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The South Middle Atlantic States are a groupof four states located near our nation’s capital,Washington, D.C. The states of Delaware,Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia make upthe region.

The Land

The South Middle Atlantic States have threedistinct landforms; the mountains, the Piedmont,and the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Mountains

The main mountain range of the South MiddleAtlantic States is the Appalachian MountainRange, found in the forested western part ofthe region. Just to the east of the AppalachianMountains is a narrow range called the BlueRidge Mountains. The beautiful ShenandoahValley is tucked between them in the westernpart of Virginia. The National Park Service hasbuilt a road through this area called the BlueRidge Parkway. This road winds through valleysand tunnels and offers breathtaking sights ofmountains and waterfalls.

Piedmont

The word “Piedmont” means “at the foot ofthe mountain.” The Piedmont, just to the eastof the mountains, is an area with foothills andplains that slope down to the Atlantic CoastalPlain. Many of the farms and cities are locatedin this region, especially along the fall line. Thisis a line that divides the eastern Atlantic coastalplain from the Piedmont. It is called the “fallline” because it contains many rapids andwaterfalls as the rivers go down rapidly from

higher to lower land. The fall line is close to theAtlantic Ocean in the north, but by the time itgets to Virginia and the Carolinas it is at least100 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. Manyof the cities of the South Middle Atlantic Statesare located on the fall line, because in the colonialdays people built water mills (mills withmachines moved by water-power) on the riversof the region.

South Middle Atlantic StatesChapter Four

Coastal Plain, Bays, and Rivers

Much of the eastern part of the South MiddleAtlantic States is low, coastal plain, with manybays and rivers located there. The ChesapeakeBay is a very large body of water in Virginia andMaryland. Delaware Bay borders the easternshore of Delaware. Many large cities and portsare located on these bays. Major rivers such asthe Susquehanna and the Potomac River feed

Chimney Rock lookout on the BlueRidge Parkway in Virginia

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Population Map of theSouth Middle Atlantic States

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Delaware - DEMaryland - MDVirginia - VAWest Virginia - WV

settlement was in Jamestown in 1607 on theChesapeake Bay. The settlers of Jamestownwere not ready for the hard work of starting anew settlement and had to be forced to growcrops by their leader, John Smith. After manydifficult winters, however, the colony was ableto survive. The Native Americans in theJamestown area were under a chief called,Powhatan. Many interesting stories are toldabout how his daughter, Pocahontas, saved thelife of John Smith, although historians are notsure whether the stories are true. What we doknow as fact, however, is that John Smith andJamestown survived. In 1619, the House ofBurgesses met in Virginia for the first time,important because it was an early step to self-government while the colonists were underBritish rule.

After 1607, the other colonies were formed forvarious reasons. Settlers from Sweden came toDelaware, and the colony that became Marylandwas formed for religious freedom, mainly forRoman Catholics from England. We will discussthe other colonies later.

American Revolution

The colonies in the South Middle Atlantic Stateswere Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. By the

South Middle Atlantic States

the Chesapeake Bay. The Potomac River isnotable because it runs through Washington,D.C, and serves as a border between Virginiaand Maryland.

Climate

The South Middle Atlantic States have coolwinters and hot summers. A normal winter dayis usually cold and snowy, while a normal day insummer is often hot and humid, although themountainous regions of West Virginia andVirginia are cooler. Pockets of fog are oftenpresent in the mountain passes making itdifficult to see the tops of the mountains.

Economy

Farming is one important part of the economyin the Middle Atlantic States. Most of thefarming in the South Middle Atlantic Statestakes place in the Piedmont region and on theDelmarva Peninsula east of Chesapeake Bay,named from a combination of the three statesthat are on the peninsula, Delaware, Maryland,and Virginia. There farmers grow crops such astobacco and vegetables. A major agriculturalindustry of the area is raising chickens.

Many jobs in the South Middle Atlantic Stateshave to do with the government since the areasurrounds Washington, D.C., our nationalcapital. People either work directly ingovernment office buildings such as thePentagon or for businesses that build militaryequipment and other products for thegovernment. The region is also home to majorchemical and manufacturing companies thatprovide work for residents of the area.

