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Virginia General Assembly

Virginia General Assembly

The Virginia General Assembly is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state. Its existence dates from the establishment of the House of Burgesses at Jamestown in 1619. It became the General Assembly in 1776 with the ratification of the Virginia Constitution. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and an upper house, the Virginia Senate, with 40 members. The House of Delegates is presided over by a Speaker of the House, while the Senate of Virginia is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. The House and Senate each elect a clerk and sergeant-at-arms. Unlike the United States Senate, the Senate of Virginia's clerk is known as the "Clerk of the Senate", instead of the title "Secretary of the Senate" used in the U.S. Senate. The General Assembly meets at the state capital of Richmond, Virginia. When sitting in Richmond, the General Assembly holds sessions in the Virginia State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson in 1788 and expanded in 1904. The building was renovated in 2005-2006. Senators and Delegates have their offices in the General Assembly Building across the street directly north of the Capitol. The Governor of Virginia lives across the street directly east of the Capitol in the Virginia Governor's Mansion. The Virginia General Assembly is the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere. It previously met in Jamestown, Virginia from 1619 until 1699, when it moved to Williamsburg, Virginia and met in the colonial Capitol. The state government was moved to Richmond in 1780 during the administration of Governor Thomas Jefferson, and the General Assembly has met there ever since.

External links


- [http://legis.state.va.us/ Virginia General Assembly] Category:Government of Virginia Category:U.S. State legislatures Category:Virginia General Assembly

State legislature

State legislatures are the lawmaking bodies of the 50 states in the United States of America. They are the legislative branch at the state level of government, and (generally) perform many of the same duties on the state level that the U.S. Congress performs on the federal level. As a rule, state legislative branches are checked in power by a state executive officer (a governor) and a state judiciary, though the degree to which this is so varies from one state to the next. A state legislature will usually go into session shortly after the first of the year and remain in session — for several months in states where the legislature is part-time and year around in states where the legislature is full-time — considering matters referred to it by the governor of the state or introduced by members. Business and other special interest organizations often lobby the legislature to obtain or favorably influence legislation. State legislatures approve or rewrite the state's budget recommended by the Governor. Every state except Nebraska has a bicameral legislature, meaning that the legislature consists of two separate legislative bodies (or "houses"); Nebraska has a one-house, or unicameral legislature. Prior to United States Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s, many state legislatures were organized so that each body represented citizens according to a different principle; for example, by small single-member districts in the lower chamber and at large by county in the upper. Since the "one man, one vote" principle was definitively applied to state legislatures (but not to the U.S. Senate upon which these upper bodies were based), those states have been forced to adopt other systems for electing members to the upper body, most commonly by adding periodic reapportionment to the existing scheme in that body. For example, in Vermont, state senators were formerly elected at large, two to a county – regardless of that county's size. Now, they are elected at large, from senatorial districts of comparable population. It is often possible in such systems to elect different majority parties in the two chambers. State legislatures appointed the U.S. Senators from their respective states until the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1917 brought about the direct election of Senators by the voters. Under the terms of Article V of the United States Constitution, state lawmakers retain the power to ratify amendments to the U.S. Constitution which have been proposed by Congress and they also retain the ability to "apply" for a national convention to propose amending the America's highest legal document. There are about 7,500 state legislators in the United States. The legislatures employ many staff aides to help prepare and analyze legislation, to review and amend submitted budgets, and to help solve constituent problems with state government. State legislatures have generally grown in importance over time, especially in the states without term limits. Longtime Pennsylvania state legislator Mark B. Cohen has said: "The biggest change during my tenure in the legislature has been the rise of the individual legislator. Time and again, individual legislators have shown that they have answers for pressing problems that command the support to be enacted into law." Many members of state legislatures meet every year at the annual meeting, and other meetings, of the National Conference of State Legislatures, which is headquartered in Denver, Colorado and has a lobbying office in Washington, D.C. The American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative organization focusing on state legislatures, also has an annual meeting attracting many legislators. The legislature is frequently called "The Legislature", and is comprized of a House and Senate, as in the Congress of the United States, however in some states, particularly older ones, the state legislature has other names, such as General Assembly (Either the whole legislature or just the lower house), or General Court (The whole legislature of New Hampshire and Massachusetts).

See also


- List of state legislatures in the United States
- Legislative Assemblies of Canada's provinces and territories
- Parliaments of the Australian states and territories

External link


- [http://www.ncsl.org/ National Conference of State Legislatures]

Commonwealth of Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is one of the original thirteen states of the United States that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, and is part of the South. It is one of four states that use the name commonwealth. Virginia was the first part of the Americas to be colonized permanently by England. Virginia's U.S. postal abbreviation is VA, and its Associated Press abbreviation is Va. Kentucky and West Virginia were part of Virginia at the time of the founding of the United States; but the former was admitted to the Union as a separate state in 1792, while the latter broke away from Virginia during the American Civil War. Virginia is known as the "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents, more than any other state. Five of them were re-elected to a second term: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and Woodrow Wilson. William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Zachary Taylor round out the list of American Presidents from the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Harrison and Taylor died while in office.)

History

Native Americans

At the time of the English colonization of Virginia, among Native American people living in what now is Virginia were the Cherokee, Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Meherrin, Monacan, Nansemond, Nottaway, Pamunkey, Pohick, Powhatan, Rappahannock, Saponi, and Tuscarora. The natives are often divided into three groups. The largest group are known as the Algonquian who numbered over 10,000. The other groups are the Iroquoian (numbering 2,500) and the Siouan. [http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webunits/vahistory/tribes.html]

Virginia Colony: 1607–1776

At the end of the 16th century, when Great Britain began to colonize North America, Virginia was the name that Queen Elizabeth I of England (who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married) gave to the whole area explored by the 1584 expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh along the coast of North America, eventually applying to the whole coast from South Carolina to Maine. The London Virginia Company became incorporated as a joint stock company by a proprietary charter drawn up on April 10, 1606. It swiftly financed the first permanent English settlement in the New World, which was at Jamestown, named in honor of King James I, in the Virginia Colony, in 1607, which settlement was founded by Captian Christopher Newport and Captain John Smith. Its Second Charter was officially ratified on May 23, 1609. Jamestown was the original capital of the Virginia Colony, and remained so until the State House burned (not the first time) in 1698. After the fire, the colonial capital was moved to nearby Middle Plantation, which was renamed Williamsburg in honor of William of Orange, King William III. Virginia was given its nickname, "The Old Dominion", by King Charles II of England at the time of the Restoration, because it had remained loyal to the crown during the English Civil War.

