davis as a Captain in the Confederate Army. She had charge of +Robertson Hospital located in Richmond after she had previously +used her own money and efforts to get this hospital established +because of the urgent need for a hospital in the Richmond area. +She influenced Judge Robertson to lend his house as a hospital +headquarters. Later, after the government of the Confederacy assumed +control of all the hospitals in the Confederacy, President Davis +appointed an army officer as a director for each one. Recognizing +the conscientious efforts of Sally Tompkins in establishing this +hospital at Richmond, President Davis commissioned her as Captain, +the only woman to be commissioned by the Confederate government. + +At the end of the war, Virginia was in a devastated condition: +private property as well as public property had in many cases been +completely destroyed by fire or by ammunition. Practically all the +livestock had been carried away. Family members had been decreased +in number, and disease and starvation conditions were common +throughout the state. Politically, economically, geographically, +historically and socially, the South had been affected: Virginia, in +the heart of the most severe battleground area, seemed to base its +existence for the future upon the "survival of the fittest" theory. + + +_The Reconstruction Period and Its Aftermath_ + +Returning Virginia soldiers found some houses completely destroyed +and large sections of land completely laid to waste. With little, if +any, livestock left and with farm tools missing, the serious problem +of reconstruction and rehabilitation can be easily understood. +Railroad tracks and bridges had been demolished; transportation +facilities in some areas were almost non-existent. Even fences, so +important to livestock raising, had been entirely demolished in most +instances. So hopeless did a recovery appear to many Virginians that +a few men proposed migration to Mexico rather than to start anew +with such poor living conditions. + +General Robert E. Lee still showed his leadership qualities when +he beseeched several Virginians, including Matthew Fontaine Maury, +the brilliant marine cartographer, not to abandon Virginia when the +state needed all her sons so badly. Maury was so impressed by the +plea of Robert E. Lee that he rejected offers of employment from +foreign countries which were familiar with his broad, oceanographic +knowledge. Instead, he accepted the chairmanship of the Meteorology +Department of the Virginia Military Institute. Robert E. Lee, +himself, had been offered various employment opportunities but the +honor which he deemed the highest of all was the position offered to +him as President of Washington College at Lexington. Lee's financial +gain from this position was to be a sum of $1500 per year plus a +house and a garden. He humbly accepted the position and was allowed +to keep his faithful horse, "Traveler," with him in a stable built +adjacent to the President's house. From September 1865 until October +1870, Robert E. Lee served as President of Washington College. + +Lee had two objectives which he hoped personally to achieve: (1) the +lessening of the hatred which then existed between the North and the +South so that all Americans might work together in unity for peace +and progress, and (2) the education of youth in such a manner as to +make them capable of living as successful citizens of the United +States. With his deep idealism, Lee was also a practical man. When +he recognized the interest of many young men in writing, editing +and publishing newspapers, he included a course in journalism at +Washington College. This was the first college journalism class +offered in the United States. He was also responsible for the +origin of the honor system whereby a student is on his personal +honor to refrain from cheating and is also honor-bound to report +any individual seen violating such code; this system is now used in +numerous institutions of learning. Many of the current attributes +of this college are traceable to the administration of Robert E. +Lee. In 1871, the name of the college was changed to Washington +and Lee University in honor of two Virginians who made numerous +contributions to American culture. + +After the war had ended, a most unusual situation existed in +Virginia. The "Restored Government" under Governor Francis Harrison +Pierpont claimed to be the official government of Virginia although +he and his cohorts were responsible for dividing the State of +Virginia and actually had set up an illegal Unionist Virginia +government at Wheeling. President Lincoln, however, had at one time +stated that "The government that took Virginia out of the Union is +the government that should bring her back." He suggested that the +present Governor of Virginia at that time, William Smith, should be +present to ratify such procedure. However, U. S. Secretary of War +Edwin Stanton persuaded Lincoln to withdraw this offer. Lincoln's +untimely death on April 14, 1865, when he was assassinated by John +Wilkes Booth at the Ford Theater in Washington, was a real blow to +the South in general because he was much more conciliatory toward +the South than the majority members of the Congress who were radical +about their military victory over the South. It is interesting to +note that, fifteen days later, John Wilkes Booth was shot to death +in a burning barn on the Garrett Farm near Port Royal, Virginia. +On May 9, 1865, President Andrew Johnson officially recognized +the "Restored Government" of Virginia, which had relocated in +Alexandria, and also recognized Pierpont as the Provisional Governor. + +On June 15, 1865, a Freedman's Bureau headed by General Orlando +Brown was established in Virginia. The Bureau was supported by the +United States Government and had charge of the interests, aid, +protection and guidance of the Negroes. This bureau distributed +food rations and clothing to the Negroes and provided educational +opportunities for them. Originally founded to help newly freed +Negroes, the Freedmen's Bureau soon became overshadowed with +political activities and severe radicalism with strong racial +prejudices resulted. + +From June 19 to June 23, 1865, Governor Pierpont had changed +his headquarters from Alexandria to Richmond and his "General +Assembly" of twelve representatives held meetings there. They +endorsed Lincoln's plan of reconstruction and were rejoicing at +the comparatively easy way in which Virginia was going to be +restored to the Union. In the meantime, the radical Congress in +Washington believed that the Confederate States had left the Union +voluntarily and should not be allowed to return until they had +fulfilled specific conditions. When the State of Virginia sent her +officially-elected representatives to Congress, they were refused +admission. Nevertheless, Congress did allow the Virginia General +Assembly to meet in regular session, and one of the measures passed +by this group consisted of a formal appeal to West Virginia to +reunite with the original State of Virginia. + +On March 2, 1867, Congress under the Reconstruction Act of 1867, +divided the ex-Confederate states (with the exception of Tennessee +which had ratified the Fourteenth Amendment providing citizenship +for the Negroes) into five military districts, each of which was +under the command of a Major-General of the United States Army. +Later, on March 23, the Commonwealth of Virginia became Military +District No. 1, and General John M. Schofield became the first +military Governor of District No. 1 in 1867. Since Pierpont had been +reelected Governor of Virginia in 1864 for a four-year term, he +was accepted as the civilian Governor by the radical Congress, but +subject to the authority of the military commander. + +On December 3, 1867, a convention was held in Richmond for the +purpose of writing a state constitution which would be accepted +by the Federal Congress. A large majority of the representatives +attending were radicals. Membership included twenty-five Negroes, +individuals of foreign birth who had drifted into the State of +Virginia after the War between the States, many northerners who had +come South to enter politics and a few eligible white men who had +changed to Republicanism. White men of the South who had held high +public office before the War between the States and those who had +helped or participated in the Confederacy in any way were barred +from voting or taking part in the Constitutional Convention. Since +the chairman or president of this convention was Federal Judge +John C. Underwood, the convention is sometimes referred to as the +Underwood Convention. The measures passed by these members were so +radical that even General Schofield himself appeared personally +before the convention and pleaded with the members to repeal a +clause, drafted by the convention delegates, which disfranchised +approximately 95% of the male white population of Virginia and +disqualified them from holding office and from serving on juries. +His plea, however, was ignored. + +At this time, a Committee of Nine Virginians was formed at the +suggestion of Alexander H. Stuart. The chief objectives of this +committee were to observe political developments in Virginia and to +determine the appropriate time to report to Washington on the state +of events in order to obtain a more favorable method for Virginia +to re-enter the Union. They bluntly stated that the Virginians +were definitely opposed to full Negro suffrage and declared that +many states other than the southern states, such as Kansas, Ohio, +Minnesota, Michigan and Connecticut, had refused to enfranchise the +Negro. + +General Schofield prevented the planned election of the Underwood +Convention from taking place in June by refusing to appropriate +money for election expenses. Such postponement gave the Committee +of Nine an opportunity to obtain public opinion backing before +the Senate voted for the Underwood Constitution. The House of +Representatives had already voted in favor of it immediately before +the Christmas recess occurred. A representative of the Committee +of Nine stated before Congress that the Committee advocated the +acceptance of full Negro suffrage as inevitable in order that +constitutional representative government might be restored at once. +Chairman Stuart had already successfully achieved the support of the +Boston "Advertiser," the Chicago "Tribune," the New York "Times" +and the New York "Tribune." President Grant, who had succeeded +President Johnson, suggested that, when the election took place in +Virginia, the Underwood Constitution be voted upon first and then +the test oath. As a result of the test oath, only individuals who +had never taken arms against the Union and had never given aid or +comfort to the Confederacy would be eligible to vote or to hold +office. Likewise, it was suggested that the extension of the white +disfranchisement be voted separately. When the election took place +on July 6, 1869, the Underwood Constitution was adopted, but the two +separate items mentioned above were defeated. + +Gilbert C. Walker, a conservative Republican from New York and +Pennsylvania, was appointed on September 21, 1869 as Governor of +Virginia by General Canby, a successor of General Schofield. On +October 8, 1869 the newly-elected General Assembly ratified the +Fourteenth Amendment--"All persons born or naturalized in the United +States are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein +they reside ..." and the Fifteenth Amendment--"The right of citizens +of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the +United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous +condition of servitude." Congress then approved the new state +constitution, and Virginia was officially re-admitted into the Union +on January 26, 1870. + +One of the biggest problems facing Governor Walker was the extremely +high debt of approximately forty-five million dollars which faced +the state. The Underwood Constitution had provided for numerous +additional office positions in an attempt to force the New England +Township plan upon the Virginia County plan and to create positions +for the many "Carpetbaggers" (northern politicians who came south +to gain control of the local governments) and "Scalawags" (southern +politicians who helped the "Carpetbaggers" get control). This +increased the cost of state government. To remedy this situation, +the General Assembly decreased its total membership approximately +one-fourth to help reduce expenses. + +Prior to the war, Virginia had embarked upon an extensive program +of internal improvements which under normal circumstances would +have paid for itself eventually and which during the war had +accumulated much unpaid interest on the bonded debt. This financial +burden would seem secondary to the tremendous poverty of the +Virginians themselves at the end of the war. However, the General +Assembly which had met prior to the adoption of the Underwood +Constitution pledged the payment of all the ante-bellum debt +plus the interest, even though Virginia had lost one-third of its +taxable assets because of the separation of West Virginia. Some of +the members still hoped and actually believed that West Virginia +might return to the fold of Virginia after the war had ended. At the +Governor's suggestion, in order to obtain revenue, the state sold +its railroad holdings at a great reduction. Another method was the +exchange of certain bonds for new ones at six per cent interest for +two-thirds of the amount of the old bonds. For the additional third, +certificates were issued endorsed against future settlement with +West Virginia. Although these attempts were made to obtain necessary +revenue, the amount received was very insufficient, and the state +actually became more indebted because of them. + +Another grave problem which faced the state at this time was the +establishment of a state system of free public schools. This action +was based upon a provision of the Underwood Constitution of 1869 +and although having a most worthy purpose, the action was a costly +one. Schools were to be furnished for the Negroes (approximately +30% of the total Virginia population) as well as for the whites, +and this condition made the problem more difficult since there was +a large number of illiterate Negroes. Dr. William H. Ruffner of +Lexington, the first State Superintendent of Public Instruction, +was elected by the General Assembly when the new state public +school system was organized in 1870. The formidable task facing +him can be better appreciated when one considers the creation of +an entire public school system with very little money and few +trained teachers available. The interest from the Literary Fund, +all the capitation or poll tax, a new state property tax and a new +one dollar annual tax on each male citizen twenty-one years and +older were to constitute the financial support of the public school +system. Local school and capitation taxes were optional with each +county and public school district. Dr. Ruffner received much help +from Dr. Benjamin Mosby Smith who helped him formulate a program and +at the end of the first year, twenty-nine hundred schools were in +operation with three thousand teachers employed to teach one hundred +and thirty thousand students. From time to time, the schools were +seriously threatened when the interest on the state debt was so high +that there was little surplus left for educational purposes. Dr. +Ruffner fought not only to keep the school funds from being used for +other state activities but also to encourage Virginians themselves +to favor a free public school system. + +In 1868, General Samuel Chapman Armstrong was responsible for +the founding of the Hampton Institute at Hampton, an educational +institution whose primary objective was the education of the +ex-slaves. The American Missionary Society, at the suggestion of +General Armstrong, purchased a farm in Hampton where the Federal +Government had established a hospital during the War between the +States. The school began with General Armstrong as the principal, +two additional teachers and fifteen students. Two years later, it +became the Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute. Since General +Armstrong believed in education of the "head, the heart, and the +hands," training of the mind, character training, and vocational +training were emphasized with the over-all objective of preparing +the students to earn a living. The now-famous Hampton singers, +originally led by General Armstrong, made their first tour through +England and New England in 1870. + +In the same year, Richmond was the scene of a dreadful disaster. +When a sensational political case was about to be tried by the +Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals which held its sessions above +the Old Hall in the State Capitol, the gallery in the court room +collapsed due to the weight of the spectators. It crashed so hard +that it broke through the ceiling of the Old Hall of the House of +Delegates causing the death of sixty-two persons and injury to +two hundred and fifty-one other individuals. This tragic incident +focused attention on the need for more careful supervision of the +construction and maintenance of buildings, especially where crowds +are likely to congregate. + +In the following year, the United States Supreme Court, which has +original jurisdiction in the settlement of disputes between two or +more states of the Union, was asked to settle a controversy between +Virginia and West Virginia concerning the joint boundary line. +The Supreme Court held that the new State of West Virginia was +valid and agreed with West Virginia as to the territory within her +jurisdiction. At the same time, the Virginia General Assembly passed +an act whereby the state debt of approximately forty-five million +dollars was to be funded. West Virginia was to be responsible for +funding one-third of this amount since she had helped accumulate +this debt before her separation from Virginia. + +In 1872, the Virginia General Assembly appropriated money to +establish an agricultural college at Blacksburg. This college was +created as a result of the Morrill Act of Congress whereby federal +funds were appropriated by Congress and awarded to colleges which +emphasized the teaching of agriculture and of mechanical arts. The +federal funds were received from the money collected from the sale +of public lands. Therefore, such colleges were called "land-grant" +colleges. The college of Blacksburg, originally known as Virginia +Agricultural and Mechanical College, was the first land-grant +college in Virginia and is now known as the Virginia Polytechnic +Institute. + +The recessions which took place in the United States in 1867 and +in 1869 and the Panic of 1873 indirectly helped Virginia because, +instead of devoting much time and effort to Virginia's internal +problems as had been planned upon its re-admission to the Union, the +Congressmen at Washington were busy with the national problem of +getting the United States in a more prosperous economic condition. + +When the political parties held their gubernatorial conventions +in Virginia in 1873, the Conservatives nominated General James +L. Kemper and the Republicans nominated Robert W. Hughes. Kemper +won, and the chief issue in the election was the debt problem. +The Conservatives had advocated payment of the debt in order to +maintain the credit of Virginia in the eyes of the public and to +assume what they considered a proper obligation. However, some of +the Conservatives believed that the debt would have to be lowered +somewhat if it were ever to be paid in full and that, from a +practical standpoint, it would have to be adjusted to the ability +of the state to pay. This group of Conservatives was called the +"Readjusters." In 1870, the state had been gerrymandered (districted +politically) in an effort to create Negro majorities which would +guarantee "carpetbagger" rule because the "carpetbaggers" seemingly +had been very helpful to the Negro. The Conservatives who had won +the election then enacted some reapportionment laws which resulted +in the restoration of white rule in the cities. They also took it +upon themselves to abolish approximately one-third of the local jobs +created by the Underwood Constitution. In 1876, a law was passed +which required the payment of a poll tax before voting in the state +of Virginia. Although originally this tax was levied for revenue +purposes, it automatically kept some of the Negroes from the voting +polls because they could not afford to pay this tax. At the same +time another law was passed, disfranchising all voters who had been +found guilty at any time of petty larceny. Since this method had +been commonly used by the Negroes directly after their emancipation, +this law was criticized by some individuals as discriminatory toward +the Negroes and contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment. + +As time passed, the old question of the state debt loomed more +important and more controversial than ever. The problem had two +types of backers: one group called the "Readjusters" who believed +that the debt should be drastically reduced or practically +repudiated; the other group called the "Funders" who believed +that Virginia was honor-bound to pay the original debt in full. +The "Funders" surprisingly enough consisted of the planter and +merchant class men whose financial losses had been the greatest +during the war. The "Readjusters" persuaded the Negroes to adhere +to their ideas primarily for political reasons. The arguments +centered around such issues as: (1) whether the interest on the debt +should have been cumulative during the War between the States, (2) +whether Governor Walker had greatly over-estimated the potential +resources of Virginia in considering the capacity of the ability +of the people to pay, (3) whether the payment of a debt primarily +because the honor of a state is involved is a major factor in an +economic world, (4) whether the Federal government had regarded +the State of Virginia as "conquered territory" and hence should +assume the ante-bellum debts of this "conquered territory," (5) +whether the debt itself should be reduced in all fairness because +of the severe war property destruction in Virginia and because +one-third of Virginia's entire state area had been reduced by the +creation of West Virginia as a separate and permanent state, (6) +whether Virginia had been forced by the Federal government to have +the status of Military District No. 1 from 1865 to 1870 and hence +would the state be held responsible for debts incurred during this +period, and (7) whether local state government debts should be paid +before payment should be made to outside debtors such as those in +New York and London. In 1877 Colonel Frederick W. M. Holliday, the +Conservative or "Funder" candidate, defeated General William Mahone, +the "Readjuster" candidate for the Governorship. + +Mahone subsequently succeeded in getting himself elected to the +United States Senate in 1879. He became so politically influential +that he eventually secured the nomination and the election of +a "Readjuster" Governor for Virginia in 1881 and a Republican +Lieutenant-Governor. At this time, he publicly declared himself a +Republican. His "Readjuster" friends gained control of the General +Assembly and removed several state government officials solely for +political reasons. Mahone was considered responsible for the use of +the "Spoils" System throughout the State of Virginia. During the +administration of a Readjuster Governor, the debt of Virginia, as +could be expected, was re-adjusted to approximately $23,000,000. +Since many of the Readjuster party members consisted of Negroes, the +poll tax was repealed also. The public school system and even the +court system became infiltrated with politics. Often the responsible +positions in these fields were filled by employees of political +ability or affiliation rather than by employees with qualifications +pertinent to such positions. After much rioting and corruption, +Mahone's political machine finally lost control of the state in 1883. + +A permanent reminder of the "Readjuster" Party was formulated in +1880 with the creation of Dickenson County from Russell, Wise and +Buchanan Counties. It was named for one of the leaders of the +"Readjuster" Party, William J. Dickenson. This county has the +distinction of being the youngest county in Virginia. + +In 1892, the state debt problem was settled more satisfactorily +when the balance of the debt was established at a figure lower than +the original but higher than the "Readjuster" figure and the rate +of interest was lowered. The creditors and the debtors cooperated +in this situation, and the credit of Virginia was gradually +re-established. + +During the Reconstruction Period, a great majority of the Republican +Party members in the South were Negroes. Lincoln, himself, had been +a Republican. Since it was during his administration that the war +started and that the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, +the word "Republican" in the South had for many individuals the +connotation of a moral and social stigma. So permanent were the +scars of events of the Republican Reconstruction era that until +1920, the former seceded states never cast an electoral vote for a +Republican candidate in a national election. Thus, a vote solidly or +unanimously for the Democratic Party resulted and the term "Solid +South" came into existence. + +In the Spanish-American War of 1898, many Virginians fought +valiantly for their country. The outstanding contributions of such +Virginians as Dr. Walter Reed (birthplace, Gloucester County) +and his colleague, Dr. Robert Powel Page Cooke, in discovering +that yellow fever was transmitted to human beings by the bite of +mosquitoes, Major-General Fitzhugh Lee (nephew of General Robert +E. Lee) who served as United States Consul-General to Cuba in 1896 +and who was given the command of the Seventh Army Corps in the +Spanish-American War and Robley Dunglison Evans (Floyd) who was +Commander of the U.S.S. Iowa at the Battle of Santiago Harbor helped +considerably in the efforts of the United States to win this war. + +By 1900, although Virginia's population (both white and Negro) had +increased at a rapid rate, Virginia ranked seventeenth in population +in comparison to the other forty-four states in the Union. Virginia +had approximately 1,854,000 people including approximately 661,000 +Negroes. However, one-third of the area of the state--which had +become West Virginia--was permanently separated. In addition, +Kentucky had been carved from within the original boundaries of +Virginia with the consent of the state government. + + +_Twentieth Century Developments_ + +On June 12, 1901, a state constitutional convention was held in +Richmond at the request of Carter Glass, an outstanding Virginia +statesman from Lynchburg. The major issue of this convention was the +discovery of a method of reducing the large number of illiterate +Negro votes which in the 1900 election had outnumbered the white +votes in one-third of the counties of the state. Since there was a +large number of illiterate whites in the western mountain regions +of Virginia, careful consideration had to be given to any proposed +restrictions on suffrage so that these inhabitants whose ancestors +had fought bravely in the Revolutionary War and in the War between +the States would not be severely penalized. Consequently, the +Constitution of 1902 included the requirement that a poll tax of one +dollar and fifty cents had to be paid as a qualification for voting. +Furthermore, a constitutional requirement demanded payment of three +years' poll taxes six months before general elections. Since the +Negroes were financially very poor at this time, this requirement +indirectly caused a great decrease in the total number of Negro +votes cast. + +This constitution also included an "understanding clause" +provision which required voters to prove in written statements +their understanding of the government of Virginia. This provision +was to be replaced in 1904 by the requirement of each potential +voter passing an intelligence test proving that he could properly +interpret the constitution. Such provisions prevented many +uneducated Negroes from participating in elections. + +A State Corporation Commission was created for the first time +in the Commonwealth to control corporations such as the public +transportation companies and the telephone and telegraph companies. +Other governmental changes provided for in this constitution were: +the direct election of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the State +Treasurer, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration and the +Superintendent of Public Instruction by the qualified voters; the +replacement of County Courts by Circuit Courts; the constitutional +requirement for the political status of a city: an incorporated +community with a minimum population of 5,000 inhabitants is eligible +to become an independent city, and, as the name implies, such cities +are not subject to county administration; the establishment of +racial segregation in the public schools of Virginia; a considerable +extension of the powers of the State Board of Education, and a +change in the age range used to determine school population as a +basis for distributing the common school fund from 5-21 years to +7-20 years. + +On May 29, 1902, the Constitution of 1902 was "proclaimed" by the +convention members, whose delegates voted for its adoption. Although +this Constitution was never ratified by the voters themselves, it +was later approved by the state legislature. With certain revisions +which were added later, this Constitution of 1902 is the present +Constitution of the Commonwealth. + +In spite of the political influence which had been prevalent in +the public school system of Virginia in the 1880's, by the early +1900's numerous educational improvements had resulted: the local +general public began to favor a public school system; professional +teacher training methods were developed; a Virginia State Education +Association was formed; simultaneous examinations for teacher +certification throughout the state were standardized; state summer +normal schools were organized; teacher scholarships were created, +and education conferences were held. + +The oft-called "renaissance" in Virginia education occurred in 1905. +A New York educator had encouraged various educational conferences +to be held in the South in an attempt to improve education in the +South which had lagged far behind the rest of the nation. The +Virginia Cooperative Education Commission and the leaders of the May +Campaign of 1905 (so-called because the intensive campaigning took +place in the month of May) demanded improved schools, better school +regulations, an increase in the number of secondary schools and +institutions of higher learning and a revised curriculum. The State +Superintendent of Public Instruction at this time was Dr. Joseph +Dupuy Eggleston whose leadership contributed greatly to the success +of a movement to modernize and improve the educational standards of +the State of Virginia. Vocational training (examples, agricultural, +educational, manual training and domestic economy classes) which +had long been discussed by certain educators became a reality, +specific legislative appropriations for public high schools were +made, public school libraries were established, health checkups for +abnormalities were instituted in the school program and the number +of teacher-training schools was increased. + +Such educational progress was observed that, after five years of +the new education planning and of the execution of such plans, a +spokesman for the Carnegie Foundation remarked that "Probably no +educational development in any State of the Union is more remarkable +than that which is represented in the Old Commonwealth of Virginia." +Practical education as well as theoretical education was offered +with opportunities also available to study improved farming methods. + +In 1906, Virginia filed suit against West Virginia in the United +States Supreme Court concerning a judicial determination of the +amount of money which Virginia should rightfully receive from +West Virginia as partial assumption of the state debt accumulated +while West Virginia was still a part of Virginia. Eight additional +separate actions were filed against West Virginia by Virginia which +finally resulted in an investigation of the financial status of each +area, the debts incurred and the suggestion of a conference between +the two states. West Virginia originally evaded such a conference +but, later, appointed a commission to represent the state. More +deliberation and delay occurred until 1915 when the indebtedness of +the State of West Virginia to the State of Virginia was declared by +the United States Supreme Court as $12,393,292.50. Finally, after +continuous postponement and more court judgments, in 1919 a special +session of the West Virginia state legislature passed a law which +provided for the payment of the sum due Virginia. Over a million +dollars was paid during 1919, and, by issuing twenty-year bonds, the +balance of the debt with interest was paid by 1939. + +In 1908, the first municipality in the United States to adopt the +City Manager form of government was Staunton. After this form of +government had been successfully employed, many additional cities in +Virginia and in the other states proceeded to adopt the City Manager +Plan of local government. + +On March 4, 1913, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, a native of Staunton, was +inaugurated as the twenty-eighth President of the United States. He +was the eighth Virginia-born individual to attain this high office, +although he had left the state for a college teaching position and +later a gubernatorial post. From his experiences as a professor +of history and as the governor of New Jersey, he had formulated a +personal brand of political philosophy which he entitled "The New +Freedom." He believed that government leaders should act through the +people as well as for the people. During his first administration, +he signed the famous Federal Reserve Bank Act, authored by U. S. +Senator Robert Owen, a native Virginian, and Carter Glass, a U. +S. Representative at that time from Lynchburg. Although he was +re-elected President in 1916 as a peace candidate, Wilson soon had +to wage an intensive war against Germany as conditions warranted +such action. He stated his idealism in his famous words "to make the +World safe for Democracy" and "a War to end all Wars." His famous +"Fourteen Points" Speech before Congress concerning the war aims of +the Allied Powers was constantly referred to during the Armistice +negotiations and is still quoted in international conferences. His +personal visit to the peace conference at Versailles Palace near +Paris, France--the first personal visit of a President of the United +States to such a conference--was history-making in itself. He will +always be remembered for his idea of "A League of Nations," the +forerunner of the United Nations, a project for international peace +which is believed to have caused or, at least, to have hastened his +death due to his strenuous speaking tour on behalf of the League. + +In 1914, the General Assembly voted for a state-wide law providing +for the prohibition of liquor. This law went into effect on November +1, 1916. At the federal level, the Eighteenth Amendment to the +Constitution of the United States which prohibited the "manufacture, +sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors" throughout the +United States and its territories was submitted to the states by +Congress on December 18, 1917. Virginia was the second state to +ratify it. + +During World War I, the state contributed 91,623 men to the armed +forces, many of whom participated in the Somme, St. Mihiel and +Meuse-Argonne Forest campaigns. Most of the Virginia troops fought +with the 80th Infantry Division of the American Expeditionary +Forces. This division was called the Blue Ridge Division because +the Blue Ridge Mountains are located in the home states of the men +from Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania who made up this +division. Noted for their bravery, this division was the only +division to enter the front lines three times during the offensive +and the only one to advance a maximum distance of twenty-two miles +against the enemy between the first offensive and the Armistice. +Many members of the 29th Infantry Division were Virginians who +served in France, particularly during the Meuse-Argonne Forest +campaigns. Thirty-six Virginians received the Distinguished Service +Medal of the United States Army, the French Legion of Honor or the +Croix de Guerre. + +On the home-front, World War I caused a tremendous increase in +business and, in some instances, prompted the construction of war +camps in various parts of the state. Camp Lee, near Petersburg, +was used as an infantry training base for 50,000 soldiers; Camp +Stuart at Newport News was used chiefly as an embarkation point and +Camp Humphreys, near Alexandria, was used as a training center for +engineers. Langley Field, near Hampton, was used as training grounds +for pilots; the Hampton Roads area was utilized for construction of +numerous United States ships and as naval and military bases. + +The present city of Hopewell actually owes its city status and +growth to World War I and the construction of a huge munitions +plant on Hopewell Farm by the E. I. DuPont de Nemours Company. As a +matter of fact, the manufacture of fertilizer from nitrogen in the +air still accounts for the great industrial activity at Hopewell at +the present time. During World War I also, the famous Tredegar Iron +Works in Richmond manufactured projectiles, explosives, shrapnel +shells and other war materials of necessity. + +Among prominent Virginians who played a major role during World War +I was Admiral David Watson Taylor. Admiral Taylor was chief of the +Naval Bureau of Construction and Repair (1914-1922) at Washington. +He had responsibility for the design and construction of naval +aircraft and he developed a type of flying boat during World War +I. His contributions were later acknowledged by the establishment +of the David Taylor Model Basin, a naval activity at Carteret, +Maryland, near the Virginia border. + +Health, too, was a critical problem on the home front during the +war. For example, a dreadful influenza epidemic occurred followed +by a severe fuel shortage due to a railroad strike. This condition +caused many "flu" patients to develop pneumonia and to die. In +Richmond alone, approximately eight hundred people succumbed during +this epidemic period. + +As a reminder of the sacrifices of Virginians during World War I, at +William Byrd Park in Richmond, is a 240-foot tower constructed of +pink brick. It is called the Carillon Tower and was erected in 1932 +as a memorial to the war dead. + +In 1918, women received special recognition in the state. For the +first time, women were admitted to the College of William and +Mary and to the graduate and professional schools of the state +university, the University of Virginia. It is interesting to note +that, in contrast to the educational status accorded women, the +state refused to ratify the proposed Nineteenth Amendment to the +United States Constitution. Contrary to this negative attitude +expressed in Virginia toward giving women the right to vote, the +Constitutional Amendment was officially ratified and adopted +nationwide in 1920. One of the first effects of this amendment in +Virginia was a legislative enactment requiring all women to pay the +poll tax. + +Virginia continued to play a key role in international events +during this period. For example, in 1926, Navy Lieutenant-Commander +Richard Evelyn Byrd, a native of Winchester, made the first polar +flight by flying over the North Pole and back in fifteen and a half +hours. He then flew over the Atlantic Ocean the following year with +Bert Balcher, Bert Acosta and George Noville. In 1929, he made the +first return flight over the South Pole. Rear Admiral Byrd led +four expeditions to the Antarctic and, just prior to his death in +1957, he was the leader of another expedition to Antarctica called +"Operation Deepfreeze" at which time he was consulted concerning +many ideas of importance to the safety and progress of the +expedition. During World War II, he did secret work for the United +States Government and furnished much valuable information concerning +terrain of the land which he had mapped on his third Antarctic +expedition. He wrote "Skyward," "Little America," "Discovery," +"Exploring with Byrd" and "Alone" describing his various +explorations. Richard Evelyn Byrd will always be remembered as one +of the greatest explorers in United States history. An eight-foot +high bronze statue of the late Admiral Richard E. Byrd was recently +erected on the Virginia side of the Potomac River between the +Arlington Cemetery and the Memorial Bridge. The statue depicts him +in his middle thirties when he was at the height of his exploration +career. He is clad in a fur outfit and is mounted on a four foot +pedestal with fitting carved maps of the Arctic and Antarctic +regions and an eagle as a background symbolizing his achievements. + +In 1926, the famous project now known as the Restoration of +Williamsburg began. The original purpose of the restoration was to +benefit the people of the present in "That the Future May Learn +from the Past." Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin, the late Rector of Bruton +Parish Church in Williamsburg, was responsible for interesting John +D. Rockefeller, Jr. in such a project. To date, not only have 350 +buildings been reconstructed, 82 buildings been restored and 619 +buildings been torn down, but also many of the early crafts such as +wigmaking, millinery-making, silversmithing, printing, shoe-making +and repairing, cabinetmaking, blacksmithing and glassmaking have +been revived. These craft shops are open to the public. A visit to +the Wren Building at the College of William and Mary, the Bruton +Parish Church (Episcopal), the Public Gaol, the Magazine, the +Raleigh Tavern, the Capitol or the Governor's Palace provides an +appreciation of life as it existed in the colonial period. + +During the early 1920's there was much discussion within the state +concerning the need for government reorganization at the state +level. During the governorship of Harry F. Byrd (1926-1930), +considerable effort was made to reorganize the state government +with the objective of increasing its efficiency. The Reorganization +Act of 1927 provided that only the executive offices of Governor, +Lieutenant-Governor and Attorney-General were to be elected by +popular vote; that the state legislature was to have the authority +to elect the auditor and that the Governor was to appoint other +executive officials with confirmation by the General Assembly. The +structure and functions of the various state departments were also +changed by this act to make each department more effective. Twelve +administrative departments were created, and, in most instances, +department heads were made appointive positions rather than elective +ones. The twelve departments created were: Finance, Taxation, +Agriculture and Immigration, Workmen's Compensation, Corporations, +Highways, Conservation and Development, Health, Public Welfare, +Education, Law, and Labor and Industry. + +During this same period, the "Pay-as-You-Go" system for roadbuilding +was adopted. This system means that, instead of floating large +bond issues to raise revenue for roadbuilding, the state pays for +the roads as they are built, with some of the revenue obtained +from gasoline taxes and fees from motor vehicle licenses. During +the first few years of the system while adequate funds were being +accumulated, the state did not have the total mileage of modern +roads which would have been built more rapidly through borrowing; +however, as the funds increased, the state was able to develop an +excellent system of state and local highways. The "Pay-as-You-Go" +system has reflected favorably on the state's financial reputation. + +Virginia made national headlines in the Presidential election of +1928. For the first time since 1872, the Republican set of electors +in Virginia was chosen by a majority of the Virginia voters. +Consequently, the Republican Presidential candidate that year, +Herbert Hoover, received the twelve electoral votes of Virginia. + +Virginia was fortunate in escaping the most severe pangs of the +depression years of the 1930's. The great variety of industries +and occupations kept the Commonwealth from becoming severely +economically stricken as was the case of states having one +specialized type of economic activity. Surprisingly enough, some +industries such as the tobacco industry and the rayon and cellophane +industries expanded considerably. In conjunction with the federal +government's construction program during the depression years as an +attempt to create new job opportunities, numerous bridges, public +school buildings and other structures--such as the Museum of Fine +Arts in Richmond--were built. Economy in government administration +was stressed and Governor John G. Pollard (1930-1934) reduced his +own salary ten per cent for one year as a part of the economy +program. Virginia was one of the three states which was successful +in maintaining a balanced budget in the depression years of the +1930's. Although the relief cost in Virginia was below the national +average relief, at one point during the depression, over 50,000 +families and single individuals had become dependent upon the dole +system--especially industrial workers in the cities. Job-finding +committees were organized in many sections of the state to stimulate +re-employment. + +After the national census of 1930 had been taken and the results +had been tabulated, the state legislature of Virginia passed an act +dividing the Commonwealth into nine Congressional districts instead +of its previous ten districts. This decrease took place because of +a smaller increase in population in Virginia in proportion to other +states of the United States. This act was found to be objectionable +by some residents who stated that the new seventh district was +disproportionately large. After suit had been filed, the Virginia +Court of Appeals declared the act invalid on the grounds that it +did not provide for equal representation as required by the United +States Constitution. As a result, in the 1932 national election, +all the United States Representatives from Virginia were elected +at-large by the whole state electorate rather than by particular +districts. Subsequently, the legislature redistricted properly, +and at the next election Congressmen from Virginia were chosen by, +and represented, particular Congressional districts. Like a large +majority of the states in the 1932 national election, Virginians +gave Franklin D. Roosevelt a victory at the polls with a plurality +of 114,343 popular votes. + +During Governor Pollard's administration, the General Assembly +passed the Optional Forms Act. Under this act, two types of county +government were made available for selection according to local +preference: the county-manager form, usually preferred by urban and +large rural county areas and the county-executive form, generally +preferred by small rural areas. As a result of this act, several +county administrative offices were merged for more efficient and +economical management. + +In August 1933, a special session of the Virginia legislature +was held to select delegates for a special convention to vote +on the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States +Constitution. Although Governor Pollard at first refused to summon +the extra session, he was forced by petition of two-thirds of both +houses of the General Assembly to do so. Subsequently, the delegates +favored the repeal of the amendment by a vote of 96 to 54. The +vote by the people was actually a referendum vote, but ballots for +repeal automatically elected a slate of thirty delegates-at-large +who were pledged to a repeal vote. Later, at a special convention, +the delegates voted to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment by favoring +the Twenty-First Amendment. The General Assembly then created +its own regulations for the sale of liquor and provided for the +establishment of Alcoholic Beverage Control Boards throughout the +Commonwealth. + +When President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Claude A. Swanson +of Virginia as the first Secretary of the Navy in his cabinet, +ex-Governor Harry F. Byrd was appointed to succeed Swanson as United +States Senator. Harry F. Byrd was elected United States Senator at +the next national election. Thus, in 1933, Senator Byrd began one +of the longest periods of continuous service in the United States +Senate. + +In 1935, the first national park in Virginia and the second +national park east of the Mississippi River was established. It was +called the Shenandoah National Park and was dedicated by President +Franklin D. Roosevelt. This very scenic park, which now includes +the famous Skyline Drive, was made possible by the combined efforts +of many people: Governor E. Lee Trinkle who publicly advocated the +establishment of parks, numerous citizens who willingly donated +property (because Virginia had been informed by the federal +government that it would have to furnish the land), the state which +also contributed land after it had purchased it or condemned it and +the federal government which helped financially with appropriations +and with physical labor furnished by the Civilian Conservation +Corps. This park has attracted tourists from throughout the nation +with its breath-taking mountain scenery and diversity of trees and +wild flowers. + +Virginia made a very significant contribution to World War II. +When the nation began to mobilize for war, Governor James H. Price +created the Virginia Defense Council. Dr. Douglas Southall Freeman, +a noted author, was appointed chairman of this council, the first +in the United States. As in previous wars, the Hampton Roads area +became strategically important; navy activities increased rapidly +in this area; various camps including Camp Lee and Langley Field +were re-opened; and production, transportation and consumption +activities created new records in quantity and speed. Activities +at Camp A. P. Hill, Camp Pickett, Newport News, Norfolk, +Alexandria, Williamsburg, Quantico and Hampton Roads reflected much +of the war effort of Virginians in this conflict. The Tredegar +Iron Works in Richmond was consigned again to make munitions for +the armed conflict. Richmond along with Madison, Wisconsin, was +selected as a test city for a scrap aluminum drive. The test proved +most successful, and the scrap aluminum drives were soon extended +throughout the nation. Various federal government offices were +temporarily moved to Virginia, such as the United States Patent +Office which was moved from Washington to Richmond. Since Richmond +is located within a one hundred mile radius of the national capital +and is geographically and strategically situated from a military +viewpoint, it was designated as a "critical area." During the +1940-1945 period, Virginia furnished 137,000 men and 3,757 women to +the Army (including the Air Force) and 71,091 men and 2,055 women to +the Navy (including the Marines). Civilians in Virginia, as in all +other states, contributed much physical, mental and financial effort +during the war in their desire to bring peace again to the world. + +[Illustration: VIRGINIA STATE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE + +_Shrine of Memory: Virginia War Memorial_] + +One impact of World War II upon state government was action during +Governor Colgate W. Darden's term to modify the poll tax requirement +as applied to Virginia members of the armed forces on active duty. +A special session of the Virginia legislature in 1944 attempted to +exempt those persons from poll tax requirements but the judiciary +nullified this measure as contrary to constitutional provision. +Subsequently, by referendum, the voters of the state favored the +calling of a limited constitutional convention to accomplish the +objective. A condition of the referendum restricted the delegates to +this convention to act solely upon the soldier vote and to agree not +to consider, adopt or propose any other law, amendment or revision. +The constitutional convention approved a measure which became the +seventeenth article of the Virginia State Constitution: this new +article allowed service men and women on active duty, otherwise +eligible to vote, to vote without payment of a poll tax or without +fulfillment of the registration requirement. + +Since the end of World War II, war memorials have been erected +in various communities as an expression of appreciation for war +sacrifices. The most famous such memorial constructed through state +or local action has been the state memorial erected in Richmond. A +million dollar white marble edifice known as the "Shrine of Memory" +consists of a structure twenty-two feet high and includes the names, +etched on glass panels and marble columns, of approximately 10,340 +Virginians who died in combat in World War II or in the Korean +conflict. The memorial, located on a four-acre site overlooking +the James River near the north end of the Robert E. Lee Bridge, +is also a tribute to the 360,000 Virginians who participated in +the armed forces during these two conflicts and to the 100,000 +Virginia volunteer civilian workers who contributed much in their +various types of activities. At the base of the statue to "Memory" +is a gas-fed torch, called the "Torch of Liberty," which burns +perpetually. Embedded in the floor of the "Shrine of Memory" are +memorial coffers which contain authentic, labeled ground and sea +battle mementos from battleground areas. The leading sculptor for +this unusually beautiful memorial was Leo Friedlander. + +The sites of two battles which took place during the War between +the States within the geographical area of Virginia have been +accorded official national recognition within the past few years. +Specifically, the Appomattox Court House National Historical +Monument was granted National Historical Park status in 1954. This +area of approximately 968 acres includes a reproduction of the +Wilmer McLean House in which the Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, +surrendered the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to the Union +General, Ulysses S. Grant. The grounds where the two armies opposed +each other for the last time are also included in this park. In the +same year, the Manassas Battlefield of approximately 1,719 acres was +given the status of a National Battlefield Park. This area was the +site of the famous Battles of Bull Run or Manassas. + +During the 1950 session of the General Assembly, a bill was passed +which provided for a state tax reduction of approximately one +million dollars whenever the tax revenue exceeded the estimates by +certain amounts, the amount depending upon the state budget. This +law was later revised to the effect that if the general fund revenue +received from income taxes exceeded the estimates by five percent, +a tax reduction would automatically result. Since passage of the +act, Virginia taxpayers have benefitted considerably through its +provisions. On the other hand, several attempts have been made to +repeal the general poll tax. The United States Supreme Court has +upheld the legality of the poll tax by refusing to review a suit +against some local officials who had barred individuals from voting +because of non-payment of the poll tax. + +At the Democratic National Nominating Convention held in Chicago in +1952, the Virginia delegates under the leadership of Governor John +S. Battle refused to accept the "loyalty" pledge adopted by voice +vote in the convention. This "loyalty" pledge or "majority rule" +pledge required that each delegate agree to "exert every honorable +means" to have the names of the Democratic Party's Presidential +and Vice-Presidential nominees included on the Democratic ballot +of each state. President Harry S. Truman had encouraged federal +measures dealing with fair employment practices, the passage of +federal non-segregation laws and the enforcement of a strong federal +civil rights program. Some of the delegates who knew that many of +the Southern states did not approve of the Democratic legislative +program believed that the states of Virginia, South Carolina and +Louisiana would refuse to accept the "loyalty" pledge because +of this program. Consequently, when delegates from these states +refused to accept the pledge, they were not initially seated at +the convention. Southern delegates, however, protested that state +party rules or state laws prohibited them making such a commitment. +Governor Battle, the leader of the 28 member delegation from +Virginia, stated that a state law assured the inclusion of the names +of the Democratic Party nominees on the Virginia Democratic ballot +and that they rejected the pledge only as a matter of principle. +Ultimately, Virginia delegates as well as those of South Carolina +and Louisiana were given seats and full voting rights at the +convention. + +The Republican nominee for the Presidency in 1952, 1956 and 1960 +carried the state, contrary to previous usual voting results in the +state. In the 1952 election the Republican candidate, Dwight D. +Eisenhower, received 349,037 popular votes from Virginia and the +Democratic candidate, Adlai Stevenson, received 268,677 popular +votes. Thus, the Republican Party won the twelve electoral votes +of the state. In 1956, 386,320 popular votes from Virginia were +cast for the Republican electors and 264,110 popular votes for the +Democratic electors who represented the same Presidential candidates +as in 1952. In the 1960 election the Republican nominee, Richard +M. Nixon, won the popular vote of the state over the Democratic +nominee, John F. Kennedy. Virginia again cast her twelve electoral +votes for the Republican candidate. However, during this period, the +Governor, the two United States Senators from Virginia, eight of the +ten Virginia members of the United States House of Representatives +and a majority of the General Assembly continued to be members of +the Democratic Party, illustrating the traditional role of the +Democratic Party in the state since the Reconstruction Era. + +Public education has received much attention in Virginia, especially +since 1950. On several occasions, for example, the General Assembly +has approved million dollar appropriations of state funds for school +construction projects. The tremendous influx of youth in the public +schools during the decade of the 1950's accentuated the need for +more teachers as well as classrooms throughout the state. Hence, +rising costs of education have become a key matter at each recent +session of the General Assembly. During the last few years, however, +the question of integration of white and of Negro students in the +public schools of the state has been a paramount education issue. + +When the United States Supreme Court on May 17, 1954 handed down its +decision which in effect outlawed racial segregation in the public +schools of the nation, Virginia faced a very serious problem because +the State Constitution has required separate public schools for +white and for Negro children in the Commonwealth. Governor Thomas B. +Stanley soon appointed a commission of thirty-two state legislators, +under the chairmanship of State Senator Garland Gray, to advise him +concerning a course of action to be taken by the Commonwealth. The +commission conducted a study and subsequently transmitted to the +Governor its report, known as the Gray Plan. The plan recommended +consideration of an amendment to the constitutional provision +requiring separate schools and suggested that local communities be +enabled through their school boards to assign students to schools +for a variety of reasons other than race. Subsequently, a special +session of the General Assembly authorized a referendum election on +the calling of a constitutional convention. The referendum question +was worded as follows: "Should a Constitutional Convention be called +with authority to revise Section 141 of the State Constitution so +as to permit the General Assembly to appropriate public funds to +further the education of Virginia students in non-sectarian private +schools as well as in public schools?" A majority of the voters +voted in the affirmative at the referendum election held in January +1956. In March 1956 a Constitutional Convention was held in Richmond +and these delegates rewrote Section 141; hence it became permissible +under the Constitution of the Commonwealth to use public funds for +tuition grants for pupils in private non-sectarian schools. Later, +at a special session of the General Assembly in September 1956, +a pupil placement program was adopted under which the Governor +appointed a pupil placement board whose chief function was to handle +all student assignments in the state; under the program, parents of +all children entering the public schools were required to fill out +assignment applications which, in turn, were ultimately processed +through the board. + +In 1958, legislation provided for the automatic closing of any +school which might be policed by the federal government and +permitted the Governor to close any school in a locality in which +another school was already being so policed. The admission of +any Negro student to a public school for white students required +the Governor to close the school and assume full control. +Subsequently, federal court orders directed school boards in +Arlington, Charlottesville and Norfolk to admit students without +regard to race, effective September 1958; following state law, the +pupil placement board denied admission to Negro applicants in the +localities mentioned previously; the local school boards in these +areas and in Warren County initiated action to admit Negro students, +pursuant to federal court order. However, the Governor announced +the closing of the high school in Warren County, and similar action +was taken in Charlottesville and in Norfolk. During the Fall +semester of 1958, a total of nine schools (one in Warren County +and eight in Norfolk and Charlottesville) were closed to 13,000 +students, many of whom transferred elsewhere. When court decisions +in January 1959 voided the school closing law, the law cutting off +state funds and the law providing tuition grants of public funds for +segregated private schooling, the Governor stated that he could take +no further action to prevent the opening of public schools on an +integrated basis. Some public schools in Arlington, Charlottesville +and Norfolk, as well as in Alexandria, began integrated classes +in the Spring semester of 1959. Since that time, the number of +integrated schools has increased. The implications of the United +States Supreme Court decision of May 17, 1954 upon the public school +system of Virginia have presented to the Commonwealth one of its +most difficult problems of the Twentieth Century. + +As the population of Virginia cities and towns has grown during the +past two decades, persons have moved to the suburbs and surrounding +territory--sometimes at a faster rate than the increase in new +population in the urban centers. The 1960 census confirmed such +declines from the previous growth of cities in nearly all parts of +the nation. Attractions to persons who move from the urban centers +include larger amounts of available land, newer homes, shopping +centers with comparatively easy parking, and initial lower real +estate taxes. After these persons have lived in the suburbs or +surrounding territory for a while, various needs such as adequate +streets, police protection, schools, sewerage facilities, water and +building and zoning codes sometimes develop or become more apparent. +Often county governments are not equipped to provide for all of +these services; if county governments do establish such services, +the initial costs may be very high for the taxpayers. + +To counterbalance the move to suburbs and nearby rural areas, urban +local units of government seek to annex surrounding land from +counties or nearby cities. In Virginia, annexation is determined +by a panel of three judges, only one of whom is a resident of the +county involved. No referendum is held to ascertain the wishes of +the residents of the area under consideration because of the belief +that annexation should be based on the need of the majority of the +people concerned. While annexation may be an answer to the urban +government's need for extending its tax base, county units lose +their prime tax property. Over a period of time, the continued +growth of the metropolitan area causes persons to locate outside of +the revised boundaries and the process of annexation starts over +again. + +In addition to annexation, another method available whereby an urban +unit may extend its boundaries is consolidation of local units. +An example is the merger of a city government unit and a county +government unit into a revised city government unit. In Virginia, +consolidation statutes are relatively flexible: officials of both +units negotiate between themselves to reach an agreement on the +authority of the new local unit of government, in contrast to +annexation where the county government is often forced against its +will to give up valuable real estate. + +The growth of metropolitan areas has raised a serious challenge +to the ability of local units of government to provide adequate +government services to their residents at reasonable costs. Unless +further understanding is developed among the citizenry involved, +the impact of metropolitanism will continue to result in serious +inequities among individual local units of government. + + +S U M M A R Y + +By April 1861, the Commonwealth of Virginia had furnished one-third +of all the Presidents of the United States, had had numerous other +Virginian leaders in high federal positions, had been responsible +for the calling of a "Peace Conference" in the nation's capital +and had been most reluctant to vote for secession from the Union. +However, the inhabitants of Virginia believed in the doctrine of +"States' Rights," in non-interference of slavery by the federal +government and in not coercing neighboring seceded states back +into the Union via invasion. Consequently, Virginia joined the +Confederacy, and Richmond soon became the Confederate capital and +the State of Virginia a huge battlefield. + +The brilliant military tactics of General Robert E. Lee, Thomas +Jonathan Jackson and "J.E.B." Stuart will always be worthy of +military study. Virginia helped the Confederacy, economically +as well as militarily, especially with the food products of the +Saltville area and of the Shenandoah Valley and the manufactured +arms equipment of the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond. When West +Virginia became an independent state without the consent of +Virginia, it reduced the area and population of the Commonwealth +considerably. The ending of the War between the States, like that +of the American Revolutionary War, took place in Virginia. The +magnificent courage and fervor of the Virginians as members of +the Confederacy will always be cherished by posterity. When one +is well-informed of the deeds, hardships and activities which +occurred during the War between the States in Virginia and in other +southern states, one can easily understand the ever-present pride +which the Confederate Flag does, and always will, inspire. This era +of American history, although one of the darkest periods in our +national history when even brother sometimes fought brother on the +battlefield, will forever remain one of the most dynamic and heroic +periods in human civilization. + +After enduring a harsh Reconstruction Program enforced by a radical +United States Congress and by "Carpetbagger" and "Scalawag" +governments, Virginia officially returned to the Union on January +26, 1870. Then the Commonwealth began settling some of its local +problems: the extremely high state debt, the educational program, +the joint boundary line between Virginia and West Virginia and the +"Readjuster" Movement. The newest county in Virginia--Dickenson +County--was created in 1880. By 1900, Virginia ranked seventeenth +in United States state population and seemed prepared to meet the +challenging events of the Twentieth Century with renewed confidence. + +A new state constitution, still in effect today, was "proclaimed" +in 1902. It provided for a poll tax and an "understanding clause" +provision as a voting requirement; later, the latter was changed to +an intelligence test requirement. The unusual political status of a +city, completely independent of county jurisdiction, was originated +at this time also. Racial segregation in the public schools of +Virginia was provided for in the Constitution of 1902. + +Other events and activities concerning Virginia and Virginians +during the Twentieth Century include the payment to Virginia by West +Virginia of the state debt which West Virginia had accumulated while +she was part of Virginia, the operation of the first City-Manager +form of local government at Staunton, outstanding participation +in two World Wars and in the Korean conflict, the "Restoration +of Williamsburg" Project, a reorganization of state governmental +departments, the comparatively small economic dislocation during +the "Great Depression," the establishment of the Shenandoah +National Park, the opportunity afforded service men and women on +active duty to vote without payment of a poll tax, the constant +increase in the growth of industry, the victory for the Virginia +delegates at the 1952 Democratic National Nominating Convention, +Republican Presidential victories in Virginia in 1928, 1952, 1956 +and 1960, developments in education including the problems of +school integration and the expansion of school facilities and the +continuing growth of metropolitanism. + +As our nation's history unfolds, issues of state, national and +international scope will continue to face the Commonwealth. The +history of Virginia has furnished Virginians with a proud heritage, +an appreciation for the noble deeds of the past and an understanding +of the courage and wisdom required to solve successfully current and +future problems. Virginia--a vital area of the United States--will +undoubtedly play a major role in the fulfillment of the destiny of +the United States. + + + + +5 + +Economic Life + +_The Work Force_ + + +A variety of geographical resources and of human resources results +in diversity in the economic life of the state. The proportion of +the population engaged in gainful occupation at the present time is +significant. Approximately 38% of the total population in Virginia +is included in the work force. The group outside the work force +includes individuals who are thirteen years of age or younger, +homemakers, students age fourteen and over, the physically and +mentally handicapped who are unable to work, and persons who are +retired. + +Census enumerations since 1890 indicate that total employment in +Virginia has expanded continuously. During the seventy year period +1890-1960, the work force increased from approximately 552,000 to +approximately 1,473,000. This represents an increase of 176%, or an +average annual increase of 13,137 workers. + +Three phases in the trend of employment are observable: from 1890 +to 1910, 1910 to 1940 and 1940 to 1960. The first phase coincides +with the Industrial Revolution in the United States; the increase +in employment in Virginia during this time was 44%. In the second +phase, from 1910 to 1940, the rate of increase slackened although +the total number in the work force grew; the increase amounted to +14% during this period. The third phase of employment began in 1940 +as needs of World War II became clear; unprecedented peacetime +demands started in 1945 and have continued to the decade of the +1960's; in this phase, for the first time, Virginia outpaced the +United States as a whole in growth of employment, with an increase +of 63%. + + +_Types of Employment_ + +Government Employment--Government employees make up the largest +number of workers in any particular type of occupation in the state. +The term "government employees" includes all civilians working +directly for federal, state and local governments plus military +personnel stationed in Virginia. Nearly one-fourth of the total +Virginia employment is found in this group. Government employment is +the greatest single source of personal income in the state. + +Approximately 65% of the government employment in Virginia, as +defined above, is engaged in activities of the federal government. +The number of military personnel in the state is slightly more than +twice the number of federal civilian employees. Although federal +employment is scattered throughout the state--every community has +postal employees, for example--there is a concentration of federal +employees in two areas of the state, namely, Northern Virginia +(Arlington and Fairfax Counties and the cities of Alexandria and +Falls Church) and the Hampton Roads area. Within the federal +civilian group, approximately 70% are employed by the Department +of Defense. Following the Department of Defense, the next largest +numbers of federal civilian employees work for the Post Office +Department and for the Veterans Administration. In addition to the +federal employees working in the state, a substantial number of +persons who live in Northern Virginia commute daily to the District +of Columbia and nearby Maryland for federal employment. + +Approximately 35% of the government employees in Virginia work +for the state (11%) and for local (24%) governments. Since more +than half of the government employment in the United States is +found in state and local governments, the number of such employees +in Virginia is relatively smaller. The state and local group in +Virginia is nearly equally divided between school and non-school +personnel. Although the number of state and local employees in +Virginia has grown during the past decade, the percentage of +increase has not been as great as that for the United States as a +whole. + +Employment in Manufacturing--Excluding military personnel from +the total government group, employees engaged in manufacturing +rank first in number. However, when civilian government and +military personnel are combined, government employment surpasses +manufacturing employment. Approximately 20% of the total work +force is engaged in manufacturing. During the decade of the 1940's +manufacturing in Virginia surpassed agriculture for the first time, +and the growth of manufacturing continued progressively through the +decade of the 1950's. Manufacturing as a whole is diversified. + +Expenditure for new manufacturing plant and equipment exceeded +one billion dollars in one recent seven-year period. Additional +millions of dollars have been spent recently for expanding existing +facilities. Fabricated metals (example, swimming-pool type atomic +reactors) and machinery and electrical equipment (examples, motors, +calculators) groups of industries have grown substantially within +the past few years. The four manufacturing industries having the +largest number of employees are textile, chemical and chemical +products, food and kindred products, and lumber and wood products. +The employees in these four industries constitute nearly 50% of all +workers engaged in manufacturing. + +Textile employment leads all other manufacturing employment. The +textile industry in Virginia includes the spinning and processing +of yarn and the weaving and finishing of material. Cotton and +rayon broad-woven fabrics are the major ones. Approximately 60% of +Virginia's textile employment is found in this category. The cities +of Danville, Fieldale and Roanoke are especially noted for their +textiles. Knitting mills constitute the second type of textile +activity, and approximately two-thirds of employment in the knitting +mills is engaged in making full-fashioned and seamless hosiery. +Lynchburg is a key center of knitting mills for men's and ladies' +hosiery. + +The second largest employer of workers engaged in manufacturing +in Virginia is the chemical industry. Approximately two-thirds of +such chemical employees are found in the synthetic fiber field. In +1917, the first large rayon plant was established. This industry +has developed rapidly, and Virginia now plays an important part +nationally in this production. Virginia now has approximately 30% +of the total employees in the United States engaged in synthetic +fibers. There are at present large synthetic fiber plants in +Richmond, Martinsville, Roanoke, Waynesboro, Narrows and Front +Royal. Virginia has been regarded as the geographical center of this +industry in the United States. Another type of chemical production +involves industrial inorganic chemicals including alkalies--soda +ash, bicarbonate of soda, caustic soda--and chlorine (Saltville +and Hopewell), sulfuric acid (Norfolk and Richmond) and ammonia +(Hopewell). The manufacturing of fertilizer is also important in +the state because of the agricultural need for it in the South and +because Virginia is conveniently located with respect to the raw +materials necessary for making fertilizer (namely, potash, nitrogen +and phosphate rock). Hopewell and Norfolk are two cities which have +large plants for the manufacture of fertilizers. Both Fredericksburg +and Richmond have a large cellophane company and certain medicinal +drugs such as streptomycin and thiamine hydrochloride are +manufactured at Elkton. In addition, dyes, wood turpentine, dry ice +and various insecticides are produced in Virginia. + +The third largest employer of workers engaged in manufacturing +is the food and kindred products industry. This industry may be +conveniently divided into two groups based upon the factors which +determine their location: + +1) those food industries whose products originate and are marketed +in a population center--for example, bakery products (Richmond, +Norfolk and Roanoke), beverages (Norfolk and Richmond), meat +products (Richmond and Smithfield), dairy products (Richmond, +Roanoke, Alexandria and Fredericksburg) and manufactured ice +(Richmond and Alexandria); + +2) those food industries which find it desirable to locate close +to the source of supply--usually a perishable commodity--for +example, seafood canneries (Norfolk, Hampton and Reedville), +vegetable canneries (Walkerton and Urbanna), poultry dressing +plants (Broadway, Harrisonburg and Winchester), fruit processing +plants (Berryville, Mount Jackson, Winchester and Front Royal), +confectionery plants (Suffolk and Norfolk), meatpacking companies +(Suffolk and Smithfield) and frozen foods (seafood--Norfolk; +poultry--Broadway; fruits and vegetables--Exmore). + + * * * * * + +The fourth largest employer of workers engaged in manufacturing +is the lumber and lumber products industry. In the latter part +of the Nineteenth Century and the early Twentieth Century, this +industry had the greatest number of employees in the manufacturing +field. Gradually its importance declined until the 1930's when it +increased rapidly as the demand for lumber production increased +until, at present, it has reached fourth place. Approximately +77% of Virginia's total lumber industry employees is found in +the sawmills and planing mills, especially in mills located in +Franklin, Petersburg, Norfolk and Richmond. Whereas the synthetic +fibers mentioned previously are manufactured primarily in seven +large plants with numerous employees per plant, the lumber industry +in Virginia consists of approximately 1700 establishments--only +approximately 200 of which employ at least twenty employees. Veneer +mills, excelsior mills, mill-work plants, plywood plants and +companies which make fruit and vegetable baskets, boxes and crates +also furnish diverse types of wood products for the Virginia lumber +industry. + +The fifth largest employer of workers engaged in manufacturing is +the apparel industry. Approximately one-half of all such employees +are engaged in making men's and boys' clothing: suits, coats and +overcoats are made in large quantities in Richmond, Staunton and +Norfolk; shirts, pajamas and underwear at Danville, Radford, +Lynchburg and Marion; trousers, overalls and sports jackets at +Martinsville, Richmond and Staunton. Women's and misses' dresses +are manufactured at Roanoke, maids' and nurses' uniforms and sports +jackets at Lynchburg, lingerie at Staunton and Roanoke, gloves at +Lynchburg, children's and infants' dresses and play clothes at +Newport News and Shenandoah. Supplementary textile products include +sheets and pillow cases (Danville), towels (Fieldale), hassocks, +canvas awnings and automobile seat covers (Richmond). + +The sixth largest employer of workers engaged in manufacturing is +the transportation equipment industry. Most of this employment +is found in shipbuilding at the Hampton Roads area where +aircraft carriers, atomic submarines, ocean liners--such as the +"Constitution" and the "United States"--and numerous smaller vessels +are constructed. Other employees of this industry work in numerous +truck and bus body companies scattered throughout the state, in +railroad equipment companies--for example, brake shoes (Roanoke); +railroad bearings (Petersburg) and in a wagon company (Lynchburg). + +Furniture-making ranks seventh in number of employees engaged in +manufacturing. Most of Virginia's furniture workers are engaged +in the manufacture of unupholstered wooden house furniture. Such +furniture includes bedroom, living room and dining room suites +(Bassett, Martinsville, Staunton, Marion, Stanleytown, Roanoke +and Pulaski), cedar chests (Alta Vista) and radio and television +cabinets (Bristol). Living room upholstered furniture including +chairs, sofa beds, studio couches and furniture frames are +manufactured at Salem, Christiansburg, Norfolk, Roanoke and Galax. +Chrome dinettes and plastic furniture are manufactured in plants +located at Marion. Office equipment including floor cabinets and +metal filing cabinets is made at Crozet. There is also an extensive +fixture industry--bank, office and store fixtures--plus such +items as literary bookstacks, metal partitions, doors and movable +partitions primarily at Orange, Norfolk and Richmond. + +The eighth largest employer of workers engaged in manufacturing is +the tobacco industry. Although the national consumption of tobacco +has increased considerably, the rapid mechanization added to the +manufacturing process has resulted in a decline in the total number +of employees. Although only approximately six workers per 1,000 +engaged in manufacturing in the United States are in the tobacco +industry, in Virginia approximately 56 workers per 1,000 are so +engaged. The chief locations for the tobacco industry are Richmond, +Petersburg, Danville and South Boston. These workers are engaged +primarily in the manufacture of cigarettes and in tobacco stemming +and redrying. Richmond is the largest cigarette manufacturing center +in the world. Petersburg has an exceptionally large cigarette +manufacturing plant. Cigars, chewing and smoking tobacco and snuff +are also manufactured in Richmond. Danville has the largest number +of tobacco stemming and redrying workers. Approximately half of the +tobacco industry workers are women. + +The ninth largest employer of workers engaged in manufacturing is +the paper and allied industries. The greatest number of such workers +is engaged in the manufacturing of pulp. The largest pulp mills are +located at Covington and Franklin. Approximately one-half of the +nation's supply of wood pulp is furnished by the South and Virginia +ranks fifth among the southern states in its production. The newly +developed methods of utilizing southern pine for producing kraft +paper and newsprint have caused considerable increase in this type +of production. Kraft paper is usually dark brown in color and is a +most durable type of wrapping paper. Such paper is manufactured at +Covington, Franklin, West Point, Hopewell and Richmond. Other paper +products such as gummed and waxed paper (Richmond), varied types of +commercial envelopes and church collection envelopes (Richmond), +multi-wall paper bags (Richmond, Franklin and Newport News) and +paperboard containers--corrugated shipping cases, cartons, boxes of +varied sizes and shapes (Richmond, Lynchburg) are likewise produced +in abundance. + +Over 9,000 employees are engaged in the printing and publishing +industry. Approximately one-half of these employees work in the +printing and publishing of newspapers. These newspaper companies +are scattered throughout the state. In addition, there are other +companies which publish books, engage in commercial printing in +general, in lithographing, bookbinding, plate printing, engraving +and in photo engraving. These companies also are located in several +areas with Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News having the greatest +number of employees. + +Another industry important to Virginia's economic expansion is the +stone, clay and glass production industry. Half of the employees +in this industry are engaged in the manufacture of concrete and +plaster products. An increase in local construction has resulted in +an increase in the production of cinder blocks and other building +materials. The following products are included: purchased glass +products (example, mirrors)--Galax, Bassett, Richmond, Martinsville; +hydraulic cement--Fordwick and Riverton; structural clay (brick and +hollow tile)--Roanoke; pottery and china (lusterware)--Abingdon; +flower pots and pans--Richmond; asbestos (automatic brake +linings)--Winchester; stone products (marble and granite monumental +stones)--Burkeville, Richmond, Roanoke and Danville; concrete +products--Roanoke and Richmond; gypsum products--Plasterco and +Norfolk; lime--Austinville and Kimballton; mineral wool--Riverton; +soapstone and stone products--Schuyler; abrasives--Petersburg; and +mica--Newport News. + +Other manufacturing industries in Virginia include (1) leather and +leather products--with tanneries at Luray, Bristol, Pearisburg, +Buena Vista and Salem; luggage-making at Petersburg and +footwear-making at Lynchburg, Fredericksburg, Farmville and Halifax; +(2) primary metals industry--with gray-iron foundries at Newport +News, Lynchburg and Radford; (3) fabricated metals industry--with +the manufacture of structural metal and structural and ornamental +products at Richmond, Norfolk, Bristol and Alexandria; pressure +vessels at Newport News; locks at Salem; swimming-pool type atomic +reactors at Campbell County (near Lynchburg), and (4) non-electrical +machinery industry--with hydraulic turbines, textile wool cards, +pulp and papermaking machinery at Newport News, Crozet, Bristol and +Richmond. + +Employment in Agriculture--A persistent trend in Virginia's economic +picture is the continuous decline in agricultural employment, a +condition characteristic of agriculture in the United States in +general. Approximately 10% of the total employment is presently +found in agricultural pursuits. Although the demand for agricultural +commodities has increased, the output per worker in agriculture has +increased more rapidly. The greater output has occurred as a result +of improved methods of farming, technological advances and larger +agricultural investments. This situation has resulted also in a +greater variety of crops, improved breeds of livestock, and better +control of insects and pests. + +In the past twenty years there has been a gradual shift in +Virginia's agriculture from the production of crops to the +production of livestock and livestock products. As a matter of +fact, Virginia is a leader in the South in the relative importance +of livestock and livestock products. Poultry and poultry products +lead the distribution list, followed by meat animals (cattle and +calves, hogs, sheep and lambs) and dairy products. Virginia ranks +third in the production of turkeys in the United States and sixth in +production of broiler chicks in the United States. Rockingham County +is famous for its turkeys and chickens. "Cut-up chicken" meat, as +well as broilers and eggs, constitutes important poultry products. +Culpeper and Loudoun Counties have the greatest number of milk cows +per square mile. Large manufacturing plants in the southwestern part +of Virginia produce evaporated and condensed milk. Beef cattle are +raised in almost every county in Virginia but the Southwest, the +Shenandoah Valley and Northern Virginia are the three chief regions. +In addition to the meat itself, by-products such as soap and fodder +are manufactured and hides and skins are utilized in the making of +miscellaneous articles. Hogs and pigs are found in great numbers +in Southampton, Nansemond and Isle of Wight Counties and sheep and +lambs in large numbers in Augusta, Russell, Rockingham and Highland +Counties. + +In field crops, tobacco leads the list. One of the nation's +largest tobacco producers, Virginia has four types of tobacco: (1) +flue-cured--the most extensive one--grown largely in Pittsylvania, +Halifax and Mecklenburg Counties with Danville and South Boston the +chief markets; (2) burley tobacco grown mostly in the southwest +area--Washington, Scott and Lee Counties--with Abingdon the leading +market; (3) fire-cured tobacco grown in Appomattox, Charlotte and +Campbell with Lynchburg and Farmville important markets and (4) +sun-cured tobacco grown in central Virginia--Louisa, Caroline and +Hanover Counties--with Richmond the largest market in this area. + +Virginia ranks first in the amount of peanut yield per acre and +third in peanut production in the United States. The peanut acreage +is located in southeast Virginia--Southampton, Isle of Wight, +Nansemond and Sussex Counties; Suffolk is often referred to as the +"Peanut Capital of the World." Corn is grown in practically every +county with most acreage in Southampton, Loudoun and Pittsylvania +Counties. The growing of wheat, particularly winter wheat, is +widespread also, with Augusta, Rockingham and Loudoun Counties +having the greatest harvest. Irish potatoes are grown extensively +on the Eastern Shore (Accomack and Northampton Counties) and in the +Norfolk area. Virginia ranks third in sweet potato production in the +United States and Accomack, Northampton and Princess Anne Counties +are the chief growers of these potatoes. Soy beans are cultivated +in Norfolk, Princess Anne, Accomack, Northumberland and Hanover +Counties. Hay is grown in various parts of Virginia and consists +of six types: clover and timothy hay, lespedeza hay, alfalfa hay, +peanut hay, soybean hay and cowpea hay. Cotton is grown in the +southeast, particularly in Southampton, Greensville, Brunswick +and Mecklenburg Counties. Virginia leads all the states in the +production of orchard grass seed. Some oats, barley and buckwheat +are grown but only in small quantities. + +Truck farming is extremely important. Lima beans, snap beans, beets, +broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, sweet corn, kale, onions, green peas, +green peppers, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes and watermelons are +grown extensively. The truck farming region is located primarily in +Accomack, Northampton, King and Queen, Nansemond, Princess Anne and +Norfolk Counties. Much of the truck farming crop is sent to New York +City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, Washington and Atlanta. + +In fruit production, apples are first; in total production, apples +follow two field crops, tobacco and peanuts. Virginia ranks fourth +in apple production in the United States. The chief apple producing +counties are Frederick, Clarke, Augusta and Nelson and the types +of apples produced are York Imperial, Winesap, Stayman, Delicious, +Grimes Golden, Albemarle Pippin or Yellow Newton, Ben Davis and +Gano, Black Twig, Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty and Jonathan. +Peaches are grown in abundance in Nelson, Albemarle, Frederick, +Roanoke, Rockingham and Botetourt Counties, making Virginia tenth in +peach production in the United States. Pears and grapes are grown on +a small scale. In addition to the full-time agricultural employment, +there is much seasonal agricultural employment, particularly for +fruit and truck farming. + +Thus, although agricultural employment has been surpassed by +employment in government, in manufacturing occupations and in +wholesale and retail trade, the products grown and the livestock +raised are numerous and excellent in quality. Thus, Virginia with +approximately 135,000 farms, contributes significantly to the +agricultural economy of the United States. + +In addition to employers engaged in government employment, +manufacturing and agriculture, additional groups of employees in +Virginia are engaged in a series of diversified economic activities. +Among such occupations are those concerned with trade, services, +public utilities, construction, finance, mining and forestry and +fishing. + +Employment in Wholesale and Retail Trade--Employment in wholesale +and retail trade has increased in Virginia to such an extent that +it ranks third, following government employment and manufacturing +employment, in non-agricultural employment. Approximately 22% of +the civilian non-agricultural employees are engaged in trade. The +shift from an agricultural to an industrial economy has resulted in +a greater demand for wholesale and retail goods. During the decade +of the 1950's wholesale and retail trade employment increased its +relative share of total state employment by approximately one-third. +The greatest number of persons in retail trade work in the food +trades and in general merchandising. + +Employment in Services--Services industries are located throughout +the state; approximately 11% of the civilian non-agricultural +employees are engaged in such activity. This category includes +domestic help and other forms of personalized aid. + +Employment in Public Utilities--Employment in public utilities +constitutes approximately 9% of the total civilian non-agricultural +employment. This occupational group is extremely important because +of the key role of transportation, communication and local utilities +in the state. About one-half of these workers are employed in +taxicab service, local transit service, telephone and telegraph +service, radio broadcasting and television service, electric, gas, +water and sanitary service utilities. Half of the workers included +in this category consist of railroad and water transportation +workers. + +Employment in Construction Activities--Approximately 7% of the total +civilian non-agricultural employment is concerned with construction. +More than three-fourths of all construction during the past decade +has been for private use, approximately half of this construction +involving private residences. The tremendous increase in the +population of Virginia during the past twenty years has caused the +rate of private residential building to be higher than that for the +entire nation. Privately-owned public utility buildings, public +highways and private non-residential buildings rank high in kinds of +construction projects undertaken. + +[Illustration: VIRGINIA STATE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE + +_A Modern Manufacturing Plant_] + +Employment in Finance--Finance, including bank, insurance and real +estate activity, affects all geographical areas of the state but, in +terms of numbers, these activities are primarily located in or near +urban centers. Approximately 7% of the civilian non-agricultural +employees are so engaged. + +Employment in Mining Operations--Approximately 2% of the total +civilian non-agricultural employees in Virginia are engaged in +mining. More than 80% of Virginia's mining employment is in +bituminous coal which is the chief mining product of the nation +as a whole. Virginia furnishes approximately 3% of the total +annual output of this product in the United States. Such mining is +extremely important in Buchanan and Dickenson Counties where more +than half of all the civilian employees are miners. Pocahontas, Big +Stone Gap, Dante and Tazewell have huge bituminous coal mines. Stone +quarrying rates second in mining employment. Crushed stone granite +quarries are found in Roanoke, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Red Hill +and Leesburg and crushed limestone quarries are found in Kimballton, +Riverton, Leesburg, Stephens City and Buchanan. Employment in crude +petroleum, natural gas and in metal mining, which accounts for +one-third of the nation's total mining employment, is less than 3% +of Virginia's total mining employment. + +Employment in Forestry and Fisheries--Current employment in +forestry and fisheries constitutes slightly less than 1% of the +total civilian non-agricultural work force. Commercial fishermen +far outnumber the foresters. However, as described previously, +the lumber and lumber products industry, the paper and allied +products industry and the furniture industry which are based upon +the forestry industry have experienced great increases in their +employment. Employees engaged in forest products industries now +constitute one-fourth of the total employment in manufacturing. +Although fishermen outnumber foresters at the present time, the +number of fishermen has been decreasing. Nevertheless, the fisheries +supply additional employment to processing and wholesale employees. +A few localities such as Mathews, Northumberland, Lancaster, +Gloucester, York and Middlesex Counties have a comparatively high +percentage of their workers engaged in fisheries. + +Employment in Travel Trade--The number of employees engaged in +travel trade employment is unknown. Two characteristics of this +type of employment should be noted: (1) in addition to full-time +employees, there is an indeterminate number of part-time employees; +and (2) employees engaged in travel trade are, for the most part, +seasonal workers. The greatest number of such workers are found in +hotels, motels and other tourist lodgings, in restaurants and cafes, +in gasoline service stations and in recreational and entertainment +activities. Approximately 94% of Virginia's travel trade comes +to Virginia via the automobile; out-of-state tourists constitute +about 70% of the travel trade in Virginia. It has been estimated +that about half of these travelers are on vacations and the other +half are mainly on business trips. About half of the vacationers +are usually passing through Virginia on the way to or from specific +destinations outside the state. The other half usually have selected +Virginia as their particular destination to visit relatives or +friends, to tour historical and scenic places and to enjoy the +recreational attractions found here. The travel trade has increased +considerably during the past few years. As a direct result of the +increase, the number of hotels, motels and other lodging places in +Virginia has likewise rapidly increased. Williamsburg and Virginia +Beach illustrate the singular importance of travel trade in causing +widespread growth in total employment in a community. + + +_Importance of Transportation_ + +The economic activity of any region depends greatly upon its +transportation facilities. Without an efficient transportation +system, goods--either raw materials or finished products or farm +produce--cannot be moved from one point to another, workers cannot +reach their jobs and consumers cannot reach their markets. Virginia +is particularly fortunate in having a network of key railroads, +excellent highways, deep harbors and modern airports. Trains, buses, +trucks, passenger cars, boats, ocean vessels and aircraft--all play +a basic role in the economic life of the state. + +Numerous railroads provide interstate as well as intrastate +service: the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad connects +Washington with Richmond; running over the R.F.&P. tracks and +continuing in a north-south direction between Richmond and the North +Carolina border are the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line +railroads; the Southern Railway runs diagonally from Washington +across Virginia to the North Carolina border near Danville, with +another route from West Point through Richmond and Danville; the +Atlantic and Danville Railroad operates between Danville and +Norfolk; the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad runs diagonally from +Washington to Gordonsville where it connects either in a westerly +direction with West Virginia near Covington or in an easterly +direction with Newport News; the Norfolk and Western Railroad +operates in an east-west direction from Norfolk through Lynchburg +and Roanoke to West Virginia; and the Virginian Railway (now a +branch of the N. & W.) connects Suffolk with Roanoke and West +Virginia. The Pennsylvania Railroad has a branch line crossing the +Eastern Shore from Maryland to Cape Charles while the Baltimore & +Ohio has a branch through the Shenandoah Valley. + +Virginia has a very modern system of primary and secondary roads +which permit quick and comfortable motor transportation between +urban, suburban and rural points. In addition, Virginia has within +its borders several vital links in the national system of interstate +and defense highways scheduled for final completion throughout the +United States by 1972. In Virginia, the national system involves one +link cutting across the western part of the state in a southwesterly +direction (Interstate Number 81); a second link cutting across the +eastern part of the state in a north-south direction (Number 85 and +Number 95) to supercede U. S. Routes 1 and 301; a third link running +east-west between Norfolk, Richmond, Staunton and the West Virginia +border (Number 64); a fourth link running east-west between northern +Virginia near Washington and West Virginia via Strasburg (Number +66) and a fifth link crossing the southwestern part of the state in +a north-south direction (Number 77). In terms of total designated +mileage of the whole interstate system, Virginia is one of 16 states +to have over 1000 miles within its borders. Although most of the +interstate system in Virginia will not be completed for a few more +years, some portions of the five Virginia links are already open for +traffic. + +A series of bridges, many toll-free, help the growth of +transportation. Construction plans for one of the most difficult +water crossings are underway in connection with a $200,000,000 +bridge-tunnel to run 17½ miles across the mouth of the Chesapeake +Bay in the Hampton Roads area. This crossing will run from +Chesapeake Beach near Norfolk to Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore. +When completed in 1964, the bridge-tunnel crossing will replace +ferryboats, the only type of public transportation heretofore +available between these points. + +Five major commercial air lines serve Virginia: American, Capital, +Eastern, National and Piedmont Lines. In addition to the Washington +National Airport near Alexandria and the Dulles International +Airport at Chantilly, which serve the northern Virginia area, +airports contributing to the economic progress of the state are +located at Richmond, Bristol, Danville, Lynchburg, Newport News, +Norfolk-Portsmouth and Roanoke. + + +S U M M A R Y + +An unusually large number of individuals in the +Commonwealth--civilian and military--work in either federal, +state or local government employment. In proportion to the total +population of a state, the greatest concentration of federal +government employment within a single state is found in Virginia. + +If one considers civilian employees solely, the largest number of +employees in the state is engaged in manufacturing. The number of +employees in manufacturing first surpassed the number of employees +in agriculture in the 1940's. The manufacturing industries which +have the largest number of employees are textile, chemical and +chemical products, food and kindred products, and lumber and wood +products; these employees constitute nearly 50% of all workers +engaged in manufacturing. + +Other important manufacturing industries include apparel, +transportation equipment, furniture, tobacco, paper and paper +products, printing and publishing, stone, clay and glass production, +leather and leather products, primary metals, fabricated metals, +and non-electrical machinery. As Virginia has changed from a +predominantly agricultural state to a predominantly manufacturing +state, wholesale and retail trade has increased proportionately. + +Although agriculture is no longer the leading occupation, Virginia +has a variety of important crops and livestock. Poultry and poultry +products, meat animals, dairy products, tobacco, peanuts, corn, +winter wheat, sweet potatoes, hay, cotton, orchard grass seed, truck +farming crops and fruit (especially apples, peaches, strawberries +and watermelons) are leading farm products. + +Significant numbers of workers in Virginia are engaged in wholesale +and retail trade, services, public utilities, construction +(especially construction of private houses, buildings and public +highways), finance, mining (especially bituminous coal and quarry +stone), forestry and fisheries, and travel trade. + +An efficient transportation system, consisting of a network of key +railroads, excellent highways, deep harbors and modern airports +plays a basic role in the economic life of the state. + +A survey of the major occupations reveals a diversified economic +life which provides the citizens of Virginia with broad +opportunities for employment. + + + + +6 + +Cultural Life + + +Culture has been defined as the "training, improvement and +refinement of the mind." Since literature, art, sculpture, +architecture, music, drama and education are factors which +influence, as well as reflect, the culture of a group, a survey of +some of the outstanding contributors to these fields will reveal the +broad, cultural heritage of the residents of the Commonwealth. + + +_Literature_ + +Even with the hardships and difficulties facing early settlers in +Virginia, writings in the form of diaries and journals appeared +during the colonial period. George Percy describes his explorations +in the New World in "Observations gathered out of a Discourse of the +Southern Colonie in Virginia by the English." Captain John Smith, +the leader of the early colony, is believed to have used both fact +and fiction in his writings. "A True Relation of Virginia," which +he wrote in Virginia and sent to England in an attempt to attract +more settlers to the colony, describes his explorations up the James +River. His "Map of Virginia" was based primarily upon observations +which he made while exploring the Chesapeake Bay region. In 1624, +he wrote "The General History of Virginia," which is considered his +literary masterpiece. Under modern literary standards, he would +probably be classed generally as a Romanticist. + +William Strachey, who left England as the first secretary of the +Virginia Colony at Jamestown and who experienced in his journey +separation of his ship from the rest of the small fleet, was +shipwrecked on the Islands of Bermuda and eventually arrived at +Jamestown. Strachey, who had written some poetry before coming +to America, used his shipwrecked experiences described earlier +as background for a most descriptive letter concerning a tempest +at sea. The original title of Strachey's manuscript was "A True +Repertory of the Wrecke, and Redemption of Sir Thomas Gates" (Gates, +Governor of the colony, was also a passenger on the same ship with +Strachey). It is believed by some literary critics that William +Shakespeare who read this letter selected much of its contents as +background material for his play, "The Tempest." Another writer who +left a vivid description of his voyage from England to Virginia is +Henry Norwood: his work entitled "A Voyage to Virginia" is regarded +as one of the best realistic, detailed accounts of early voyages to +America. + +Only two poets are remembered for their writings in Virginia +during the early period: Richard Rich and George Sandys. Rich +utilized his journey from England to the New World as the basis +for his poem, "A Ballad of Virginia," sometimes entitled "Newes +from Virginia." George Sandys, an Oxford gentleman, did not write +concerning Virginia but while he was in Jamestown as the treasurer +of the colony, he completed a most unusual translation of Ovid's +"Metamorphoses." An anonymous elegy found in the "Burwell Papers" is +considered one of the finest literary attempts during the colonial +period: entitled "Bacon's Epitaph, Made by His Man," it eulogizes +the courage and steadfastness of purpose of Nathaniel Bacon who +dared to revolt against the autocratic rule of Governor Berkeley and +to lead Bacon's Rebellion. Bacon's untimely death from fever caused +many Virginia settlers to feel, as the author of this elegy felt, +that the loss of the champion of their cause was a severe one. + +A different type of writing was furnished by Reverend James +Blair, founder of the College of William and Mary at Williamsburg +and president of the second oldest educational institution in +the United States for over fifty years. Reverend Blair wrote a +scholarly article on the organization of churches in Virginia in +an account called "Concerning the Church and Religion." Another +minister, Reverend Hugh Jones, who held the position of professor of +mathematics at the College of William and Mary and who had a strong +personal interest in history, wrote "The Present State of Virginia" +in 1724. His writing was characterized by seriousness of purpose, +accuracy and keen observations. He later authored the first English +grammar book written in America. + +When Robert Beverley, a native-born Virginian of Middlesex County, +was visiting in London, he was asked by a London bookdealer to +review a manuscript which had been submitted concerning the American +colonies. Beverley disagreed with much of the information included +in the manuscript and decided to write a book himself on Virginia. +Consequently, he wrote "The History of Virginia." This book was +considered such enjoyable reading that it was later published in +French. Robert Beverley is considered the first Virginia formal +history author. + +The man whose writings are usually classified as the best writings +in Virginia before the Revolutionary Period was William Byrd II. +He was born on a plantation along the James River and was sent +to England for his education at the age of ten. He traveled in +Holland, studied law and was admitted to the bar at the age of +twenty-one. After returning to Virginia, he was elected to the +Virginia Assembly. He built a beautiful home, Westover, became a +leading figure in politics and in Virginia society and instituted +a personal library in his home which exceeded 3,000 volumes, the +largest library in the colonies. He returned to England as the +legal representative of the Virginia Assembly where he enjoyed +the companionship of the socially elite in England. When his +father died, he returned to Virginia and inherited 25,000 acres, +political supremacy and a high place in social circles. Byrd's +writings did not appear publicly until more than two hundred years +after his death. Three papers are believed to be his best literary +achievements: "The History of the Dividing Line" (concerning the +boundary line established between Virginia and North Carolina), "A +Progress to the Mines" (concerning a journey to some iron mines) and +"A Journey to the Land of Eden" (concerning a journey to the Dismal +Swamp area). These chronicles were combined and included in the +"Westover Manuscripts." Notes from Byrd's personal diary, which was +kept in code and later translated by Mrs. Marion Tingling, have been +published and reveal many human-interest incidents in his eventful +life. + +Another colonial Virginia historian is Reverend William Stith. +He used colonial records, personal papers of his uncle, Sir John +Randolph, London Company official records and material available in +the Byrd Library to write a most comprehensive history of Virginia +entitled "The History of Virginia from the First Settlement to +the Dissolution of the London Company." Although it has been +criticized for its extreme length and detailedness, this history +is a scholarly, authoritative source still used by researchers for +knowledge of this period of history. + +As the colonists in America were beginning to rebel against the +mother country, were gradually learning the feeling of freedom +and democracy and were becoming more settled in their mode of +living, their interests changed from problems of existence to +serious thoughts concerning government, rights of individuals and +political theories. The changing thoughts of the colonists were +reflected in the type of writings which began to appear prior to the +Revolutionary War. + +George Washington, who is usually remembered foremost as the first +President of the United States and as the great military leader of +the Revolutionary War, must not be overlooked in the literary field. +Washington left numerous addresses, official documents, orders and +letters of various types. However, one of his finest literary works +is a personal diary kept by him, at the age of sixteen, while on a +surveying trip in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. It has become +famous for its human quality and is simply named, "Journey over the +Mountains, 1748." Washington's acceptance as Commander-in-chief of +the United States Army, his "Farewell Speech" to the soldiers at the +end of the war, his acceptance of the Presidency and his "Farewell +Address"--all reveal the literary qualities which he possessed. + +Patrick Henry of Hanover County spoke in dramatic fashion about +ideas and ideals which abounded in the minds of many other +Americans. Henry's arguments in the "Parsons' Case," his authorship +of the Virginia Resolutions prefaced by his famous "Caesar-Brutus" +Speech, his pleading address at the Continental Congress for the +arming of Virginia and his famous "Give me Liberty or Death" +Speech--all these words, written or spoken, are recorded for +posterity in the literature of the times. + +Thomas Jefferson, the "Monticello Wizard" of multi-talents, made +considerable contributions to the historical, social and educational +fields. His "A Summary View of the Rights of British America," +although considered radical in part, was a pamphlet which brought +widespread attention to the important issues of allegiance and +natural rights. Jefferson's language predominates in the Declaration +of Independence, and, as some authors of history and of literature +have asserted, Jefferson's fame would have been international from +this one document alone even if he had died at the conclusion +of this task. Jefferson rated his "Act for Religious Freedom in +Virginia" as one of the three greatest personal achievements of his +lifetime. After Jefferson retired to his home at Monticello upon +the completion of his Governorship, he wrote his famous "Notes on +Virginia." + +George Mason, a native of Fairfax County, used a literary style +that is described as frank often to the point of bluntness, clear, +democratic and unassuming yet distinguished. An illustration of +this type of writing is a group of resolutions called the "Fairfax +Resolves"--so-called because they were presented at a meeting in +Fairfax County. George Mason was selected later at the Virginia +State Constitutional Convention at Williamsburg to pen a declaration +of aims for a State constitution. The Virginia Bill of Rights which +he proceeded to describe consists of the fundamental rights of man +which he believed must be guaranteed if happiness and peace are to +be attained. These ideas were considered so necessary to mankind +that eventually they were drawn upon for the Bill of Rights in the +United States Constitution and Bills of Rights in various other +State constitutions. Thus, the influence of George Mason of Gunston +Hall will be forever enshrined in the literary field as well as in +the political field. + +Richard Henry Lee of Westmoreland County is included in a survey +of literary contributors because of his carefully worded public +addresses, his well-written "Leedstown Resolutions" and his +introduction of the famous resolution "that these united Colonies +are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States ..." at +the Philadelphia convention. + +Excellent information about life on a Southern plantation is found +in "The Journal of Philip Vickers Fithian." This manuscript was +written in the form of a one-year diary and includes a description +of the life of Philip Fithian as a tutor to the children of Robert +Carter at Nomini Hall, Westmoreland County. His various letters and +a second diary describing a mission tour in Virginia taken after he +had become a Presbyterian minister also make enjoyable reading. His +untimely death at the age of twenty-eight while he was working as a +chaplain in a Revolutionary Army camp ended a literary career which +had begun most successfully. + +Besides his political career, James Madison developed persuasive +writing techniques as illustrated in his contributions to "The +Federalist" papers. He wrote twenty articles in an effort to +encourage ratification of the United States Constitution. "The +Federalist" remains the greatest single written influence which +persuaded Americans who were doubtful about the Constitution to +decide finally in favor of it. Another example of his written powers +of persuasion is "A Memorial and Remonstrance to the Virginia +General Assembly" wherein he successfully defeated a proposal to +provide state support for the teaching of religion in Virginia. +He was an ardent believer in the separation of church and state. +The voluminous, lucid notes which Madison recorded during the +Philadelphia Constitutional Convention are still the sole source of +detailed, accurate information about this historical meeting. + +St. George Tucker, a student and later a law professor at William +and Mary College and a Virginia judge, wrote two lyrical poems, +"Resignation" and "Days of My Youth," in addition to an annotated +edition of Blackstone's "Commentaries" consisting of five volumes. +Principles of government and of the Federal Constitution included +in the appendix of these works are regarded as legally significant. +Tucker showed his versatility by writing drama and political satires +as well as poetry. He is probably remembered best in literary +circles for "A Dissertation on Slavery: With a Proposal For the +Gradual Abolition of It in the State of Virginia." + +John Taylor, a statesman, who served in the House of Delegates and +in the United States Senate, wrote many economic and political +treatises. His most widely-read work was "An Inquiry into the +Principles and Policy of the Government of the United States." His +strong advocacy of Jefferson's agrarian program gained him a reading +audience of farmers as well as statesmen. + +John Marshall, a famous Virginian in the federal judiciary, +published in 1804-1807 a five-volume scholarly biography of George +Washington: "The Life of George Washington." + +Mason Locke Weems, often called "Parson" Weems, was a native of +Maryland who married a Virginian and spent much of his life in +Virginia. In 1800, he published "A History of the Life and Death, +Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington, With Curious +Anecdotes Equally Honorable to Himself and Exemplary to His Young +Countrymen." He combined fact and fiction at his own discretion and +had a highly imaginative mind. He is believed to have introduced the +method of anecdote writing; the cherry tree episode and the throwing +of the Spanish dollar across the Rappahannock were included in his +biography of Washington. He later wrote biographies of Francis +Marion, Benjamin Franklin and William Penn. Weem's biographies are +enjoyable reading rather than accurate accounts of the lives of +these individuals. + +Henry Lee, father of Robert E. Lee and widely known as "Light +Horse Harry" Lee, was selected as the individual to deliver the +funeral oration of George Washington. His "Tribute to Washington" +is a literary masterpiece which included the oft-quoted lines, in +referring to Washington, as "first in war, first in peace and first +in the hearts of his countrymen." Later, during his imprisonment +for an unpaid debt, he wrote "Memoirs of the War in the Southern +Department." + +James McClurg, a delegate from Virginia to the Philadelphia +Constitutional Convention, enjoyed writing light verse. "The Belles +of Williamsburg" illustrates his type of poetry. + +Although William Wirt is usually associated with law, his name is +also associated with literature. His best known work is "The Letters +of a British Spy" in which he included the oratorical ability of the +blind Presbyterian evangelist, James Waddell. Wirt published two +series of essays, called "The Rainbow" and "The Old Bachelor." He +also wrote a biography, titled "Sketches of the Life and Character +of Patrick Henry," which has been both favorably and unfavorably +criticized. + +An individual whose original remarks, both written and oral, have +been classified as literarily significant is the famous political +leader, John Randolph of Roanoke. He is believed to have symbolized +the turning-point of the minds of Virginians from democratic and +international viewpoints to aristocratic and states rights' beliefs. +His stepfather was St. George Tucker who influenced him in his youth +to become intellectually acquainted through reading with some of +the great writers of the world: Shakespeare, Voltaire, Pope and +Goldsmith. In the literary field, he became noted for his clever, +though often sarcastic, epigrams, particularly those referring to +political leaders of the times. Although he himself did not publish +any material, his remarks have been recorded and were later printed +in a two-volume biography, entitled "John Randolph of Roanoke +1773-1833" by William Cabell Bruce. + +Nathaniel Beverly Tucker was the half-brother of John Randolph of +Roanoke and the son of St. George Tucker. Born in Chesterfield +County, he became a lawyer, a judge and a professor of law at +William and Mary College. Although he was never able to attain +economically and socially this high planter type of social status, +he taught the necessity of an aristocracy. He expounded the doctrine +of secession, defended slavery in spite of his father's energetic +campaign against slavery and disliked practically everything outside +of Virginia. In 1836, he wrote "The Partisan Leader" under the +assumed name of Edward William Sidney. Since he strongly disliked +Martin Van Buren, he wrote this book in direct opposition to Van +Buren. He placed the time of the story as 1856 and then proceeded +to describe the happenings of a "dictatorship" which had been +established by Van Buren and the eventual secession of the Southern +states from the Union with a civil war as the result. Peculiarly +enough, this book was reprinted in 1861 as a propaganda technique by +both the North and the South: the North used it as an illustration +that the theory of secession had been planned and discussed for +years in the South and the South used it as an illustration that the +theory of secession had been justified and accepted for years. Two +major literary works of Tucker are "A Discourse on the Importance of +the Study of Political Science" and "The Principles of Pleading." + +Francis Walker Gilmer, a native of Albemarle County and a brilliant +student at William and Mary where he prepared himself for a law +career, wrote an anonymous volume entitled "Sketches of American +Orators." His "Sketches, Essays and Translations" were published +posthumously. + +William Alexander Caruthers was a medical doctor who enjoyed +writing. His most well-known book is "The Knights of the Horse-Shoe; +a Traditional Tale of the Cocked Hat Gentry in the Old Dominion." +He also wrote "The Kentuckian in New-York, or the Adventures of +Three Southerners," "The Cavaliers of Virginia, or the Recluse of +Jamestown" and "An Historical Romance of the Old Dominion." + +The greatest literary genius of Virginia is generally considered to +be Edgar Allan Poe. Although born in Boston, Poe was adopted just +prior to his third birthday by the John Allan family of Richmond. +He is said to have once remarked to a friend: "I am a Virginian. At +least I call myself one." His early years were spent in Richmond, +and his early education was acquired in Richmond. Upon the death +of his stepmother, his stepfather arranged to get him appointed +to West Point. He had published two sets of poems before he was +twenty: "Tamerlane and Other Poems" and "Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and +Minor Poems." After he had been dismissed from West Point one year +later, he decided to dedicate his life to writing. His third volume +of poetry entitled "Poems" was published by the age of twenty-two. +Poe spent the rest of his life combatting mental sickness, poverty +and loneliness. At the age of twenty-four, he began writing prose +work. He created the modern short story, the detective story and +wrote critical essays for the Southern Literary Messenger which +thrived through his writings. He became editor of this publication +in 1835. Other works written by Poe include "The Narrative of Arthur +Gordon Pym," "Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque," "The Murders in +the Rue Morgue and The Man That Was Used Up," "Tales," "The Raven +and Other Poems" and "Eureka: A Prose Poem." He died at the age of +forty, the greatest literary purist the country had yet produced. + +Another writer who contributed much to the Southern Literary +Messenger was Philip Pendleton Cooke of Martinsburg, Virginia (now +West Virginia). Although a lawyer by career, he spent much of his +time writing. His best-liked poem is "Florence Vane," a memorial +lyric. He wrote several poems and prose during his comparatively +short life of thirty-three years. + +A survey of outstanding Virginia authors of the Mid-Nineteenth +Century Period would not be complete without mentioning the name +of Matthew Fontaine Maury who is not only recognized for his broad +knowledge of science and his unique ability of mapping winds and +ocean currents but also for his numerous articles on scientific +information. His "Physical Geography of the Sea" (1855) is the first +textbook written on modern oceanography and two other books, a +"Manual of Geography" and "Physical Geography," were well received +by the public. + +Robert E. Lee became famous in a literary sense for his sincere, +humble, cleverly worded letters, particularly those concerning his +declining the command of the Federal army, his acceptance of the +command of the Virginia forces, his farewell to his Confederate +colleagues at the end of the War between the States and his +acceptance of the Presidency of Washington College after that war. + +More books have been written about the period of the War between the +States than about any other similar period in United States history. +One writer who kept a detailed daily account of personal happenings +from May 1861 to May 1865 was Judith W. McGuire of Richmond. Her +"Diary of a Southern Refugee, During the War, by a Lady of Virginia" +was written originally for the benefit of younger members of the +family who at that time were not old enough to understand what +was happening but would presumably appreciate a first-hand report +when they were older. Mrs. McGuire's husband was a chaplain in +the Officers' Hospital in Richmond, and she served as a nurse in +Richmond after fleeing from their home in Alexandria. She later +authored a brief biography of Lee, entitled "General Robert E. Lee, +the Christian Soldier." + +Individuals today are still writing biographies about military +leaders who participated in the War between the States. The first +important biography of "Stonewall" Jackson, however, was written +by an army chaplain, Robert Lewis Dabney. Although he had written +several articles on theology and religion, his most remembered work +is "Life and Campaigns of Lieutenant-General Thomas J. Jackson." +Since Dabney served as a Major on Jackson's staff, he had access +to first-hand information and personal observations of Jackson and +proceeded to utilize such information advantageously. + +John Reuben Thompson, who was editor of the Southern Literary +Messenger from 1847 until 1860, was an author and a poet. He wrote a +description of his travels in Europe entitled "Across the Atlantic," +but his literary reputation was based upon his pro-Confederate +articles and his war poems. + +George William Bagby was an essayist and humorist of Buckingham +County. He succeeded Thompson as editor of the Southern Literary +Messenger. Although educated as a doctor, he preferred writing for +a career; six years after his graduation, he pursued his literary +interest. He contributed several articles to leading magazines of +the times: Harper's, Appleton's, Lippincott's, and Putnam's. His +sketches of everyday living are characterized by his human interest +touch and his unique technique of realism at that time. His lofty +idealism was supplemented by the ability to admit weaknesses as +well as strength of whatever or whomever he was discussing. The +work which is usually associated with his name is "The Old Virginia +Gentleman," a series of talks which he delivered to raise money for +historical societies of the state. He was an ardent devotee of the +Commonwealth and his writings exemplify this affectionate feeling. + +James Barron Hope, a native of Norfolk, is another poet who also +contributed newspaper articles. He published "Leoni de Monote and +Other Poems," "A Collection of Poems" and "An Elegaic Ode," but his +most famous poem was created in 1882 when he wrote "Arms and the +Man: A Metrical Address" upon the invitation of Congress in honor of +the 100th anniversary of the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. +He also wrote a novel, "Under the Empire," and numerous stories for +children. + +An author who was as strongly a romanticist as George Bagby was a +realist was John Esten Cooke. He was a native of Winchester and +a brother of Philip P. Cooke. He exemplifies the many Virginians +who--even after the Confederacy had ended, the plantation system +had been transplanted by the merchant class system and the States' +Rights theory had dissolved into a type of nationalism--still +clung to the idea of rebuilding or establishing another similar +social system in the late 1880's. Cooke used his literary talents +to glorify the plantation type of living and the heroic, military +deeds of the war itself. He is sometimes regarded as an author who +looked "backward" rather than at the present or toward the future. +By the age of twenty-four, Cooke had completed and had published a +two-volume novel, "The Virginia Comedians," a historical romance, +"Leather Stocking and Silk" and another historical, romantic novel, +"The Youth of Jefferson." He also contributed several newspaper and +periodical articles. His biography, "Life of Stonewall Jackson," +was later increased in scope and published under the new title, +"Surry of Eagle's-Nest." He wrote novels with extreme rapidity +and, consequently, he did not take time for literary refinement +as many authors do. His other written works include "Virginia: A +History of the People," "Stories of the Old Dominion," "Mohun" +and "The Virginia Bohemians." However, he is usually considered +the outstanding historical novelist and biographer of the period +directly following the War between the States. + +Moncure Daniel Conway, a native of Stafford County, may be +classified as a writer for the minority. He used forceful language +to arouse interest in reforms in which only a minority of the +Virginians believed at the time. He wrote a pamphlet in 1850 +entitled "Free Schools in Virginia" in which he voiced a strong +appeal for public education. He became a minister and used the +pulpit as a place to advocate anti-slavery movements to such an +extent that he was dismissed from his position as pastor of the +Unitarian Church in Washington. He wrote many short articles in +pamphlet form about anti-slaveryism. In 1861, he published a volume +of similar information entitled, "The Rejected Stone, by a Native of +Virginia." He spent the rest of his life writing more than seventy +books and traveling in Europe where he made his home in England. +Among his best-known books are "Life of Thomas Paine," "Omitted +Chapters of History: Disclosed in the Life and Papers of Edmund +Randolph," "George Washington and Mount Vernon" and "Barons of the +Potomac and the Rappahannock." + +Father Abram Joseph Ryan of Norfolk is considered the greatest +Virginia poet of the period immediately following the War between +the States. He is often referred to as the "Laureate of the South." +Using his pen name, "Moina," he specialized in war lyrics which were +soon memorized by Southerners in general. His two most popular poems +were "The Conquered Banner" and "Sword of Robert E. Lee." + +Virginius Dabney, a native of Gloucester County, was an ex-lawyer +who taught and wrote. His most famous novel was "The Story of Don +Miff" which described the life of the plantation owners prior to +the War between the States. His last novel before his death was +"Gold That Did Not Glitter." + +Father John Banister Tabb was a native of Amelia County who became a +personal friend of the poet, Sidney Lanier. His "Poems," "Lyrics," +"Child Verse" and "Later Lyrics" are still popular reading for +poetry-lovers. + +Christopher P. Cranch should be mentioned for his translation of +Virgil's "Aeneid" into English in 1875. Like George Sandys who +translated Ovid's "Metamorphoses," Cranch's translation promoted +better understanding of the "Aeneid" on the part of Americans. + +Thomas Nelson Page, a native of Hanover County, became famous from +a literary viewpoint when he published in 1887 six stories in a +book