History

Colonial Period

The state of Virginia played a leading part inour nation’s history. The first successful English

The Pentagon is a huge complex ofoffice buildings in Virginia which servesas the headquarters for the military ofthe United States.

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1700s, each of these colonies had its owngovernment, even though Great Britain didn’tcare about what these colonial governmentssaid. Because so many people of different ideaswere moving there, Britain had a hard timecontrolling the colonies. Britain responded withmany actions and laws (called “Acts”) that thecolonies did not like.

We have already discussed the AmericanRevolution which first began mainly in the NewEngland and Middle Atlantic States. After 1780,much of the fighting moved to the Southbecause Great Britain believed that the Toriesin the South would help them win a victory. ATory was a person who was on the British side.From 1780 to 1782, the British were in controlas far south as the important seaport ofCharleston, South Carolina. However, after thesignificant battle of Cowpens, South Carolina,

The battle of Antietam in Marylandwas a major battle in the Civil War.The bridge in the picture wascaptured by northern troops duringthe battle. After the battle, PresidentLincoln announced theEmancipation Proclamation whichfreed the southern slaves.

the colonials eventually were able to push theBritish to defeat at Yorktown in 1781.

Since Yorktown was on the Chesapeake Bay,the French were able to help the colonists byblocking British ships from entering the Bay tosave their troops at Yorktown. As a result, thecolonists gained the victory in 1781 with thehelp of the French government and people.However, the Americans did not sign a peacetreaty with Britain until 1783, at the Treaty ofParis.

War of 1812

After several years, America fought Britain againin the War of 1812. During that war, the Britishattacked many American ports in theChesapeake Bay. They even burned Washington,D.C. After the war, the United States stillremained an independent country.

The Civil War

The Civil War was fought in the United Statesfrom 1861-1865. A civil war is a war in whichpeople from the same country fight each other.During the Civil War over 600,000 Americanslost their lives!

The war began at Fort Sumter in Charleston Bayin 1861. Most of the southern states seceded(left the nation) and formed the Confederacywith Richmond, Virginia as its capital. Many ofthe battles of this war were fought in Virginia,between Washington, D.C. and Richmond,because both armies wanted to capture thecapital city of its enemy. At first the southernstates had much success, especially because ofa brilliant general named Robert E. Lee.However, on July 3, 1863, the northern armywas able to win a great victory at Gettysburg,Pennsylvania. Although many generals wereinvolved for both the North and the South, theNorthern general, General Ulysses S. Grant,continued to fight General Lee of the 61

Land and Water

Delaware is a small state that is on the east sideof the Delmarva Peninsula between theChesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. Much ofthe shoreline on Delaware Bay is swamplandprotected by the state. The southern part ofthe state also has a small shoreline on the AtlanticOcean that is lined with sandbar islands.

Because the Piedmont is only in the northernpart of the state, much of Delaware is low,coastal plain. The fall line runs between thesetwo landforms in northern Delaware near theChristina River. The coastal plain used to havemany cypress swamps, but today, the only majorswamp in Delaware is called the Great CypressSwamp, and is protected by the state.

Farming

The best farmland in Delaware is found along alow ridge between the watersheds of theDelaware and Chesapeake Bays. A watershedis an area that is drained by a river to a body ofwater.

Soybeans are the state’s number one crop, usingabout forty percent of the farmland. Delawarehas always been known for its poultry industry(chickens). In fact, the state makes most of itsmoney in agriculture from the sale of broilers(small, young chickens). The blue hen chicken,developed in Delaware, is a well-known breedof chicken.

Economy

Delaware has always been known for itschemical industry. In the early 1800s, aFrenchman by the name of Du Pont came toDelaware to start a gunpowder mill on


Confederacy in many battles near the twocapitals. After much bloodshed, the Southsurrendered at Appomattox Court House inVirginia in 1865.

Bethany Beach on the Delawarecoast.

Delaware - The First State

The Beginnings of Delaware

The first Europeans to settle in Delaware camefrom the Netherlands in 1631. The Indians fromthe Lenni Lenape, whom we have studiedbefore, raided the settlement and destroyed it.However, because they caught diseases from thecolonists, the Native Americans soon left thearea. In 1638 settlers from Sweden came andset up a town near the present day city ofWilmington, and called the Delaware region,New Sweden. The Dutch felt threatened by theSwedish settlement, so they took control of thearea by the year 1655.

