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Title: Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia
Author: Torpey, Dorothy M.
Language: English
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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 this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia" ***
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