called "In Ole Virginia." The first story is called "Marse +Chan," and is written in Negro dialect. Page, like John Cooke, +wrote pleasingly, though not entirely accurately, about conditions +in the South after the War between the States. His writings served +as a tonic to the depressed and hard-struggling Virginians who +were striving to rebuild their state to its former prosperous +status. Page also wrote "Two Little Confederates" for juvenile +reading and non-fiction articles as well as fiction ones. Some of +the non-fiction ones include "The Old Dominion: Her Making and Her +Manners," "The Old South" and "Robert E. Lee: Man and Soldier." + +Mary Johnston, born at Buchanan, is sometimes classified as a +transitional writer as she wrote at the end of the Nineteenth +Century and also at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. She +is considered a writer of historical realism although originally +she began writing as a romanticist. Her writings included "To Have +and To Hold," "Prisoner of Hope," "Cease Firing," "The Long Roll," +"The Slave Ship," "The Great Valley," "Hagar," "Silver Cross," +"Croatan," "Michael Forth" and "The Exile." She lived near Warm +Springs when she wrote the last six books, and she utilized the +style of mysticism in these works. Her style was a great contrast to +the earlier hero-worshiping and glorification of ante-bellum days in +Virginia. + +John Fox, Jr. of Big Stone Gap used the Cumberland Mountain +residents for the characters of his novel, "The Trail of the +Lonesome Pine." A visitor to Bound Gap may view the countryside +described in this book and still see the spot where the evergreen +tree, reputed to be the original Lonesome Pine, stood. The +activities of the mountain folk themselves and his own mining +experiences in West Virginia mines furnished John Fox, Jr., with +most of his plot sequences. His other two most well-known novels are +"The Kentuckians" and "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come." + +Virginia Hawes Terhune, a native of Dennisville, Amelia County, and +mother of Albert Payson Terhune, used the nom-de-plume of "Marian +Harland." She wrote newspaper articles about household activities +and travel books, fiction books and a famous cookbook. Her last book +was "The Carringtons of High Hill." + +William Cabell Bruce, a native of Charlotte County, was a +distinguished author who was editor of the "University of Virginia +Magazine" and who won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1918. His +prize-winning biography was "Benjamin Franklin, Self-Revealed." + +Ellen Glasgow, a native of Richmond, was one of the most +distinguished modern American novelists. She wrote her first novel +at the age of eighteen and chose this type of work for her career. +In an era of sentimental and romantic writing, she dared to inject +severe realism. She has sometimes been characterized as a romantic +realist having no hesitation in frankly portraying weaknesses as +well as the strength of her beloved Virginia. Her novels depicted +scenes of the South and featured a broad background, rather than a +comparatively small segment of people or a few isolated places. In +her novels, Miss Glasgow presents a social history of Virginia from +about 1851 to 1945. Her writings include "The Voice of the People," +"The Battle-Ground," "The Deliverance," "The Romance of a Plain +Man," "The Miller of Old Church," "Virginia," "Life of Gabriella," +"Barren Ground," "The Romantic Comedians," "They Stooped to Folly," +"The Sheltered Life," "Vein of Iron" and "In This Our Life." She +published her first two volumes anonymously: "The Descendant" and +"Phases of an Inferior Planet." Her last novel, "In This Our Life," +won the Pulitzer Prize in 1942. + +Another native of Richmond, James Branch Cabell, was the author of +thirty books classified as satirical fiction and essays. He had +a tremendous imagination which, coupled with his constant use of +symbolism and ridicule, resulted in a most unusual style of writing: +literature of disillusionment. In eighteen volumes he created +an imaginary land of Poictesme and traced the "Biography of Don +Manuel." After Cabell finished this lengthy biography, he omitted +the name, James, from his name and simply used the name, Branch +Cabell. An autobiography, "These Restless Heads," was signed in this +manner. Later he wrote autobiographical essays entitled "Quiet, +Please" and once more began to use his full name, James Branch +Cabell. + +[Illustration: VIRGINIA STATE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE + +_White House of the Confederacy_] + +Douglas Southall Freeman, a native of Lynchburg, is considered +the greatest Virginian biographer. He was editor of the Richmond +"News-Leader" from 1915 to 1949. In 1935, Dr. Freeman won the +Pulitzer Prize for his four-volume biography, "R. E. Lee." He also +wrote a supplement of three volumes, entitled "Lee's Lieutenants," +which was exceptionally well received. He wrote "The South to +Posterity" and was in the process of completing the sixth volume of +his biography of "George Washington" at the time of his death in +1953. In this same year another Virginian, David J. Mays, won the +Pulitzer Prize for the biography, "Edmund Pendleton, 1721-1803." + +[Illustration: RICHMOND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE + +_Virginia State Library Building_ + +(_Including Supreme Court of Appeals_)] + +Emily Clark, a native of Richmond, founded and edited a literary, +monthly magazine entitled "Reviewer." Her most well-known work is +"Innocence Abroad," written in 1931. Craddock Edmunds, a native of +Halifax, specialized in poetry with such titles as "Ulysses and +Other Poems," "Mass," "Geese Are Swan," "Poems," "The Renaissance" +and "Five Men." + +Virginius Dabney, grandson of the earlier author, Virginius Dabney, +was born at Lexington. He is known for outstanding editorial writing +for the Richmond "Times-Dispatch" and was awarded the 1948 Pulitzer +Prize for this field of literature. In addition to his editorials, +he also wrote "Liberalism in the South" and "Below the Potomac." + +Julian R. Meade, a native of Danville, became a literary figure +through publication of his book entitled, "I Live in Virginia." +Since his style was characterized by romanticism combined with +realism, this book caused much controversy among its local readers. +Having horticulture as an avocation, Meade wrote a witty yet +sarcastic book on gardening called "Adam's Profession and Its +Conquest by Eve" and a novel on gardening called "Bouquets and +Bitters." + +Clifford Dowdey, a native of Richmond, started his literary career +as an editorial writer in New York City. One of his first best +sellers was "Bugles Blow No More" which resulted in his being +awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. As he traveled throughout the +United States, he wrote "Gamble's Hundred," "Sing for a Penny," +"Tidewater," "Where My Love Sleeps," "Experiment in Rebellion" and +"Weep for My Brother." He also wrote a book, "The Land They Fought +For: The Story of the South as the Confederacy, 1831-1865." + +It is difficult to select the outstanding writers of a contemporary +period because of the effect of the passage of time, the varied +reaction of the reading public, and the detailed factors included in +a keen analysis of types of literature. Numerous current Virginians +have been accepted by the reading public with some of the best +known being Dr. Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker, Dr. Robert Douthat +Meade, Agnes Rothery, Arthur Kyle Davis, Jr., John Wayland, Thomas +T. Waterman, Mary Thurman Pyle, Murrell Edmunds, John H. Gwathmey, +Leigh Hanes, M. Clifford Harrison, Helen Jones Campbell, Robert +Selph Henry, Colonel William A. Couper and Dr. Charles Turner. + +The "Commonwealth" Magazine, published monthly by the Virginia +State Chamber of Commerce, the "Virginia and the Virginia County" +Magazine, published monthly by the League of Virginia Counties +and the "Virginia Cavalcade" Magazine, published quarterly by the +Virginia State Library furnish excellent articles on domestic +problems and progress in the Commonwealth. + +The Virginia State Library located in Richmond was founded for +the free use of the residents of Virginia as a general library +with primary emphasis upon reference service. The library houses +an extensive collection of books, maps, public documents, private +papers and manuscripts in a variety of subject matter areas. The +State Library also provides an interlibrary loan plan and includes +Administration, Publication, General Library, Archives, Extension +and Historical Divisions. The present library structure was +dedicated in 1941 and cost one and one-half million dollars. It +includes a photographic laboratory, a work facility for restoring +rare books and worn manuscripts, a facility for cleaning and +fumigating reading materials, individual study nooks and rooms, an +attractive entrance hall with a mural and several display cases as +well as the typical reading rooms, offices, and book stacks. The +Virginia State Library is well-equipped staff-wise and facility-wise +for rendering unusual cultural services for the Commonwealth. + + +_Art and Sculpture_ + +Art--The early colonists found little time for engaging in the +arts. Nevertheless, a beginning in art was made. For example, John +White (sometimes referred to as Johannes Wyth), the grandfather of +Virginia Dare, made water color sketches portraying the life of the +native Indians in the area. + +Various handicrafts were pursued from time to time. When Sir +Christopher Newport came to Virginia, he included in his group +some Polish and Dutch glassmakers. When the terrible winter of +1610 caused the death of a majority of the colonists at Jamestown, +glassmaking came temporarily to an end. Another early attempt was +the making of glass beads as a bartering item for the Indians, +but the massacre of 1622 ended these ventures. Other handicrafts +generally introduced in the colony included weaving, potterymaking, +wigmaking, tanning, pewter making and cobbling. Williamsburg +eventually became the center of such handicrafts. + +In the Eighteenth Century, numerous European artists visited +America. As they toured from one colony to another, they often +made prolonged visits in communities where their artistic talents +were appreciated. Not only did they sometimes sell their personal +paintings, but they were often hired to paint important personages +in such communities and members of individual families. In 1734, +Charles Bridges, an English artist, arrived in Williamsburg: his +reputation for portrait painting spread rapidly after he had +painted portraits of the children of William Byrd II. He also +painted a picture of Reverend James Blair, the first President of +the College of William and Mary. + +John Wollaston, Jr., another British artist, came to Williamsburg +and earned the title, "The Almond-Eyed Artist," because he painted +the eyes of his subjects with a peculiar slant toward the nose. +Portraits of Betty Washington Lewis, sister of George Washington, +and her husband, Colonel Fielding Lewis, and of Lawrence Washington, +half-brother of George Washington were drawn by Wollaston. + +In 1785, Jean Antoine Houdon, a distinguished French sculptor, +arrived at Mount Vernon to fulfill a commission of the Virginia +State Legislature to make a statue of George Washington. After a +year of personal observation of Washington at Mount Vernon and an +analysis of Washington's facial characteristics, he created a life +mask of Washington's face and made specific measurements of his +body. Washington was 53 years old at this time and was six feet, two +inches in height. Houdon then returned to France and proceeded to +carve a Carrara marble statue of his subject. In 1796, the "Figure +of George Washington" was placed beneath the dome of the rotunda +of the State Capitol. This statue portrays Washington dressed in +military uniform with small battle weapons and a plowshare located +at his feet and with his left arm on a fasces (a bundle of rods +enclosing an ax to symbolize power or authority). This particular +pose is believed to have been selected by Houdon after he had +observed Washington in a bargaining bout for a yoke of oxen. When +Washington heard what he considered an outrageous price requested +for the oxen, he exclaimed loudly his opinion of this proposal +with his arm outstretched on a fence post. Houdon is said to have +witnessed this incident and to have tried immediately to capture +this pose of Washington's facial characteristics for his statue. A +statue of LaFayette sculptured by Houdon is also included in one of +the niches in the encircling wall of the rotunda section and a bust +of Washington by Houdon is also located at Mount Vernon. + +After Washington had become a member of the Masonic Lodge in +Alexandria, the lodge members asked William Williams, a New Yorker, +to paint Washington "as he is." The pastel portrait which he +painted caused much controversy: some individuals considered it +cruel and unartistic, others considered it realistic and the only +true likeness of Washington. Williams had even included the scars +on Washington's face which were remnants of a scarlet fever siege +which Washington had endured. This portrait is in the Masonic Museum +in the Masonic Temple Lodge in Alexandria. Williams also made a +portrait of "Light Horse Harry" Lee, but this one did not cause +controversy as did the one of Washington. + +After the Revolutionary War had ended in America, the artists of +Virginia and the other ex-colonies of England were influenced by +classicism in art in Europe. Many of America's foremost artists of +this time traveled to Europe to study this new art movement and +were taught by Benjamin West who had set up a school in London. One +of his best known students was Charles Willson Peale, who painted +a full-length portrait of William Pitt. Peale came to Virginia and +soon became well known for his individual and group portraits, +silhouettes and miniatures of outstanding Virginians. His portraits +of William Henry Harrison and of Lafayette are considered artistic +gems. Peale's most famous portrait is his painting of George +Washington, clothed in the military garb of a colonel. + +Gilbert Stuart is usually considered the finest American painter of +the post-Colonial period. Important Virginians whom he painted were +George Washington, Colonel John Tayloe, John Randolph of Roanoke +and James and Dolly Madison. Most of his paintings were done at +Washington soon after it became the national capital city. + +In 1807, a Frenchman, Julien F. de Saint-Memin, visited Richmond for +approximately one year. He used a machine called a physionotrace +which enabled him to make profile drawing in white chalk and +in crayon. He acquired the technique of getting these drawings +etched on copper plates which allowed him to make fine miniature +engravings. One of his most famous art works is an etched view of +the waterfront at Richmond. + +Benjamin West Clinedinst, a native of Woodstock, is particularly +remembered by Virginians for his great panorama painting of the +Battle of New Market. Since he had received his education at the +Virginia Military Institute, he had a very strong esprit de corps +for this battle in which 257 cadets from V. M. I, helped General +John Breckinridge at the cost of ten students killed and forty-seven +wounded. Over the rostrum of the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hall +at the Virginia Military Institute is a huge canvas painting +by Clinedinst portraying a panorama of the charge of the cadet +corps at this historic Battle of New Market. In addition to his +portrait painting, Clinedinst furnished numerous book and magazine +illustrations. + +Sculpture--Sculpture did not really develop fully in Virginia until +the Nineteenth Century. Alexander Galt of Norfolk was one of the +earliest sculptors in this region. Although he died before his +artistic ability had been fully developed, his memorable life-size +white marble figure of Thomas Jefferson is located inside the +Rotunda at the University of Virginia. + +In 1865, Edward Virginius Valentine, a native of Richmond who had +traveled and studied throughout Europe, came back to his home town. +He created not only great sculptures but many unusual sculptures: +the bronze figure of General Hugh Mercer in Fredericksburg, a +bronze bust of Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury located in the +Virginia State Library at Richmond, a bust of John Jasper, a Negro +preacher, located in the Sixth Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Richmond, +a marble statue of Thomas Jefferson in the lobby of a Richmond +hotel, an ornate bronze statue of Jefferson Davis in a speaking +position on Monument Avenue in Richmond and a bronze statue of +"Stonewall" Jackson at the grave of "Stonewall" Jackson in the +Lexington Presbyterian Cemetery. At Washington and Lee University +located in Lexington is the Lee Memorial Chapel. Behind the altar +in this chapel is an internationally famous white marble, recumbent +"Figure of Lee" which Valentine created. Because of its recumbent +position, symbolic of General Lee resting on a battlefield cot, +this statue is considered most unique. For thirty years, Valentine +used the original carriage house of the Mann S. Valentine House in +Richmond as an art studio. When the Valentine House was acquired +by the City of Richmond and was finally opened to the public for +visitation, many of Valentine's original sculptures were grouped in +the collection, including the plaster cast of his famous recumbent +statue of Robert E. Lee. + +Sir Moses Ezekiel, a sculptor and a soldier, was a native Virginian, +but he studied and maintained his residence abroad for most of his +life. However, there are many examples of his fine artistic talent +in his native state. In the center of the Rotunda at the University +of Virginia is a bronze figure of Thomas Jefferson placed upon +a pedestal which is in the shape of the Liberty Bell; thus, the +work of Sir Ezekiel is called the Liberty Bell Statue of Thomas +Jefferson. Ezekiel has another bronze statue on the same campus +known as the Statue of Homer which portrays a boy with a lyre +sitting against the knee of Homer. Major John Warwick Daniel was +a United States Senator from Virginia who was noted for his great +oratorical ability. After he was severely wounded in the Battle of +the Wilderness, he became a cripple and was nicknamed "The Lame Lion +of Lynchburg." Ezekiel designed a statue located at Lynchburg in +honor of Major Daniel which shows him seated and holding a crutch. +Ezekiel, like Clinedinst, was a cadet at the Virginia Military +Institute during the War between the States and was present at the +Battle of New Market in which the V. M. I. Cadets participated. +In front of the Nichols Engineering Hall at the Virginia Military +Institute is a bronze seated figure of "Virginia Mourning Her Dead," +known also as the "New Market Monument." Ezekiel is buried in +Arlington National Cemetery, not far from the "Confederate Memorial" +monument of bronze which he created. + +William Ludwell Sheppard, a sculptor, created numerous well-known +statues, including a bronze one of Governor William Smith located on +the north side of Capitol Square in Richmond, "The Color-Bearer," +a bronze haut-relief, the "Soldiers' and Sailors'" Monument and the +Statue of General A. P. Hill--all located in Richmond. + +Augustus Lukeman, a Richmonder who later moved to New York City, +made the portrait bust of Jefferson Davis in the United States +Capitol. A Norfolk native, William Couper, molded a bronze statue of +Captain John Smith at Jamestown and a bronze statue of Dr. Hunter H. +McGuire, a brilliant Winchester doctor, on the north side of Capitol +Square in Richmond. He also designed a Norfolk Confederate Soldier +Monument. + +Many sculptors who were born outside of Virginia have used events +and personalities of Virginia as their subjects. Charles Keck +executed a bronze group of statues of Meriwether Lewis and William +Clark, the two explorers of the Northwest, which may be seen at +Charlottesville. Lewis and Clark are shown gazing at the horizon, +with their famous woman guide, Sacajawea, not far behind them. At +Monument Terrace in Lynchburg is another bronze statue designed by +Keck, "Statue of a Doughboy," representing the forty-seven soldiers +from Lynchburg killed in World War I. Keck also created the statue +of John Tyler located in the Capitol Rotunda at Richmond. + +There is a George Rogers Clark Memorial in Charlottesville designed +by Robert Aitken. It consists of a bronze equestrian statue of +George Rogers Clark surrounded by a group of Indians and scouts. + +Six statues depicting the Virginia-born Presidents of the United +States found in the Capitol Rotunda are "William Henry Harrison" +carved by Charles Beach, "Woodrow Wilson" by Harriet Frishmuth, +"James Monroe" and "Thomas Jefferson" by Attilio Piccirilli and +"James Madison" and "Zachary Taylor" by F. William Sievers. + +Piccirilli also created a 16-foot marble "Statue of Monroe" located +at the entrance of Ash Lawn, the home of James Monroe, near +Charlottesville. An interesting fact about this statue is that, +after the government of Venezuela had commissioned Piccirilli to +create this statue of Monroe, a revolution occurred in Venezuela +which caused a new slate of officials to succeed in office. Since +some of these officials were not pro-Monroe in their regard for the +Monroe Doctrine, the statue remained in a studio in New York City +from the latter part of the 1800's until 1931. Sievers also designed +the bronze figure of "Stonewall" Jackson astride his horse, Little +Sorrel, for the "Stonewall" Jackson Monument on Monument Avenue in +Richmond. + +Sculptural contributions of Thomas Crawford and Randolph Rogers, +both New Yorkers, may be found in Capitol Square, Richmond. The +Washington Monument here is considered an outstanding sculptural +group. Robert Mills designed the base and pedestal. The monument +depicts a bronze equestrian statue of George Washington on a stone +base surrounded by huge figures of Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, +General Andrew Lewis, John Marshall, George Mason and Thomas Nelson. +Female figures are seated on trophies of victory around the base of +the monument. All the figures were created by Crawford except Lewis +and Nelson which were created by Rogers after Crawford had died. + +Virginians were encouraged to appreciate the Fine Arts even as +early as 1786 when a Frenchman, Chevalier de Beaurepaire, founded +in Richmond the Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts of the United +States of America. This organization marked the formal beginning of +Richmond as a cultural center in Virginia. In 1936, the Virginia +Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond became the first state-supported +art museum in the United States. At present, the Museum Building, +its equipment and the salaries of the staff are provided by the +Commonwealth; other sources of revenue come from endowments, gifts, +membership, rental and admission fees. There are numerous traveling +exhibitions, slide sets, films and filmstrips, permanent famous art +collections, temporary loan exhibits and an Art-mobile equipped with +a comprehensive art display which travels to specific areas on a +scheduled basis. There is also a Museum Theater where a variety of +performances in the Fine Arts including the dance, music, drama and +motion pictures is presented. + +In 1913, the Battle Abbey was constructed in Richmond. It is noted +for its large wall murals painted by the French artist, Charles +Hoffbauer and portraying the key battles of the War between the +States. Battle Abbey also includes valuable collections of paintings +of Confederate leaders, of battle flags and of military weapons used +during the War between the States. + +The White House of the Confederacy in Richmond, known also as the +Confederate Museum, is the beautiful old Brockenbrough Mansion +leased for the home of Jefferson Davis and his family during the +War between the States. In 1893, the Confederate Memorial Literary +Society established the house as a Confederate historical museum. +Such historical treasures as the sword of Robert E. Lee, military +equipment of "J. E. B." Stuart, T. J. Jackson and Joseph E. Johnston +and individual sections housing battle mementoes of each Confederate +State are located in this structure. + +The Valentine house in Richmond, bequeathed to the city by Mann S. +Valentine in 1892, was opened to the public as a museum in 1930. +In addition to its specialized exhibits on Richmond historical +treasures, this museum has some of the original casts of Edward V. +Valentine (the sculptor), several rare books concerning Virginia +and exhibits on world history and civilizations. Another famous +museum which was constructed in 1930 is the Mariners' Museum at +Newport News. A personal comprehensive collection of over 45,000 +nautical articles (including ship models, figureheads and pictorial +material) owned by Archer M. Huntington is housed in this museum. + +The skills and techniques of painting are currently taught in the +schools, colleges and art clubs, as well as by private tutors, +throughout Virginia. Thus, the Commonwealth offers excellent +opportunities for the encouragement of, and appreciation for, +meaningful art and sculpture. + + +_Architecture_ + +Architecture is often defined as the science and art of designing +and constructing buildings or structures. Historically, architecture +in Virginia is considered to have begun in 1611-1615 with the +building of the first frame row houses at Jamestown and at Henrico. +Previous to this period, only crude dwellings had been constructed. +The typical early row house, however, was a timber structure usually +two stories high with an upper garret often included. Some of the +early colonists were bricklayers, brickmakers and carpenters. Often, +the Virginia colonists built a typical English timber cottage as +similar as possible to those in their homeland insofar as the +availability of materials in Virginia would allow. A gabled shingled +roof was commonly used; wherever they could be afforded, dormer +windows were added. Such a frame house usually measured one room +deep and two rooms wide or two rooms deep and a passage-way wide. In +the latter type, huge chimneys were usually constructed at each end. + +One of the first types of Seventeenth Century brick houses is +exemplified by the "Adam Thoroughgood" House built between 1636 +and 1640 in Princess Anne County near Cape Henry. It has one +complete story topped by a steep gabled roof with dormers and with +two T-shaped chimneys. Like many of the early houses in Virginia, +its interior is finished in pine paneling. Winona, in Northampton +County, is another illustration of the early architectural house in +Virginia. It consists of a story and a half structure with brick +walls. One of the unique features of the house has been hidden from +public view by a frame addition: a buttressed chimney surpassed by +three extremely tall stacks. + +The houses in Virginia whose construction is believed to have been +directly affected by the English Renaissance or Georgian Period of +architecture were built after 1720. Since the College of William +and Mary had been established at Williamsburg and the colonial +capital had been changed from Jamestown to Williamsburg, this area +had become the greatest cultural center as well as the seat of +government of Virginia. It is commonly believed that the important +buildings in Williamsburg in 1720--namely, the Wren Building at +the College of William and Mary, the Governor's Palace and the +Capitol--actually set the pattern for architectural designs for +private homes and public buildings throughout the colony. + +The Wren Building is the only structure in America designed by +the great Sir Christopher Wren and is the oldest academic hall in +the United States. The original design of Wren had to be altered +slightly because of the terrain of the country-side. The building, +consisting of the commonly used sandy pink brick foundation +material, is a two-and-one-half storied rectangular building with a +steep roof which includes twelve dormer windows. The roof is topped +by a plain cupola in the center with two huge chimneys on either +side. Although the Wren Building was burned and rebuilt on three +different occasions, in 1928 some of the original walls were used +as the basis for the restoration and repair of the Wren Building as +part of the Williamsburg Restoration Project. + +The Governor's Palace illustrates another Georgian architectural +design in Williamsburg. It consists of two stories rising to a +cornice topped by a steep, many-dormered roof. Atop the roof is +a platform with a lantern-cupola. There are narrow sash windows +on the façade and a plain square-transomed doorway with a center +wrought-iron balcony overhead. There are separate buildings for +the smokehouse, dairy, kitchen and laundry. Above the doorway of +the Governor's Palace is the carved coat of arms of George II and +Britain's Royal Lion and Unicorn. The fine paneled woodwork in the +interior of the palace and the antique tooled leather walls of the +library are also noteworthy. + +The Capitol at Williamsburg, originally completed in 1704 and +later reconstructed on the original foundations, is a two-storied +H-shaped brick structure with semicircular bays on either end and +a connecting gallery in the center over an arched porch. The roof +of the gallery is topped with a cupola which has the arms of Queen +Anne, a clock and the Union Jack, one above the other. The Capitol +was restored in 1920. + +The George Wythe House in Williamsburg is considered one of the +purest Georgian Colonial architectural structures in America. +George Wythe was the first law professor at the College of +William and Mary. The house was a gift from his father-in-law. +Although this structure was a town house, it had numerous separate +buildings--kitchen, smokehouse, laundry, stable--similar to a +plantation. The house is rectangular in shape, constructed of brick +and has two built-in chimneys. Under the restoration project, the +original paint colors in many of the rooms have been matched, and +it is now furnished with appropriate furniture of that period. + +Other houses built about this time reveal the similarity of designs +of private estates to the Governor's Palace. Westover (1733), home +of Colonel William Byrd II on the James River, is considered by many +historians and architects as the finest example of colonial grandeur +and Georgian stateliness in Virginia. English wrought-iron gates are +fastened to posts at the top of which are two leaden eagles with +half-spread wings. The mansion house is constructed of red brick +with a center section two stories high. On either side of the center +section is a wing a story and a half high connected by passageways. +At both ends of the house are pairs of tall chimneys. Elaborate +entrances, paneled walls, an open-string staircase and black and +white marble mantels imported from Italy are some of the elegant +features still found in the mansion at the present time. + +Christ Church in Lancaster County was erected about the same time as +Westover. This structure is an example of a Greek-cruciform colonial +church. The church is constructed of brick, has three wide brick +doors, oval windows and has the unusual history of having been built +solely with funds furnished by one individual, the wealthy "King" +Carter. + +Stratford Hall (1725-1730) in Westmoreland County, the home of +Thomas Lee and the birthplace of Robert E. Lee, exemplifies another +H-shaped house of beauty and grandeur. Constructed of brick and +dominated by two groups of four chimneys, Stratford consists of the +H-plan with four large attached buildings at the corners. A unique +feature of this house is its exceptionally long flight of stairs +which one must ascend before reaching the main floor. The main floor +consists of five large rooms with a huge hall which forms the bar of +the "H." Each wing also has a pair of rooms connected by passages. + +Carter's Grove (1751) in James City County is another Georgian +type house, planned and partially constructed by Carter Burwell in +1751. The main unit of the mansion was constructed by the English +builder, Richard Bayliss, and another Britisher, David Minitree. The +mansion consists of two-and-a-half stories with wings on each side +of one story. It is particularly noteworthy for its almost perfect +symmetry. The main unit has a very high roof with a pair of large +square chimneys. There are several dormer windows and the entire +structure is 200 feet long. The interior as well as the exterior +is beautiful with extensive pine paneling, a graceful arch across +the middle of the main hall and exquisitely carved walnut railings +along the stairway. Some officers of Lt. Col. Banaster Tarleton's +troops used this place as headquarters in 1781. When Tarleton +suddenly needed his troops, he rode horseback up the beautiful +carved stairway. The horse's hoofprints are still observable on the +stairway steps. + +Mount Airy in Richmond County was constructed by Colonel John Tayloe +in 1758. This house is unusual because it was built entirely of +stone, a rarity because the Tidewater area did not have an extensive +amount of stone. Mount Airy is built of brown stone and trimmed with +light stone furnishing a colorful contrast. + +The architecture of churches in Virginia is likewise varied. St. +Luke's Church, originally known as the Brick Church in Isle of Wight +County, is believed to be the oldest church still in existence in +the original thirteen colonies. It is easily recognizable from its +square tower and gabled nave. The brick Jamestown Church Tower +(1639) is a Gothic structure also. The famous Bruton Parish Church +in Williamsburg (1715) is an example of the change in architecture +due to Governor Spottswood's planned improvement program for +Williamsburg. This is the oldest Episcopal Church continuously +in use in Virginia. Its cruciform construction of red brick is +unusual with its numerous high, white shuttered windows. The square +tower was built at a later date and seems to add dignity to the +structure. Christ Church in Alexandria, constructed in 1767-1772, +has characteristics of the late Georgian Colonial Period: red brick, +a square tower with an octagonal-shaped belfry having a dome cupola, +a trimming of white stone and a crown of Wrennish pepperpots. + +Thomas Jefferson contributed much to original Virginia architecture. +Jefferson was devoted to the classical style, yet followed new +trends of his own. For example, the Capitol at Richmond was planned +by Jefferson. Jefferson used the famous Roman temple at Nîmes in +southern France, the Maison Carrée, as the basic design and modified +it according to his wishes. He had a plaster model of it made in +Paris and sent to Virginia to be used as the pattern for the new +Capitol. The original building is the central building which was +constructed from 1785 to 1788. Later, the brick was covered with +stucco and the wings and the long flight of steps were added in +1904-1906. The revival of classicism in architecture is traced to +the individual efforts of Thomas Jefferson. His contacts with many +of the outstanding architects of the time, including Robert Mills, +helped spread the classic ideas throughout the nation. Thus, the +dignity of the great plantation houses constructed during this +period is attributed to the style advocated by Jefferson. He not +only favored this style but proceeded to utilize the style which +he advocated. Monticello, Jefferson's home at Charlottesville, was +built of red brick. Its dome, its Doric columns, its symmetrical +arrangement, its circular windows, its octagonal bay and stately +porticos, its wedgewood mantelpiece--all characterize the Early +Republican type of architecture in Virginia. + +Jefferson carried out a similar classical style when he founded the +University of Virginia. The Serpentine Walls of red brick which +surround most of the gardens were designed and built by Jefferson, +following a type he had seen in France. The walls are approximately +six feet high and one brick thick and constructed on a wavelike +plan for added strength. Jefferson also designed the five two-story +temple-like pavilions including porticos and had them constructed of +red brick walls with white trim and white classic columns. Bremo, +near Fork Union, and Poplar Forest, near Lynchburg (where Jefferson +used to spend quiet weekends in retreat) are two other houses +designed and built by Jefferson. + +Robert Mills, who received architectural instruction from Jefferson +and whose name is associated with the colonnade of the Treasury +Building in Washington and with the Washington Monuments in +Washington and in Baltimore, also contributed to the development of +architecture in Virginia. Mills designed the Monumental Episcopal +Church in Richmond with its structure of stuccoed brick and brown +sandstone, its octagonal domes and its columns. Mills' stuccoed +houses in Richmond are considered most unique. The front of this +type of house which faced the street is comparatively plain and +simple, but the back of the house which faced the river usually +had a graceful, tall, columned portico with a hanging balcony. +Thus, Mills' houses had the appearance of a regular city house +in the front and a country house in the back. The Valentine +Museum, formerly the John Wickham House, and the White House of +the Confederacy, formerly the Jefferson Davis Mansion, located in +Richmond were both designed by Robert Mills. + +Sherwood Forest, located on the James River, was the home of John +Tyler, tenth President of the United States, after he retired from +the Presidency. He enlarged the originally-built dwelling twofold +and also had a closed-in colonnade constructed to connect the main +house with the kitchen and the laundry. After a ballroom and an +office had also been added, the entire structure was 300 feet long, +one of the longest houses in the country. The original house was +built in 1780 with additions made in 1845. + +When Jefferson with his great fervor for originality died, Virginia +architecture seemed to lose its original character. For many years +afterwards, Virginia tended to follow the architecture fashion +of the nation rather than to create any particular architectural +characteristics of its own. Following the War between the States and +its resulting poverty, many of the skills of the earlier craftsmen +seemed to disappear. There was a lack of artistic brickwork and +handcarved woodwork; imitation and copying of designs throughout the +nation seemed to dominate the architectural scene. The influence of +much of the foreign architecture of this period seemed to crowd the +American scene and to stifle American originality. Experimentation, +not often beautiful in appearance or graceful in lines, resulted +in an era of architecture with mediocre dwellings and a lack of +symmetry and of balanced proportions in design. + +Near the close of the Nineteenth Century, an event occurred which +influenced American architecture to a great extent. When the Chicago +World's Fair was held in 1893, visitors suddenly became reminiscent +about the numerous reconstructed American architectural designs +of colonial buildings: the rich-looking red brick buildings with +graceful, tall white columns and with porticos and pediments. +Architects in the United States as well as the American public in +general found a new interest in the construction designs, techniques +and materials of the Colonial Era. Several visits were made to +Virginia and other southern states in an attempt to rediscover the +true Colonial style which still has so much to offer in the way of +beauty, simplicity and grandeur. + +As in the other states, Virginia architects have been busy recently +drawing up plans to meet the ever-increasing demand for private +dwellings as well as for public buildings. Some of the structures +in Virginia which have received nationwide attention are the +five-sided, five-floored Pentagon Building in Arlington with 17½ +miles of corridors, the Iwo Jima Memorials--one at Quantico and +one in Arlington County--and numerous houses, apartment buildings, +schools, churches and business establishments. + +The greatest architectural restoration project in the United States +is the Restoration of Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. Intense, +careful research has made this restoration authentic and appealing +to the American public. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. made the project +possible through financial backing and, to date, over 400 colonial +public buildings, homes, shops and taverns have been restored or +reconstructed on a 216 acre section of land. Many of the restored +buildings--the Capitol, the Governor's Palace, the George Wythe +House, the Raleigh Tavern, the Public Gaol, the Ludwell-Paradise +House, the Brush-Everard House and the Magazine and Guardhouse--are +now furnished properly according to the Eighteenth Century style. +Additional atmosphere is created by the colorful, colonial costumes +worn by the guides themselves. The restoration continues, and +visitors from various parts of the world, as well as from all of the +fifty states, delight in viewing authentic colonial architecture. +The Williamsburg Project has had, and will continue to have, a +definite influence upon American architecture. + +In retrospect, Virginia is usually accredited professionally with +two distinct types of individual architecture: the Colonial type +brought directly from England and adapted to American surroundings +(with a slight variation in Early Colonial and Late Colonial due to +the results of the European Renaissance) and the Jeffersonian type +distinguished by the creativeness and superb artistic traits of +Thomas Jefferson. + + +_Music and Drama_ + +Music--The early Jamestown settlers left no record of their music. +They apparently sang the same songs current in England at the +time of their departure and probably made up verses pertaining to +their environment as time passed. There is evidence that unusual +instruments were occasionally used. Even though organs were very +expensive in colonial days, by 1700 the Episcopal Church at Port +Royal owned the first pipe organ brought to America from Europe. By +1755, the Bruton Parish Church at Williamsburg had also received one. + +The wealthy inhabitants usually paid instrumentalists, often foreign +musicians, to play at various social functions. String players +were particularly popular, not only for chamber music concerts but +also for private balls. In 1788, Francis Hopkinson, considered by +many historians as the first American composer, dedicated his most +ambitious published work, "Seven Songs," for the harpsichord or +forte piano to George Washington, his personal friend. Although +Washington himself did not play an instrument he was an active +patron of the arts including music. The harpsichord which he bought +for Nellie Custis is still at Mount Vernon. Hopkinson also had +written in 1778 a musical manuscript called "Toast" commemorating +Washington's position as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental +Army. After Hopkinson had made improvements on the harpsichord, he +contacted Thomas Jefferson, beseeching him to acquaint craftsmen +with his new, musical instrumental idea. Jefferson was a great +devotee to music and was considered by many as an accomplished +violin player as was Patrick Henry before him. + +The musical talents of the Negroes are usually associated with +Southern music. From time to time, collections of slave songs, +plantation and cabin songs and religious spirituals have been +published by William F. Allen, Lucy M. Garrison, Charles P. Ware, +Natalie Burlin and Thomas Fenner. The Hampton Singers from Hampton +Institute still preserve the musical beauty of such Negro Spirituals +as "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Go Down Moses," "Deep River," "Steal +Away to Jesus" and "O'er the Crossing." Reverend James P. Carrell +of Harrisonburg and Lebanon published two spiritual song books: +"Songs of Zion" and "Virginia Harmony." James A. Bland, a Negro +originally from South Carolina but educated in Washington, wrote +the song: "Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny." This song was adopted +by the legislature as the official state song in 1940. Two other +famous songs written by Bland were "Dem Golden Slippers" and "In the +Evening by the Moonlight." + +Musical publishers and choral groups also encouraged active +participation in the musical field. Joseph Funk, a German immigrant, +came to Singer's Glen near Harrisonburg near the beginning of +the Nineteenth Century. He established a singing school where he +taught vocal music and published "Choral Music," a collection of +German songs. Aldine Kieffer, a grandson of Funk, created a monthly +musical publication, "Musical Millions," consisting of rural music +and musical hints for singing schools. Kieffer wrote the words and +B. C. Unseld the music to a song which became very popular in the +rural areas of the South: "Twilight Is Falling." In 1883, Theodore +Presser of Lynchburg founded the well-known music publication for +music teachers and pianists called "The Etude." Scholars and music +lovers in various parts of the world have enjoyed the contents of +this publication. F. Flaxington Harker was a Scotsman who came to +America and served as an outstanding choral director in Richmond. +He composed organ compositions, choruses, sacred and secular songs, +anthems and cantatas. A collection of Virginia Folklore Songs, +called "The Traditional Ballads of Virginia," has been compiled by +Arthur Kyle Davis, Jr. and C. Alphonso Smith. + +Jenny Lind, "The Swedish Nightingale," afforded Richmonders a thrill +when she appeared in person at the Marshall Theater in 1850. She was +considered an outstanding singer by Virginia music lovers. In 1876, +Thomas Paine Westendorf of Bowling Green wrote the song, "I'll Take +You Home Again, Kathleen," presumably for his wife while she was +mourning the death of her son: she had traveled away from home with +her husband and had become very homesick, prompting him to write the +song as words of encouragement to her. + +The composer who is professionally considered as the greatest +native Virginian contributor to the music field is John Powell +of Richmond and Charlottesville. He was an accomplished pianist +and studied in Vienna as well as in the United States. He wrote +"Sonata Virginianesque" for violin and piano (a sonata consisting +of the happy aspects of plantation life before the War between the +States), several overtures and folk-songs. He became nationally +famous for his "Rhapsodie Negre" for piano and orchestra. His +varied talents included the writing of fugues and concertos as well +as the creation of the Virginia State Choral Festival. Powell was +also an enthusiastic participant in the annual White Top Folk Music +Festival. No description of musical contributions of Virginians +would be complete without reference to Joe Sweeney, a native of +Appomattox who invented the five-stringed banjo. + +Richard Bales, a native of Alexandria, is a composer-conductor +who arranged a cantata, "The Confederacy," consisting of music +and literary compositions of the Confederate States during the +War between the States. This cantata was so well received that +it inspired him to compose a second one called "The Union" which +consists of music and literary comments concerning the Union forces +during the War between the States. He also composed "The Republic" +which consists of prominent European and American musical trends of +the Eighteenth Century. + +Regional festivals and a State Festival for public school bands and +choral groups are held each year. Symphony orchestras furnish superb +musical entertainment regularly in Richmond, Norfolk and Roanoke. +Numerous Virginians have been, and are, active in the music field as +singers of classical, semi-classical and popular tunes of the day. +Thus, contributions to vocal music, instrumental music and musical +forms have been made by natives and residents of Virginia. + +Drama--Unlike residents of many of the thirteen original colonies, +Virginia residents delighted in the drama. An Accomack County record +states that a group of non-professionals performed in a play, "Ye +Beare and Ye Cub," as early as 1655. This record is believed to +be the earliest available evidence of an English-speaking play +presented in the American colonies. + +Virginia is also proud of the fact that the very first theater +called a playhouse was constructed by William Levingston at +Williamsburg in 1716. Its purpose was to present "Comedies, Drolls, +and other kind of stage plays ... as shall be thought fitt to +be acted there." In spite of its lofty origin, it soon became a +financial loss and, in 1745, the original structure was allotted to +Williamsburg to be used as a town hall. + +Six years later, however, a second theater was constructed behind +the Capitol at Williamsburg. The opening play was "Richard III" and +its performers subsequently enacted this play also at Petersburg and +at Fredericksburg. It was at the Williamsburg Playhouse that the +famous Hallams (London Company, later known as the American Company) +first performed in America. The Hallam family--father, mother and +two children--and their supporting cast landed at Yorktown where +they were welcomed by Governor Dinwiddie and a group of his personal +friends. They later traveled to Williamsburg where the playhouse had +received appropriate improvements and alterations in keeping with +the occasion. Their performance was a success as evidenced by the +fact that their play, "The Merchant of Venice," played for eleven +months in Williamsburg. + +[Illustration: VIRGINIA STATE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE + +_Virginia Museum of Fine Arts_] + +Other plays including tragedies and comedies, famous and not so +famous, were acted at the Williamsburg Playhouse. Most of the plays +during this period were European plays or American imitation of +European plays. The playhouses themselves were usually wooden +structures with crude benches for the average customers and a few +"less uncomfortable" boxes for the aristocrats. In the winter, the +heat was usually furnished by one stove in the center of the end of +the barn-like structure where the spectators congregated between +the acts. Often, spectators carried their individual footwarmers +with them to assure themselves of comfort during the play. Candles +at first were the sole means of illumination. A custom which was +practiced for many years consisted of the Negro servants arriving +at the playhouse hours before the six o'clock curtain time and +reserving seats for their masters by sitting in the most desirable +areas until the arrival of the masters. + +The early drama companies were often organized and managed as a +regular stock company with the importance of the dramatic role +determining the number of shares received by an actor. Another +common method of paying outstanding actors was the holding of a +"benefit" night near the end of the season whereby the receipts of +that night would be given to the individual actor. + +The playhouse provided one of the most popular types of amusement +and it soon became a colorful place for gay, social gatherings. +Since Williamsburg was the capital of the colony of Virginia, +during legislative sessions the playhouse was particularly crowded +with important personages of the government and their friends. +George Washington enjoyed dramatic presentations very much and +on numerous occasions visited the Williamsburg Playhouse. Just +before the American Revolution, however, as political, economic and +social relationships between the Americans and the British were +being severely strained, most forms of entertainment including the +playhouse were prohibited. Consequently, the Virginia playhouses +eventually closed and most of the actors and actresses traveled to +foreign shores. + +After Governor Thomas Jefferson and numerous other Virginians +believed that Williamsburg was no longer a safe or central location, +the capital of Virginia was moved to the Town of Richmond in 1779. +Seven years later, a new theater in Richmond was opened on Shockoe +Hill. For twenty-five years, this theater was a social gathering +place and a stage background for numerous plays during this period. +On December 26, 1811, tragedy struck this theater when it was +crowded with holiday festive guests at a benefit performance for +the actor, Placide, and his daughter. The entertainment in the +theater usually consisted of a prologue, a feature play, a short +afterpiece and, sometimes, singing or dancing. On this fateful date, +the feature had been completed and the afterpiece was being enacted. +Suddenly, a lamp which was used for creating overhead light was +mistakenly jerked by a pulley, causing it to swing fully lit into +the oil-painted scenery back-drop. Soon the entire theater was a +flaming mass. Seventy-three persons were killed in this tragedy +including Governor George William Smith. This incident caused many +theater-goers to refrain from attending theater performances for +several years because of fear for their personal safety. + +Drama in Virginia, consequently, received a serious setback +from this tragedy, but in 1818, a new theater was built through +subscription at Seventh and Broad Streets in Richmond. It was called +the Marshall Theater and was named in honor of Chief Justice John +Marshall who was one of the theater's greatest patrons. Although +this new structure was larger, more conveniently situated and more +safely constructed, fear still kept the large crowds of the earlier +theater from attending. The theater for a time had to depend upon a +famous performer to assure patronage by large numbers. In July 1821, +one of these celebrated performers was Junius Brutus Booth--father +of the American actor, Edwin Booth--who made his American debut at +the Marshall Theater in "Richard III." + +By the middle of the Nineteenth Century, Virginia began to +experience the "Golden Age" of its theater. Richmond still was the +center of the drama in Virginia and one of the outstanding dramatic +centers in the United States. The opinion and reaction of Richmond +audiences and critics became respected and noticed throughout +the country. Such well-known actors as Edwin Forrest, William C. +Macready and James W. Wallack played here. On January 2, 1862, the +Marshall Theater burned, but its owner immediately had a new one +called the Richmond Playhouse built on the same site. Its opening +premiere was "As You Like It" starring Ida Vernon and D'Orsay Ogden. +Even though the War between the States was being fought, contrary +to the Revolutionary War period, the theater furnished amusement +and relaxation. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, and +many of his cabinet members attended this theater and viewed many of +its tragedies which strangely enough seemed to be the type of play +preferred over comedies at this time. One of the favorite actresses +of the soldier audiences was Sally Partington. + +As the years passed, additional theaters were built in Virginia +including the Theater of Varieties in Richmond where vaudeville was +first introduced. By the end of the Nineteenth Century, two native +Virginians had become dramatic character actors of national fame: +Wilton Lackaye of Loudoun County and George Fawcett of Fairfax +County. At the turn of the century, Bill Robinson, a native of +Richmond, began his ascent to national and international fame for +his superb dance style and routines, not only in vaudeville but also +in New York plays and, later, in moving pictures. + +Early in the Twentieth Century, Francis Xavier Bushman of Norfolk +was one of the early moving picture lead actors. As the movies +improved and increased in their scope, Virginians such as Jack +Hall of Winchester, James H. Bell of Suffolk, Margaret Sullavan +of Norfolk, Randolph Scott of Orange County, Richard Arlen of +Charlottesville, Lynn Bari of Roanoke, Joseph Cotten of Petersburg, +Henry King of Christiansburg, John Payne of Roanoke, Charles Gilpin +of Richmond and Freeman F. Gosden of Richmond became nationally +known for their acting. + +Although strong competition of vaudeville, moving pictures, radio +and television undoubtedly has affected the legitimate theater, the +strong desire for legitimate acting still remains and has resulted +in the formation of summer stock companies and numerous Little +Theater groups throughout Virginia. Such groups have become very +active and are found in many cities including Alexandria, Danville, +Lynchburg, Norfolk, Petersburg, Richmond and Staunton. Virginia +colleges and universities also keep the theater alive by sponsoring +dramatics classes, workshops and plays. + +Two recent developments of the theater in Virginia are the formation +of the Barter Theater Group and the presentation of historical +plays. The Barter Theater is part of the Barter Colony located at +Abingdon, and this colony consists of the theater, a workshop, +an inn and a dormitory. The colony was established by Robert and +Helen F. Porterfield in 1932 as an attempt to create renewed +interest in legitimate play-acting. An original, unique feature of +the theater and the activity which was directly responsible for +its name was the original ticket purchase price which could be +obtained in exchange for produce or edible commodities--similar to +the old-fashioned barter system of exchange; at present, however, +theater patrons pay money rather than produce for their tickets. +During the winter months, the cast travels in other nearby states as +well as in Virginia. An annual Barter Theater award was established +by Robert Porterfield in 1939 for the "finest performance by an +actor or actress on the current Broadway stage." Such well-known +individuals as Laurette Taylor, Dorothy Stickney, Mildred Natwick, +Ethel Barrymore, Tallulah Bankhead, Louis Calhern, Helen Hayes, +Henry Fonda, Frederic March, Shirley Booth, Cornelia Otis Skinner, +David Wayne, Rosalind Russell, Mary Martin, Ethel Merman and Ralph +Bellamy have received this award. The Barter Theater Award consists +of an acre of land located near Abingdon, a world-famed Virginia ham +and a silver octagonal platter "to eat it off." In addition, the +recipient is given the opportunity to nominate two young dramatic +actors at New York City auditions for acting positions at the Barter +Theater. The Barter Theater, now recognized as the State Theater of +Virginia, is believed to be the only professional theater in the +United States which receives financial aid from a state budget. + +Since 1947, an outstanding play, "The Common Glory," written by +Pulitzer Prize Winner Paul Green, has been presented in the summer +at the Lake Matoaka Amphitheater in Williamsburg. The theme of "The +Common Glory" is based upon important historical events from 1774 +through 1783 with the famous comments of such American statesmen as +Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston and Patrick +Henry. The realistic performance of this theme in the historical +outdoor, natural setting in Williamsburg near historical Jamestown +and Yorktown is an experience the audience long remembers. Paul +Green also wrote "The Founders," another historical drama in honor +of the three hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of +Jamestown. + +Music and drama--from both the creative sense and the participation +sense--still remain an active phase of culture in Virginia. + + +_Education_ + +In colonial days in Virginia, education was considered a personal +family matter. A public school, as the term is understood now, +was non-existent. Since England had no national public system of +education until 1833, the Virginia colonists, of whom a majority +were of English descent, did not have any heritage for schools for +the general public. Later, the geographical distances between the +plantations and the gradual development of social classes tended to +discourage public education. The typical child who received formal +education was taught by the family members, privately tutored, +apprenticed for farming, attended a "Pay School" or "Old Field +School" (a community school taught by a teacher paid either by +the individual parents or by a particular patron and located on +relatively poor agricultural land), enrolled in a Latin Grammar +School or attended a fashionable school in London. Only the boys +received the formal education and the girls learned the proper +techniques of performing household tasks and of being a gracious +hostess. Many poor children had no formal education of any kind. + +In 1634, the Syms Free School in Elizabeth City County was organized +as a local, free school as a direct result of provisions of a will +whereby two hundred acres of land were provided and free milk and +income from eight cows were included for the support of the school. +Twenty-five years later, Dr. Thomas Eaton of the same county also +endowed a free school and left a five hundred acre estate with +buildings and livestock as the endowment. The endowment also +provided for the maintenance of an "able schoolmaster to educate and +teach the children born within the County of Elizabeth." Later, the +two schools were combined and, by the beginning of the Twentieth +Century, they had been incorporated into the public school system as +the Syms-Eaton Academy. + +A few church schools were organized, but they reached a very small +number of children with their enrollment. Orphans and poor children +often received the benefits of apprenticeship training in trade +or industrial schools and eventually had an opportunity to learn +to read and write. By 1775, there were nine free schools endowed +by private philanthropists for the poor and needy. Public schools +at this time in Virginia were considered as schools for paupers, +orphans and needy financial cases rather than schools for the +benefit of the general public. Community tax-supported schools for +the children of the general public were practically unknown. + +Until the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, the slaves--both +Negro and Indian--were usually taught religious training and +some primary learning, the amount and type of training depending +upon the individual master. After certain sensational articles +tended to cause discontent and confusion in the minds of some +of these individuals which resulted in sporadic raids and open +dissatisfaction with living conditions, the legislature of Virginia +passed a law making it illegal to teach any slave how to read, write +or do arithmetic. + +By the middle of the Nineteenth Century, private academies and +seminaries (for girls) began to replace the early Latin-Grammar +schools. The subjects of English, Latin, science, mathematics, +public speaking, spelling and penmanship were taught. The fine arts +subjects such as painting and music were stressed in the seminaries. +Some of the early academies included Prince Edward Academy (later +became Hampden-Sydney Academy and, eventually, Hampden-Sydney +College), Liberty Hall Academy (later, Washington College and, +eventually, Washington and Lee University), Fredericksburg Academy +(later, Fredericksburg College), Alexandria Academy, Shepherdstown +Academy (later, Shepherdstown College and, eventually, State Normal +School in West Virginia), Central Academy (later, Central College +and, eventually, the University of Virginia), Richmond Seminary +(later, Richmond College), Salem Academy (later, Roanoke College), +Monongahela Academy (later, West Virginia University) and Marshall +Academy (later, Marshall College and, eventually, a State Normal +School in Huntington, West Virginia). These academies are considered +forerunners of public high schools in Virginia because, even as late +as the period immediately prior to the War between the States, there +were very few public schools of any type in Virginia. + +Henrico University was the first attempt in Virginia at an +institution for higher learning. The Indian Massacre of 1622 ruined +these conscientious efforts. The first two colleges actually +founded in Virginia were William and Mary College at Williamsburg +founded in 1693--the second oldest college in the thirteen original +colonies--and Washington and Lee University at Lexington founded +in 1749. William and Mary College was founded for the purpose of +providing an opportunity for higher education within the colony +itself; Washington and Lee University--originally known as Augusta +Academy, then Liberty Hall, and, eventually, Washington College +before being renamed Washington and Lee University--was founded to +educate young men in Virginia in a similar fashion to the academies +in England at that time. In 1819, the General Assembly passed a law +allotting $15,000 annually from the Literary Fund to be used for +a state university, the University of Virginia, to be located in +Charlottesville. + +As in most states, the early private colleges were usually founded +by religious groups. By the end of the Nineteenth Century, +colleges had been established in Virginia by Presbyterians, +Episcopalians, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans and +the Brethren Sect. The following institutions were in existence +at this time: the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in +Alexandria, the University of Richmond (Baptist), Hampden-Sydney +College at Hampden-Sydney (Presbyterian), St. Vincent's Seminary +and College at Richmond (Catholic), Emory and Henry College at +Emory (Methodist), Roanoke College at Salem (Lutheran), St. John's +Catholic Academy and Seminary at Norfolk, Mary Baldwin College +at Staunton (for women--Presbyterian), Randolph-Macon College at +Ashland (for men--Methodist), Bridgewater College at Bridgewater +(Brethren), St. Paul's Polytechnic Institute at Lawrenceville +(Episcopalian), the Virginia Theological Seminary and College +at Lynchburg (for Negroes), Randolph-Macon College at Lynchburg +(for women--Methodist), Union Theological Seminary in Virginia at +Richmond (Interdenominational) and Virginia Union University at +Richmond (for Negroes--Baptist). + +Other colleges founded in the Nineteenth Century include the Hampton +Institute at Hampton (private--Negro), Medical College of Virginia +at Richmond (state), Hollins College at Hollins (private), Longwood +College at Farmville (state--women), Virginia Military Institute +at Lexington (state), Virginia Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg +(private) and Virginia State College at Petersburg (Negro). Madison +College was founded in 1908 at Harrisonburg as a private institution +of higher learning and, nine years later, Eastern Mennonite College +was also chartered in Harrisonburg. + +The increase of women in colleges became apparent by the Twentieth +Century with the organization of Sweet Briar College at Sweet Briar +(private), Mary Washington College at Fredericksburg (women's +division of the University of Virginia--state), Randolph-Macon +Woman's College at Lynchburg, Lynchburg College at Lynchburg +(coed--Disciples of Christ) and Radford College at Radford (women's +division of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute--state). In +addition, there are seven junior colleges: Stratford at Danville, +Averett at Danville, Southern Seminary and Junior College at Buena +Vista, Sullins at Bristol, Marion at Marion, Virginia Intermont +at Bristol--all colleges for women only. These additional junior +colleges--Shenandoah at Dayton, Bluefield at Bluefield and Ferrum at +Ferrum--are coed institutions. + +Public schools were initially supported by a Literary Fund and by +one-half the capitation tax. Gradually, all the capitation or poll +tax money was transferred to the Literary Fund. After the middle of +the Nineteenth Century, some cities and counties in Virginia began +to adopt a system of free schools for the general public. For the +first time, a favorable attitude toward public education on the part +of a majority of the Virginians became apparent. The long-assumed +idea that public schools were charity schools tinged with a social +stigma faded into the background and public education for all the +children began to be widely encouraged. Before much actual progress +along this line was achieved, however, the War between the States +took place. As a result, most of the academies were forced to close +and education for a time became a comparatively minor issue. + +After the War between the States, the Underwood Constitution +included a provision requiring public education through the +establishment of a uniform system of free public schools in all +counties of the state. The deadline date for organizing and +establishing such a system was 1876. A State Superintendent of +Public Instruction was elected by the General Assembly, a State +Board of Education was formed, and public education itself was +financed by interest on the Literary Fund, capitation tax revenue, +revenue from state and local property taxes and a state tax on each +male twenty-one years old or over. Reverend William H. Ruffner of +Lexington was the first State Superintendent of Public Instruction +in Virginia. + +Racial segregation in the public schools of Virginia was +constitutionally established in the Underwood Constitution of +1902. Section 149 stated that white and colored children were not +to be taught in the same schools. This idea had been in existence +in statute law since 1869-1870, and the Constitution of 1902 also +specifically stated that public funds were to be restricted, with a +few exceptions, to public school use. + +Gradually, teacher training courses were offered and improved and +teacher scholarships were created in the attempt to organize a large +number of new schools with qualified teacher personnel. Eventually, +specialized courses were offered in the elementary and secondary +schools: vocational courses including agricultural and industrial +arts courses and household arts courses, Bible Study, Music, +Drawing, Art and commercial subjects such as bookkeeping, shorthand +and typing were introduced. These courses coupled with the original +fundamental courses provided a rich curriculum for the public +school children of Virginia. By 1920, health examinations, health +instructions and physical training were required of each student. +Early State Superintendents of Instruction faced tremendous problems +in their attempts to organize and develop a whole new school system. + +The importance of education in Virginia by 1918 is ascertained by +the fact that the state legislature at that time passed an act +ordering the State Board of Education to appropriate a fund of not +more than $10,000 to be used for a scientific evaluation study of +the Virginia schools by a special Survey Commission. Both the Inglis +Survey of 1919 (named after Dr. Alexander Inglis, Director of the +survey) and the O'Shea Survey of 1927 (named after Dr. M. V. O'Shea, +Director of the survey) resulted in considerable improvements in +the organization and administration of the educational system and +in curricular offerings. Some of the recommendations included +the appointment of the State Board of Education by the Governor +with confirmation by the State Senate, the appointment of the +State Superintendent of Public Instruction by the State Board of +Education, the selection of a variety of basic textbooks by the +State Board of Education, an increase in vocational education +courses of study, a minimum nine month academic year, compulsory +school attendance, improvement in teacher certification standards, +the county unit plan (rather than the district plan) of school +organization and a substantial increase in the salaries of teachers. + +When the depression occurred in the late 1920's and early 1930's, +Virginia was affected but to a lesser degree than most of the +other states. One of the first items drastically reduced in the +local and state budgets was school expenditures. Regardless of +its financial hardship, however, the educational system continued +to improve. A new Division of Instruction headed by a Director of +Instruction was created in the State Department of Education to +assume the responsibility of improving the instruction program in +the Virginia public schools. Later, a Supervisor of Elementary +Education and a Supervisor of Music was added to the State structure +and a Supervisor of Secondary Education, a Supervisor of Negro +Education and a Supervisor of Physical and Health Education were +selected. Course content has been revised and new subjects added +as needs warranted. Recent progress includes the development of +audio-visual aids, rehabilitation education courses for disabled +veterans, special education for the "exceptional" child and for the +mentally retarded child, distributive education and adult education +courses. Most of the public schools in the Commonwealth now have a +twelve-year basic plan with the seven-five system predominating: +seven years in grade school (elementary) and five years in high +school (secondary). + +Some of the outstanding public educators in Virginia have been +James Blair, Reverend William H. Ruffner, R. R. Farr, Dr. F. V. +N. Painter, John L. Buchanan, John E. Massey, Joseph W. Southall, +Joseph D. Eggleston, Dr. R. C. Stearnes, Harris Hart, Sidney B. +Hall, Dabney S. Lancaster, G. Tyler Miller, Dowell J. Howard, Dr. +Davis Y. Paschall, Dr. Woodrow W. Wilkerson--State Superintendents +of Public Instruction--George Wythe, Edwin Alderman, Edward +Armstrong, Samuel C. Armstrong, George Denny, Thomas R. Dew, William +H. McGuffey, Benjamin S. Ewell, John Langston, John T. Lomax, Booker +T. Washington, William Morton, William Pendleton, Thomas R. Price, +Francis Henry Smith, William Waugh Smith, Charles E. Vauter, William +Wilson, Milton Humphreys, Ed Joynes, Lyon Tyler and J. L. Blair +Buck. Countless individual teachers, state and local administrators, +and parent-teacher organizations have also contributed ideas which +have influenced and improved the educational facilities throughout +the state. + +Education has become one of the greatest problems in the +Commonwealth and a field of paramount interest to the citizens as +well as to state and local officials, the students, the parents, +and the professional educational staff directly involved. As the +enrollments have rapidly increased, the governors, state legislators +and local officials have increased their concern and support, +causing the educational facilities to improve and expand. Such +actions provide opportunities for the residents of Virginia to +obtain a well-rounded education. + + +SUMMARY + +Literature reveals the everyday experiences of people as well +as their dreams and aspirations. Personal diaries, journals and +letters were frequently used during colonial days to describe ideas +and events. Poetry was scarce but many scholarly articles, often +historically inclined, were written. Political thinking soon became +a favorite topic for written expression and biographies and essays +became numerous. Edgar Allan Poe, a resident of Virginia from his +adoption at the age of three, is considered the most original author +for his creation of the modern short story and the detective story. +Virginians also have contributed several historical and romantic +novels. The distinguished history and picturesque setting of +Virginia has furnished innumerable topics of interest for written or +oral expression. + +Art has flourished in Virginia from the handicraft of the early days +to the plastic sculpturing of the present. In the colonial period, +European artists often visited Virginia and used Virginia and her +residents as their subjects. Later, Virginia artists began to study +abroad and, upon their return home, engaged primarily in portrait +and panorama painting. Edward Valentine created unusual, as well as +fine, sculptures. Foreign artists as well as native artists have +often used Virginia personalities and scenes as sources for their +inspiration. + +Although Virginia can claim only two separate types of original +architecture--the Colonial type influenced by England and altered to +fit the environment of Virginia and the Jeffersonian type originated +through the artistic efforts of Thomas Jefferson himself--Americans +and foreigners still visit and study these architectural types +in an effort to imitate or perpetuate such desirable styles. The +Commonwealth has a variety of standard forms of architecture. + +Organs, harpsichords and violins were popular musical instruments +in colonial days in Virginia. Gradually, American folk music, +Negro spirituals, the founding of the "Etude" music magazine and +the invention of the five-stringed banjo tended to increase and +popularize music in Virginia. John Powell of Richmond is considered +Virginia's greatest single contributor to the musical composition +field. + +From the Williamsburg Theater of 1716 to the Barter Theater of the +present, Virginians have shared the spotlight, the hardships and the +fame of plays, vaudeville, moving pictures, radio and television. +The annual production of "The Common Glory," an historical drama, at +Lake Matoaka Theater in Williamsburg attracts thousands of patrons. + +Education, the "backbone" of cultural activities, is one of the +most challenging current problems facing Virginia. Personal +training in the home, apprenticeship training outside the home, +the church and church school education, private tutoring and +private and public institutions of education of the elementary, +secondary and higher education level--all are significant milestones +along the educational paths of Virginia. With the educational +facilities expanding on all levels to meet the rapidly increasing +enrollment, with teacher training becoming more specialized, +with the improvement in standard courses and the addition of new +courses of study and with larger legislative appropriations for +education, education in Virginia provides more students with better +opportunities for effective learning. + +The changing pattern of everyday living can be recognized by +observation and analysis of the literature, art, architecture, +music, drama and education of a people. The inhabitants of the +Commonwealth, consequently, have woven a particular pattern of their +own from their contributions to these various phases of Cultural +Life. + + + + +7 + +Political Life + + +_Background of Present State Constitution_ + +The original Constitution for the State of Virginia was written +at a special convention held in Williamsburg from May 7, 1776 to +July 5, 1776. The Constitution itself was officially adopted on +June 29, 1776, making this date the birth date of the State. The +individual who was primarily responsible for most of the content +in the original Constitution was George Mason. The creation of the +first Constitution was unusual in two respects: at the time it was +written, the convention members decided upon specific powers which +the newly-formed government should not have before it determined +those powers which it should have; furthermore, the Constitution +was adopted officially by the convention members without the usual +procedure of submitting it to the voters for final ratification. + +As years pass and conditions vary, it becomes necessary to make +changes in the framework of a government to meet such needs. +Consequently, on four specific occasions, the Constitution of +Virginia has been rewritten: namely, in 1829-1830, 1850, 1867 and +1901. + +In 1816, the residents west of the Blue Ridge Mountains demanded +more representation in their state government and fewer suffrage +restrictions. After many years of discontent, these individuals +finally encouraged enough residents throughout the state to vote +for a constitutional convention to be held in Richmond in 1829. +At the convention, suffrage was extended slightly although all +non-real estate owners still could not vote. The term of the +Governor was extended to a three-year term with an increase in +his powers, and representation was reapportioned to benefit the +inhabitants living west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. However, +in the redistribution of seats in the House of Delegates, the +residents in the Trans-Allegheny section lost some seats. When the +proposed Constitution was submitted to the people of Virginia for +ratification, 26,055 voted for it and 15,166 voted against it. In +this vote, for the first time, the Valley people of the western part +of the state joined the residents of the east rather than their +Trans-Allegheny neighbors who had strongly opposed it. The new +Constitution was officially adopted in 1830. + +After the national census of 1840 had been taken, it revealed an +unfair numerical representation of the white people west of the +Blue Ridge Mountains in comparison with the representation of the +number of white people living east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Such +unfair representation existed in both houses of the General Assembly +to the extent that some residents even suggested that the people +of the western part of Virginia create a separate state and call +it Appalachia. Special local meetings were held and a referendum +was finally suggested to determine the need of a constitutional +convention as an attempt to correct this unfair condition. +Finally, a state-wide vote in 1850 recommended such a convention +be held in Richmond in the same year. After numerous arguments +among the delegates had been voiced over a four months' period, a +compromise was eventually adopted. The national census of 1850 was +to be used as the official white population count and legislative +representation was to be based upon this count: the effect of the +compromise was to give the counties west of the Blue Ridge Mountains +a majority in the House of Delegates and the counties east of the +Blue Ridge Mountains a majority in the State Senate. Additional +reforms were adopted which resulted in this 1850 convention +sometimes being referred to as "the reform convention": suffrage was +extended considerably to white male citizens; oral balloting was to +be maintained; the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney +General, certain judges, county clerks and sheriffs were to be +elected directly by the qualified voters; the tenure of the Governor +was extended to a four-year term; and the General Assembly was to +meet once every two years instead of annually. A capitation or poll +tax was to be levied upon each voter and half of the revenue from +this tax was to be used for school purposes. The General Assembly +was given additional power to control slavery by the passage of +certain restrictions which were to be imposed upon slaveowners. This +third Constitution for Virginia was officially adopted in 1851 after +it had been ratified by the voters of the state. + +After the War between the States had ended and the Reconstruction +Period had begun, Virginia became Military District Number One in +March 1867 with General John M. Schofield as its chief executive. +The United States Congress demanded that Virginia and the other +nine former seceded states rewrite their state constitutions. When +the delegates of the constitutional convention met on December +3, 1867, they consisted of 32 Conservative Party members, 25 +Radical Republican Negroes, 14 native Virginia Radical Republicans +and 31 Carpetbaggers, Scalawags and aliens. The constitution +which resulted from this convention is known as the Underwood +Constitution because the chairman of the convention was Judge John +C. Underwood, a Radical Republican. Some of the provisions of this +constitution included the division of each county into townships, +the establishment of a county court with a single judge in each +county, the appointment of a Board of Supervisors in each county +to carry out the executive powers, the levying of a high tax rate +on landed property, the compulsory creation of a public school +system, the denial of suffrage to many former Confederate leaders +and a restriction of allowing only former non-supporters of the +Confederacy to hold office or act as a juror. In 1869, upon the +recommendation of President Ulysses S. Grant, the United States +Congress allowed Virginia voters to vote at a popular referendum on +the Underwood Constitution itself and then to vote separately on +the sections which denied suffrage rights and office-holding rights +to former Confederates. On July 6, 1869, the qualified voters of +Virginia ratified the Underwood Constitution and rejected the other +two sections. + +In 1897, an attempt to hold a constitutional convention was defeated +but three years later, the people of the Commonwealth voted in +favor of a constitutional convention. This fifth constitutional +convention began in June 1901 and continued for approximately one +year. As a result of this convention (described in Chapter Four), +numerous changes were made which were considered so important by +the delegates at the convention that they decided to "proclaim" +this Constitution of 1902 as the fundamental law of Virginia rather +than to submit it to the voters for ratification. Consequently, on +May 29, 1902, the Constitution of 1902 was voted by the convention +delegates for adoption and this is the present Constitution of the +Commonwealth, with certain subsequent revisions. + +Like the Constitution of the United States, the Virginia +Constitution is divided into major areas called articles and into +subdivisions called sections. There are seventeen articles and +two hundred and one sections. The following topics found in the +articles indicate the broad range of subjects included: the Bill of +Rights, Elective Franchise and Qualifications for Office, Division +of Powers, Legislative Department, Executive Department, Judiciary +Department, Organization and Government of Counties, Organization +and Government of Cities and Towns, Education and Public +Instruction, Agriculture and Immigration, Public Welfare and Penal +Institutions, Corporations, Taxation and Finance, Miscellaneous +Provisions--Homestead and Other Exemptions, Future Changes in the +Constitution, Rules of Construction, and Voting Qualification of +Armed Forces. + + +_The Virginia Bill of Rights_ + +Article I is the Bill of Rights. Such rights are prefaced by an +introductory paragraph in the article which states that this +series of rights form the backbone of the governmental structure +in Virginia: "A declaration of rights made by the good people of +Virginia in the exercise of their sovereign powers, which rights +do pertain to them and to their posterity, as the basis and +foundation of government." The famous Declaration of Rights which +follows the introductory paragraph was written by George Mason and +introduced at the Williamsburg Convention by Archibald Cary. It was +unanimously adopted by the convention members on June 12, 1776, and +its principles were considered so significant that they were later +used as the basis for the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the +United States as well as for many other state bills of rights. The +importance attached to these provisions has resulted in the Virginia +Bill of Rights often being called the "Magna Charta of Virginia." + +In seventeen different sections, the Virginia Bill of Rights +guarantees various underlying principles of government: + + (1) "That all men are by nature equally free and independent and + have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a + state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest + their posterity, namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with + the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing + and obtaining happiness and safety"--Thus, freedom and equality + of every individual is recognized, and one's rights of life, + of liberty, of owning property and of achieving happiness and + safety are guaranteed. + + (2) "That all power is vested in, and consequently derived + from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and + servants, and at all times amenable to them"--Thus, a principle + of democracy is expressed that the right to rule comes from the + people themselves and that office-holders are representatives of + the people and are responsible to the people. + + (3) "That the government is, or ought to be, instituted for the + common benefit, protection and security of the people, nation + or community; of all the various modes and forms of government, + that is best which is capable of producing the greatest degree + of happiness and safety, and is most effectually secured against + the danger of maladministration; and, whenever any government + shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a + majority of the community hath an indubitable, inalienable + and indefeasible right to reform, alter or abolish it, in + such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public + weal"--Thus, the objective of a government is to benefit, + protect and preserve security for the people. The best type of + government is that which results in the greatest happiness and + safety of all those whom it governs. Whenever a majority of + those being governed consider such government as not attaining + such an objective, they have a right to change it, reform it, + or, if deemed wise, to abolish it as long as it is done in a + legal manner considered for the good of all involved. + + (4) "That no man, or set of men, is entitled to exclusive or + separate emoluments or privileges from the community, but in + consideration of public services; which not being descendible, + neither ought the offices of magistrate, legislator or judge to + be hereditary"--Thus, the amount of financial profit or gain + received by an office-holder in any community is to be based + solely upon his rendering public service to the community. + Consideration of birth, influence or wealth is to be ignored, + and office-holding itself cannot be automatically inherited or + handed down from father to son. + + (5) "That the legislative, executive and judicial departments + of the State should be separate and distinct; and that the + members thereof may be restrained from oppression, by feeling + and participating the burthens of the people, they should, at + fixed periods, be reduced to a private station, return into that + body from which they were originally taken, and the vacancies + be supplied by regular elections, in which all or any part of + the former members shall be again eligible, or ineligible, as + the laws may direct"--Thus, the principle of the separation + of powers is set forth, that is, the legislative, executive + and judicial departments are organized as three separate, + independent departments. Officials should have specific terms of + office and should be elected for designated periods of time at + the end of which time they should return to their former private + status and be eligible for re-election if the law provides for + such an opportunity. + + (6) "That all elections ought to be free; and that all men + having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, + and attachment to, the community, have the right of suffrage, + and cannot be taxed, or deprived of, or damaged in, their + property for public uses, without their own consent, or that + of their representatives duly elected, or bound by any law to + which they have not, in like manner, assented for the public + good"--Thus, all elections should be free and open, and all + men who have become regular residents of a community should + be allowed to vote. Property cannot be taxed, disposed of + or damaged for public use without the consent of the people + involved or that of their representatives. Neither can the + people be forced to abide by any law unless it has been voted + upon by them or by their elected representatives. + + (7) "That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of + laws, by any authority, without consent of the representatives + of the people, is injurious to their rights and ought not to be + exercised"--Thus, no office-holder should have the authority to + suspend a law or to carry out a law, independent of the legal + representatives of the citizenry. + + (8) "That in criminal prosecutions a man hath a right to demand + the cause and nature of his accusation, to be confronted with + the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in his favor, + and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of his vicinage, + without whose unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty. He + shall not be deprived of life or liberty, except by the law of + the land or the judgment of his peers; nor be compelled in any + criminal proceeding to give evidence against himself, nor be + put twice in jeopardy for the same offense...."