A new state

In 1780, during the American Revolutionary War, the capital was moved to Richmond at the urging of then-Governor Thomas Jefferson, who was afraid that Williamsburg's location made it vulnerable to a British attack. In the autumn of 1781, American troops trapped the British on the Yorktown peninsula in the famous Battle of Yorktown. This prompted a British surrender on October 19, 1781, formally ending the war and securing the former colonies' independence, even though sporadic fighting continued for two years. Patrick Henry served as the first Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779, and again from 1784 to 1786. On June 12, 1776, the Virginia Convention adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a document that influenced the Bill of Rights added later to the United States Constitution. On June 29, 1776, the convention adopted a constitution that established Virginia as a commonwealth independent of the British Empire. In 1790 both Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to form the new District of Columbia, but in an Act of the U.S. Congress dated July 9, 1846, the area south of the Potomac that had been ceded by Virginia was retroceded to Virginia effective 1847, and is now Arlington County and part of the City of Alexandria.

American Civil War

Virginia is one of the states that seceded from the Union to become the Confederacy during the Civil War. When it did, some counties were separated as Kanawha (later renamed West Virginia), an act which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1870. More battles were fought on Virginia soil than anywhere else in America during the Civil War. Virginia formally rejoined the Union on January 26, 1870, after a period of post-war military rule.

20th century

When Douglas Wilder was elected Governor of Virginia on January 13, 1990, he became the first African-American to serve as Governor of a U.S. state since Reconstruction.

Law and government

The capital is Richmond: the current Governor is Mark Warner, a Democrat. Tim Kaine, also a Democrat, is the governor-elect. Previous capitals included Jamestown (1609–1699) and Williamsburg (1699–1780). The Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond was designed by Thomas Jefferson and the cornerstone was laid by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785. In colonial Virginia, the lower house of the legislature was called the House of Burgesses. Together with the Governor's Council, the House of Burgesses made up the General Assembly. The Governor's Council was composed of 12 men appointed by the British Monarch to advise the Governor. The Council also served as the General Court of the colony, a colonial equivalent of a Supreme Court. Members of the House of Burgesses were chosen by all those who could vote in the colony. Each county chose two people or burgesses to represent it, while the College of William and Mary and the cities of Norfolk, Williamsburg, and Jamestown each chose one burgess. The Burgesses met to make laws for the colony and set the direction for its future growth; the Council would then review the laws and either approve or disapprove them. The approval of the Burgesses, the Council, and the Governor was needed to pass a law. The idea of electing burgesses was important and new. It gave Virginians a chance to control their own government for the first time. At first the burgesses were elected by all free men in the colony. Women, indentured servants, and Native Americans could not vote. Later the rules for voting changed, making it necessary for men to own at least fifty acres (200,000 m²) of land in order to vote. Founded in 1619, the Virginia General Assembly is still in existence as the oldest legislature in the Western Hemisphere. Today, the General Assembly is made up of the Senate and the House of Delegates. Like many other states, by the 1850s Virginia featured a state legislature, several executive officers, and an independent judiciary. By the time of the Constitution of 1901, which lasted longer than any other state constitution, the General Assembly continued as the legislature, the Supreme Court of Appeals acted as the judiciary, and the eight elected executive officers were the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration. The Constitution of 1901 was amended many times, notably in the 1930s and 1950s, before it was abandoned in favour of more modern government, with fewer elected officials, reformed local governments and a more streamlined judiciary. Virginia currently functions under the 1970 Constitution of Virginia. It is the state's ninth constitution. Under the Constitution, the State Government is composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch or state legislature is the Virginia General Assembly, a bicameral body whose 140 members make all state laws. Members of the Virginia House of Delegates serve two-year terms, while members of the Virginia Senate serve four-year terms. The General Assembly also selects the state's Auditor of Public Accounts. The statutory law enacted by the General Assembly is codified in the Code of Virginia. The executive branch comprises the Governor of Virginia, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and the Attorney General of Virginia. All three officers are separately elected to four-year terms in years following Presidential elections (1997, 2001, 2005, etc) and take office in January of the following year. The Governor serves as chief executive officer of the Commonwealth and as Commander-in-Chief of the State Militia. State law forbids any Governor from serving consecutive terms. The Lieutenant Governor serves as President of the Senate of Virginia and is first in the line of succession to the Governor. The Attorney General is chief legal advisor to the Governor and the General Assembly, chief lawyer of the state and the head of the Department of Law. The Attorney General is second in the line of succession to the Governor. Whenever there is a vacancy in all three executive offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, then the Speaker of the House of the Virginia House of Delegates becomes Governor. The Office of the Governor's Secretaries helps manage the Governor's Cabinet, comprised of the following individuals, all appointed by the Governor:
- Governor's Chief of Staff
- Secretary of Administration
- Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
- Secretary of Commerce and Trade
- Secretary of the Commonwealth
- Secretary of Education
- Secretary of Finance
- Secretary of Health and Human Resources
- Secretary of Natural Resources
- Secretary of Public Safety
- Secretary of Technology
- Secretary of Transportation
- Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Virginia Court of Appeals, the General District Courts and the Circuit Courts. The Virginia Supreme Court, composed of the chief justice and six other judges is the highest court in the Commonwealth (although, as with all the states, the U.S. Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over decisions by the Virginia Supreme Court involving substantial questions of U.S. Constitution law or constitutional rights). The Chief Justice and the Virginia Supreme Court also serve as the administrative body for the entire Virginia court system. The 95 counties and the 39 independent cities all have their own governments, usually a county board of supervisors or city council which choose a city manager or county administrator to serve as a professional, non-political chief administrator under the council-manager form of government. There are exceptions, notably Richmond, Virginia, which has a popularly-elected Mayor who serves as chief executive separate from the city council.

Political control

After William Mahone and the Readjuster Party lost control of Virginia politics around 1883, the Democratic Party held a strong majority position of state and federal offices for over 85 years. In 1970, Republican A. Linwood Holton Jr. became the first Republican governor in the 20th century. In the years thereafter, Republicans made substantial gains, and for a time, controlled both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, as well as the Governorship from 1994 until 2002.
- Republicans hold both seats in the U.S. Senate, 8 of 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, hold a majority in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate, and a Republican is Virginia's Lieutenant Governor-Elect. A republican is also temporarily serving as attorney general having been appointed to fill the seat left by Jerry Kilgore. However, the recent election for attorney general to fill the open seat has not been decided and a recount will occur to determine the election.
- Democrats control the remaining 3 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Governor and Governor-Elect are both Democrats. The Democrats have steadily been gaining seats in the Virginia House of Delegates and may soon take control, however the State Senate will likely remain under Republican Leadership. Incumbent Virginia governors cannot run for re-election under the state constitution and In the November 2005 election, the race to succeed Democratic Governor Mark Warner, Democrat Timothy M. Kaine beat Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (Scott County), and State Senator Russ Potts (Winchester) (longtime Republican) running as an independent. Kaine will become governor of the state at his inauguration on January 14, 2006.

