Virginia
Virginia is one of the Mid-Atlantic states. The landscape is dominated by the Blue Ridge Mountains in the southwest, the Piedmont plateau in the center, and the Atlantic coastal plain in the east. Native American peoples who inhabited the region prior to European contact included the Algonquian, Nottoway, Meherrin, Tutelo and Powhatan. When Sir Walter Raleigh explored the coastal area on behalf of Queen Elizabeth I in 1584, it was named "Virginia". Although it is not clear, this may have been a reference to the "Virgin Queen" or the supposedly untouched land.
In 1607, the sailing ships "Susan Constant", "Discovery" and "Godspeed" reached the Chesapeake Bay, and Virginia became the first English colony on the continent, earning it the nickname "Old Dominion". As one of the Thirteen Colonies, Virginia was the scene of many battles in the Revolutionary War and became the tenth state to join the Union in 1788. The Latin state motto "Sic semper tyrannis" means "So always the tyrant". Just like Kentucky, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, Virginia is officially designated as a "Commonwealth", although this makes no political difference to the other states. In 1790, Washington D.C. was created from parts of Virginia and Maryland. However, the portion of Virginia was retroceded in 1846. Another significant territorial change was the separation of Kentucky in 1792.
Many major battles also took place in Virginia during the Civil War. After the state joined the Confederacy and Richmond became its capital in 1861, northwest Virginia, which supported the Union, seceded in 1863 to form the state of West Virginia. The statehood of Virginia was retored in 1870.
Virginia Beach has close cultural ties to the ocean and holds the annual Neptune Festival. In 2005, a 34-foot (10 m) bronze statue of the Roman god of the sea was erected on the popular boardwalk.
Facts
- Capital city: Richmond
- Largest city: Virginia Beach
- Area: 42,774 square miles (110,786 km²)
- Population: 8.7 million
- Date of statehood: 25th June 1788
- Rank of the admission: 10th
Virginia Folding Card
Virginia-born Booker Taliaferro Washington was a prominent leader in the civil rights movement. He was from the last generation of African Americans born into slavery and became nationally known for his 1895 "Atlanta Compromise" speech, in which he emphasized the importance of education for blacks. This note of the 50 U.S. States Program features a portrait of Washington, an eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly (state insect of Virginia), the King Neptune statue in Virginia Beach, the Richmond skyline, the three sailing ships of the first English settlers in America, the Latin state motto "Sic semper tyrannis" (Thus always to tyrants), and the year of admission to the Union.
100 Souvenir Dollars
Obverse: Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) educator and civil rights activist, eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly, King Neptune statue, skyline of Richmond, sailing ships, geographic depiction of Virginia with abbreviation VA
Reverse: United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., seals of the commemorative series
| Dimensions: 7.07 x 3.00 inches (179.50 x 76.20 mm) Material: Paper |
