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'''Virginia''' (formally the Commonwealth of Virginia) is one of the fifty [[United States]]. Named in honor of the "virgin queen" of [[England]], [[Queen Elizabeth I]], Virginia was also nicknamed the ''Old Dominion'' by King Charles II because it remained loyal to the crown during the [[English Civil War]] and throughout [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s years. Virginia was one of the first [[colony|colonies]] in [[North America]] in the 1600s and joined the [[United States of America]] in 1788.
'''Virginia''' (formally the Commonwealth of Virginia) is one of the fifty [[United States]]. Named in honor of the "virgin queen" of [[England]], [[Queen Elizabeth I]], Virginia was also nicknamed the ''Old Dominion'' by King Charles II because it remained loyal to the crown during the [[English Civil War]] and throughout [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s years. Virginia was one of the first colonies in [[Colonial America]] in the 1600s and was a leader in the American Revolution.
==Politics==
In partisan terms, the two parties compete furiously for the legislature and the governorship. In presidential elections Virginia was reliably Republican from 1968 until 2004, but in 2008 Obama won, thanks to the growing liberal strength in the Washington suburbs.
The 2009 election for governor is shaping up as a referendum on the Obama administration. Since 1977, the political party that has won the presidency has, in every case, lost the Virginia governorship in the next election. Republican Bob McDonnell, Virginia's former attorney general, in late August is well ahead of his Democratic opponent, Creigh Deeds.
McDonnell's explains that, "The business community was the first to recoil" from policies such as "card check" -- legislation to allow union organization by signing cards instead of by a secret ballot -- and cap-and-trade environmental policies. "But health care now dwarfs previous concerns -- handing over the best medical system in the world to the federal government. It affects everyone." Conservatives, he contends, are more activated than at any time since 1993. A young McDonnell campaign worker exuded confidence, boasting, "We have the enthusiasm Obama's people had last time."<ref>Michael Gerson, "A Virginia Model For a GOP Comeback?" [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/27/AR2009082703256.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 '"Washington Post'' Aug. 28, 2009] </ref>
==Geological Regions of Virginia==
==Geological Regions of Virginia==
In partisan terms, the two parties compete furiously for the legislature and the governorship. In presidential elections Virginia was reliably Republican from 1968 until 2004, but in 2008 Obama won, thanks to the growing liberal strength in the Washington suburbs.
In partisan terms, the two parties compete furiously for the legislature and the governorship. In presidential elections Virginia was reliably Republican from 1968 until 2004, but in 2008 Obama won, thanks to the growing liberal strength in the Washington suburbs.
===Mother of Presidents===
Virginia is often called the ''Mother of Presidents'' or ''Birthplace of Presidents'' because eight U.S. Presidents have been born in there. Four of the first five presidents, [[George Washington]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[James Madison]], and [[James Monroe]], were Virginians. The remaining Presidents from Virginia are [[William Henry Harrison]], [[John Tyler]], [[Zachary Taylor]], and [[Woodrow Wilson]]. Many of their Virginia homes such as Jefferson's [[Monticello]] and Washington's [[Mount_Vernon| Mount Vernon]] are popular tourist destinations.<ref>http://www.virginia.org/site/features.asp?featureID=94</ref>
== See also ==
== See also ==