Geography

2006 2006 Virginia is bordered by West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia (across the Potomac River) to the north, by Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, by North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, and by Kentucky and West Virginia to the west. The Chesapeake Bay divides the state, with the eastern portion (called 'the Eastern Shore of Virginia'), a part of the Delmarva Peninsula, completely separate (an exclave) from the rest of the state. Geographically, Virginia is divided into the following 5 regions:
- Tidewater - Stretching from the Atlantic coast to the fall line
- Piedmont - East of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Tidewater Region
- Blue Ridge Mountains - East of the Appalachian Mountains to the Blue Ridge Mountain Region
- Valley and Ridge - Appalachian Mountains and Shenandoah Valley Region
- Appalachian Plateau - West of the Appalachian Mountains Virginia's long east-west axis means that metropolitan northern Virginia lies much closer to New York and New England than to the rural western panhandle of its own state. Conversely, Lee County, at the tip of the panhandle, is closer to 8 state capitals than it is to Richmond.

Demographics

As of 2004, Virginia's population was estimated to be 7,459,827. The state had a foreign-born population of 679,500 (9.1% of the state population), of which an estimated 100,000 were illegal aliens (15% of the foreign-born). The state's population increased by 1.3 million between 1990 and 2004, a growth of 21% Race and Ancestry
The racial makeup of the state:
- 70.2% White non-Hispanic
- 19.6% Black
- 4.7% Hispanic
- 3.7% Asian
- 0.3% Native American
- 2% Mixed race The five largest reported ancestry groups in Virginia are: African American (19.6%), German (11.7%), American (11.2%), English (11.1%), Irish (9.8%). Historically, as the largest and wealthiest colony and state and the birthplace of Southern and American culture, a large proportion (about half) of Virginia's population was made up of black slaves who worked the state's tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantations. The twentieth century Great Migration of blacks from the rural South to the urban North reduced Virginia's black population to about 20 percent. Today Blacks are concentrated in the eastern and southern tidewater and piedmont regions where plantation agriculture was most dominant. The western mountains are populated primarily by people of British and American ancestry. People of German descent are present in sizable numbers in the northwestern mountains and Shenandoah Valley. And due to recent immigration, there is a rapidly growing population of Hispanics (particularly Central Americans) and Asians in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. 6.5% of Virginia's population were reported as under 5, 24.6% under 18, and 11.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Virginia are:
- Christian – 84%
  - Protestant – 69%
    - Baptist – 32%
    - Methodist – 8%
    - Episcopal – 3%
    - Presbyterian – 3%
    - Other Protestant or general Protestant – 23%
  - Roman Catholic – 14%
  - Other Christian – 1%
- Other Religions – 2%
- Non-Religious – 12%

Economy

Virginia's economy has long been regarded as one of the better-balanced in the United States with diverse sources of income, including military installations concentrated in the Hampton Roads area, tobacco and peanut farming all through Southside Virginia, manufacturing and transportation, and the location of Northern Virginia as a bedroom community for the federal government and its vendors. Virginia, arguably the wealthiest southern state before the Civil War, recovered from the civil war and the Great Depression much faster than the rest of the south. Today it is still significantly wealthier than the rest of the south, although much of that is from the northern influence around Washington D.C.

Transportation

Northern Virginia Virginia is served by a network of Interstate Highways, arterial highways, several limited access tollways, bridges, tunnels, and three bridge-tunnel complexes. The [http://www.springfieldinterchange.com/ Springfield Interchange Project] (also known as "The Mixing Bowl") and the replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, two of the country's largest highway improvement projects, are taking place in the state ten miles apart. Major airports are located in these areas: Northern Virginia (Reagan-National and Dulles), Richmond-Petersburg (Richmond), Virginia Peninsula (Newport News), South Hampton Roads (Norfolk), and the Roanoke Valley (Roanoke). Virginia has extensive waterways. In addition to the lower portion of the Chesapeake Bay, navigable rivers include the Elizabeth River at Hampton Roads, the James River, the York River, the Rappahannock River, and the Potomac River. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway passes through eastern Virginia. Virginia has Amtrak passenger rail service along several corridors and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) maintains two commuter lines into Washington, D.C. The Washington Metro serves Northern Virginia as far west as Fairfax County.

Sports

Virginia is by far the most populous U.S. state without a major professional sports league franchise. The reasons for this include the close proximity of Washington, D.C. which has franchises in all four major sports, and the lack of any dominant city or market within the state. An attempt to bring a National Hockey League expansion franchise to Hampton Roads in the 1990s was rejected by the NHL. A proposal to relocate the Montreal Expos to Northern Virginia was considered by Major League Baseball, but MLB eventually settled on the national capital as the Expos' new home. Virginia is home to many minor league clubs, especially in baseball and soccer.

Baseball


- Bluefield Orioles (Appalachian League)
- Bristol White Sox (Appalachian League)
- Danville Braves (Appalachian League)
- Lynchburg Hillcats (Carolina League)
- Norfolk Tides (International League)
- Potomac Nationals (Carolina League)
- Pulaski Blue Jays (Appalachian League)
- Richmond Braves (International League)
- Salem Avalanche (Carolina League)
- [http://www.winchesterroyals.com Winchester Royals] ([http://www.valleyleaguebaseball.com Valley League])

Basketball


- Roanoke Dazzle (NBDL)

Ice hockey


- Norfolk Admirals (AHL)
- Richmond RiverDogs (UHL)
- Roanoke Valley Vipers (UHL)

Indoor football


- Richmond Bandits (AIFL)

Soccer


- Chesapeke Athletic (Super Y-League)
- Hampton Roads Piranhas (W-League)
- Northern Virginia Majestics (W-League)
- Northern Virginia Royals (USL Second Division)
- Richmond Kickers (USL First Division)
- Richmond Kickers Destiny (W-League)
- Richmond Kickers Future (Premier Development League)
- Virginia Beach Mariners (USL First Division)
- Virginia Beach Submariners (Premier Development League)
- Williamsburg Legacy (Premier Development League)

Important cities and towns

Under the laws in effect in Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as cities are independent of any county. Of the 43 independent cities in the United States, 39 are in Virginia. The complete list of Virginia independent cities follows: Some other municipalities are incorporated towns, which are not independent of a county, but rather, located within one of the 95 counties in Virginia. These incorporated towns include: Finally, Arlington County, which lies across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is a completely urbanized community, much like a city, but remains organized as a county, and has no towns within its borders. There are also hundreds of other unincorporated communities (sometimes informally called villages or towns) in Virginia.