--Thus, any man + accused of a crime is entitled to certain rights: to be informed + of the charges placed against him, to meet face to face with the + witnesses and accusers, to defend himself in a fair and speedy + trial with an impartial or unprejudiced jury. He cannot be + deprived of life or liberty except by legal judicial action; he + cannot be made to testify against himself; and he is ineligible + to be tried twice for the same crime. + + (9) "That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor + excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments + inflicted"--Thus, bails, fines and punishments must be + reasonable. + + (10) "That general warrants, whereby an officer or messenger + may be commanded to search suspected places without evidence of + a fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, + or whose offense is not particularly described and supported + by evidence, are grievous and oppressive, and ought not to be + granted"--Thus, a search warrant should state specifically the + exact place to be searched or the exact individual to be seized + and the offense should be specified. + + (11) "That no person shall be deprived of his property without + due process of law; and in controversies respecting property, + and in suits between man and man, trial by jury is preferable + to any other, and ought to be held sacred. The General Assembly + may limit the number of jurors for civil cases in courts of + record to not less than five in cases cognizable by justices + of the peace, or to not less than seven in cases not so + cognizable"--Thus, since man has a right to own property, he + cannot be deprived of it without due course of law. In certain + types of lawsuits, trial by jury is believed the best legal + procedure. + + (12) "That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks + of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic + governments; and any citizen may freely speak, write and + publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for + the abuse of that right"--Thus, the right of the freedom of + press and of the freedom of speech is advocated as long as an + individual assumes the responsibility for same. + + (13) "That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the + people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural and safe defense + of a free State; that standing armies, in time of peace, should + be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the + military should be under strict subordination to, and governed + by, the civil power"--Thus, a militia promotes the safety of the + people. There are dangers of a standing army of professional men + in peacetime, and, even in wartime, the military group should be + subject to civilian authority. + + (14) "That the people have a right to uniform government; and, + therefore, that no government separate from, or independent of, + the government of Virginia, ought to be erected or established + within the limits thereof"--Thus, the people in the State should + be governed by the same rules and regulations. No other separate + or independent government within Virginia other than the one + established by the State Constitution can be organized. + + (15) "That no free government, or the blessings of liberty can + be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, + moderation, temperance, frugality and virtue, and by frequent + recurrence to fundamental principles"--Thus, government, like + men, must be guided by moral principles: namely, justice, + moderation, temperance, frugality and virtue. Without repeated + adherence to these moral precepts, free government cannot + survive. + + (16) "That religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and + the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and + conviction, not by force or violence; and, therefore, all men + are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according + to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of + all to practice Christian forbearance, love and charity toward + each other"--Thus, the right of the freedom of religion is + advocated and guaranteed. + + (17) "The rights enumerated in this bill of rights shall not + be construed to limit other rights of the people not therein + expressed"--Thus, since there are other rights not included in + this Bill of Rights, this last section reminds the people that + there are additional rights not specifically included in this + article. + +An understanding of the natural fundamental rights of a people as +individuals, as guaranteed by the Virginia Bill of Rights, causes +one to appreciate deeply the guarantees of liberty and freedom +provided for the people of the State. + + +_Election Requirements, Offices and Procedures_ + +The extreme importance which the early Virginians attached +to suffrage is recognizable by the location of the voting +qualifications in the Virginia Constitution. Such qualifications +directly follow the Bill of Rights as Article II and include the +following requirements: + +(1) a citizen of the United States + +(2) at least twenty-one years of age + +(3) a resident of Virginia at least one year + +(4) a resident of the county, city or town at least six months + +(5) a resident of the voting precinct at least thirty days prior to +the election + +(6) the payment of an annual state capitation or poll tax of one +dollar and fifty cents to the county or city treasurer at least +six months prior to the election; the receipt of such payment is +necessary for registration before voting. A resident who, although +eligible to vote at the age of twenty-one, has refrained from doing +so must pay a poll tax assessable against him for a maximum three +years before being able to vote. A new resident must pay only for +each year or part of a year spent in Virginia. + +(7) the passing of a literacy test to prove one's ability to read +and write in English and to understand the functions of government + +(8) proper registration at least 30 days before the election at +the office of the local Registrar of Elections which includes the +presentation of one's poll tax receipt, the filling in of certain +required forms pertaining to personal history and the swearing under +oath of the truth of one's statements. Registration in Virginia +is now permanent so that after a resident citizen has properly +registered, he does not have to repeat this process unless he moves. +A noteworthy provision of the Constitution allows any person who is +an active member of the United States Armed Forces to be exempt from +paying a poll tax and from registering as a prerequisite to voting. +Likewise, his poll taxes are cancelled and annulled for the three +years next preceding if he has an honorable discharge. + +Certain persons are excluded by Article II from registering and +voting: idiots, insane persons, paupers, persons disqualified by +crime or specific disabilities which have not been removed, persons +convicted of treason, felony, bribery, petit larceny, obtaining +money or property under false pretenses, embezzlement, forgery or +perjury. The General Assembly has the power, by a two-thirds vote, +to remove such disabilities. + +Qualified citizens of Virginia have the opportunity to elect three +types of officials: + + (1) national officials--the President and the Vice-President + of the United States (every four years), two United States + Senators (normally, every six years) and ten United States + Representatives (normally, every two years). + + (2) state officials--the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, + Attorney-General (every four years), forty State Senators (every + four years) and one hundred House of Delegates members (every + two years). + + (3) local officials--County: Treasurer, Sheriff, Commonwealth + Attorney, Commissioner of the Revenue (every four years), + County Clerk (every eight years) and Assembly members or + members of the Board of Supervisors; City: Treasurer, Sergeant, + Mayor, Councilmen, City Attorney for the Commonwealth, City + Commissioner of the Revenue (every four years) and Clerk of the + City Courts (every eight years). + +All elections by the people are by secret ballot. Generally, +election officials are sworn in office the day of the election; +one of the judges opens the ballot box publicly, turns it upside +down to prove its emptiness, locks it and keeps it locked until +the voting polls are closed. At the beginning of the election day, +the election judges receive the registration books and the list of +those citizens whose past three years poll tax has been paid. The +election clerk receives a poll book, a blank book to be used for +the official listing of the voters who come to the polls. After all +election officials have received their necessary clerical supplies +and their instructions, the polls are opened for voting. Thus, a +citizen is immediately checked for his proper registration and poll +tax payments when he comes to vote. He then receives a ballot which +he alone marks secretly in a voting booth. Voting must be performed +carefully because a defaced, improperly marked ballot may be +challenged and thrown out. He folds his ballot to maintain secrecy +and hands it to an election judge who places it immediately in the +ballot box. It is illegal for a voter to be approached concerning a +possible candidate any nearer than 100 feet from the polling place. +Fifteen minutes before closing time for the polling place, one of +the election judges will loudly proclaim this fact in front of the +polling place. Exactly fifteen minutes later, the voting officially +ends and only ballot holders at this time are allowed to cast their +vote. + +After the polls are closed, all the unused ballots are placed in a +special envelope marked accordingly. The used ballots are tipped out +of the ballot box onto the table. All the election officials present +check the complete emptiness of the box. Representatives of each of +the political parties are allowed to watch the correct counting of +the votes. The election clerks make two sets of tally sheets which +include the names of all the candidates which appeared on the ballot +and each clerk keeps personal tally as the ballots are counted and +the names of the candidates voted for are called off by the election +judges. The usual tally method is used, and the word "tally" is +spoken by each clerk as the diagonal fifth line is drawn so that any +mistakes in the count made by either clerk can be caught quickly. +Any time there is disagreement between the tally scores of the two +clerks, a complete recounting of the ballots for the candidate +whose score disagrees must take place. In case of a tie vote for a +Congressman, Assemblyman, or county or city official, the outcome +is determined by the Election Board, often by the flip of a coin. +When all the votes have been tallied, an official written report is +prepared on the back of each poll book: it includes the number of +votes cast individually and totally for each candidate. This report +is signed by the election judges and the election clerks. These poll +books plus the used ballots and the unused ballots are submitted +to the county or city clerk and later reviewed by the Board of +Elections. The successful candidates then receive a certificate of +election which makes them officially elected to their respective +offices. + +Every person qualified to vote is eligible to any office of the +State, county, city or other subdivision of the State wherein he +resides except as stated otherwise in the State Constitution. +Persons eighteen years of age are eligible to the office of notary +public. The terms of all officers elected begin on the first day of +February after their election unless otherwise stated. The members +of the General Assembly and all officers, executive and judicial, +elected or appointed, take the following oath or affirmation: "I do +solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of +the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Virginia, +and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform +all the duties incumbent on me as ----, according to the best of my +ability, so help me God." + +Any person who is registered and qualified to vote at the next +succeeding regular election is eligible to vote at any legalized +primary election held for the nomination of any candidate for office. + + +_Legislative, Executive and Judicial Departments_ + +The separation of powers theory in government is considered so +important that Article III of the Virginia State Constitution +concerns solely this underlying principle: namely, that the +legislative, executive and judicial departments are to be separate +and distinct. To emphasize this idea, the Constitution further +states that neither department shall "exercise the powers properly +belonging to either of the others nor may any person exercise the +power of more than one of them at the same time." + +The Legislative Department--Since one of the chief functions of a +government is to make laws, it is logical for Article IV of the +Constitution to consist of a detailed description of the Legislative +Department: its composition, membership, qualifications, powers and +limitations. + +The State legislature or legislative branch is called the General +Assembly. It is a bicameral legislature composed of an upper +house, the Senate, and a lower house, the House of Delegates. This +legislative body has been in continuous existence since 1619 and +is believed to be the oldest one in the Anglo-Saxon world and the +second oldest Parliament in the entire world. + +The Constitution requires that the Senate consist of not more than +forty and not less than thirty-three members, elected quadrennially +(once every four years). There are forty members in the present +State Senate, and their term of office is four years. They are +elected to office by the qualified voters of the State Senatorial +Districts on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in +November of every other odd-numbered year in which the Governor is +not elected. Therefore, they are elected during the mid-term of +the Governor. The State Constitution requires that the House of +Delegates consist of not more than one hundred and not less than +ninety members. In the present House of Delegates, there are one +hundred members, and their term of office is two years. Members +of the House are elected to office by the qualified voters of the +State House districts on the Tuesday following the first Monday +in November of every odd-numbered year. Both the Senatorial and +House of Delegates Districts are set up by the General Assembly in +that a special commission is appointed by the governor to do the +districting: this commission membership must be approved by the +General Assembly. The Constitution requires that reapportionment +or redistricting take place every ten years to offset population +changes. The last reapportionment was made in 1952; therefore, the +next reapportionment or redistricting is due in 1962. There are now +thirty-six State Senatorial Districts, thirty-three of which are +entitled to one Senator each and seventy-six House of Delegates' +districts, sixty-two of which are entitled to one Delegate each. + +Any qualified voter living in a Senatorial or in a House district is +eligible for election from that district to the General Assembly. +However, no General Assembly member can hold any other public +office at the same time or be elected by this assembly to any +civil office of profit in the state during his term of office. +Likewise, an individual who holds a federal government or state +government salaried office or employment or the position of court +judge, Commonwealth attorney, sheriff, sergeant, treasurer, assessor +of taxes, commissioner of revenue, collector of taxes, or court +clerk cannot be a member of either house of the General Assembly +during his continuance in office. If such an individual is elected +to either house of the General Assembly, his former office must +be vacated. Two Constitutional requirements are necessary: the +individual must be a qualified voter and must live in the district +he represents. + +The salaries of the members of the General Assembly are fixed by law +and are paid from the public treasury. Any act passed which provides +for an increase of legislative salary cannot take effect until the +end of the term for which the members voting thereon were elected. +The present salary is $1080 per regular sixty-day biennial session +(plus $720 for expenses) for the House of Delegates members and +for the State Senators and $1,260 for the Speaker of the House of +Delegates and the President of the Senate. + +The General Assembly meets at Richmond in regular session once +every two years on the second Wednesday in January in even-numbered +years, directly following the election of the members of the House +of Delegates. The maximum number of days in the regular session is +sixty, but a session may be extended not longer than thirty days if +three-fifths of the members of each house concur. The usual session, +however, is sixty days in length. A special session may be called at +any time by proclamation of the Governor on his own initiative or +by him at the request of two-thirds of the members of both houses. +Neither house can, without the consent of the other, adjourn to +another place nor for more than three days while a session is still +in progress. A quorum is necessary to do business and a majority +of the members of each house is considered as a quorum. However, a +small number may adjourn from day to day and they have the power to +compel the attendance of members according to the rules established +by each house individually. The House must organize itself at the +outset of each session because its members have been elected the +preceding November. The Clerk of the previous House serves until a +new chairman has been chosen. Therefore, the Clerk calls the House +to order, calls the roll, and officially swears in the members. + +The chairman of the House of Delegates is called the Speaker: he is +chosen by the House of Delegates members after a party caucus. The +chairman of the Senate is called the President of the Senate and +the Lieutenant-Governor automatically serves as chairman. In the +absence of the Lieutenant-Governor or whenever he finds it necessary +to carry out the office of Governor, the Senate chooses a president +pro tempore (president for-the-time-being) from its own membership. +Each house of the General Assembly selects its own officers (Clerk, +Sergeant-at-Arms, two Door Keepers), settles its rules of procedures +and directs writs of election for filling vacancies which may occur +during the General Assembly's session. If vacancies occur during +the recess period when the General Assembly is not in session, the +Governor may issue writs of election as prescribed by law. Each +house is responsible for determining its own rules and for judging +the election, qualifications, and returns of its own members; each +house may punish its members for disorderly conduct and may expel a +member whenever two-thirds of its members so concur. + +The members of the General Assembly are entitled to certain +privileges. They are free from arrest during the session of their +particular house except in cases of treason, felony (a serious +crime) or breach of the peace. They cannot be questioned in any +other place for any speech or debate in which they participate in +either house. Furthermore, they are free from arrest under any civil +process during the regular sessions of the General Assembly and +during the fifteen days directly preceding or directly following the +session. + +Each house of the General Assembly must keep a journal of its +proceedings and must publish it from time to time. Whenever +one-fifth of the members present express a desire to have the "yeas" +and "nays" of their members on a specific question recorded, such +information must be entered in the journal. The Clerk of each house +has this important duty of journal-keeping. In addition, the Clerk +also prepares the payroll, keeps the docket and supervises the +printing of the legislative acts--hence, he is often called the +"Keeper of the Rolls" of the Commonwealth. + +As mentioned earlier, the chief purpose of any legislative body is +to make laws. In Virginia, every law must be introduced in the form +of a bill. There are six major steps in the process whereby a bill +becomes a law: + + (1) A bill may originate in either house. The legislator who + sponsors it is called the "Patron." It is customary for all + appropriation bills to be introduced in the House of Delegates; + the Clerk of the house in which it originated assigns a number + to it. No regular bill can be introduced after the beginning of + the last three weeks of a session. + + (2) The bill is then referred to the proper committee of each + house. There are twenty-one standing committees in the Senate + and thirty-four standing committees in the House of Delegates. + In addition, there are a few joint standing committees--Senators + and Delegates serving together on a committee--including an + auditing committee, nominations and confirmations committee, + printing committee and a library committee. The bill is + considered carefully by the proper committee and then reported + back to the Clerk of the House. + + (3) The bill is then printed by the house in which it + originated. The original bill is sent directly to the printer, + and the copies are usually then printed and distributed to + the members the next day. When the Clerk, having received the + committee report, places the bill an the calendar, it is called + the first reading and only the title of the bill is read at this + time. + + (4) The bill is read in its entirety when its turn comes + on the calendar and the "Patron" explains carefully its + contents. Detailed discussion may take place and amendment, + rejection, referral to another committee for further study or + approval occurs. If the bill is approved, it is then sent to + be engrossed--the contents of the bill is pasted on a large + sheet of paper with the amendments or suggestions included in + the proper place for final examining. This entire procedure is + called the second reading. + + (5) The third reading takes place when the bill is being + considered for final passage. The bill must be passed in both + houses in a recorded vote of "aye" or "nay" on a roll call with + a majority of "ayes" from those voting: at least two-fifths of + the members elected to each house must be participants in the + voting. This is performed in Virginia by an electric voting + machine. The names of the members voting for and against must + be entered on the official journal of each house. Thus, a + bill may be approved or rejected by either house. Frequently, + a conference committee has to be appointed to smooth out + differences between the two houses in regards to the details of + a bill. + + (6) After the bill has been passed by both houses, it is + enrolled--that is, printed in final form--and signed by + the presiding officer of each house in the presence of the + house members. The bill is then sent to the Governor for + his consideration. (See Article V concerning the Executive + Department.) + +Either house may amend a bill by an approved "aye" vote of a +majority of those voting (at least two-fifths of the total +membership in each house is a required minimum for voting). + +In case of an emergency measure, a recorded "aye" vote in the +official journals of four-fifths of the members voting in each +house may result in the omission of the usual required printing and +reading of the bill on three different calendar days. + +[Illustration: VA. DEPT. OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT + +_State Capitol at Richmond_] + +A recorded affirmative vote by a majority of all the members elected +to each house is necessary for the passing of any bills which create +or establish a new office, which create, continue or revive a +debt or charge, or which concern public monies or taxes. All tax +bills must specifically state the tax requirements clearly. + +Each law can include only one subject or object, and such subject +or object must be expressed in its title. In order to revive or +amend a law, the title reference alone cannot be used; the act +revived or the section amended must be re-enacted and published at +length. After a bill has been successfully passed, it generally +cannot take effect until at least ninety days after the adjournment +of the General Assembly session during which it was enacted. Two +exceptions to this restriction exist: a general appropriation law +and an emergency law. In these two instances, the General Assembly +by an official "aye" recorded vote, by a vote of four-fifths of the +members voting in each house, has the power to state the time such +laws are to take effect. + +The House of Delegates has the right to bring impeachment charges +against the executive or judicial officers of the state. Impeachment +charges may be brought for malfeasance (unlawful or wrongful action) +in office, corruption, neglect of duty, or other high crimes or +misdemeanors. Such charges are prosecuted before the Senate which +has the sole power to try impeachments. A two-thirds affirmative +vote of the senators present is necessary for conviction. If an +individual is convicted of impeachment charges, he is subject to the +following penalties: removal from office and disqualification from +further office-holding under the State. In addition, the individual +is subject to indictment (a formal charge of crime presented by a +grand jury), trial, judgment and punishment according to law. It is +possible in Virginia for the Senate to try impeachments during the +recess of the General Assembly if the charges are preferred before +adjournment. + +In addition to passing state laws, the General Assembly also has +the responsibility of electing (1) the judges of the Supreme Court +of the State where terms have expired and (2) the judges of all +circuit, corporate and chancery courts. Although the Governor +appoints all the executive department heads, appointments generally +must be approved by the General Assembly and likewise, all +commission member appointments must be confirmed or rejected by the +General Assembly. + +According to the Federal Constitution, each state is represented in +the United States Senate by two senators usually elected directly +by the qualified voters of the state. The number of representatives +from each state in the United States House of Representatives +is based upon the proportional population of each state to the +others. According to the last national census, the state of +Virginia is entitled to ten members in the United States House of +Representatives, based upon its population in proportion to the +other states. In order to determine the sections of the state each +member will represent, the state legislatures usually are given the +power to divide their states into Congressional election districts +as well as state election districts. Therefore, the Virginia General +Assembly has the power to apportion the State into Congressional +districts. Virginia has, at the present time, ten Congressional +election districts. The state Constitution provides that these +districts must "be composed of contiguous (adjacent) and compact +territory containing as nearly as practicable, an equal number of +inhabitants." + +Section 58 of Article IV of the Virginia Constitution is considered +so significant that it is required by the General Assembly to be +included in the subject matter of all schools in the state. Its +significance lies in the provisions included in this section which +guarantee added protection to individual liberties by a series of +prohibitions on the General Assembly itself. These prohibitions +include the following: + +(1) The General Assembly cannot suspend the writ of habeas corpus +unless when, in case of invasion or rebellion, such action is +required for public safety. Habeas corpus, literally, is a Latin +expression meaning "You have the body"; a writ is a written legal +command or order. Therefore, a writ of habeas corpus is an official +order commanding a person who has another person in custody to +produce the body of such person who is being detained before +a court; thus, any person arrested or otherwise detained upon +suspicion of crime has the right to demand an immediate hearing in +court with a view to determine officially whether or not there is +adequate ground for his detention. If the prisoner is then believed +to have been detained on insufficient grounds, he will be given +his freedom; otherwise, he will be held for trial, with or without +release on bail. Consequently, the writ of habeas corpus acts as a +protection for each individual against possible illegal or unlawful +imprisonment. + +(2) The General Assembly cannot pass a bill of attainder. In English +law, a bill of attainder was an act of Parliament which pronounced +the sentence of death against an accused person with consequent +complete destruction of his civil rights without even a trial being +conducted. In the Seventeenth Century these bills were commonly used +in England. The writers of the Virginia Constitution did not believe +in having an individual punished or convicted of a crime without a +trial by jury in a court with proper jurisdiction. This prohibition +guarantees a fair trial and means that an individual is "not guilty" +until proven "guilty" of violating some law or constitutional +provision. + +(3) The General Assembly cannot pass an ex post facto law. "Ex +post facto" literally means "after the fact." An ex post facto +law is defined by the United States Supreme Court as one which +"makes an action done before the passing of the law, and which was +innocent when done, criminal, and punishes such action." Therefore, +the legislature cannot pass criminal legislation after an alleged +crime has been committed that, if brought to bear against an +accused person, would be to his disadvantage. Retroactive criminal +legislation which is not detrimental to an accused person is +permissible (for example, a law reducing a penalty). Therefore, only +those individuals who violated a law after a law has been passed are +subject to punishment. + +(4) The General Assembly cannot pass a law impairing the obligation +of contracts. A contract is a formal agreement between two or more +persons binding them to a particular action. Such contracts play +a most important role in society today and must be regarded with +utmost sincerity. The United States Constitution specifically +prohibits the states from passing any law which would impair the +obligation of contracts, would weaken their effect or would make +them more difficult to enforce. + +(5) The General Assembly cannot pass a law abridging the freedom +of speech or of the press. Individuals are granted the right to +participate in political discussion and criticism and in the +interchanging of ideas and opinions in general. This, however, +does not guarantee absolute freedom: one cannot utter or publish +untruths, incite insurrections, encourage the disobedience of laws, +defame the government, or give aid and comfort to foreign countries +involved in war against the United States. One can easily understand +the necessity for such limitations to freedom. + +(6) The General Assembly cannot enact a law whereby private property +would be taken or damaged for public uses without just compensation. +The General Assembly has the authority to define the term "Public +Uses." Originally in Virginia, the courts decided this definition, +but an amendment later transferred this power from the courts to the +General Assembly, making it a legislative rather than a judicial +decision. The sovereign power of a state to take private property +for public purposes with proper compensation is called the "right of +eminent domain." The General Assembly must abide by such a right. +Therefore, a resident in Virginia is guaranteed protection from +having his private property seized from him for unfair or unjust +compensation. In case of a dispute over the fair value of such +property, the court decides the fair amount. + +(7) The General Assembly cannot compel an individual to frequent or +support a particular religious place of worship and cannot force an +individual to suffer because of his religious beliefs or opinions. +All individuals are to be guaranteed their religious freedom and the +General Assembly cannot require religious tests, bestow certain +privileges or advantages to a particular sect or denomination and +cannot pass any law requiring or authorizing any official church +within the state. Likewise, the General Assembly cannot levy taxes +on the people forcing them to support the activities of a particular +church or the building program of any house of worship. The General +Assembly, therefore, is forbidden to interfere with the religious +belief and worship of the inhabitants within the state. Another +section of the Constitution forbids the General Assembly from +incorporating churches or granting charters of incorporation to any +religious denomination. + +These religious safeguards for a person's individual beliefs are +primarily repetitions of the provisions of Thomas Jefferson's +"Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom." Since it is more +difficult to change a provision of a constitution than a statute or +a law, these provisions were included in the Virginia Constitution +for emphasis and for a more enduring effect. + +The General Assembly is also forbidden to authorize lotteries (the +distribution of prizes determined by chance or by lot) or to allow +the residents of the state to buy, sell, or transfer lottery tickets +or chances. + +An extremely important power of every state legislature is the +creation of political subdivisions within the state itself: namely, +the counties. The Virginia Constitution specifically provides for +the formation, division and consolidation of counties. A new county +must have a minimum area of 600 square miles and the county or +counties from which it is formed cannot be less than 600 square +miles after the new county has been formed. No county can be reduced +in population below 8,000 people. Whenever any county has a length +three times its breadth, or has a length exceeding fifty miles, it +may be divided at the discretion of the General Assembly. Such added +length can occur as a result of boundary changes or the annexation +of territory. The General Assembly may consolidate existing +counties upon the approval of a majority of the qualified voters +of each of these counties voting as a result of an election held +for this specific purpose. If the majority do not vote approval of +consolidation, such consolidation cannot take place. + +Virginia had eight counties originally, dating from 1634: Accawmack +(now known as Accomack and Northampton), Charles City (now known +as Prince George County), Charles River (now known as York +County), Elizabeth City (ceased as a county in 1952), Henrico, +James City (now known as Surry County), Wamosquyoake (no longer in +existence--existed only from 1634-1637) and Warwick River (known as +Warwick but ceased as a county in 1952). In 1648, an Indian district +called Chickacoan was formed into the County of Northumberland. From +these nine counties eventually 172 counties were created, with the +largest number, 116, created from Northumberland. The last change +in the number of counties occurred in 1952 when both Elizabeth City +County and Warwick County became first class independent cities, +thus relinquishing county status. At the present time, there are 98 +counties in Virginia. Furthermore, since 1788, nine counties became +part of the present state of Kentucky, fifty counties became part of +the present state of West Virginia and fifteen counties (including +the two mentioned previously) went out of existence through +consolidation or other methods. The General Assembly has exercised +and will continue to exercise its power of county-making in Virginia. + +In the Virginia Supreme Court case of Moss versus County of +Tazewell, the decision stated that "the power of the legislature +of the State is supreme, except so far as it is restrained by +State or Federal Constitution." Therefore, a State constitution is +usually considered as a restraining agreement whereby the Federal +Constitution is considered as a granting agreement. Thus, the +legislative body of a State has all the powers not prohibited to it +by the State or Federal Constitution. A State constitution is often, +therefore, a summary of what the state legislative body may not do. +The Virginia Constitution specifically states that "the authority of +the General Assembly shall extend to all subjects of legislation, +not herein forbidden or unrestricted; and a specific grant of +authority in this Constitution upon a subject shall not work a +restriction of its authority upon the same or any other subject." +The principles described are further emphasized in this quotation +from the Virginia Constitution which follows: "The omission in this +Constitution of specific grants of authority heretofore conferred +shall not be construed to deprive the General Assembly of such +authority, or to indicate a change of policy in reference thereto, +unless such purpose plainly appear." + +There are several limitations placed upon the General Assembly by +the Constitution: the General Assembly cannot enact any local, +special or private law in the following instances (but can enact +general laws in the same instances): + +(1) for the punishment of crime, + +(2) for providing a change of venue (the place where a trial is +held) in civil or criminal cases, + +(3) for regulating the jurisdiction of, or changing the rules of, +evidence in any judicial proceeding, + +(4) for changing county seats, + +(5) for assessing and collecting taxes and for extending the time +for assessment or collection of taxes, + +(6) for exempting property from taxation, + +(7) for postponing or diminishing any obligation or liability of any +person, corporation or association to the State or to any local unit +of government, + +(8) for refunding money lawfully paid into the treasury of the State +or the treasury of any local unit of government, + +(9) for granting from the treasury of the State any extra +compensation to any public officer, servant, agent or contractor, + +(10) for conducting elections or designating places of voting, + +(11) for regulating labor, trade, mining or manufacturing, or the +rate of interest on money, + +(12) for granting any pension, + +(13) for creating, increasing or decreasing fees, salaries, +percentages, or allowances of public officers during the term for +which they are elected or appointed, + +(14) for declaring streams navigable or authorizing the +constructions of booms or dams or the removal of obstructions from +such streams, + +(15) for regulating fencing or the boundaries of land, or the +running at large of stock, + +(16) for creating private corporations, or amending, renewing, or +extending their charters, + +(17) for granting to any private corporation, association or +individual any special or exclusive right, privilege or immunity, + +(18) for naming or changing the name of any private corporation or +association, + +(19) for forfeiting the charter of a private corporation. + + * * * * * + +General laws pertaining to the above subjects may be amended or +repealed as long as they do not have the effect of enactment of a +special, private, or local law. + +The General Assembly also has the power, by means of general law, +to confer upon boards of supervisors of counties and the councils +of cities and towns powers of local and special legislation insofar +as the delegation of power is not inconsistent with constitutional +limitations. + +Each time the regular session of the legislature is held, the +General Assembly appoints a standing committee, called the auditing +committee which consists of two members of the Senate and three +members of the House of Delegates. The chief function of this +committee is to examine, at least once a year, the books of the +State Treasurer and other government executive officers whose +duties concern auditing or accounting for the State revenue and of +the public institutions. This committee reports the results of its +investigations to the Governor and must arrange for publication +of results in two newspapers of general circulation. The Governor +himself submits such reports to the General Assembly at the +beginning of each session. The members of this committee have the +right to employ accountants to assist them in carrying out their +investigations. + +The Executive Department--Article V of the Virginia Constitution +concerns the Executive Department. The chief function of the +Executive Department is to enforce or carry out the laws. The +highest executive officer in the State is the Governor. He receives +his position by direct election of the qualified voters on the +Tuesday following the first Monday in November of every other +odd-numbered year--at the same time and place as the election of +the General Assembly members. The term of office for a Governor is, +therefore, four years. He is not eligible for re-election to the +same office during the succeeding term; in other words, a Governor +cannot succeed himself. + +The Governor's term begins on the third Wednesday in