...VIRGINIA HISTORY Virginia Introduction and General Statistics “We are all Americans; we are all Virginians.” These were the words of Senator and former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine during his 2012 campaign for Senate. Kaine was trying to appeal to the Virginians’ desire for bipartisanship in the incredibly negative election, but his words have a larger meaning. Virginia is a special state. Throughout its fascinating 400-year history, Virginia has had special influence in establishing and developing the cultural and political values that have shaped the country at large. Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in America. It was home to the first representative government in the New World. Many of the nation’s founders, whose words and actions have de- fined the American spirit, came from Virginia. Virginia has produced eight Presidents, more than any other state. Virginians led the way in filling America’s western frontier, spreading their way of life to the South and Midwest in the early nineteenth century. Virginia was the site of the most important battles of the Civil War. From its founding in 1607 to the Civil War, Virginia held more influence than any other part of the country. Virginia’s influence faltered, however, in the mid-nineteenth century. As the authors of Old Dominion, New Commonwealth: A History of Virginia, 1607-2007, one of the most important recent works on Virginia history, argued, the state lost its way due in part to Page 2 VIRGINIA...
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...consumption activities in various states in the U.S. following the requirements of the 18th amendment[footnoteRef:1]. The amendment was approved by the United States congress in the year 1917 and declared the manufacturing sale and transportation of alcoholic material in the country as illegal. The ramification of the amendment was approved by over two thirds of the American congress. Prohibition was to initiate one year later. The prohibition law was perceived as an act of social engineering that could spell out various implications to the American public. What was not understood was whether the governments and citizens were ready to deal with the prohibition. Before the prohibition many Americans labelled themselves as wet or dry. [1: Parramore, Thomas, et al Norfolk: The first four centuries (Charlottesville: University Press of...
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...Old Dominion University | The Impact of Culture on Virginia Politics | POLS 311 | Geraldine Pearman 9-19-2015 | Geraldine Pearman Virginia History and Politics Dr. Pelletier Fall 2015 The Impact of Culture on Virginia Politics A culture can be defined as a way of life of a group of people- their behaviors, beliefs, values that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next. It also includes the customs, arts, literature, morals/values and traditions of a particular society or group (Virginia Encyclopedia). Culture can also be considered as a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in places or organizations. This topic is of huge importance to our society mainly in the state of Virginia because it is the starting place for cultures across the United States. The United States is referred to as a “melting pot” because of the many and diverse cultures that exist and “melt” together in harmony with one another. In my opinion, Virginia is like a melting pot of its own. While hospitality and natural beauty exist nearly anywhere in Virginia, each of its cities has its own special characteristics that make them stand out. In Virginia Beach is where you will find a magnificent beach resort atmosphere. The ocean plays a major role in Virginia's economy. Southern Virginia's beach towns are always swarmed with local families and summer vacationers, offering sandy beaches and warm ocean water. In addition, the naval station in...
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...West Virginia's Nickname is Mountain state. West Virginia’s motto is Montani semper liberi meaning mountaineers are always free. The reason west Virginia had its name because they wanted to honor the virgin queen Elizabeth I . The people there were called west Virginians. West Virginia’s Bordering states are Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Virginia’s Capitol is Charlestown. West Virginia’s population is 1,854,304, and West Virginia is the 38th state in the Union.. West Virginia's favorite flower is the Rhododendron. West Virginia's favorite tree is the sugar maple. West Virginia’s favorite bird is the Cardinal. West Virginia’s favorite animal is the black bear. West Virginia’s state fish was the brook trout. West Virginia’s state butterfly is the monarch butterfly The...
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...The Virginia Class Submarine is the newest and the most technologically advanced fast-attack submarine, not only in the United States, but also the world. The Virginia Class is the youngest SSN submarine in the United States Navy, with the first SSN-774 Class being built in the early 2000’s and being commissioned in October 2004 (Naval Technology). The Virginia Class Submarine was designed to replace the costly Seawolf Class Submarine, which only three SSN-22 were commissioned (The US Navy). Although the Seawolf is thought to be better than the Virginia Class (The US Navy), the Virginia class is the best solution to the Navy’s needs at the lowest cost. Every vessel that the United States has ever created all have a common purpose, to complete...