Colleges and universities

Miscellaneous information


- State motto: "Sic semper tyrannis." (Thus always to tyrants.)
- State bird: Cardinal
- State dog: American Foxhound
- State flower: Dogwood
- State tree: Dogwood
- State insect: Tiger swallowtail
- State bat: Virginia Big-Eared Bat
- State song: none; the former state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," was retired in 1997 because some found its lyrics to be racially offensive
- State dance: Square dance
- State boat: Chesapeake Bay deadrise
- State fish: Brook trout
- State shell: Oyster
- State fossil: Chesapecten Jeffersonius
- State beverage: Milk USS Virginia was named in honor of this state.

See also


- List of school divisions in Virginia
- Lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia

Other places

There are also places named Virginia in the States of Illinois and Minnesota: see
- Virginia, Illinois.
- Virginia, Minnesota.

External links


- [http://www.virginia.gov State Government website]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/raleigh.htm Charter to Sir Walter Raleigh : 1584]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va01.htm The First Charter of Virginia; April 10, 1606]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va02.htm The Second Charter of Virginia; May 23, 1609]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va03.htm The Third Charter of Virginia; March 12, 1611]
- [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51000.html U.S. Census Bureau]
- [http://www.vahistorical.org Virginia Historical Society]
- [http://www.historical-markers.org Virginia's Historical Markers]
- [http://www.virginiaplaces.org/ Geography of Virginia]
- [http://www.fathersforvirginia.org/ Fathers for Virginia]
- Category:States of the United States ko:버지니아 주 ja:バージニア州

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, together with the District of Columbia and Palmyra Atoll (an uninhabited incorporated unorganized territory), form the United States of America. The separate state governments and the U.S. federal government share sovereignty, in that an "American" is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of residence. The United States Constitution allocates power between the two levels of government in general terms; the general idea is that by ratifying the Constitution, each state has transferred certain aspects of its sovereign powers to the federal government while retaining the remainder for itself. The tasks of education, health, transportation, and other infrastructure are generally the responsibility of the states. Over time, the Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization, with the federal government playing a much larger role than it once did.

Legal relationship

At the time of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776, the 13 colonies became 13 independently sovereign states, which became fourteen in 1777 with the formation of the Vermont Republic; for a brief period, they were in effect legally separate nations. But upon the adoption of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the states became a single sovereign political entity as defined by international law, empowered to levy war and to conduct international relations, albeit with a very loosely structured and inefficient central government. After the failure of the union under the Articles of Confederation, the thirteen states joined the modern union via ratification of the United States Constitution, beginning in 1789. Under Article IV of the Constitution, which outlines the relationship between the states, the Congress has the power to admit new states to the union. The states are required to give "full faith and credit" to the acts of each other's legislatures and courts, which is generally held to include the recognition of legal contracts, marriages, criminal judgments, and - at the time - slave status. The states are guaranteed military and civil defense by the federal government, which is also required to ensure that the government of each state remains a republic. The Constitution is silent on the issue of the secession of a state from the union. The Articles of Confederation had stated that the earlier union of the colonies "shall be perpetual", and the preamble to the Constitution states that Constitution was intended to "form a more perfect union". In 1860 and 1861, several states attempted to secede, but were brought back into the Union by force of arms during the Civil War. Subsequently, the federal judicial system, in the case of Texas v. White, established that states do not have the right to secede without the consent of the other states.
- Four of the states bear the formal title of Commonwealth: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. In these cases, this is merely a name and has no legal effect. However, the United States has non-state areas called commonwealths (Puerto Rico and the Northern Marianas) which do have a legal status different from the states.
- States are free to organize their judicial systems differently from the federal judiciary, as long as due process is protected. See state supreme court for more information. For example, most lawsuits in the state of New York are filed in the Supreme Court, and then appealed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. The highest court in New York is the Court of Appeals.
- The joint resolution which admitted the Republic of Texas to the Union as a state guaranteed Texas the right to divide itself up into up to 5 states. This clause may be redundant, however, as any such state would arguably require Congressional approval, just as when Maine was split off from Massachusetts; it may also be unconstitutional, as reducing the equal suffrage of the other states in the United States Senate.

List of states

The states, with their U.S. postal abbreviations, traditional abbreviations, capitals and largest cities, are as follows. For a complete list of non-state dependent areas and other territory under control of the U.S., see United States dependent areas. State names speak to the circumstances of their creation. (See the lists of U.S. state name etymologies and U.S. county name etymologies for more detail.)
- Southern states on the Atlantic coast originated as British colonies named after British monarchs: Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland. Some northeastern states, also former British colonies, take their names from places in the British Isles: New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York.
- Many states' names are those of Native American tribes or are from Native American languages: Kansas, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Connecticut, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, the Dakotas, Mississippi, Texas, Utah, and others.
- Because they are on territories previously controlled by Spain or Mexico, many states in the southeast and southwest have Spanish names. They include Colorado, New Mexico, Florida, and Nevada.
- Because it was previously a French colony, Louisiana is named after the Louis XIV (King of France at the time).
- The origins of the names of California, Oregon, Idaho, and Rhode Island are unknown, although various theories exist.


Trivia

Names


- "Georgia" can refer to either a U.S. state or to an independent country in the Caucasus.
- The name "New York" can refer to any one of three geographical levels: a state, a city in that state, or a county (coterminous with the borough of Manhattan) in that city.
- "Washington" is a state, a city corresponding to the District of Columbia (and thus not part of any state), and a number of cities and counties in various states. See the list of places named for George Washington.
- The state of Washington is the only state named after a U.S. President (or after a person born within the area now comprising the U.S., for that matter).
- The official name of Rhode Island is "the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations."
- Only two states have state capitals named for the state (however, such name-sharing occurs commonly with states and provinces in some other countries, where the state or province actually often takes its name from a capital city): Oklahoma, with capital Oklahoma City, and Indiana, with capital Indianapolis (which means Indiana City). Iowa City, Iowa was the first state capital of Iowa but the capital was later moved to Des Moines, Iowa.
- Maine is the only state with a one-syllable name.