January on the +first year after his election and ends on the Tuesday following the +second Wednesday in January of his fourth year. This timing allows a +new Governor to come into office one week after the General Assembly +has convened for its regular session and has had the opportunity to +organize. The interval also affords an opportunity for the outgoing +Governor to present his opinions and experiences to the state +legislature before his departure. + +After the votes have been cast for the State gubernatorial +(Governor) candidates, the returns of the election are usually sent, +under seal, to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. He delivers the +returns to the Speaker of the House of Delegates on the first day +of the next session of the General Assembly. Within three days, +the Speaker of the House of Delegates must open the returns in the +presence of a majority of the Senate and of the House of Delegates. +Then the votes are counted. The person who receives the highest +number of votes is declared elected. If there is a tie, however, the +two houses of the General Assembly jointly vote for the Governor. + +In order to be eligible for the governorship, a candidate must have +three qualifications: (1) he must be a United States citizen (if not +a native-born citizen, he must have been naturalized for at least +ten years preceding his election), (2) he must be at least thirty +years of age and (3) he must have been a resident in the State of +Virginia for at least five years directly preceding his election. + +The Governor must live in the city of Richmond, the capital of +Virginia, during his term of office. He resides at the Executive +Mansion and receives at the present time a salary of $20,000 per +year. Such compensation cannot be increased or diminished during his +term of office. He cannot receive any other emolument (money) while +in office from the state government or from any other government and +he cannot hold any other position while he is Governor of the State. + +The chief duty or power of the Governor is to faithfully administer +or execute the laws. Other powers include: + +(1) reporting to each session of the General Assembly the condition +of the State in a message known as the "Governor's Message" + +(2) recommending to the General Assembly for consideration measures +which he believes are beneficial to the State + +(3) convening the General Assembly whenever two-thirds of the +members of both houses request it + +(4) convening the General Assembly into special session whenever, in +his opinion, the interest of the State requires it + +(5) acting as the commander-in-chief of the State land and naval +forces + +(6) calling out the State militia or State Police whenever necessary +to repel invasion, suppress insurrection and enforce the execution +of the laws + +(7) conducting all relations with other states + +(8) during the recess of the General Assembly, suspending from +office for misbehavior, incapacity, neglect of official duty, or +acts performed illegally, any executive officer in Richmond except +the Lieutenant-Governor (whenever he exercises this power, however, +he must report to the General Assembly, at the beginning of the +next session, the fact that he suspended an officer or officers and +the cause for such suspension: then the General Assembly itself +determines whether or not such individuals are to be restored or +finally removed from office). + +(9) during the recess of the General Assembly, appointing pro +tempore (temporary) successors to all individuals suspended (as +described previously) + +(10) likewise, during the recess of the General Assembly, filling +pro tempore vacancies in all offices of the State if such filling +is not otherwise provided for by the Constitution or by laws. (Such +appointments must be by commissions which automatically expire at +the end of thirty days after the beginning of the next session of +the General Assembly). + +(11) remitting fines and penalties under rules and regulations as +prescribed by law + +(12) granting reprieves and pardons after conviction except those in +which the House of Delegates carried on the prosecution + +(13) removing political disabilities resulting from conviction for +offenses committed prior to or subsequent to the adoption of the +State Constitution + +[Illustration: VIRGINIA STATE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE + +_Executive Mansion_] + +(14) commuting sentences of capital punishment + +(15) informing the General Assembly, at each session, of the details +of each case of fine or penalty remitted, of each reprieve or pardon +granted, and of punishment commuted, plus his reason for doing so. + +(16) requiring information in writing, under oath, from the +officers of the executive department and superintendents of State +institutions upon any subject relating to the duties of their +respective offices and institutions (Likewise, he may inspect at any +time their official books, accounts and vouchers, and ascertain the +conditions of the public funds in their charge and he may employ +accountants for this purpose) + +(17) requiring the opinion in writing of the State Attorney-General +concerning any question of law affecting his official duties as +Governor or relating to the affairs of the Commonwealth + +(18) legally certifying all commissions and grants in the name of +the Commonwealth of Virginia and affixing each with the official +seal of the Commonwealth + +(19) supervising the activities of all State Executive Departments, +Divisions, Boards and Commissions and appointing all the chief +officers and members of such groups with the consent or confirmation +of the General Assembly + +(20) appointing certain officials, subject to confirmation by the +General Assembly (for example, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, +the State Treasurer) + +(21) considering all bills passed by the General Assembly + + * * * * * + +The Governor's responsibility in the law-making process is +significant. After a bill has passed both houses of the General +Assembly, it is sent to the Governor who has four choices of action: + +(1) He may approve the bill by signing it; it becomes a law. + +(2) He may disapprove the bill by vetoing it; he then returns it +with his objections to the house in which it originated. This house +enters such objections on its journal and reconsiders the bill in +view of such objections. If, after careful consideration, two-thirds +of the members present (at least a majority of the membership of +that house is required as a minimum present for voting) still +approve the bill, it is sent with the Governor's objections to the +other house. After careful consideration here, if it is approved by +two-thirds of all the members present (at least a majority of the +membership of this house is also required as the minimum present for +voting), it will become a law over the Governor's disapproval. This +process is called "Over-riding the Veto." The Governor also has +the power to veto any particular item or items of an appropriation +bill without vetoing the entire bill. Such veto affects only the +particular item or designated items. In such a case, the item or +items must be considered by the same methods described previously. +If the Governor favors the general purpose of any bill but opposes +a part or certain parts, he may return it with recommendations +for amending it to the house in which is originated with the same +procedures described previously being used. One exception, however, +exists: a vote of only a majority of the members present in each +house is required to amend a bill. + +(3) He may do nothing about the bill; after five days have passed, +Sundays excepted, and if the General Assembly is still in session, +the bill automatically becomes a law. + +(4) He may do nothing about the bill; after ten days have passed, +if the General Assembly has adjourned in the meantime, making it +impossible to return the bill, the bill does not become a law. Such +procedure is called a "pocket veto." + + * * * * * + +With such a wide range of power, the tremendous responsibility +and authority which the Governor of Virginia possesses is readily +apparent. + +The second highest ranking state executive is the +Lieutenant-Governor. He is elected to office by the qualified +voters at the same time as the Governor for the same four-year +term of office. His qualifications and election procedure are +identical to those of the Governor. In case the Governor of the +state dies, fails to qualify, resigns, is removed from the State +or is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, +the Lieutenant-Governor then assumes the Governorship with its +duties, powers and compensation. Normally, the chief duty of the +Lieutenant-Governor is to act as permanent chairman of the State +Senate. While presiding over same, he is called the President of +the Senate. In such capacity, he has no vote except in case of a +tie. His salary consists of $1260 for each biennial session of the +legislature plus $3,000 per year for traveling expenses. Hence, he +receives the same salary as the Speaker of the House of Delegates. + +Two major administrative officials appointed by the Governor and +subject to the approval of the General Assembly are the Secretary +of the Commonwealth and the State Treasurer. Their terms of office +are coincident with the Governor who appoints them. The Secretary +of the Commonwealth acts as the official secretary to the Governor +and is the head of the Division of Records where all records of +the official acts of the Governor are kept. The Secretary of the +Commonwealth is also the custodian of the official State Seal and +is responsible for affixing same to all the official documents +signed by the Governor. The State Treasurer has custody of the funds +of the state in the payment of bills. He makes deposits of all +revenue belonging to the Commonwealth in certain specified banks +and withdraws such money by check only upon the State Comptroller's +warrant. + +Another important state official is the Auditor of Public Accounts. +He is elected by the joint vote of both houses of the General +Assembly for a four-year term. His powers and duties include the +auditing of all accounts of each state department, institution and +agency, and he acts as chief auditor and accountant of the Auditing +Committee of the General Assembly. In addition, he is responsible +for exposing unauthorized, illegal or unwise handling of state funds +to the Governor, the Auditing Committee of the General Assembly and +the Comptroller. He is also required by law to audit all city and +county officials' accounts unless such accounts are audited annually +by a certified public accountant according to the State Auditor's +instructions. + +All state officials who collect, keep in custody, handle or disburse +public funds must give bond for the faithful performance of these +duties. The amount of the bond varies with the amount of revenue +involved in carrying out such duties. + +Any individual who is appointed to any office by the Governor +which requires confirmation by the General Assembly and who does +not receive such necessary confirmation cannot start or continue +in office and is ineligible for reappointment during the recess +of the General Assembly to fill a vacancy caused by such refused +confirmation. + +To assist the Governor in carrying out his executive duties, +numerous departments and agencies have been established by the +Constitution or by legislative act. Most of the department names +suggest the particular type of work for which each is responsible: +the Department of Military Affairs, the Department of Law including +the Division of Motion Picture Censorship and the Division of War +Veterans' Claims, the Department of Accounts, the Department of +Purchases and Supply, the Department of the Treasury, the Department +of Taxation, the Department of State Police, the Division of +Motor Vehicles, the Department of Corporations, the Department of +Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Department of Labor and Industry, +the Department of Agriculture and Immigration, the Department of +Workmen's Compensation, the Department of Conservation and Economic +Development, the Department of Education, the Department of +Highways, the Department of Health, the Department of Welfare and +Institutions, the Department of Mental Hygiene and the Department +of Professional and Occupational Registration. The Division of +Personnel, the Division of the Budget, the Division of Records and +the Office of Civilian Defense are all located in the Governor's +Office. Additional specialized commissions such as the Advisory +Council on Virginia Economy, the Art Commission, the Safety Codes +Commission, the State Library Board, the State Water Control +Board, the Commission on Constitutional Government, the Potomac +River Basin Commission and the Commission on Interstate Cooperation +also participate actively in the carrying out of the financial, +law enforcing, service rendering, conservation, preservation, and +regulation functions of the executive department of the Commonwealth. + +The Judicial Department--Article VI concerns the Judiciary +Department whose chief purpose is to interpret the laws properly. +The State Constitution in Virginia provides for a Supreme Court of +Appeals, Circuit Courts, City Courts and other inferior courts. The +jurisdiction of these courts is regulated by law with the exception +of jurisdiction granted specifically by the State Constitution +itself. The General Assembly authorizes by law the appointment of +judges pro tempore by the Governor. + +The highest State Court is the Supreme Court of Appeals, located in +Richmond. It consists of seven members: one Chief Justice and six +associate justices. The Chief Justice is always the Senior Justice +in years of continuous service; in case the total years of service +are equaled by two or more justices, seniority is then determined by +age. The term of office of the justice is twelve years, and they are +elected by a joint vote of the Senate and the House of Delegates. +Their sole constitutional qualification is that they must have held +a "judicial station" in the United States or have practiced law in +Virginia or some other state for five years previously. The annual +salary of a justice of the Court of Appeals is $15,500 with the +Chief Justice receiving an additional $4,500 or a salary of $20,000. + +When meeting in court session, the members of the Supreme Court +of Appeals may sit as an entire group or may sit in two divisions +consisting of not less than three justices each. By sitting in two +such divisions, it is possible to hear more cases at a rapid pace. +Whenever convening in this manner, each division has the full power +and authority on the determination of causes, in the issuing of +writs, and in the exercise of all powers authorized by the State +Constitution for the Supreme Court of Appeals or provided by law. +Each division is subject, however, to the general control of the +Supreme Court of Appeals and is subject to any rules and regulations +which this court may make. Likewise, the decision of either division +does not become the judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeals unless +concurred in by at least three judges. Any case which involves a +construction of the State Constitution or of the Constitution of the +United States must be decided upon by the Supreme Court of Appeals +in toto and, furthermore, the assent of at least four of the judges +is necessary for the court to determine that any law is or is not +contrary to the State Constitution or the Constitution of the United +States. If, in such a case, it is impossible for more than three of +the judges to agree on the constitutional questions involved and +if the case cannot be determined without passing on such questions, +the case must be reheard by a full court. Whenever the judges within +either division differ as to the judgment to be rendered in any +cause, or whenever any judge of either division within a time and in +a manner fixed by the court rules certifies that in his opinion any +decision of any division of the court is in conflict with a prior +decision of the court, the cause must be considered and adjudged +(decreed) by the full court or at least a quorum of the full court. + +There are two types of court jurisdiction: original and appellate. +Original jurisdiction exists whenever a court has the legal right +to hear a case for the first time. Appellate jurisdiction exists +whenever a court is hearing a case which is being appealed or +brought to it from a lower court. The Virginia Supreme Court of +Appeals has original jurisdiction in cases of habeas corpus, +mandamus and prohibition. Habeas corpus is a court order which +commands a person having another individual in custody to bring +before the court the individual detained for the purpose of +determining the legality of detention. A mandamus is a court +order directed to subordinate courts, corporations, or the like, +commanding them to do something therein specified. A prohibition is +a writ or court order which legally restrains someone from doing +some particular action. In all other cases in which the Supreme +Court of Appeals has jurisdiction, it has appellate jurisdiction +only. The General Assembly has the power to provide, from time to +time, for a Special Court of Appeals whose chief purpose is to +assist the Supreme Court of Appeals. + +Whenever a judgment or decree is reversed, modified or affirmed +by the Supreme Court of Appeals, the court must state in writing +the reasons for same and must keep such record on file with the +case. In criminal matters, the court may direct a new trial. If +the court believes that the accused should be discharged from +further prosecution, in such instance, it has the right to order +the case ended, thereby discharging such an individual from further +prosecution. This court has no power, however, to increase or +decrease the punishment of an accused person. In civil cases, the +court may enter a final judgment. + +The courts which rank second highest in the Virginia judiciary are +the Circuit Courts. The General Assembly has the power to arrange +and re-arrange the judicial circuits of the state and to increase +or diminish their number. However, no new circuit can be created +containing less than forty thousand inhabitants according to the +most recent census nor if such creation would result in reducing the +number of inhabitants in any existing judicial circuit below forty +thousand. There are thirty-seven judicial circuits in Virginia. +The geographical composition of the circuit ranges from one county +or city to five counties and one city. Each circuit has one judge +chosen by the joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly +for a term of eight years. He must possess the same qualifications +when chosen as judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals and must live +in the circuit area where the circuit court is located while he +is in office. The number of sessions of the circuit courts to be +held for each county and city is prescribed by law and the judge of +one circuit may be required or authorized to hold court in another +circuit or city. Circuit courts usually have original and appellate +jurisdiction in (1) all civil cases involving twenty dollars or more +and (2) certain criminal cases. + +Below the circuit courts in the court structure in Virginia are +the city Hustings or Corporation Courts. They are courts of record +also and have original jurisdiction except in cases of appeals from +justices. These courts have the sole power to appoint electoral +boards in cities where they are located. They have much concurrent +jurisdiction with the circuit courts. They are criminal courts +and can try cases of felonies committed within one mile of the +corporation limits. There are sixteen such courts: Corporation +Courts located in Alexandria, Bristol, Charlottesville, Danville, +Lynchburg, Newport News, Norfolk (2), South Norfolk, Staunton, and +Winchester; Hustings Courts located in Petersburg, Portsmouth, +Richmond (2) and Roanoke. These city court judges must live in the +city where the court is located. + +The Virginia Constitution divides the cities of Virginia into two +classes as far as the judicial system is concerned: (1) cities +having a population of at least ten thousand according to the last +official census are called cities of the first class; (2) cities +having a population of less than ten thousand according to the last +official census are called cities of the second class. In each first +class city there may be a corporation court in addition to a circuit +court. In any city containing at least thirty thousand inhabitants, +the General Assembly may provide additional courts with the number +of judges it deems necessary for the public interest. + +In a second class city, there may be a corporation or hustings +court. The circuit court of the county in which the city is situated +and the corporation or hustings court have concurrent jurisdiction +in actions at law and suits in equity unless otherwise provided +by law. Therefore, the General Assembly has the power to confer +exclusive original jurisdiction upon a corporation or hustings +court in all cases involving residents of any such city; this setup +is much more convenient to the residents who live a considerable +distance from the county seat. This type of court may be abolished +by a vote of a majority of the qualified voters of the particular +city in which the court is located at a special election held for +this purpose. Another method by which a court may cease to exist is +by having the office of judge of such a court whose annual salary +is less than eight hundred dollars become vacant and remain vacant +for ninety days consecutively. Automatic abolishment of such court +results. In each case in which such court is abolished, the city +immediately comes within the jurisdiction of the circuit court of +the county wherein it is geographically situated unless otherwise +provided for by law. The records of the abolished corporation or +city court immediately become records of the aforementioned circuit +court and are transferred accordingly. + +For each city court of record there is a judge chosen for an +eight-year term by a joint vote of both houses of the General +Assembly. He must have the same qualifications as Supreme Court of +Appeals judges and must live within the jurisdiction of the court +over which he presides while he is in office. However, the judge of +a corporation court of any corporation having a city charter and +having less than ten thousand inhabitants may live outside the city +limits. Such an individual may be judge of such corporation court +and also judge of a corporation court of some other city having +less than ten thousand inhabitants. The judges of city courts may +be required or authorized to hold the circuit or city courts of any +county or city. + +The General Assembly has the power also to establish courts of land +registration for the administration of any law it may adopt for the +purpose of the settlement, registration, transfer, or assurance of +titles to land in the State. + +Judges are commissioned by the Governor of the State. Their salaries +and allowances are prescribed by law and cannot be diminished during +their term of office. Their term of office begins on the first day +of February succeeding their election by the General Assembly. +Whenever there is a judgeship vacancy, the successor is elected for +the unexpired term. The General Assembly also has the authority +to retire judges and to provide their compensation. The General +Assembly has the power to pass laws giving duties to retired judges +such as substitute judge work. The salaries of judges are paid out +of the State treasury but the State is reimbursed for one-half of +the salaries of each of the circuit judges by the counties and +cities composing the circuit, based upon their population and of +each of the judges of a city of the first class by the city in which +each judge presides. The one exception is the judge of the Circuit +Court of the city of Richmond whose entire salary is paid by the +State. A city may increase the salary of its circuit or city judges +if the city assumes the entire increase and guarantees that such +salary will not be diminished during the entire term of office. A +city which has less than ten thousand inhabitants pays the salary of +its city judge. + +Judges may be removed from office in Virginia for cause by a +concurrent vote of both houses of the General Assembly. A majority +of all the members elected to each house must concur in such vote, +and the cause of removal must be entered on the journal of each +house. The judge against whom the General Assembly is about to +proceed for removal must have notice of same accompanied by a copy +of the alleged causes at least twenty days before the actual voting +takes place. Typically, no judge can practice law within or without +the State of Virginia nor hold any other office of public trust +while he is in office. + +Writs (court orders) must be issued in the name of the "Commonwealth +of Virginia" and must be certified by the clerks of the various +courts. The Constitution requires that indictments (a formal charge +of crime presented by a grand jury) conclude "against the peace and +dignity of the Commonwealth." + +The General Assembly provides for the appointment or the election of +justices of the peace and establishes their jurisdiction. Authority +of justices of the peace includes civil suits which involve limited +amounts. In addition, Virginia also has police justices, trial +justices, civil justices, civil and police justices, juvenile and +domestic relations courts and mayor's courts. Their jurisdiction is +usually limited, however, and appeals from them are heard by city +and circuit courts. + +All cities and counties and many towns have local courts called +Magistrate Courts or Justice of the Peace Courts. Their jurisdiction +includes misdemeanors and civil cases involving small amounts of +money. + +The Commonwealth also has two Law and Chancery Courts, one located +in Roanoke and one in Norfolk. Their jurisdiction includes the +probating of wills and the settling of estates. There is a special +Chancery Court located in Richmond which has complete charge of +wills to be probated and the settling of estates in that part of +"Richmond north of the south bank of the James River." There is also +a special Law and Equity Court located in Richmond. + +The Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, located in Norfolk, is +a special state court which has jurisdiction over cases involving +dependent, neglected and delinquent children and in cases involving +crimes--except manslaughter--against a family member. + +[Illustration: _Virginia_] + +The State Attorney-General is elected by the qualified voters of the +State at the same time and for the same term as the Governor and +Lieutenant-Governor of the State (a four-year term of office). He +must have the same qualifications as the Governor but he is eligible +for re-election. His chief duty is to serve as the attorney-at-law +for the State; he renders opinions concerning the interpretation and +application of laws upon the request of the Governor or of various +Department heads, he presents cases to the Supreme Court of Appeals +if the State's interest is involved and he represents the State of +Virginia before the Supreme Court of the United States. The numerous +problems arising in the carrying out of these responsibilities make +it desirable and necessary for him to have legal assistants who +may aid him in furnishing aid to local Commonwealth attorneys. The +State Attorney-General is subject to removal from office in the same +manner as judges. His present salary is $17,000 annually. + + +_Local Governmental Units_ + +The State Constitution not only establishes state government +organization, but it also includes rules concerning local +governmental units which are found in Article VII. Local charters +are granted by the General Assembly. The political level immediately +below the state government level is the county. Virginia is divided +into ninety-eight counties at the present time. The last original +county to be created is Dickenson County, formed in 1880. The +largest county in the state in area is Pittsylvania with 1,022 +square miles and the smallest county in area is Arlington with 24 +square miles. Fairfax County is currently the most populated county +in Virginia, surpassed in population only by the city of Norfolk. + +Legally, a county is a corporation. Its main functions, in general, +are the preservation of order, the protection of life and property, +the establishment of public schools, the administration of justice, +the registration of legal documents, the maintenance of highways and +bridges outside the cities and the care of the poor and the criminal. + +Counties of Virginia are divided into magisterial districts, +the number of districts varying from three to ten. Provision is +made in the state constitution that additional districts may be +made by law only if the new district contains at least 30 square +miles. Each district has one supervisor elected by the qualified +voters. Thus, the Board of Supervisors of the county consists of +one representative elected from each magisterial district in the +county with the exception of Arlington County where the Board of +Supervisors is elected at-large from the county. Therefore, the +number of members of each Board of Supervisors varies among the +counties. A chairman for this group is selected by the members +themselves. Their meetings are usually held once a month at the +Court House located at the County Seat. The Board of Supervisors +carries out various duties such as: (1) supervises county affairs, +(2) establishes and levies county taxes, (3) prepares the county +budget, (4) audits claims against the county, (5) erects and +maintains county buildings, (6) acts as a legislative and executive +body by issuing and carrying out ordinances on such subjects as +sanitation, health and police, (7) approves saluary scales for +county workers, (8) controls county property, (9) furnishes care for +the mentally and physically handicapped, and (10) borrows money. + +There are five county officials of importance who are elected to +office by the qualified voters on the first Tuesday after the first +Monday in November and take office on January 1 following their +election. These officials are: + +(1) Attorney for the Commonwealth--a lawyer who acts as a legal +adviser to the Board of Supervisors and to the county officials and +who acts as legal representative of the people of the county; he +also acts as prosecutor for all civil and criminal cases in which +the county is interested; he is elected by the qualified voters for +a four-year term. + +(2) County Clerk--an officer who serves as a clerk to the County +Board of Supervisors and to the County Circuit Court; as the main +county recording official, he records all types of county documents +(such as deeds, wills, judgments, mortgages, births, divorces, +deaths, elections, court trials and marriages); attends meetings of +the Board of Supervisors and has custody of property records; he is +elected by the qualified voters for an eight-year term. + +(3) Commissioner of the Revenue--an official who assesses property +values for taxation purposes, assesses State personal income taxes, +prepares personal property tax books and land books and assesses and +collects all professional and business licenses; he is elected by +the qualified voters for a four-year term. + +(4) County Treasurer--an officer who collects the county taxes +assessed by the Commissioner of Revenue, collects the state taxes, +keeps the county funds and disburses money upon order of the Board +of Supervisors; he is elected by the qualified voters for a term of +four years. + +(5) Sheriff--an officer who is the chief executive officer of the +county; he and his assistants, called deputies, form the county +police force; the Sheriff serves warrants of arrests, summons +witnesses and jurors whenever necessary, preserves peace in the +county, has charge of prisoners, cooperates with the State Police +and acts as a Bailiff at meetings of the Board of Supervisors and +at Trial Justice and Circuit Court sessions; he is elected for a +four-year term. + +Other significant county positions include County School Board +members, County Superintendent of Schools, County Health Board +members, County Surveyor, Welfare Board members, Planning Commission +and Highway Commission members, Game Wardens and Election Board +members. A state official who exerts strong influence upon the +county is the State Circuit Judge. Since he tries cases in various +counties within his own circuit, he comes in contact with many +county officials and has the authority to appoint certain county +officials within his own circuit such as (1) a Trial Justice who +tries the less important civil and criminal cases in the county and +holds hearings of cases to be tried by the circuit judge and (2) +the Coroner who makes investigations and reports concerning sudden, +violent or suspicious deaths in the county. The Circuit Judge also +appoints the School Trustee Electoral Board which in turn appoints +the County School Board. + +There are three types or forms of County Government in existence in +Virginia: the County Executive Form, the County Manager Form and the +County Board (often called the "Traditional") Form. Two counties, +Albemarle and Fairfax, have adopted the County Executive Form and +two counties, Arlington and Henrico, have adopted the County Manager +Form. Arlington County was the first county in the United States to +adopt the County Manager form of government by popular vote (1932). +The major difference between the County Executive and the County +Manager Forms of government is found in the fact that, in the former +type, the Board of Supervisors makes all key appointments upon the +recommendations of a county executive who is employed to act as the +administrative head of the county whereas, in the latter form, the +Board of Supervisors employs a manager for the county and gives +him authority to name and appoint his own department heads. The +remaining 94 counties are operated under a County Board: under this +form, the Board of Supervisors exercises not only legislative but +full executive authority as well. + +The county form of government, therefore, acts not only as a local +government unit but also as an administrative agent of the state. + +Cities and towns make up the next political level of government +organization in Virginia as described in Article VIII of the +constitution. A city is defined in the constitution as an +incorporated community which has within defined boundaries a +population of five thousand or more; a town is an incorporated +community which has within defined boundaries a population of +less than five thousand. In determining such population, the last +census of the United States or an enumeration made by authority of +the General Assembly must be used as the basis. Any incorporated +community which had a city charter when this section of the State +Constitution was adopted in 1902, regardless of its numerical +population at the time, was allowed to keep its city charter. +The General Assembly has the authority to enact general laws for +the organization and government of cities and towns in Virginia. +In special instances, the Circuit Court may issue such charters. +Whenever an area has a population of at least five thousand, it may +apply, but is not required to apply, for city status. Unlike many of +the other states in the United States, Virginia does not have any +village type of government. + +Cities having at least ten thousand persons are eligible to be +classified as cities of the first class; cities having less than +ten thousand persons are eligible to be classified as the second +class. Cities in Virginia have generally followed a three-fold plan +or pattern of development: first, an area is established, then +incorporated as a town and finally elevated to city status as an +independent municipality. During the colonial period, there were +only two towns actually incorporated: Williamsburg and Norfolk. +By 1800, only six additional towns were incorporated: Alexandria, +Winchester, Fredericksburg, Richmond, Petersburg and York +(Yorktown). Yorktown is the only town incorporated before 1800 which +has not become a city. + +A unique characteristic about cities in Virginia is the fact that +an incorporated city is politically separate from the county in +which it is geographically located. There are thirty-two independent +cities: Alexandria, Bristol, Buena Vista, Charlottesville, Clifton +Forge, Colonial Heights, Covington, Danville, Falls Church, +Fredericksburg, Galax, Hampton (formerly, a second class city; now +combined with the town of Phoebus and Elizabeth City County into a +first class city since 1952), Harrisonburg, Hopewell, Lynchburg, +Martinsville, Newport News, Norfolk, Norton, Petersburg, Portsmouth, +Radford, Richmond, Roanoke, South Boston, South Norfolk, Staunton, +Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg and Winchester. +When Newport News and Warwick became the city of Newport News on +July 1, 1958, this was the first city to be consolidated in the +Commonwealth since Richmond and Manchester combined in 1910. + +There are three types or forms of City Government in existence in +Virginia: Mayor-Council form, Commission form and City Manager form. +The city charter bears a similar relation to the city that the +Virginia Constitution bears to the state. The citizens within the +city area may decide for themselves the type of city government they +prefer when they apply for their city charter. + + * * * * * + +Although there are three forms of local government available, there +are certain characteristics common to all three types: + +(1) A bicameral City Council (unless authorized by the General +Assembly to have only one branch) is elected by the qualified voters +of the city on the second Tuesday in June. The term of office of the +councilmen begins on the following September 1. The council acts +as the legislative body by passing city or municipal laws called +ordinances. Cities are usually divided into various sections called +wards. Since representation from each ward is primarily based upon +population of the ward, the city council has the power to change +ward boundaries. Since 1933, after every ten-year period, the city +council is required by the Virginia Constitution to re-apportion +such representation accordingly. Usually, there is one councilman +from each ward. + +(2) The following officials are required by the Constitution to +be elected to office by the qualified voters: City Court Clerk, +City Commonwealth's Attorney, City Commissioner of Revenue, City +Treasurer and City Sergeant (Sheriff). All these officials (with the +exception of the City Court Clerk whose eight-year term of office +begins at the same time as the city judges' term) are elected on +the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November and their term +of office begins on the following January 1. Under a constitutional +amendment proposed in November 1960, certain elected officials of a +city (or county) could serve as such officials in two or more cities +(or counties, or city and counties) if a majority of the voters of +the local units affected so decided; however, the amendment was +defeated. + +(3) Every city has a mayor who is the chief executive and who is +elected by the people for a four-year term. Depending upon the +form of city government adopted, the mayor may be essentially a +figurehead or a key official. The chief duties of a mayor usually +include the following: + + a. enforcing ordinances, by-laws and orders, + + b. ascertaining that duties of various city officials are + carried out properly, + + c. suspending city officials upon the authorization of the + General Assembly for misconduct in office or for neglect of duty, + + d. considering ordinances, resolutions, and other measures and + approving or disapproving them, + + e. presiding at city council meetings (unless a special + provision already has provided for a council president) and + voting only in case of a tie + + f. appointing key officials with the approval of the city + council (for example, the Chief of Police, the Fire Chief, the + City Attorney) and members of certain boards (Planning, Health, + Zoning Boards). + +Every resolution or ordinance must be presented to the Mayor of a +city after it has been passed by the City Council. The Mayor has +three choices: + +(1) He may approve the ordinance by signing it; it then becomes +operative. + +(2) He may disapprove the ordinance by vetoing it; he then returns +the ordinance to the clerk of the council with his written +objections. The council then enters the detailed objections in its +journal and reconsiders the original resolution or ordinance in view +of such objections. If, after due consideration, two-thirds of the +membership of the council still wishes the original ordinance to +pass, it is passed over the Mayor's veto. + +(3) He may do nothing about the ordinance; after five days have +passed, Sundays excepted, if the Mayor is still in office and the +term of office of the members of the city council has not expired, +it automatically is passed. If, however, during these five days, +either the term of office of the Mayor or the term of office of the +members of the city council ends, the ordinance is not passed but is +considered "killed." + +Like the Governor of the state, the Mayor can veto a particular item +or more than one item in an appropriation ordinance or resolution +without affecting the rest of the resolution or ordinance. Any +ordinance or resolution which concerns the appropriation of money +for an amount over one hundred dollars, the levying of taxes or +the authorizing of the borrowing of money can be passed only by a +recorded affirmative vote of a majority of all council members. + +The oldest form of city government in Virginia is the Mayor-Council +Form. Under this form, the Council and the Mayor are elected by +the qualified voters. The Mayor, therefore, is the chief executive +officer of the city and he either appoints solely, or with the +consent of the city council in some instances, the city officers +not constitutionally required to be elected. He also has the +authority to supervise all city departments and to suspend any +officer or employee for cause. Under this system, the council is the +legislative body only. + +Another form is the Commission form of local government. Of the +three different types mentioned previously, this form is used in +Virginia the least. According to this plan, the city council itself, +elected at large, assumes the legislative and administrative or +executive powers. A mayor is elected from council membership but he +has very limited powers. He is chairman at the council meetings and +may suggest recommendations as possible legislative measures as he +sees fit. The city itself is divided into various administrative +departments by the council and each department is assigned to +a different council member who becomes the head executive or +administrative official of that department. Thus, each council +member acts as an administrator individually and as a legislator +collectively. The city council according to this plan carries out +the usual functions of the legislative body and of the executive +department, including such functions as determining the powers of +each department and the rules and regulations of each office holder +and employee. + +The City Manager form of government was first adopted in the United +States by the city of Staunton in 1908. This is the most widely-used +plan found in Virginia cities at the present time and in many other +large cities throughout the United States. Under this plan, the +Council members are elected at large by the voters. The Council is +the legislative body which makes the local laws. The City Council +selects the City Manager who may or may not be an inhabitant of the +town, city or state involved. He not only acts as the chief adviser +to the City Council but also becomes the chief executive in this +plan. His term of office is at the discretion of the City Council +members and he is responsible directly to them. Charles E. Ashburner +was the first City Manager in the United States. + +The City Council usually elects its own chairman from among its own +membership; this chairman automatically becomes the Mayor of the +city. He is the official titular head of the city and represents +the city upon various public occasions. He presides