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...Abstract This paper will teach different approaches of researching cases, laws and other resources. This process of researching federal agency decisions will give an overview of regulatory powers, decision and the many ways to find them, while displaying concepts of judicial court opinions and their regulations. Learning by Doing Virginia State’s Public Record Availability Statute The State of Virginia Public Records Act was established and passed in 1975. This act allows records and documents accessible to the public, but only within the operation of an agency within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Public records are considered information that is documented and recorded and that gives transaction and/or activity of an employee, agency or public officer of the state. In no regards to the physical and characteristic form, if the transaction is in any connection of public business, it is considered as a public record. There are only three specific records that are not considered public, which are reference books, materials of exhibition and publications of stocks. “The General Assembly intends by this chapter to establish a single body of law applicable to all public officers and employees on the subject of public records management and preservation and to ensure that the procedures used to manage and preserve public records will be uniform throughout the Commonwealth (1976, c. 746.).” U.S. Supreme Court holding federal income The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a direct...
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...Unemployment benefits are found to be very beneficial in the state of Virginia, along with any other state. Everyday, citizens are losing their jobs left and right, due to an exhausting amount of reasons. Without a good amount of unemployment benefits, citizens may find it impossible to survive the real world. However, the Virginia Employment Commission, for Virginia citizens only, has to offer an outstanding amount of unemployment benefits, for instance an insurance program, workforce agency, and a housing benefit. For the unemployed, an insurance program is a benefit used to provide temporary financial assistance to workers who are currently unemployed through no fault of their own (Insurance, Claim). In order to qualify for this program,...
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...James Madison is considered to be one of the United States founding fathers. He was a Secretary of State to Thomas Jefferson and went on to become the 4th US President of the United States. James Madison was Born on March 16, 1751, in Port Conway, Virginia to Nellie Conway Madison and James Madison Sr. He was the oldest of 12 children of which only seven survived. He was homeschooled until the age of 11 when he was sent to a boarding school run by Reverend Thomas Martin in preparation for college. He returned to his father's estate called “Montpelier” in Orange County, Virginia five years later and continued his studies for two more years. At the age of 18 in 1769 he enrolled at the College of New Jersey, now known as Princeton. He studied science, geography, mathematics, rhetoric, Latin, Greek and philosophy. He also studied the art of debating and public speech. Madison helped found the American Whig Society. The Society was a political and debate society and the oldest debate union in the United States. He helped create the Whig Society to compete with Aaron Burr's Cliosophic Society. Later to two groups would merge and become the American Whig Cliosophic Society. Madison Graduated in 1771 , however he stayed there...
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...Seung-Hui Cho was the person responsible for the Virginia Tech Mass Shooting. At the time of the shooting, he was only 23 years old. The spree killer and mass murderer who killed 32 people, and wounded 17 other people with two semi automatic pistols on April 16th, 2007. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia was the location of the mass shooting that occurred on April 16th, 2007. Was Bullying or a mental disorder the cause of this mass shooting? Seung-hui Cho in Korea, properly know an Cho Seung-hui. cho was born on January 18th, 1984 in the city of Asan, in South Korea's South Chungcheong Province. Before immigrating to the United States, Cho and his family lived in a basement apartment. During September 1992, Cho's father made it possible for family to immigrated to the United states to seek better life for himself, and his family. The cho family first lived in Detroit, Michigan, then shortly afterwards moved to Washington particularly to Virginia, Washington. Cho's family members who lived in South Korea, thought that Cho had a mute disorder, or thought Cho was...
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...LOVING ET UX. V. VIRGINIA No. 395 381 U.S. 1 (1967) Facts: In June of 1958, appellants, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter Loving, a black woman, both residents of Virginia, got married in the District of Columbia. Shortly after, they returned to Caroline County Virginia and established a home together. At the 1958 October Term of the Caroline County Circuit Court in Virginia, the grand jury issued an indictment charging appellants with violating the State's ban on interracial marriages. They were arrested for cohabitating in an interracial relationship. Appellants pleaded guilty on January 6, 1959 and were sentenced to one year in jail. The trial judge suspended the sentence for a period of 25 years on the condition that appellants leave the State and not return to the State together for another 25 years. Procedural History:...
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...our country faced a great turmoil caused by the incendiary issues of slavery and secession in the southern states. Abraham Lincoln, the newly elected president, was faced with the prospect of presiding over half a nation. Slavery was the key issue for the southern states but in Lincoln’s opinion the more pressing issue was the preservation of the Union. If not the issue of slavery, than some other issue at some other time would be reason enough for the states to try and secede. Lincoln’s fervent hope was that he could avoid a war by keeping the state of Virginia in the Union. “Lincoln declared to the U.S. Congress, “The course taken in Virginia was the most remarkable-perhaps the most important.” This simple statement expresses Virginia’s exceptional place in the history of the secession movement and the eventual coming of civil war in America. Virginia was important for two major reasons: first, the especially prominent and distinguished role it played in early American history and, second, its strategic location. For these reasons Virginians were truly torn over the decision of whether or not to secede. Because Virginia was not only sandwiched geographically but also economically, socially, and culturally between the North and the South, her decision to leave the Union was a tumultuous, long-fought battle.”(Gillian Cote, pg. 1) One of the ways Lincoln hoped to keep Virginia in the Union was by offering command of his army to Robert E. Lee. Lincoln believed Robert E. Lee to be the...