Geography


- Colorado and Wyoming are bounded by two circles of latitude and two meridians each, i.e. they appear to be rectangles in a cylindrical map projection.
- Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are the only states whose borders are made up of only straight lines (taking meridians and circles of latitude as straight lines) and, thus, the only states whose borders completely ignore natural features.
- Every state—except Hawaii, which has no land boundaries—has straight lines as at least part of its boundaries. These are usually combined with rivers (see river borders of U.S. states), ridge lines and other natural boundaries. Pennsylvania and Delaware are unique in that their common border is an arc of a circle, see The Twelve-Mile Circle.
- The lower peninsula of Michigan is shaped like a mitten; Louisiana is shaped like a boot.
- Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia have panhandles.
- Alabama, Missouri, New Mexico and Mississippi have bootheels.
- Alaska and Hawaii are the only states that are not physically connected to other states; Maine is the only state that borders only one other state. Missouri and Tennessee each border eight other states, the most for any state.
- Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah are the only four states to share a common border, known as the "Four Corners."
- Appearances given by the stereographic projection to the contrary, Minnesota is the northernmost of the forty-eight contiguous United States, as a northern spur of the state contains a portion of Lake of the Woods. At one time it was thought that Lake of the Woods contained the headwaters of the Mississippi River (now known to be at Lake Itasca).
- Alaska is the northernmost state and the westernmost state. Some would argue that it is also the easternmost state, as the Aleutian island chain crosses the 180º line of longitude.

Grouping of the states in regions

Alaska, The South and The Northeast. Note that Alaska and Hawaii are shown at different scales, and that the Aleutian Islands and the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are omitted from this map.]] States may be grouped in regions; there are endless variations and possible groupings, as most states are not defined by obvious geographic or cultural borders. For further discussion of regions of the U.S., see the list of regions of the United States.

State lists


- List of U.S. state capitals
- List of current and former capital cities within U.S. states
- List of U.S. states' largest cities
- List of U.S. states by date of statehood
- List of U.S. states that were never territories
- List of U.S. state name etymologies
- List of U.S. states by area
- List of U.S. states by elevation
- List of U.S. states by population
- List of U.S. states by population density
- List of U.S. states by time zone
- List of U.S. states by unemployment rate
- Traditional U.S. state abbreviations
- U.S. postal abbreviations
- U.S. state temperature extremes
- Codes: FIPS state code, ISO 3166-2:US
- Lists of U.S. state insignia
  - List of U.S. state amphibians
  - List of U.S. state beverages
  - List of U.S. state birds
  - List of U.S. state butterflies
  - List of U.S. state colors
  - List of U.S. state dances
  - List of U.S. state dinosaurs
  - List of U.S. state fish
  - List of U.S. state flags
  - List of U.S. state flowers
  - List of U.S. state foods
  - List of U.S. state fossils
  - List of U.S. state grasses
  - List of U.S. state insects
  - List of U.S. state instruments
  - List of U.S. state license plates
  - List of U.S. state mammals
  - List of U.S. state minerals, rocks, stones and gemstones
  - List of U.S. state mottos
  - List of U.S. state nicknames
  - List of U.S. state reptiles
  - List of U.S. state seals
  - List of U.S. state slogans
  - List of U.S. state soils
  - List of U.S. state songs
  - List of U.S. state sports
  - List of U.S. state tartans
  - List of U.S. state trees

See also


- Geography of the United States
- List of regions of the United States
- Political divisions of the United States
- United States territory
- United States territorial acquisitions
- List of U.S. counties that share names with U.S. states
- States' rights
- Statehood Quarter

References

External links


- [http://factfinder.census.gov/bf/_lang=en_vt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_GCTPH1R_US9S_geo_id=01000US.html Tables with areas, populations, densities and more (in order of population)]
- [http://factfinder.census.gov/bf/_lang=en_vt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_GCTPH1_US9_geo_id=01000US.html Tables with areas, populations, densities and more (alphabetical)]
- [http://www.usnewspapers.org US Newspapers by State]
- [http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0854966.html Origin of State Names] United States, States of the Category:Subdivisions of the United States
- U.S. State ja:アメリカ合衆国の地方行政区画 ko:미국의 주 simple:List of U.S. states th:มลรัฐของสหรัฐอเมริกา zh-min-nan:Bí-kok ê hêng-chèng-khu

Jamestown, Virginia

Jamestown was established in 1607, on the James River in Virginia, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) southeast of where Richmond, Virginia, is now located. Both the river and the new settlement were named for King James I, who had recently ascended to the English throne. The Virginia Colony's settlement at Jamestown was the first permanent British colony in the United States to survive, following the failure of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island to the south, in what is now North Carolina. North Carolina