Until 1701, when William Penn gave thempermission to become a separate colony,Delaware was under the rule of Pennsylvania.Delaware is called "The First State" because onDecember 7, 1787, it was the first state toapprove the United States Constitution.

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Brandywine Creek. Today, the Du PontCorporation is a large company that produces avariety of chemical and energy products.

The biggest city of Delaware is Wilmington, inthe northern part of the state. Most of thepeople in Delaware live near there. Wilmingtonis a center for credit card banking. A creditcard allows you to buy products and serviceswithout paying with paper or coin money andthen allows you to pay back later, as long as youpay some interest.

Dover, the capital of Delaware, is in the middleof the state. In 2008, Delaware Senator JoeBiden from Delaware was elected to be Vice-President of the United States to serve withPresident Barack Obama.

Delaware's capitol building in Dover

Wilmington, Delaware skyline

Maryland - The Old Line State

History

The colony of Maryland was formed to protectthe rights of Roman Catholics, because manyof them were persecuted in America as well asin Europe. In 1632, Lord Baltimore, also namedCecil Calvert, received a charter from KingCharles I that gave him the right to start a colonywhere he hoped there would be freedom ofreligion. His brother, Leonard Calvert, whobecame the first governor, desired thatProtestants and Catholics could work side byside.

One Native American tribal group in the regionat this time was the Algonquin (Al GAHNquinn). These tribes wanted an ally against theirenemies, the mighty Susquehannock (Sus KwihHAN ock). Eventually, the colonists helpedthem defeat the Susquehannock, mainly becausethe Native Americans died of diseases that thecolonists had brought to the New World.

Annapolis, named after Great Britain’s QueenAnne, became the capital in the early 1700s. Itsoon was known in the colonies as a center ofmusic and art. The port of Baltimore wasestablished at this time, because it had anexcellent natural harbor on the Chesapeake Bay.After colonists settled farther inland,disagreements arose when people fromPennsylvania and Maryland started to settle onthe same land. Finally, Charles Mason andJeremiah Dixon settled this problem by marking

Reformed Worldview Perspective: Therecession of 2008 and 2009 was causedpartly because many people borrowedmore than they could pay back. AsChristians, we may use credit cards butmust be careful that we pay back whatwe owe. Talk about how using creditcards can be both good and bad.

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After the War of 1812, the United States grewin population. Over many years, the governmentbuilt the National Road from Maryland to Illinois.Canals such as the Chesapeake and DelawareCanal were built so that ships could cut acrossfrom the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware Bay.The Baltimore and Ohio (B & O) Railroad wasoriginally started in Maryland and it soon becamea center in the growth of our nation.

The Land

The shape of Maryland is unique. The westernpart of the state is a thin cut of land to the northof the Potomac River. The state of WestVirginia is to the west and Pennsylvania is northof the Mason-Dixon Line, which forms theboundary. The Allegheny, Blue Ridge, andAppalachian Mountains cut through this thestate. Backbone Mountain, with an elevationof 3360 feet, is located in the extreme westernpart of Maryland.

The eastern part of Maryland wraps around theChesapeake Bay, which is formed especially bythe mouths of two great rivers, the SusquehannaRiver and the Potomac River. Excellent naturalharbors can be found here because the 200 milelong bay is deep and protected from the AtlanticOcean. Wildlife abounds in the bay because ofthe many estuaries, marshes, and swamps. Westof the bay is the Piedmont where much of thefarming takes place. In the southern part of thebay is Bloodsworth Island, a U.S. Navy preserve,which is pock-marked with many craters fromtarget practice of the navy that occurred until1996.

Maryland has a short coastline with the AtlanticOcean. The famous Assateague Island from thebook, “Misty of Chincoteague”, is here.According to legend, the wild horses found hereare from a Spanish galleon that was wrecked inthe 1500s.


a straight line between the two states and a linebetween Maryland and Delaware. This becamethe important Mason-Dixon Line that dividedthe northern states from the southern statesalready before the Civil War.