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...Court Systems in the State of Virginia Kimberly Vega Business Law Professor Kent Court Systems in the State of Virginia The structure of the court system in the state of Virginia contains several different courts of varying levels which ultimately form the Virginia Judicial System. These courts are broken down by specific function with several courts falling on the same general level albeit with key functions that separate them from the rest. Virginia’s judicial system is comprised of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and circuit courts in 31 judicial circuits. General District as well as Juvenile and Domestic Relations district courts exist in 32 judicial circuits, as do magistrate offices. The magistrate offices serve the Commonwealth of Virginia through 32 judicial districts. The primary function of the magistrate office is to ensure the eligibility of bail for an arrested person by conducting probable cause hearings. These hearings are based on complaints of criminal behavior that are brought to the magistrate’s attention either via law enforcement officials or by the general public. This is typically the first step in the hierarchy of Virginia’s judicial court system. The Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court (JDRC) serves the Commonwealth of Virginia in all 32 judicial districts as well. This court system has a limited jurisdiction, focusing specifically on trial cases...
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...Loving v. Virginia A Landmark Supreme Court Case of Interracial Marriages Natasha Plotnikov GVPT 432 Professor Davis December 4th, 2013 Loving v. Virginia was a very important Supreme Court case. It played a significant role in the civil rights movement: the legalization of interracial marriage. The case evaluates the constitutional question whether a statutory law of Virginia is solely based on racial discrimination and if it violates the Equal Protection and Due process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Equal Protection Clause forbids states from denying any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws (Epstein, Walker, 2013). Nevertheless, for the couple it was just a fight to stay married and be treated as equal as every legally married couple. They were simply in love and never intended to be in the center of attention. Richard and Mildred Loving were residents of the small town of Central Point, Virginia. They had dated each other since they were teenagers. When they decided to get married Richard learned that marriage...
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...necessary to address and change over time. Such issues that arose are: does the State have the authority to regulate commercial speech? A more fundamental issue, is the intention of profit alone what makes some speech, commercial speech? Lastly, should commercial speech be protected under the First Amendment, and if so, should the protection be conditional? The Supreme Court’s current view on the matter may be traced historically through the evolution of four key cases. Although prior to 1976 the U.S. Supreme Court’s view was that commercial speech was not protected under the First Amendment, nevertheless, the Supreme Court’s view was altered, after the Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council in 1976, to hold that commercial speech does not sit completely outside of First Amendment protection. Mainly due to the evolution of the interpretation of commercial speech that is derived from the Supreme Court’s ruling over the cases: Valentine v. Chrestensen, New York Times v. Sullivan, Bigelow v. Virginia, and Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council. The first case that will be examined will set the baseline that allowed for future deviation, and is Valentine v. Chrestensen, which took place in New York City in 1942. In this case it is clear that an advertisement is commercial speech. Chrestensen owned a U.S. Navy submarine, which he kept in the State harbor, and he charged visitors an admission fee to tour it....
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...selection for judges is a very important task that voters usually are tasked to do to appoint judges to the courts in their states. However, Virginia and South Carolina are the only remaining states that use Legislative election as the way of selecting judges. Legislative election is where the judges are elected to the position by peer vote, not from residents of the state. In Virginia, this includes the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Circuit court, and the District Court of Virginia. Virginia’s courts are the court of limited jurisdiction meaning that they handle cases that derive from power from issuing authority, such as the Constitution or state law. The selection process as mentioned previous is done by legislative election where peers of the judges are deciding who is going to be appointed. As outlined in Article VI in the Virginia Constitution, judges are elected by a majority vote of the general assembly which is combined of the House of Delegates and the senate (judicialselection.us). To serve as a judge in the state of Virginia there are a few qualifications that must be met prior to becoming eligible for selection. Firstly, for selection as chief justice or chief judge, the potential judge must be a legal resident of the Virginia otherwise they will not be considered for a position as judge in the courts. Secondly, the nominee must be a state bar member for at least 5 years and not be older than seventy years of age. Retirement is also mandatory for a sitting judge...
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