Settlement

Jamestown was founded in 1607, financed by the London Company. After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean from England, the three ships, Susan Constant sometimes known as the Sarah Constant, Godspeed or Goodspeed, and Discovery with their crews of 104 men and boys, made landfall at Cape Henry on April 26, 1607. The party explored the area, named the cape, and set up a cross near the site of the current Cape Henry Memorial. Then they proceeded in their ships into the Chesapeake Bay to Hampton Roads and up the James River, where they arrived at the site of Jamestown on May 14, where they began the first permanent English settlement in what later became the United States (the colonists named the site "Jamestown", after King James; of course there was no city there when the colonists arrived, just empty swamp-land). The settlers consisted mainly of English farmers and Polish woodcutters, hired in Royal Prussia. Upon landing, secret orders from the Virginia Company were opened, which named John Smith as one of the "councelors". Smith had been arrested on the voyage-over by Admiral Christopher Newport, for mutiny and was scheduled to be hanged, but was freed upon the opening of the orders. Despite the fact that Jamestown Island is a swamp, the men of the Virginia Company chose to settle there, because they felt it was far enough inland to avoid contact and conflict with the Spanish fleet, while the river was deep enough to permit the colonists to anchor their ships, yet have an easy and quick departure if necessary. They had only been at Jamestown for less than a fortnight when they were attacked on May 26 by Paspahegh Native Americans, who succeeded in killing one of the settlers and wounding eleven more. By June 15, the settlers finished the initial triangle fort at Jamestown and a week later, Newport sailed back for London on the Susan Constant with a load of pyrite ("fools' gold") and dirt. Edward Maria Wingfield was named the first "president" of the colony, and would remain in that position until September, when he was found guilty of "libel" and was deposed. John Ratcliffe was elected to take his place. A year later, John Smith was elected to replace Ratcliffe. He would remain as President until wounded in 1609, when Ratcliffe became President again, although Ratcliffe was captured by Chief Powhatan, whose native name was Wahunsunacock, and tortured to death by women of the Powhatan tribe while on a trade mission, shortly after being elected. The winter of 1609-1610 became known as the starving time in Jamestown. The settlers who came over on the initial three ships were not well- equipped for the life they found in Jamestown, and many suffered from saltwater poisoning, which led to infection, fevers, and dysentery. Smith was wounded when his powder bag exploded, and he was sent back to England, where he wrote A True Relation about his experiences in Jamestown, and a second book, The Proceedings of the English Colony of Virginia. The publication of this book sparked a resurgence in interest in the colony and, with plans being made to abandon Jamestown in 1610, a new governor, Lord de la Warr, arrived and forced the remaining 90 settlers to stay. This was also the same year that the first European doctor arrived. While president of the colony, Smith led a food-gathering expedition up the Chickahominy River. His men were set upon by Native Americans, and when his men were killed, Smith strapped his Native American guide in front of him to use as a shield. Captured by Opchanacanough, Chief Powhatan's half-brother, Smith gave him a compass, which made the Native American decide to let Smith live. When Smith was brought before Chief Powhatan, however, the chief decided to execute him, a course of action which was (as stated by Smith) stopped by the pleas of Powhatan's young daughter, Pocahontas, who was originally named Matoaka, but whose nickname meant "Playful one." Although Pocahontas's life would be tied to the English after this first meeting, she is not tied to Smith; except in his report in his books. During the winter of 1608, after Jamestown was destroyed by flames, Pocahontas brought food and clothing to the colonists. She later negotiated with Smith for the release of Native Americans who had been captured by the colonists during a raid to gain English weaponry. Pocahontas converted to Christianity and took the name "Rebecca" in 1613, under the tutelage of Reverend Alexander Whitaker, who arrived in Jamestown in 1611 to found the first Presbyterian Church in Virginia. Pocahontas married a settler, John Rolfe on April 24, 1614. They married in hopes of trying to improve relations between the Powhatan's and the settlers. This uneasy peace was ruined when the Powhatan's attacked the settlers for taking the Indian lands. Within two years, they left for London, where Pocahontas died at Gravesend on March 17, 1617. (A year earlier, a smallpox epidemic had swept through New England.) Rolfe arrived in Jamestown in 1609 following the shipwreck of the Sea Venture, which may have inspired William Shakespeare's "The Tempest", through a log of the events kept by Captain Samuel Jordan. Wedged in a reef off Bermuda, the 150 on board built "ships" from the wreckage, and sailed the two boats, known as the Deliverance and the Patience up to Jamestown, where they found the colony in ruins and practically abandoned, until de la Warr arrived the following year.

Growth and development

John Rolfe was the first man to successfully raise export tobacco in the Colony (although the colonists had begun to make glass artifacts immediately after their arrival). The tobacco raised in Virginia prior to that time, Nicotiana rustica, was not to the liking of the Europeans; but Rolfe had brought some seed for Nicotiana tabacum with him from Bermuda. Shortly after arriving, Rolfe's first wife died, having given birth to a daughter in Bermuda, who did not survive long enough to see Virginia. Although most people "wouldn't touch" the crop, Rolfe was able to make his fortune farming it (by 1617, the colonists exported 50,000 pounds of tobacco to England). After Rolfe and Pocahontas lived together at his Varina Farms plantation, when they left for England in 1616, he was wealthy; and they had a son, Thomas. When Rolfe returned to Jamestown following Pocahontas's death from sickness while in England, Thomas remained behind (in England). Once back in Jamestown, Rolfe married Jane Pierce, and continued to improve the quality of his tobacco; with the result that by the time of his death in 1622, Jamestown was thriving as a producer of tobacco, and Jamestown's population would later top 4,000. Wheat also first grew in the colonies in Virginia, in 1618. Tobacco led to the importation of the colony's first black "indentured servants" as well as women from England, in 1619. That same year, the House of Burgesses, the first legislature of elected representatives in America, met in the Jamestown Church. Their first law was to set a minimum price for the sale of tobacco. That year was also the same year that the first ironworks of the colonies were established in Virginia. House of Burgesses] The Indian Massacre of 1622, an uprising led by Opechancanough, led to the deaths of nearly 400 settlers, wiping out several entire communities, including Henricus and Wolstenholme Towne. However, Jamestown was spared from destruction due to the warnings of a Native American boy named "Chanco", who gave warning to Richard Pace of Wapping Wall, London (d. abt 1624), a resident since about 1613. Pace, after securing himself and his neighbors on the south side of the James River, took a canoe across river to warn Jamestown, which narrowly escaped destruction. A year later, Captain William Tucker and Dr. John Potts worked out a truce with the Powhatan Native Americans and proposed a toast, using liquor laced with poison. 200 Native Americans were killed by the poison, and 50 more were slaughtered by the colonists. In 1624, the Virginia Company lost its charter, and Virginia became a crown colony.

Later Colonial Era

crown colony In 1634, the English Crown created eight shires (i.e. counties) in the colony of Virginia, with a total population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants. James City Shire was established, and included Jamestown. About 1642-43, the name of the James City Shire was changed to James City County. In the 1670s, the governor of Virginia was Sir William Berkeley, serving his second term in that office. Berkeley had previously been governor in the 1640's, and was a scholar and playwright, as well as a veteran of the English Civil War and in his seventies. In the mid 1670s, a young cousin of his through marriage, Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., arrived in Virginia; sent by his father in the hope that he would "mature". Although lazy, Bacon was intelligent, and Berkeley provided him with a land grant and a seat on the Virginia Colony council. In July 1675, the Doeg Indians raided the plantation of Thomas Mathews in order to gain payment for several items Mathews had obtained from the tribe. Several Doegs were killed in the raid, and the colonists then raided the Susquehanaugs in "retaliation". This led to large-scale Indian raids. Berkeley tried to calm the situation, but many of the colonists refused to listen to him, and Bacon disregarded a direct order and captured some Appomattox Indians. Following the establishment of the Long Assembly in 1676, war was declared on "all hostile Indians", and trade with Indian tribes was regulated, often seen by the colonists to favor those friends of Berkeley. Bacon opposed Berkeley, and led a group in opposition to the governor. Bacon and his troops set themselves up at Henrico until Berkeley arrived and Bacon and his men fled, upon which time Berkeley declared them in rebellion, and offered a pardon to any who returned to Jamestown peaceably. Bacon led numerous raids on Indians friendly to the colonists in an attempt to bring down Berkeley. The governor offered him amnesty, but the House of Burgesses refused; insisting that Bacon must acknowledge his mistakes. At about the same time, Bacon was actually elected to the House of Burgesses, and attended the June 1676 assembly, where he was captured, apologized, and was pardoned by Berkeley. Bacon demanded a commission, but Berkeley refused. Bacon and his supporters surrounded the statehouse, and threatened to start shooting the Burgesses if Berkeley did not receive the commission as "General of all forces against the Indians". Berkeley eventually acceded, and then left Jamestown. He attempted a coup a month later, but was unsuccessful. In September, however Berkeley was successful, and Bacon dug in for a siege, which resulted in his burning Jamestown to the ground on September 19, 1676. Bacon died of the flux and lice on October 26, 1676 and his body is believed to have been burned. Berkeley hanged the major leaders of the rebellion, and was relieved of his governorship and returned to London, where he died in July, 1677. "Jimsonweed" is a corruption of "Jamestown weed," named for the village after some British soldiers sent to quell Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, failed in their mission after being fed leaves of the plant, which grew wild in great quantity there. They were "intoxicated" for about a week, and claimed afterward to have no memory of that period. The first phase of Jamestown's history ended in 1699, when a decision was made not to rebuild the statehouse which had burned down in 1698, but instead to accept a proposal by students of the College of William and Mary to move the capital of Virginia to higher ground, to about 12 miles (20 km) away, where their school was located at Middle Plantation, which would soon be renamed Williamsburg.