at Council +meetings, has regular Council powers and can vote but cannot veto a +proposed law. In contrast, the City Manager has the power to appoint +the chief officials of the various city government departments, +the responsibility for enforcing city ordinances and resolutions, +the obligation of attending City Council meetings and of making +suggestions and recommendations to the Council, the duty of keeping +the City Council informed of general and specific activities of +the city including its financial status, the task of preparing and +submitting a proposed budget to the City Council and the duty of +carrying out miscellaneous functions assigned to him by the City +Council. + +These three forms--Mayor-Council, Commission and City +Manager--exemplify the variety of local government organization +available to cities and towns located in Virginia. + +Towns in Virginia in order to be incorporated must have at least 300 +inhabitants and must receive approval of the local circuit judge. +Towns still remain part of the county after their incorporation. +At present, there are approximately two hundred incorporated towns +whose functions are carried out and services furnished by the County +and the Town governments. Every town has a Council and a Mayor +and in the large towns, usually a Town Manager. Three other town +officials are a Treasurer, a Clerk (called a Secretary or Recorder) +and a Town Attorney. + +Residents of Virginia, consequently, are governed daily by either +Town, City or County levels of government in addition to State and +National levels. + + +_Education and Public Instruction_ + +Article IX concerns education. The Constitution specifically states +that "The General Assembly shall establish and maintain an efficient +system of public free schools throughout the State." Therefore, as +in all states in United States, the management of the schools is +basically the responsibility of the state. There is a State Board +of Education consisting of seven members appointed for four-year +terms by the Governor with the approval of the General Assembly. The +Governor with the approval of the General Assembly also appoints an +experienced educator to the chief educational position known as the +Superintendent of Public Instruction. His term of office parallels +that of the Governor who appoints him. The duties and powers of the +State Board of Education are constitutionally described as follows: + + (1) to divide the State into school divisions or districts; + to certify to the local school boards within each division + a list of persons who have reasonable academic and business + qualifications for division superintendent of schools (the local + school board has the authority to select from this list the + individual whom they wish to hold the position of superintendent + of their division for a four-year term), + + (2) to manage and invest the school fund, according to legal + regulations, + + (3) to make rules and regulations for the management and conduct + of the schools, upon the authority of the General Assembly, + + (4) to select textbooks and educational appliances for school + use with the General Assembly itself prescribing the time when + textbooks are to be changed by the State Board of Education. + +According to the Constitution, each magisterial district is a +separate school district, and the magisterial district furnishes +the basis of representation on the county or city school board. In +cities which have a population of at least one hundred and fifty +thousand, school boards have the authority to decide for themselves, +with the approval of the local legislative body, the number and +the boundaries of their school districts. The General Assembly has +the right to consolidate into one school division, if it deems it +advisable, one or more counties or cities with one or more counties +or cities. Each division school board is empowered to select the +superintendent of schools for its own division or district. In +case a local school board fails to make such an appointment within +a prescribed time, the State Board of Education then appoints the +superintendent in that district. + +In 1810 a Literary Fund was created as a permanent fund to be used +to defray educational expenses in Virginia. This money originally +came from the proceeds of public lands donated by Congress for +public free school purposes, from unclaimed property, from property +which the state received through forfeiture, from fines collected +for offenses against the state and from other funds appropriated +by the General Assembly. The only money in the fund which must, by +constitutional requirement, be apportioned on a basis of school +population for the benefit of the primary and grammar school levels +is the annual interest on the Literary Fund, one dollar of the +State capitation tax (total State capitation tax, $1.50) and an +amount equal to an annual tax on property of not less than one nor +more than five mills on the dollar. The school population in this +instance refers to the number of children in each school district +between the ages of seven and twenty years. + +Each school district has the authority to raise additional sums of +money for educational purposes by levying a school tax on property, +a maximum amount being established by the law. The Board of +Supervisors in the county area and the Council in the town or city +areas have the authority to levy and collect local school taxes. + +The General Assembly has the right to establish agricultural, +normal, manual training and technical schools as well as other +schools deemed desirable for the public welfare. Virginia colleges +under State control at present are the College of William and Mary +at Williamsburg, Longwood College at Farmville, Madison College +at Harrisonburg, Mary Washington College (women's division of the +University of Virginia) at Fredericksburg, Medical College of +Virginia at Richmond, Radford College, (Women's division of Virginia +Polytechnic Institute) at Radford, the University of Virginia at +Charlottesville, Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, Virginia +Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg and Virginia State College +at Petersburg. The State also controls the Richmond Professional +Institute of the College of William and Mary in Richmond, the +Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary in Norfolk and +the Norfolk Division of Virginia State College in Norfolk. The +Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind at Staunton and the +Virginia State School for Colored Deaf and Blind Children at Newport +News are State operated. + +The General Assembly also establishes compulsory education. At the +present time, school attendance is not compulsory on a state basis +but many communities have passed local compulsory attendance laws. +Whenever a parent or guardian is financially unable to furnish +public school children with necessary textbooks, the local school +system provides free textbooks to such individuals. The Virginia +Constitution has required that there be segregation of white and +colored children in the schools of Virginia. However, as a result of +a U. S. Supreme Court ruling in 1954, the segregation of colored and +white children became illegal and unconstitutional. Consequently, +local and state officials throughout Virginia have been compelled to +reconsider the state constitutional provision concerning segregation +in the public schools and to integrate the school population in some +areas. + +Members of the Board of Visitors and Trustees of educational +institutions are appointed by the Governor with the approval +of the Senate for four-year terms. They regulate the policy of +state-operated institutions of higher learning. + + +_Miscellaneous Provisions_ + +Article X concerns the Department of Agriculture and Immigration +which is headed by a State Board of Agriculture consisting of one +practical farmer from each Congressional district. The president +of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute is also automatically an +ex-officio member of this board. The chairman of this board is +the Commissioner of Agriculture appointed by the Governor. The +Department of Agriculture and Immigration has three chief functions: +to encourage the production and sale of Virginia farm products, +to protect the Virginia farmers and consumers by carrying out +various state laws concerning food products, and the improvement +of such products. The major divisions of this department include +the Division of Chemistry, of Statistics, Dairy and Food, Markets, +Animal Industry and of Plant Industry. The immigration function +is now non-existent. This function was added when a severe labor +shortage existed in the latter part of the 1800's: at that time the +Commissioner traveled to Ireland, Holland, Belgium and Denmark in an +attempt to get agricultural workers. The department still retains +the name of Agriculture and Immigration but no longer has authority +over immigrants. + +Article XI relates to Public Welfare and Penal Institutions. +The General Assembly has the authority to establish and operate +public welfare, charitable, sanitary, benevolent, reformatory or +penal institutions. As mentioned in the Executive section of the +Constitution, there is a Department of Welfare and Institutions +which includes a six-member Board of Welfare and Institutions +appointed for a four-year term by the Governor with the approval +of the General Assembly. The Director of this department is the +Commissioner of Public Welfare. The Department of Welfare and +Institutions consists of four divisions: the Division of Corrections +which controls the State Penitentiary, the State Farm, the State +Industrial Farm for Women, the Southampton Farm, the State Convict +Road Force and the Bland Correctional Farm; the Division of General +Welfare which helps needy children, elderly individuals, persons +who are permanently disabled physically or mentally, and other +miscellaneous cases; the Virginia Parole Board which has charge of +granting parole, revoking parole, releasing qualified persons on +parole and actually discharging individuals considered no longer +necessary on parole; and the Division of Youth Services which +supervises children placed in boarding homes and which operates and +controls training schools for minors who have committed crimes and +have been sent to these schools by court order: the Beaumont School +for Boys (white), the Hanover School for Boys (Negro), the Bon Air +School for Girls (white) and the Janie Porter Barrett School for +Girls (Negro). + +Article XII provides that the creation of corporations, as well +as amendment to their charters, be provided by general laws which +may be amended or repealed by the General Assembly. The General +Assembly is not permitted to regulate the affairs of any corporation +or to give it any rights, powers or privileges by special act. The +State Corporation Commission is the unit of the state government +through which all charters and amendments are issued. Therefore, +the State Corporation Commission carries out all the provisions +of the Constitution and of the laws for the creation, visitation, +supervision, regulation and control of corporations chartered by, +or doing business in, the state. The State Corporation Commission +consists of three members elected by members of the General Assembly +for a six-year term. Among other duties, the commission prescribes +rates of railroads and telephone companies. Because of the numerous +incorporated businesses operating in Virginia, this commission +exercises broad, economic authority on behalf of the welfare of the +state. + +Article XIII concerns Taxation and Finance. The General Assembly +has the authority for levying taxes, for appropriating revenue, +and, in most instances, is empowered to specify and determine which +goods and services shall be taxed by state and/or local government. +All state, local or municipal taxes must be uniform and must be +levied and collected according to general laws. State income taxes +are levied on incomes over six hundred dollars per year. License +taxes and state franchise taxes are levied upon businesses. A state +capitation or poll tax of one dollar and a half is levied on every +resident of the state at least twenty-one years of age; one dollar +of which is to be used exclusively for public free schools and the +remainder returned to the county or city treasurer to be used for +local purposes. Local taxes are also levied on real estate and +personal property. Property exempt from taxation by Article XIII +includes property owned directly or indirectly by the Commonwealth +or any local unit of government, buildings, land and furnishings +owned and used exclusively for religious organizations or for +benevolent or charitable organizations and private or public burying +grounds or cemetries. Before any money can be paid from the State +Treasury, appropriations must be made by law. No such appropriation +can be made which is payable more than two and a half years after +the end of the session of the General Assembly at which the law is +enacted. + +Article XIV primarily pertains to Homestead Exemptions. Certain +homestead exemptions are authorized. Furthermore, this Article +prohibits the General Assembly from passing a law staying the +collection of debts. The General Assembly is authorized to provide +the conditions on which a householder may set apart for himself and +family a homestead on certain property. + + +_The Amendment Process_ + +Article XV describes the Amendment Process. An amendment may be +proposed in either house of the General Assembly: the Senate or +the House of Delegates. It is then voted upon for approval or +disapproval. If a majority of the members of each house vote in +favor of the proposed amendment, the amendment is then referred +to the General Assembly at its first regular session held after +the next general election of members of the House of Delegates. +The amendment must then be published for three months previous to +election time. Whenever a majority of all the members in each house +vote in favor of the amendment either in a regular session or in an +extra session, the amendment must then be submitted for approval +by the people. If a majority of the qualified voters approve the +amendment at this time, the amendment becomes effective. + +Article XV also includes the procedure necessary for calling a +constitutional convention in Virginia. Whenever a majority of the +members of each house of the General Assembly vote for a convention +to revise or amend the Constitution, the question of calling such +a constitutional convention must be submitted to the qualified +voters. If a majority of the voters favor such a convention for the +specific purpose included in the original question submitted to +the voters, the General Assembly at its next session must provide +for the election of delegates to the special convention. The +qualified voters elect the specific delegates to such constitutional +convention. + +Article XVI concerns rules of construction within the constitution +itself pertaining to word usage. Article XVII, already described in +this chapter under Article II, provides for poll tax exemption for +members of the armed forces on active duty. + +The original Virginia Constitution of 1776 consisted of 3,000 words. +In 1830, the number of words was doubled with numerous revisions. In +1870, the number of words was increased six times the number in the +original constitution. The present Constitution which was written in +1902 contains approximately 35,000 words. Consequently, as living +becomes more complex, the constitution has become more lengthy. + + +_State Symbolism_ + +Certain symbols and emblems are approved by various state +legislatures which indicate a particular idea or belief which is +soon recognized or identified with a specific state. The official +symbols of the Commonwealth are the State Seals, the State Motto, +the State Flag, the State Flower, the State Song and the State Bird. + +There are two state seals: the Great Seal and the Lesser Seal. +The official seals now used in the Commonwealth were adopted and +approved by a legislative act on March 24, 1930. The Great Seal +consists of two discs, metallic in nature and two and one-fourth +inches in diameter; there is an ornamental border one-fourth of an +inch in width. On the front or obverse side of the Great Seal is +engraved the figure of Virtus, goddess of courage, garbed as an +Amazon representing the "genius of the Commonwealth." In her right +hand, Virtus holds a spear which points downward toward the earth +and upon which she appears to be resting; in her left hand, she +holds a parazonium or sheathed sword which points upward. The head +of Virtus is erect and her face upturned. The left foot of Virtus +is placed on a prostrate figure of a man who represents Tyranny. +The head of this symbol of Tyranny is to the left of Virtus with +his distorted tyrannical symbols close by: a fallen crown, a broken +chain and a scourge. At the top of this obverse side is the word, +"Virginia," and at the bottom of the seal in a curved line is +engraved the state motto: "Sic Semper Tyrannis" which translated +means "Thus ever to tyrants," implying that such will be the fate of +all tyrants. + +On the reverse or opposite side of the Great Seal is engraved a +group of three figures: Libertas, goddess of liberty and freedom, +in the center with a wand and pileus in her right hand, Aeternitas, +goddess of eternity, on her right with a globe and phoenix (a sacred +bird) in her right hand and Ceres, goddess of grain and the harvest, +on her left with a sheaf of wheat in her right hand and a cornucopia +(horn of plenty symbolizing peace and prosperity) in her left one. +At the top of the reverse side of the seal in curved line appears +the word, "Perseverando." Originally, the reverse side of the Great +Seal had engraved the motto: "Deus Nobis Pace Olim Fecit" meaning +"God gave us this freedom" (Virgil's "Eclogues") but the motto was +changed to the brief word, "Perseverando" in October 1779. George +Wythe proposed the original design of the seal and George Mason +originally recommended the motto for the seal at the Williamsburg +Convention in 1776. + +The Lesser Seal is one and nine-sixteenths inches in diameter and it +consists of the figures and inscriptions found on the obverse side +of the Great Seal. + +On March 24, 1930, the present Flag of the Commonwealth was +officially adopted. It consists of a deep blue field with a circular +white center--all of bunting or merino material. Within this white +circle is embroidered or painted, in such a manner as to appear +alike on both sides, the official coat-of-arms of the Commonwealth: +namely, the identical design of figures and inscriptions which +appears on the observe side of the Great Seal of Virginia. The outer +edge of the flag, the one farthest from the flag-staff, is bounded +by a white silk fringe. + +On March 6, 1918, the General Assembly declared the American +Dogwood, known technically as the Cornus Florida or Flowering +Dogwood, as the official state flower in Virginia. + +It was not until 1940 that the state legislature officially adopted +its state song. At this time, "Carry Me Back to Ole Virginny," +written by James A. Bland, a South Carolina Negro, was declared the +state song although it had been widely recognized and sung by many +generations of Virginians. The Cardinal, known technically as the +Cardinalis Virginianus, is considered the official State Bird. + + +SUMMARY + +Fundamental state laws for Virginia are found in a written +constitution, originally adopted in 1776. The United States +Constitution provides not only the framework for our national +government but also the relationships between the national +government and the individual states. With the exception of these +restrictions, the state constitution determines the political +structure or organization within the state area and the various +powers and functions granted to each governmental agency. Like all +governments established by state constitutions, the state government +of Virginia consists of three departments: the legislative, +executive and judiciary departments. + +The Virginia Bill of Rights, written by George Mason, furnished a +pattern for the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution +as well as for numerous state bills of rights. The significance +attached to voting even in the early post-Revolutionary period is +obvious by the location of the voting qualifications in the Virginia +Constitution directly following the Bill of Rights. + +Some unique features about government in Virginia include Section 58 +of Article IV which lists a series of prohibitions on the General +Assembly as a protection for individual liberties, the fact that +the Governor cannot succeed himself (only sixteen states have this +restriction), the existence of three types of county government +(the County Executive, the County Manager and the County Board), +the lack of a village form of local government, the existence of +thirty-two independent cities and the existence of three forms of +city government (Mayor-Council, Commission and City Manager). + +Other articles in the Constitution concern suffrage, education, +public welfare and penal institutions, taxation and finance, +corporations and local government. Since constitution writers +realize that living conditions change from time to time, the method +of making changes in a constitution whenever necessary is included +in the amendment process. Thus, a recent constitutional change was +a revision of Section 141 making it legally permissible to permit +the use of public funds for tuition grants for pupils in private +non-sectarian schools. Virginians, like the residents of other +states, will undoubtedly continue to make necessary revisions when +conditions so warrant in order to keep the state governmental +structure a practical, adjustable foundation for a progressively +changing society. + +When one understands the meaning of the various symbols used by +a state in order to create a specific identity or a particular +recognition of its inhabitants and their ideas, the state seal, +motto and flag become more significant to the citizen. Thus, it +is with pride that Virginians show reverence and respect to their +HALLOWED HERITAGE. + + + + +INDEX + + + Academies and Seminaries, 195 + + Adam Thoroughgood House, 182 + + Agriculture, 156-158 + + Agriculture and Immigration, 240 + + Agriculture and Mechanical College, 131 + + Alexandria, 49, 50, 57, 103, 111, 112, 127 + + Amendment process, 242 + + Annapolis Convention, 82 + + Antietam (Sharpsburg), Battle of, 116, 117 + + Appalachian Plateau, 14 + + Appalachian Ridge and Valleys, 14 + + Apparel, 153 + + Appomattox Court House, 123 + + Aquia Creek, 37 + + Architects and Architecture, 182-188 + + Area, 11 + + Armstrong, Samuel C., 130-131 + + Arnold, Benedict, 77 + + Articles of Confederation, 76, 81 + + Artists, 176-178 + + Assumption of State Debts, 88 + + Attorney (Commonwealth), 232 + + Attorney General, 230, 231 + + Auditor of Public Accounts, 225 + + Augusta Academy, 47 + + Austin, Stephen Fuller, 97 + + Authors and Poets, 163-176 + + + Bacon, Nathaniel, 40-42 + + Bales, Richard, 190 + + Barter Theater, 193-194 + + Battle Abbey, 181 + + Battle, John, 144-145 + + Batts, Thomas, 40 + + Bean, William, 58 + + Beauregard, Pierre G. T., 112-113 + + Berkeley, Sir William, 35, 36, 39, 40-42 + + Blair, James, 43 + + Blair, John, 69, 82, 83 + + Bland, James A., 188-189 + + Bland, Richard Henry, 54-55, 57 + + Blue Ridge and Valleys, 13-14 + + Boone, Daniel, 58 + + Booth, John Wilkes, 127 + + Botetourt, Lord, 55 + + Boundaries, 11 + + Braddock, Edward, 50-51 + + Brandy Station, Battle of, 117, 118 + + Braxton, Carter, 71 + + Breckinridge, John C., 101-102, 120 + + Brent Family, 37 + + Bruton Parish Church, 185 + + Brown, John, 104-105 + + Buckner, John, 42 + + Bull Run; _see_ Manassas + + Burgesses, House of, 32, 33, 41, 57 + + Burke, Edmund, 61 + + Burnside, Ambrose, 117 + + Burr, Aaron, 92-93 + + Byrd, Harry F., 140, 142 + + Byrd, Richard Evelyn, 139 + + Byrd, William II, 46 + + + Cahokia, 73 + + Campbell, William, 75 + + Cape Charles, 26 + + Cape Henry, 26 + + Capitol, Colonial (Williamsburg), 44, 183; + (Richmond), 185 + + Carillon Tower, 138 + + Carter, Robert ("King"), 46 + + Carter's Grove, 184-185 + + Cary, Archibald, 69 + + "Cavalier State," 37 + + Caverns, 15 + + Cedar Creek, 122 + + Cedar Mountain, Battle of, 116 + + Cession for Federal District, 88 + + Cession of Northwest Territory, 76 + + Chancellorsville, Battle of, 117 + + Chancery Court, 230 + + Chanco, 34 + + Charters of Virginia: + 1606, 25; + 1609, 29; + 1612, 30; + 1618, 31-32 + + Chemical Products, 152 + + Christ Church (Alexandria), 185 + + Circuit Courts, 227, 228, 232 + + Cities, 228, 233-234 + + City Council, 234, 237 + + City Manager Plan of Government, 137, 234, 237 + + City Officials, 234-235 + + Clark, George Rogers, 72-73, 76 + + Clark, William, 92 + + Clay, 20-21 + + Clay, Henry, 97, 100, 103 + + Climate, 17 + + Coal, 18-19 + + Cold Harbor, Battle of, 120 + + College of Henrico, 34 + + Colleges, 131, 196, 239 + + Commission form, 234, 237 + + Commissioner of Revenue (County), 232 + + Committee of Correspondence, 55-56, 59 + + Committee of Nine, 128, 129 + + Committee of Safety, 66, 67 + + Commonwealth, 37, 69 + + Confederate States of America, 110 + + Congressional election districts, 215, 216 + + Constitution, United States: Ratification, 83-85 + + Constitutions (State): + 1621, 33, 34; + 1776, 68-70, 201; + 1830, 99-100, 201-202; + 1850, 104, 202; + 1869 (Underwood), 202, 203; + 1902, 135, 203 + + Continental Congress: + First, 57, 59-60; + Second, 63-65, 69, 70 + + Conventions, State: + First (1774), 57-58; + Second (1775), 63; + Third (1775), 66; + Fourth (1775-1776), 66-67; + Fifth (1776), 68-70; + 1788, 84-85; + 1829, 99-100; + 1861, 109-110; + 1867 (Underwood), 128, 203; + 1901, 134-135, 203; + 1956, 146 + + Constitutional Convention Requirements, 242 + + Corn, 157 + + Cornstalk (Chief), 59 + + Cornwallis, Lord, 75, 76-77, 79, 80 + + Corporation Commission, 241 + + Corporation Courts, 228 + + Cotton, 157 + + Counties, in general: 35, 218, 219, 231; + origin of name and year created: + Accawmack (Accomack), 35; + Albemarle, 48; + Alleghany, 102; + Amelia, 48; + Amherst, 62; + Appomattox, 102; + Arlington, 103; + Augusta, 48; + Bath, 89; + Bedford, 61; + Bland, 105; + Botetourt, 62; + Brunswick, 48; + Buchanan, 105; + Buckingham, 61; + Campbell, 85; + Carroll, 102; + Charles City, 35; + Charles River (York), 35; + Charlotte, 61; + Chesterfield, 48; + Clark (Clarke), 102; + Craig, 105; + Culpeper, 48; + Cumberland, 48; + Dickenson, 133; + Dinwiddie, 61; + Elizabeth City (Kiccowtan), 32, 35; + Essex, 42; + Fairfax, 48; + Fauquier, 61; + Floyd, 102; + Fluvanna, 72; + Franklin, 85; + Frederick, 48; + Giles, 95; + Gloucester, 38; + Goochland, 48; + Grayson, 89; + Greene, 102; + Greensville, 85; + Halifax, 61; + Hanover, 47; + Henrico, 35; + Henry, 72; + Highland, 102; + Isle of Wight (Warrosquyoake), 35; + James City, 35; + Kentucky, 72; + King and Queen, 42; + King George, 48; + King William, 42; + Lancaster, 38; + Lee, 89; + Loudoun, 61; + Louisa, 48; + Lunenburg, 48; + Madison, 89; + Mathews, 89; + Mecklenburg, 61; + Middlesex, 38; + Montgomery, 72; + Nansemond, 38; + Nelson, 95; + New Kent, 38; + Norfolk, 42; + Northampton (Accawmack), 35; + Northumberland, 38; + Nottoway, 85; + Orange, 48; + Page, 102; + Patrick, 85; + Pittsylvania, 61-62; + Powhatan, 72; + Prince Edward, 61; + Prince George, 43; + Prince William, 48; + Princess Anne, 42; + Pulaski, 102; + Rappahannock, 102; + Richmond, 42; + Roanoke, 102; + Rockbridge, 72; + Rockingham, 72; + Russell, 85; + Scott, 95; + Shenandoah, 72; + Smyth, 102; + Southampton, 48; + Spotsylvania, 47; + Stafford, 38; + Surry, 38; + Sussex, 61; + Tazewell, 95; + Warren, 102; + Warwick River (Warwick), 35; + Washington, 72; + Westmoreland, 38; + Wise, 105; + Wythe, 89; + York; _see_ Charles River. + + County forms of government, 233 + + County Officials, 231-232 + + + Dale, Sir Thomas ("Marshall"), 30 + + Danville, 124 + + Dare, Virginia, 24 + + Davis, Jefferson, 108, 122, 124 + + Debt Problem (ante-bellum), 129-130, 132-134 + + Declaration of Independence, 70-71 + + Declaration of Rights (Bill of Rights), 204-207 + + Delaware (de la Warr), Lord, 29-30 + + Democratic National Nominating Convention of 1952, 144, 145 + + Depression Years, 140-141 + + Dinwiddie, Robert, 49, 50 + + Drama, 46, 190-194 + + Dunmore, Lord, 57-59; 64, 65, 67-68, 71 + + + Early, Jubal, 121-122 + + Eastern Shore, 12 + + Eaton, Thomas, 194 + + Education: + Academic, 195; + Colonial, 43, 194-195; + Current Educational Problems, 145-147, 197-199; + Improvements in 1900's, 135, 136, 197-199; + Institutions of Higher Learning, 43, 47, 98, 195, 196-197, 239; + Public Schools, 35, 74, 130, 135, 197-199, 237-240; + School District, 238; + School Property Tax, 239; + State Department of Education, 238 + + Eggleston, Joseph D., 136 + + Elections, 209-210 + + Employment, 150-160: + Agriculture, 156-158; + Construction Activities, 158; + Finance, 159; + Forestry and Fisheries, 159; + Government, 150-151; + Manufacturing, 151-156; + Mining Operations, 159; + Public Utilities, 158; + Services Industries, 158; + Travel Trade, 159, 160; + Wholesale and Retail Trade, 158 + + Evans, Robley D., 134 + + Ewell, Richard S., 118-119, 122 + + Executive Department, 221-226 + + Executive Department Agencies, 225-226 + + + Fairfax Proprietary, 39, 40 + + Fairfax Resolutions, 60 + + Fall Line, 11-12 + + Fallen, Robert, 40 + + "The Federalist," 84 + + Field Crops, 156-158 + + Fincastle Resolutions, 60 + + Fish, 18 + + Floyd, John, 100 + + Food and kindred products, 152 + + Foreign settlements, 46, 47 + + Forests, 18 + + Fort Duquesne; _see_ Fort Necessity + + Fort Kaskaskia, 73 + + Fort Le Boeuf, 47, 49 + + Fort Monroe, 124 + + Fort Necessity, 50-51 + + Fort Pitt; _see_ Fort Necessity + + Fort Vincennes, 73 + + Fredericksburg, Battle of, 117 + + Freedmen's Bureau, 127 + + French and Indian War, 49-52 + + Fruit, 157 + + Funk Joseph, 189 + + Furniture, 154 + + + Garrison, William Lloyd, 100 + + Gates, Sir Thomas, 29 + + General Assembly, 32-33, 104, 211-220 + + General Court, 30-31 + + Germanna, 45, 47 + + Gettysburg, Battle of, 119 + + Gibbs, James Ethan Allen, 104 + + Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 24 + + Gist, Christopher, 49 + + Glass, Carter, 134-135, 137 + + "Golden Age" of Colonial Virginia, 49 + + Gooch, Sir William, 46 + + Governor, 29, 33-34, 221-224 + + Governor's Palace, 45, 183 + + Grant, Ulysses S., 119-124 + + Grasse, Comte de, 80 + + Great Charter, 32 + + Great Dismal Swamp, 16 + + Great Massacre, 34 + + Great Meadows, Battle of, 50 + + Green, Paul, 194 + + + Hampton, 30 + + Hampton Institute and Singers, 130-131, 188 + + Hampton, Wade, 120 + + Harrison, Benjamin, 57, 71 + + Harrison, William Henry, 102 + + "Head-Right" system, 31, 44 + + Henrico University, 195 + + Henricopolis (City of Henricus), 30, 34 + + Henry, Patrick: + "Caesar-Brutus" Speech, 53-54; + Committee of Correspondence, 55; + First Continental Congress, 59-60; + First Governor of the Commonwealth, 70, 72; + "Liberty or Death" Speech, 63-64; + "Parsons' Cause," 52-54; + Williamsburg Convention of 1774, 57 + + Hill, Ambrose P., 116, 119 + + Hooker, Joseph E., 117 + + Hopewell, 30, 47, 138 + + Hopkinson, Francis, 188 + + Houdon, Jean Antoine, 80 + + Houston, Samuel, 101 + + Hunt, Robert, 26-27 + + Hustings Courts; _see_ Corporation Courts + + + Impeachment, 215 + + Indentured servants, 33 + + Indians: + Attacks, 27; + Cherokee, 51; + Chickahominy, 22; + College of Henrico, 34; + Illinois area, 72-73; + Lord Dunmore's War, 58-59; + Massacre, 36; + Mattaponi 22; + Northwest Territory, 73; + Pamunkey, 22; + Susequehannock, 40, 45; + William and Mary College, 45-46 + + "Intolerable Acts," 56 + + + Jackson, Thomas Jonathan, 103, 112-117 + + James River Canal, 88 + + Jamestown, 26, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34, 41-42 + + Jamestown Church, 185 + + Jefferson, Thomas: + Architecture, 185; + "A Summary View of the Rights of British America," 57-58; + Declaration of Independence, 70-71; + Education, 74, 98-99; + Governor of the Commonwealth, 74-79; + Jeffersonian Democracy, 91; + Presidential Administrations, 91-92; + "Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom," 74; + U. S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, 87-88; + Vice-President of the United States, 90 + + Johnson, Joseph E., 103, 112-115 + + Jones, John Paul, 64, 74 + + Jouett, Jack, 78-79 + + Judges, 229-230 + + Judicial Department, 226-231 + + Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, 230 + + + Kemper, James L., 132 + + Kentucky (Independent State), 88 + + Kentucky Resolutions, 90 + + King's Mountain, Battle of, 75 + + + Lafayette, Marquis de, 77, 79-80 + + Lake Matoaka Amphitheater, 194 + + Lakes, 17 + + Law and Chancery Courts, 230 + + Law and Equity Court, 230 + + Law-making process, 213-214 + + Leather products, 155 + + Lee, Fitzhugh, 120, 134 + + Lee, Henry ("Light Horse Harry"), 57, 73, 84, 90 + + Lee, Francis Lightfoot, 71 + + Lee, Richard Henry: + Committee of Correspondence, 55-56; + Leedstown Resolutions, 54-55; + Resolution for United States Independence, 70-71; + Williamsburg Convention of 1774 + + Lee, Robert E.: + Commander-in-Chief of Virginia forces, 111; + Harper's Ferry Mission, 105; + Mexican War, 103; + Military Campaigns of War between the States, 116, 117, 120-123; + President of Washington College, 126; + Resignation from the Union Army, 110-111; + Surrender at Appomattox, 123 + + Lee, Thomas, 47 + + Lee, Thomas Ludwell, 54 + + Leedstown (Westmoreland) Resolves, 54 + + Legislative Department, 211-221 + + "Leopard-Chesapeake" Affair, 93 + + Letcher, John, 108, 110, 111 + + Levingston, William, 46, 190 + + Lewis, Andrew, 58-59, 71 + + Lewis, Charles, 59 + + Lewis, Meriwether, 92 + + Lieutenant-Governor, 224 + + Lincoln, Abraham, 108, 109, 113, 127 + + Literary Fund, 95, 238-239 + + Livestock and livestock products, 156 + + Location of state, 11 + + London Company, 25-26, 33 + + Longstreet, James, 116, 120 + + "Lost Colony," 24 + + Lumber and lumber products, 153 + + Lynchburg, Battle of, 121 + + + McCormick, Cyrus Hall, 100-101 + + Madison, Dolly, 94 + + Madison, James: + "The Federalist," 84; + Philadelphia Convention, 82-83; + Presidential Administration, 93-94; + Religious clause, 69; + Richmond Constitutional Convention of 1829, 99; + Signer of U. S. Constitution, 83; + U. S. Bill of Rights, 85; + Virginia Constitutional Convention, 68-69; + Virginia Resolution, 90 + + Maffitt, William, 94 + + Magisterial Districts, 231, 238 + + Magistrate Courts (Justice of the Peace Courts), 230 + + Mahone, William, 122, 133 + + Makemie, Francis, 44 + + Malvern Hill, Battle of, 116 + + Manassas, Battle of, 112-113 (First battle); 116 (Second battle) + + "Map of the Chesapeake," 28 + + Mariner's Museum, 182 + + Marr, John Quincy, 112 + + Marshall, John, 84, 91, 93, 98 + + Marshall Theater, 192 + + Mason, George: + Committee of Correspondence, 55-56; + Declaration of Rights, 69; + Fairfax Resolutions, 60; + Motto of Official State Seal, 69; + Philadelphia Convention, 82; + Second Continental Congress, 69; + Third Virginia Convention, 66; + Virginia Constitution of 1776, 69, 201; + Virginia State Convention of 1788, 84 + + Maury, Matthew Fontaine, 126 + + Mayor, 235-236 + + Mayor-Council form, 234, 237 + + McClurg, James, 69, 82, 84 + + Mercantilism, 38 + + "Monitor" and the "Merrimac" ("Virginia"), Battle of, 113-114 + + Metals, 21, 155-156 + + Metropolitanism, 147-148 + + Middle Plantation; _see_ Williamsburg, 43-44, 143 + + Military District No. 1, 128, 202 + + Military Poll Tax Exemption, 143 + + Mills, Robert, 96, 186 + + Minerals, 18-21 + + Monroe Doctrine, 97 + + Monroe, James: + Louisiana Purchase, 92; + Monroe Doctrine, 97-98; + Monrovia, 98; + Presidential Administration, 96-97; + Virginia State Convention of 1788, 84 + + Moore House, 80 + + Morgan, Daniel, 65-66 + + Mosby, John S., 117 + + "Mother of Presidents," 98 + + "Mother of States," 76 + + Mount Airy, 185 + + Mount Alexander, 45 + + Mount George, 45 + + Mount Rogers, 13 + + Mount Vernon Meeting, 81 + + Muhlenberg, John P. G., 68 + + Music, 188-190 + + Museum of Fine Arts, 181 + + + Nat Turner's Rebellion, 100 + + Natural Bridge, 15 + + Natural Chimneys, 16 + + Natural Resources, 17-21 + + Natural Tunnel, 15 + + Navigation Acts, 38-39 + + Negroes, 33, 44, 48, 130, 132, 134, 135 + + Nelson, Thomas, 71, 80 + + Nelson, William, 76 + + New Market, Battle of, 120 + + Newport, Christopher, 26-27 + + Non-electrical machinery products, 156 + + Non-Importation Association, 55 + + Norfolk, 67, 104, 113 + + Northern Neck Proprietary, 39-40 + + Northwest Territory, Cession of, 76 + + Nuthead, William, 42 + + + Occupational Employment, 150-160 + + Ohio Company, 47 + + "Old Dominion," 36 + + Opechancanough, 34, 36 + + Optional Forms Act, 141 + + Owen, Robert, 137 + + + Paper Products, 154 + + Parishes (incorporations), 32, 36 + + Parks, William, 46 + + "Parsons' Cause," 52-53 + + Paterson, William, 83 + + Peanuts, 157 + + Penal institutions, 240-241 + + Pendleton, Edmund, 57, 66, 67, 84 + + Pennsylvania-Virginia Boundary Dispute, 85-86 + + Petersburg, Battle of and Fall of ("Crater"), 121-122 + + Pharaoh, 91-92 + + Philadelphia Convention of 1787, 82 + + Philippi, Battle of, 112 + + Pickett, George E., 119 + + Piedmont Plateau, 13, 58 + + Pierpont, Francis H., 118, 127, 128 + + Pitt, William, 51, 61 + + Plantations, 31, 46 + + Plymouth Company, 25-26 + + Pocahontas (Lady Rebecca), 28-30 + + Point Pleasant (Great Kanawha), Battle of, 59 + + Poll Tax, 132, 133, 135, 139, 144 + + Pollard, John G., 141-142 + + Population: + Density, 22; + Trends, 22-23; + 1700, 44; + 1750, 48; + 1800, 90; + 1860, 105; + 1900, 134; + 1960, 21-22 + + Portsmouth (Gosport), 74 + + Pory, John, 32 + + Powell, John, 189 + + Powhatan, 29 + + Presidential elections: + 1928, 140; + 1932, 141; + 1952, 145; + 1956, 145; + 1960, 145 + + Presser, Theodore, 189 + + Printing and publishing industry, 155 + + Private Academies and Seminaries, 195 + + Prohibition Law (State), 137 + + Public Utilities Employment, 158 + + + Raleigh, Sir Walter, 24-25 + + Raleigh Tavern, 55, 57 + + Randolph, Edmund, 68, 69, 82-83, 84, 87 + + Randolph, John, 100 + + Randolph, Peyton, 57, 59, 63, 64, 66 + + Ratcliffe, John, 26-27, 29 + + Ratification of U. S. Constitution, 85 + + Readmission to the Union, 129 + + Reed, Dr. Walter, 134 + + Religion, 35 + + Reorganization Act of 1927, 140 + + Repeal of Eighteenth Amendment, 142 + + Restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, 187 + + Revolutionary War, 74-82 + + Richmond: + Burr Trial, 93; + Confederate Capital, 110-111; + Fall of Richmond, 122; + "Flu" epidemic, 138; + Old Hall of House of Delegates Disaster, 131; + Richmond Theater Tragedy, 95-96; + Slave Insurrection, 91-92; + State Capital, 75; + State Conventions-- + Second Virginia Convention, 63; + Third Convention, 66; + Fourth Convention, 66-67; + 1788, 84-85; + 1829, 99-100; + 1861, 109-110; + 1867, 128; + 1901 Constitutional Convention, 134-135 + + Rivers, 16-17 + + Roads, 140, 161 + + Rolfe, John, 28, 30-31 + + Royal (Crown) Colony Status, 34 + + Ruffner, William H., 130, 197 + + Rumsey, James, 86 + + + Sailors' Creek, 123 + + Salt Works at Saltville, 122 + + Sand and gravel, 20-21 + + Sandys, Sir Edwin, 31-32, 35 + + Schofield, John M., 128 + + Scott, Winfield, 103 + + Sculptors, 178 + + Secession, 109-110 + + Separation of Powers Theory, 210-211 + + Seven Days' Battle, 116 + + Seven Pines, Battle of, 115 + + Sevier, John, 75 + + Shelby, Isaac, 75 + + Shenandoah National Park, 16, 142 + + Sheridan, Philip, 120-121 + + Shires, 35 + + Simcoe, John G., 77-78 + + Smith, John, 27-28, 29 + + Smith, William, 127 + + Soil, 18 + + South Atlantic Coastal Plain, 11-12 + + Spanish-American War, 134 + + Spotswood, Alexander, 44-46 + + Stamp Act and Stamp Act Congress, 53-54, 55 + + Stanley, Thomas B., 146 + + State bird, 244 + + State Constitutions: + 1776, 69, 70, 201; + 1830, 99-100, 201-202; + 1850, 104, 202; + 1869, 202, 203; + 1902, 135, 203 + + State flag, 244 + + State flower, 244 + + State parks, 16 + + State seals and motto, 69, 243 + + State song, 244 + + Staunton, 79, 96, 137 + + Stone resources, 19-20, 155 + + Stuart, James Ewell Brown ("J.E.B."): + Battle of Brandy Station, 117-118; + Battle of Yellow Tavern, 120; + Death of Stuart, 120; + First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), 113; + Harper's Ferry Mission, 105; + Reconnaissance Journey, 115 + + Suffrage, 35, 99, 104, 128, 132, 133, 135, 208 + + Syms, Benjamin, 35 + + + Tarleton, Banastre, 78-79 + + Taxation and Finance, 241 + + Taylor, David Watson, 138 + + Taylor, Zachary: + Mexican War, 103; + Presidential Administration, 103 + + Tea Act, 56 + + Textile products, 152 + + Thorpe, George, 34 + + Tidewater area, 11-13 + + Tobacco, 30-31, 34, 37, 39, 42, 52, 154, 156-157 + + Tompkins, Sally, 125 + + Topography, 11-14 + + Towns, 237 + + Townshend Acts, 55 + + Transportation and Transportation Equipment, 154, 161 + + Treasurer, 224 + + "Treasury Right" System, 44 + + Treaty of Jamestown, 37 + + Tredegar Iron Works, 124, 138, 143 + + Trevillians Station, Battle of, 120 + + Trial Justice, 232-233 + + Truck farming products, 157 + + Tyler, John, 102-103 + + Tyres, Molly, 119 + + + Underwood Constitution, 128-129 + + University of Virginia, 98-99 + + + Valentine House, 181 + + Valley Campaign, 114-115 (Front Royal, Kernstown, McDowell, Port + Republic, Winchester) + + Vanbraam, Jacob, 49 + + Vestries, 36 + + "Virginia," Origin of name, 24 + + Virginia Charter, 25 + + Virginia Company, 30, 34 + + "Virginia Gazette," 46 + + Virginia Military Institute, 101-102, 121 + + Virginia-North Carolina border, 46 + + Virginia-Pennsylvania boundary dispute, 85-86 + + Virginia Plan of representation, 83 + + Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 131 + + Virginia Resolutions, 90 + + Virginia War Memorial ("Shrine of Memory"), 143-144 + + Von Steuben, Baron, 78 + + + Walker, Gilbert, 129 + + Walker, William, 79 + + War between the States, 111-124 + + War, Lord Dunmore's, 58-59 + + War of 1812, 94 + + Washington, George: + Annapolis Convention, 82; + at Fort Le Boeuf, 49-50; + at Yorktown, 80-81; + Commander-in-Chief of the American Continental Army, 65; + Death, 90; + First Inauguration, 87; + French and Indian War, 50-52; + Lieutenant Colonel of the Virginia Regiment, 50; + Notification of the Presidency, 86; + President of the Philadelphia Convention, 82; + Presidential Administration, 87-89; + Second Continental Congress, 69; + Signer of the United States Constitution; Williamsburg + Constitution of 1774, 57 + + Washington and Lee University, 47, 126 + + Washington "Peace Conference," 108 + + Waterpower, 18 + + Wayne, Anthony, 77 + + West, Thomas (Lord de la Warr), 29-30 + + Westendorf, Thomas P., 189 + + West Virginia ("Kanawha"): + Debt owed to Virginia, 131, 136-137; + Separation from Virginia, 118-119; + West Virginia-Virginia boundary line, 131 + + Wheat, 157 + + Wheeling Conventions, 118 + + White House of the Confederacy, 181 + + Wholesale and Retail Trade Employment, 158 + + Wilderness, Battle of, 119 + + William and Mary College, 43, 139, 196 + + Williamsburg: + Colonial Capital, 46; + Colonial Capitol, 44-46; + Conventions-- + First, 57-58; + Fourth, 66-67; + Fifth, 68-70; + Constitutional, 201; + 1774, 57-58; + Governor Dunmore and the Powder Magazine Episode, 64; + Governor's Palace, 45; + Origin of Name, 44; + Raleigh Tavern, 55, 57; + Restoration, 139-140; + Theater, 46; + Washington's visit, 50 + + Williamsburg Playhouse, 190-191 + + Wilson, T. Woodrow, 137 + + Winchester: + Battle of (first), 115; + Battle of (second), 118; + Frontier campaign, 51 + + Wingfield, Edward Maria, 26-27 + + Woodford, William, 67 + + Women: + Arrival, 33; + Education, 139, 196-197; + heroic role during War between the States, 125 + + World War I, 137-138 + + World War II, 142-144 + + Wren, Sir Christopher, 43 + + Wren Building, 43, 183 + + Wythe, George, 64, 69, 71, 74-75, 82, 84 + + + Yeardley, Sir George, 32 + + Yellow Tavern, 120 + + Yorktown: + Battle of, 114; + Cornwallis at Yorktown, 79-81; + "Tea Party," 60-61 + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's note: + +Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. +Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as +printed. + +Mismatched quotes are not altered if it's not sufficiently clear +where the missing quote should be placed. + +The cover for the eBook version of this book was created by the +transcriber and is placed in the public domain. + +Research has indicated the copyright on this book was not renewed. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia, by +Dorothy M. Torpey + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43884 *** |