The colonists soon developed a rebelliousattitude toward Great Britain. In 1774, rebels(colonists who were against British rule)protested a tax on tea by burning the ship calledPeggy Stewart in Annapolis harbor. Most of thepeople did not agree with the violence, but theAmerican Revolution had already begun. Duringthe American Revolution General GeorgeWashington was trapped on Manhattan Islandin New York City, and brave Maryland troopsheld a strong line. From this, Maryland began tobe called the “Old Line State”.

Maryland played an important role in the Warof 1812 when British ships attacked manyChesapeake towns and even burned the capital.At Fort McHenry near Baltimore, citizens builtbarricades to protect the city, but the British justbombed them from their ships anyway. Duringthe battle, Francis Scott Key saw the Americanflag waving in the middle of these bombs. Hewrote the "Star Spangled Banner" which laterbecame our national anthem.

Fort Mc Henry in Baltimore

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Cities

The port of Baltimore was settled about 300years ago because of its excellent natural harbor.Today, Baltimore is the largest city in Marylandwith a population of 620,961. With its harbor,it is an important port along the eastern seaboard,mainly because it is very far inland and theharbor is deep. Maryland’s state capital is in thecity of Annapolis, the home of the U.S. NavalAcademy, which trains young naval officers forwork in the U.S. Navy.

District of Columbia

The District of Columbia is a small box-shapedpiece of land along the Potomac River betweenMaryland and Virginia, but is not a part of eitherstate. Located in this District is our nation’scapital, Washington, District of Columbia(D.C.). Many famous buildings are there. Thetwo most famous ones are the White Housewhere the President lives, and the U.S. CapitolBuilding where the Congress of the United Statesmakes laws. Both are located on PennsylvaniaAvenue, with the Capitol Building southeast ofthe White House. Across the street from theCapitol is the U.S. Supreme Court Building, andwest of the Capitol are the WashingtonMonument, the Lincoln Memorial, and severalmuseums and War Memorials, all located on theNational Mall. The Thomas Jefferson Memorialand the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorialare to the south of the National Mall.


Farming

Maryland grows a wide variety of crops,including nursery and greenhouse products,which are becoming popular because theresidents of nearby cities want to buy them fortheir homes. Although corn and soybeans areimportant crops, the eggs and the meat ofchickens are the most important agricultureproducts. Perdue Farms, located in Salisbury,Maryland, is a large poultry business insoutheastern Maryland. You often see thisbrand in the meat section of the local grocerystore.

Economy

The Chesapeake Bay is very important to theeconomy of Maryland, mainly because of theseafood industry. The symbol of this industry isthe blue crabs which are eaten by many localresidents and tourists, who find it takes a lot ofpractice to clean and eat blue crab! Oysters andclams are also harvested from the bay by localworkers. Many residents of the area have jobsin restaurants which serve delicious seafoodfrom the bay.

A large number of Maryland residents arewealthy because of the high-paying jobsavailable in the area. As we stated in theintroduction, because Maryland is close toWashington, D.C., many government jobs areavailable. Numerous businesses that buildproducts for our military are nearby, such asLockheed-Martin in Bethesda, Maryland.Another company that provides jobs forresidents of Maryland is the Black and DeckerCompany which began as a tool manufacturerlocated in Baltimore. Today, it has grown into alarge corporation that produces power tools andother products.

Port of Baltimore, Maryland

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It is impossible to name all of the importantgovernment buildings in this book. Find a mapof Washington D.C. which shows all thegovernment buildings in the area, and you willbe able to understand why the number ofgovernment workers that come to Washington,D.C. every day is astounding.

Although it rarely happens, the Supreme Courtcan declare that a law is not fair according tothe United States Constitution.

West Virginia - The Mountain State

History

Early explorers came to the West Virginia areaalready in the 1600s when it was still a part ofthe Virginia colony. George Washington, wholater became our first President, came there in1747 as a young apprentice surveyor (a personwho marks off the boundaries of property).Washington owned large tracts of land near theKanawha River in the far western part of thestate. When many early settlers moved onto hisland, he was forced to evict them from his land.This means that he told them to leave his land.

Settlers continued to come across the mountainsagainst the orders of the King of England, whosaid in 1750 that no white settlers could settleacross a line that he made through theAppalachians Mountains. Shortly after this, theFrench and Indian War was fought. During thiswar, battles were fought at Fort Henry nearWheeling, West Virginia, in the panhandle regionof the northern part of the state. After theBritish victory at Fort Duquesne in 1758, peacecame to the western Virginia area.