18th century

Due to the movement of the capital to Williamsburg, Jamestown began to slowly disappear above ground. By the 1750s, the land was owned and heavily cultivated, primarily by the Travis and Ambler families.

19th century

Williamsburg During the American Civil War, in 1861, Confederate William Allen, who owned the Jamestown Island, occupied Jamestown with troops he raised at his own expense with the intention of blockading the James River, and therefore protecting Richmond, from the Union Navy. He was soon joined by Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones, who directed the building of batteries and conducted ordnance and armor tests for the first Confederate ironclad warship CSS Virginia (formerly known as the Merrimac) at the site. By the end of 1861, Jamestown had a force of 1200 men, which was augmented in early 1862 by an artillery battalion. With the Union forces landing at Yorktown under General George B. McClellan, in April, however, the peninsula was abandoned by the Confederates. Once in Federal hands, Jamestown became a meeting place for runaway slaves, who burned the Ambler house. An eighteenth century plantation which, along with the old church, were the few remaining signs of Jamestown. When Allen sent men to assess damage in late 1862, they were killed by the former slaves. For the most part, Jamestown did not have an active role in the Civil War, although both sides used it for feints. Following the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, the oath of allegiance was administered to former Confederate soldiers at Jamestown.

20th century

Jamestown Exposition of 1907

Appomattox Courthouse The Jamestown Exposition of 1907 was one of the many world's fairs and expositions that were popular in the United States early part of the 20th century. Early in the 20th century, as the tercentennial of the 1607 Founding of the Jamestown neared, leaders in Norfolk, Virginia began a campaign to have a celebration held there. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities had gotten the ball rolling in 1900 by calling for a celebration honoring the establishment of the first permanent English colony in the New World at Jamestown, to be held on the 300th anniversary. No one thought that the actual isolated and long-abandoned original site would be suitable because Jamestown Island had no facilities for large crowds, and the fort housing the Jamestown Settlement was believed to have been long-ago swallowed by the James River. The decision was made to locate the international exposition on a mile-long frontage at Sewell's Point near the mouth of Hampton Roads. The Jamestown Exposition was held there from April 26, 1907 to December 1, 1907.

Jamestown National Historic Site

Currently, "Jamestown National Historic Site" exists on 22 ½ acres (91,100 m²) of land at the western end of Jamestown Island. The area was donated to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities in 1893, before which time, it had seen settlement, rebellion (in 1676), and battle (during the Civil War). In 1934, Colonial National Historical Park obtained the remaining 1500 acre (6.1 km²) island and partnered with the APVA to preserve the area and present it to visitors in an educational manner.

Jamestown Festival Park

Jamestown Festival Park was established at Jamestown Island in 1957 to mark the 350th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown Settlement. At the National Park Service site, the reconstructed Glasshouse, the Memorial Cross and the visitors center were completed and dedicated. Full-sized replicas of the three ships that brought the colonists, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery were constructed at a shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, and docked at Jamestown. Other events included army and navy reviews, air force fly-overs, ship and aircraft christenings and even an outdoor drama at Cape Henry, site of the first landing of the settlers. This celebration continued from April 1 to November 30 with over a million participants, including dignitaries and politicians such as the British Ambassador and U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon. The highlight for many of the nearly 25,000 at the Festival Park on October 16, was the visit and speech of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and her consort, Prince Philip. Queen Elizabeth II loaned a copy of the Magna Carta for the exhibition. Although the 1957 celebration is long past, many of the attractions remained and some have been enhanced in the years since. There is now a working reconstruction of the settlement. The original replicas of the three ships that brought the colonists, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery which had been constructed at a shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia have been rebuilt, and are still very popular with tourists, especially school groups.

APVA archaeological campaign

Starting in 1994, a major archaeological campaign at Jamestown has been conducted by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, in preparation for the quadricentennial of Jamestown's founding. The original goal of the archaeological campaign was to locate archaeological remains of "the first years of settlement at Jamestown, especially of the earliest fortified town; [and the] the subsequent growth and development of the town". [http://www.apva.org/pubs/94reprt.html] Early on, the project discovered the remains of the 1607 settlement. This was something of a surprise, as it had been widely thought that the original site had been entirely lost, due to erosion by the James River. However, only one corner of the first triangular fort (which contained the original settlement) turned out to have been destroyed. The extended archaeological campaign has made many discoveries, including retrieving hundreds of thousands of artifacts, a large fraction of them from the first few years of the settlement's history. In addition, it has uncovered much of the fort, the remains of several houses and wells, a palisade wall line attached to the fort, and the graves of several of the original settlers, including one thought to be that of Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, one of the most important figures in the English settlement of the New World. [http://www.historicjamestowne.org/news/gosnold_dna_01.php] Archaeological work at the site continues, and is greatly expanding knowledge of what happened at Jamestown in its earliest days.

21st century

Bartholomew Gosnold Plans are underway for "Jamestown 2007", which will celebrate the quadricentennial of the founding of the Jamestown Settlement. An upcoming feature length film, The New World, will cover the story of Jamestown's colonization. The film will focus on the relationship between John Smith, played by Colin Farrell, and Pocahontas. A limited release of the film is set for December, 2005 with full release in January, 2006.

