Virginia's History

Officially designated the Commonwealth of Virginia in honor of Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen," Virginia is the southernmost of the Middle Atlantic states. Familiarly referred to as "Old Dominion," it is one of the 13 original states and was the 10th to ratify the Constitution in1788. In 1606, King James I of England granted to two commercial companies the right to colonize Virginia. In May 1607, voyager ships landed on a swampy peninsula and erected Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America. In 1700, Virginia’s capital was moved from Jamestown to Williamsburg. During the 18th century, the tobacco industry flourished, and Virginia became the largest English colony, with a population of about 58,000.

In 1774, Virginia, together with Massachusetts, led the movement against the unpopular actions of the British government that culminated in the American Revolution. Virginia also played a leading role in creating the Constitution of the United States, initiating the conferences that led to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Virginia delegate James Madison contributed so much of the substance of the document that he is known as the Father of the Constitution. Four of the new nation’s first five presidents were Virginians: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Following the Civil War, Virginia's weakened agricultural economy persisted into the beginning of the 20th century.

During World War I, the state became the site of many training camps and armaments factories, accelerating economic growth. The federal government has played a major role in Virginia’s economic development since the 1930s. Rapid expansion of government agencies in Washington, D.C., brought many new residents to suburban communities in the state’s northeastern counties. Also, World War II and the subsequent Cold War against international Communism resulted in billions of dollars in federal spending for ship construction and military bases near urban areas at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. By 1990 Virginians’ per-capita income exceeded the national average and was the highest of any Southern state. More and more Virginians, along with many newcomers to the state, moved into metropolitan areas such as the Washington, D.C. corridor.

Washington, The District of Columbia

A federal territory established in 1790 as the site of the new nation’s permanent capital, the city has served since 1800 as the seat of federal government. It was created from land ceded by the states of Virginia and Maryland, and it incorporated the existing seaport towns of Alexandria, Virginia, and Georgetown, Maryland. The district was originally 100 square miles, as established under the Residence Act of 1790. The central town site was laid out by French architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant in 1791. The city is located at the meeting of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers and is flanked on the north, east, and southeast by Maryland and on the southwest by Virginia. It forms a consolidated metropolitan area of some 6.7 million people. Washington is the legislative, administrative, and judicial center of the United States but has little industry; its business is government, and hundreds of thousands are so employed in the metropolitan area. The city is also a major tourist attraction and a cultural center.