Portal:Virginia

The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the document that defines and limits the powers of the state government and the basic rights of the citizens of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. Like all other state constitutions, it is supreme over Virginia's laws and acts of government, though it may be superseded by the United States Constitution and U.S. federal law as per the Supremacy Clause.

The original Virginia Constitution of 1776 was enacted in conjunction with the Declaration of Independence by the first thirteen states of the United States of America. Virginia was the first state to adopt its own constitution, and the document was widely influential both in the United States and abroad. In addition to frequent amendments, there have been six major subsequent revisions of the constitution (in 1830, 1851, 1864, 1870, 1902, and the one currently in effect, in 1971). These new constitutions have been part of, and in reaction to, periods of major regional or social upheaval in Virginia. (1830 Virginia Constitutional Convention pictured)

Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 (April 2, 1743 O.S.) – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and the third President of the United States. Jefferson served in the Continental Congress representing Virginia, then as a wartime Governor of Virginia. After the war ended, Jefferson served as a diplomat stationed in Paris, and later United States Minister to France. Elected president in the Revolution of 1800, he oversaw the purchase of the vast Louisiana Territory, and sent the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the new west.

A leader in the Enlightenment, Jefferson was a polymath who spoke five languages fluently and was deeply interested in science, invention, architecture, religion and philosophy, interests that led him to the founding of the University of Virginia. He designed his own mansion on a 5,000 acre plantation near Charlottesville, Virginia, which he named Monticello. Jefferson was a skilled writer and corresponded with many influential people in America and Europe throughout his adult life. Though Jefferson has been criticized by many modern day scholars over the issue of slavery, he remains rated as one of the greatest U.S. presidents.

• August 3, 1807: The treason trial of Aaron Burr begins in Richmond, presided over by Chief Justice John Marshall.
• August 6, 1993: There is a tornado outbreak across eastern Virginia; one tornado strikes Downtown Petersburg causing over $50 million in damage.
• August 21–22, 1831: Nat Turner's slave rebellion
• August 29, 1716: The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition, led by Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood (pictured), departs Germanna to cross the Blue Ridge and explore the Shenandoah Valley.
• August 30, 1800: Gabriel's Rebellion is suppressed before it could begin.

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Downtown Roanoke at night, as viewed from the Mill Mountain overlook

• ... that Adam W. Oberlin, the 1917 Republican nominee to be the mayor of Canton, Ohio, went missing and was found seven months later working as a carpenter in Norfolk, Virginia?
• ... that a 1905 steam-powered pump was assembled on-site in Virginia with its housing constructed around it?
• ... that enrollment at a school for African-American students in Virginia grew from 14 pupils to 1,300 in its first ten years?
• ... that by September 29, 1864, the 23rd Virginia Infantry Battalion only had 78 enlisted men present for duty?
• ... that professor Ruth Ann Davis made the largest-ever single contribution to Potomac State College of West Virginia University to support nursing scholarships in memory of her mother?
• ... that James Dillon Armstrong was a Virginia state senator, a delegate to West Virginia's constitutional convention, and a circuit court judge while serving for more than 43 years as a Presbyterian church elder?

• Capital: Richmond, Virginia
• Total area: 110,862 sq.mi
• Highest elevation: 5,729 ft (Mount Rogers)
• Population (2010 census) 8,001,024
• Date Virginia joined the United States: June 25, 1788

• Flower:Dogwood
• Motto:Sic semper tyrannis (Thus always to tyrants)
• Slogan:Virginia is for Lovers
• Nicknames:"Old Dominion", "Mother of Presidents", "Mother of States"
• Dance:Square dance
• Bird:Cardinal
• Fish:Brook trout
• Domestic Mammal:American Foxhound
• Fossil:Chesapecten jeffersonius

• Governor: Glenn Youngkin (R)
• Lieutenant Governor: Winsome Sears (R)
• Attorney General: Jason Miyares (R)
• Senators: Tim Kaine (D), Mark Warner (D)
• Representatives: Rob Wittman (R-1st), Elaine Luria (D-2nd), Bobby Scott (D-3rd), Donald McEachin (D-4th), Bob Good (R-5th), Ben Cline (R-6th), Abigail Spanberger (D-7th), Don Beyer (D-8th), Morgan Griffith (R-9th), Jennifer Wexton (D-10th), Gerry Connolly (D-11th)