Our national government is divided into threedifferent branches. They are called thelegislative (LEH jis LAY tiv) branch, theexecutive (ihg ZEH cue tiv) branch, and thejudicial (jew DIH shul) branch. The legislativebranch makes the laws for our country. Anothername for this assembly of people is the Congresswhich meets at the United States Capitol. TheCongress is made up of the Senate and theHouse of Representatives (also called theHouse). The executive branch includes thepresident and vice president and all of the peoplewho work for them. The executive branch makessure that the people of the country follow thelaw. The President is also the commander in chiefof the military and the most importantrepresentative of the United States who meetswith foreign nations. The judicial branchconsists of the Supreme Court Justices who mustmake sure that the nation’s laws are fair to allthe citizens.

How do these three branches of governmentwork together to make laws? First, when a lawis proposed it is called a bill. In order for a billto become a law, both the House and the Senatehave to approve it with over half of the membersof the House and over half of the Senate saying,“Yes,” for a bill to be approved. Then, if thePresident signs the bill, it becomes a law.

Reformed Worldview Perspective: AsChristians, the Bible commands us topray for those who rule over us andsubmit to them. We are called to obeythem except when they command us tosin. Discuss how that could happen.

The United States Capitol inWashington, D.C.

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King Coal

West Virginia is a major coal-mining state. Itranks second in coal production only to the stateof Wyoming. Many of the coal mines are in theAllegheny Mountains of the eastern part of thestate. Coal is mined in various ways. A shaftmine is deep under-ground and workers mustbe lowered by elevators down into the mine. Inan open-cast mine, heavy equipment cuts coalaway on the earth’s surface. A slope mine issimilar to a shaft mine except that a tunnel slopesdown to the mine from the side of a hill. Finally,in a drift mine, which is on the side of a hill,the coal is taken from inside the hill and broughtby a conveyor belt down to the plant.

Miners face many dangers in their work. Onedanger is Black Lung Disease, which can developfrom inhaling the coal dust of the mine. Another


The Battle of Point Pleasant was fought in 1774between the Virginians and the NativeAmericans. Because it was fought before theBattle of Lexington which took place in Aprilof 1775, and because many Virginians believedthat the Indians in the battle were aided by theBritish, some people claim that this was the firstbattle of the American Revolution. A few yearslater during the Revolutionary War, many of theNative Americans who lived in what is nowWest Virginia fought on the British side. FortHenry, near Wheeling, was the site of manyattacks.

When the United States was formed followingthe defeat of the British, western Virginia wasstill a part of Virginia. Many settlers continuedmoving into the area in the 1800s. One of them,the famous Daniel Boone, later became alieutenant colonel in the Kanawha Countymilitia. During the Civil War, the residents ofwestern Virginia were against slavery whileeastern Virginia wanted slavery. The plantationowners east of the mountains had more votingpower, so Virginia remained a slave state whenthe Civil War began. At the request of the peopleof western Virginia who were against slavery,Congress decided to form the state of WestVirginia in 1863, while the Civil War was beingfought.

The Land

West Virginia has a strange shape. The OhioRiver forms the northwest border and the TugFork River forms the southwest border of thestate. The border with Virginia, Maryland, andPennsylvania is so jagged that West Virginia hastwo panhandles, one in the north, and one inthe east.

The “Mountain State” is a good nickname forWest Virginia. The Allegheny Mountains are inmuch of the eastern part of the state. SpruceKnob, with an elevation of 4863 ft., is locatedhere. Although the residents of the state enjoy

the scenic beauty of these tree coveredmountains, these mountains are the reason whyWest Virginia has very little farming comparedto other states. Poultry and egg farms accountfor about half of the agricultural economy.

The western part of the state is the AlleghenyPlateau. The major rivers are the Kanawha andLittle Kanawha Rivers. The Monongahela Riverstarts in the mountains and flows through thisplateau north to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Ohio River between WestVirginia and Ohio.