External links


- Geographical coordinates:
- [http://www.apva.org/jr.html APVA web site for the Jamestown Rediscovery project]
- [http://www.historicjamestowne.org/ Historic Jamestowne]
  - [http://www.historicjamestowne.org/the_dig/ Where are We Digging Now?]
- [http://www.jamestown2007.org/ Jamestown 2007 Celebration]
- [http://www.historyisfun.org/ Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center]
- [http://www.virtualjamestown.org/ Virtual Jamestown]
- [http://www.familyforest.com/PR_Royal_Visit_to_The_White_House.html America’s 400th Anniversary and Jamestown 2007 commemoration]
- [http://www.nps.gov/jame/ National Park Service: Jamestown National Historic Site]
- [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16277/16277-h/16277-h.htm New Discoveries at Jamestown] by John L. Cotter and J. Paul Hudson, (1957) at Project Gutenberg

Further reading


- William M. Kelso, Jamestown Rediscovery II (APVA, 1996)
- William M. Kelso, Nicholas M. Luccketti, Beverly A. Straube, Jamestown Rediscovery III (APVA, 1997)
- William M. Kelso, Nicholas M. Luccketti, Beverly A. Straube, Jamestown Rediscovery IV (APVA, 1998)
- William M. Kelso, Nicholas M. Luccketti, Beverly A. Straube, Jamestown Rediscovery V (APVA, 1999)
- William Kelso, Beverly Straube, Jamestown Rediscovery VI (APVA, 2000)
- David A. Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown (Alfred A. Knopf, 2003)
- Ernie Gross, "The American Years" (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999) Jamestown Jamestown Jamestown Jamestown ja:ジェームズタウン

1776

:This article is about the year 1776. For the musical, see 1776 (musical) 1776 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar).

Events


- January 10 - Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense
- March 17 - American Revolutionary War: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts after George Washington places artillery overlooking the city.
- March 28 - Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.
- May 1 - Former Jesuit Adam Weishaupt founds the Bavarian Illuminati (Order of the Illuminati) in Ingolstadt, Bavaria.
- May 6 - Battle of Prague Prussian king Frederick the Great triumphs over Austrian army.
- June 7 - Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental Congress a resolution calling for a Declaration of Independence.
- June 8 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Trois-Rivières - American invaders are driven back at Trois-Rivières, Quebec.
- June 12 - Virginia Declaration of Rights by George Mason adopted by the Virginia Convention of Delegates.
- June 15 - Delaware Separation Day - The Delaware General Assembly votes to suspend government under the British Crown.
- June 17 - Lt. Jose Joaquin Moraga leads a band of colonists from Monterey Presidio, landing on June 29 and constructing the Mission Dolores of the new Presidio of San Francisco.
- July 2 - The final (despite minor revisions) U.S. Declaration of Independence is written.
- July 4 - American Revolutionary War: United States Declaration of Independence.
- July 8 - The U.S. declaration of Independence is signed.
- July 9 - An angry mob in New York City topples the equestrian statue of George III in Bowling Green.
- July 12 - Captain James Cook sets off from Plymouth England on his third, and fatal, expedition to the Pacific Ocean.
- August 15 - First Hessian troops land on Staten Island to join British forces
- August 27 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Long Island - Washington's troops routed in Brooklyn by British under William Howe.
- September - First running of the St. Leger Stakes horse race in England.
- September 6 - Hurricane hits Guadeloupe, killing more than 6000.
- September 7 - World's first submarine attack. American submersible craft Turtle attempts to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship HMS Eagle in New York Harbor.
- September 11 - American Revolutionary War: abortive peace conference between British and Americans on Staten Island.
- September 15 - American Revolutionary War: British land on Manhattan at Kip's Bay.
- September 16 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Harlem Heights
- September 22 - American Revolutionary War: Nathan Hale executed in New York City for espionage.
- October 7 - Crown Prince Paul of Russia marries Sophie Marie Dorothea of Württemberg.
- October 9 - Father Francisco Palou founds Mission San Francisco de Asis in what is now San Francisco, California.
- October 11 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Valcour Island - On Lake Champlain near Valcour Island, a British fleet led by Sir Guy Carleton defeats 15 American gunboats commanded by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. Although nearly all of Arnold's ships are destroyed, the two day-long battle will give Patriot forces enough time to prepare defenses of New York City.
- October 28 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of White Plains - British forces arrive at White Plains, attack and capture Chatterton Hill from the Americans.
- November 16 - American Revolutionary War: Hessian mercenaries under Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen capture Fort Washington from the American Continentals.
- December 5 - The Phi Beta Kappa society is founded at the College of William and Mary.
- December 7 - Marquis de Lafayette attempts to enter the American military as a major general.
- December 23 - Thomas Paine, living with Washington's troops begins publishing The American Crisis, containing the stirring phrase, "These are the times that try men's souls."
- December 25 - American Revolutionary War: Gen. George Washington orders the first issue of The Crisis read to his troops on Christmas Eve, then at 6 PM all 2600 of them march to McKonkey's Ferry, cross the Delaware River and land on the Jersey bank at 3 AM.
- December 26 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Trenton - Washington's troops surprise the 1500 Hessian troops under the command of Col. Johan Rall at 8 AM outside Trenton and score a victory, taking 1000 prisoners while suffering only 6 wounded.
- Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations
- Edward Gibbon publishes The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- Austria abolishes death penalty and torture and decriminalizes witchcraft
- British begin to use old ships docked close to shore as temporary prisons, prison junks
- 35th and last volume of Diderot's Encyclopédie published

Births


- January 24 - E.T.A. Hoffmann, German writer, composer, and painter (d. 1822)
- February 11 - Joannis Capodistrias, Greek governor of Troezen (d. 1831)
- March 10 - Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Prussia (d. 1810)
- April 1 - Sophie Germain, French mathematician (d. 1831)
- June 11 - John Constable, English painter (d. 1837)
- August 9 - Amedeo Avogadro, Italian chemist (d. 1856)
- Muttusvami Dikshitar, Indian composer

Deaths


- March 10 - Élie Catherine Fréron, French critic (b. 1719)
- March 10 - Niclas Sahlgren, Swedish merchant and philanthropist (b. 1701)
- March 26 - Samuel Ward, American politician (b. 1725)
- March 24 - John Harrison, English clockmaker (b. 1693)
- April 29 - Edward Wortley Montagu, English traveler and writer (b. 1713)
- May 4 -