Virginia

Virginia entered the Union on June 25, 1788, as the tenth state. Located on the eastern seaboard of the United States, Virginia borders North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland , and the Atlantic Ocean.

Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the state, established in May 1607. Life was a struggle for the colonists as they faced starvation and war with local Native Americans. Captain John Smith (1580–1631) negotiated peace between the two populations. Even so, colonists were massacred by the tribes in 1622 and again in 1644. Still, the colony's population continued to expand throughout the rest of the century.

Virginia's leadership was strong and distinguished. During the nation's first twenty-eight years, Virginians occupied the presidency for all but four.

Virginia played an important role in the Civil War (1861–65). Its capital, Richmond, became the capital of the Confederacy, and the state became the primary battlefield of the war. Confederate victories played out at the Battles of Bull Run , Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. By the end of the war, Richmond was in a ruinous state, and Virginia's agriculture and industry were destroyed. Despite the Emancipation Proclamation , Virginia remained in favor of segregation and racial discrimination. In 1902 the state enacted a literacy test that few African Americans could pass, and a poll tax few could afford to pay. These two requirements reduced the black vote to nearly nothing.

The mid-1920s were years of reform. The 1927 Anti-Lynch Act made it a crime to be present at a lynching . Following the difficult years of the Great Depression (1929–41), Virginia's economy prospered from increased manufacturing and a developing tourist industry. In addition, the state contributed to the war effort in World War II (1939–45) as more than 300,000 residents served in the armed forces.

After surviving economic recession in the 1980s, Virginia went into the twenty-first century with a strong economy, due in large part to its diversification. Rather than relying heavily on one economic sector, Virginia based its economy on agriculture, manufacturing, and federal government.

Virginia's total population in 2006 was more than 7.6 million. Whites comprised 71.7 percent of the population, African Americans 19.1 percent, and Hispanics and Latinos 6 percent. Virginia Beach was the largest city.

Because the state is home to extensive military installations and a significant number of its residents work for the federal government, that level of government is more active in Virginia's economy than it is in most other states. High-technology industry is another major employer.

Virginia's manufacturing revenue in the early twenty-first century depended upon tobacco production, paper and printing, and the chemical industry. Food products and textiles also played an important part in the economy.

The travel and tourism industry supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in Virginia. The state is rich with historic sites such as Colonial Williamsburg, American Revolution and Civil War battlegrounds, the famous Appalachian Trail, and homes of famous Virginians.