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Many of the people of West Virginia are poor,especially those who live in the mountains. Fewof them receive a college education, and manyof the children there grow up in poor health.This has become a great concern, especially aftersome national television programs showed thepoor condition of the children. However, inareas such as the city of Wheeling and the statecapital, Charleston, the government is trying topromote and encourage growth in the economy.As a result, major companies have moved to thestate of West Virginia providing jobs for manyworkers there. In the recession (a time ofunemployment and hard times for business) of2008-2009, even though many surroundingstates were experiencing very highunemployment, these new companies providedmany West Virginia workers new opportunities.

Virginia - The Old Dominion

Rich in History

The state of Virginia is rich in history. Whenstudents of history travel near the York andJames River of eastern Virginia, they will seewhere colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, andYorktown were settled. When they visit these


danger for miners is that at any time explosionscan occur when too much methane gas collectsin the air. Miners can also suffocate and diefrom polluted air. The government, especiallyin recent years, has passed many laws to protectminers from dangers such as these.

Disasters still happen even with the new laws.The Sago Mine Disaster, which occurred incentral West Virginia in January of 2006, was inthe national headlines for several days becausethirteen people suffocated and died after beingtrapped in a cave-in. Only one man survived.After this disaster, Congress passed even morelaws for mine safety.

The coal-mining industry itself in West Virginiais also in danger because environmentalists areconcerned that coal mining hurts theenvironment (climate, soil and air around themine) and they want to stop some of the mining.They are especially concerned with the type ofmining in which mountain tops are removed.President Obama sided with theenvironmentalists when he supportedregulations that make it very difficult for WestVirginia miners to remove mountain tops or tofill in rivers.

Environmentalists are not only concerned aboutthe effect that mining has on the environment,but they also want to protect the scenic beautyof the area.

Charleston is the capital ofWest Virginia

A coal barge on the OhioRiver in West Virginia

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Another president born in Virginia was JamesMadison, our fourth president, who is well-known for his work in helping to write theConstitution, and for his leadership as Presidentduring the War of 1812. In addition, JamesMonroe, our fifth president, William HenryHarrison, our ninth president, John Tyler, ourtenth president, James K. Polk, our eleventhpresident, and Woodrow Wilson, our twenty-eighth president, were all born in Virginia!

The Land

Eastern Virginia is the Atlantic Coastal Plain,also called the Tidewater area, because theocean tides come up the rivers. Many estuariesare located here where the salt water of theocean meets the fresh water of the rivers.

The Chesapeake Bay is an important part ofVirginia’s landforms. When you look at yourmap on page 57 you will see that Virginia is botheast and west of the Bay. Two counties ofVirginia are on the far southern tip of theDelmarva Peninsula. The Chesapeake BayBridge connects these two counties with the restof Virginia, which is west of the Bay. In themiddle of the Bay, the bridge goes down under-water into two different tunnels connecting thetwo parts of Virginia. If you have read the book,Misty of Chincoteague, you will know that this storytakes place on the Island of Assateague, located


places, they can actually see what life was likeduring colonial and Revolutionary War days,because historians and archeologists haveworked hard to uncover and recreate these sites.

The nickname of Virginia is the Old Dominionbecause Virginia was loyal to the British kingduring the English Civil War, a war thathappened long before the American Revolution.However, the motto of Virginia is Sic SemperTyrannis, which is Latin for “Thus Always toTyrants.” The motto speaks about the colonistsrebelling against the King of Britain whom theyconsidered to be a tyrant.

Mother of Presidents

Virginia is called the “Mother of Presidents”because eight presidents were born there. It isremarkable that four of our nation’s first fivepresidents were from Virginia. GeorgeWashington’s home, Mount Vernon, is in easternVirginia by the Potomac River, near Washington,D.C. Because at this time there was no organizedwestern exploration, and because maps of thewest had not yet been drawn, GeorgeWashington at one time had hopes that thePotomac River might flow all the way to thewestern ocean. Today, tourists can visit thehouse that Washington inherited from his family.

Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home, is also ineastern Virginia. In addition to being our thirdpresident, Jefferson was an avid gardener andscientist. He grew many different kinds ofplants, including some taken from the Lewis andClark expedition to the west.

Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home 69

Reformed Worldview Perspective: Whenour Constitution was written, Jeffersonwrote that all men are created equal.Yet, both Jefferson and Washingtonowned slaves even though both mendisliked slavery and wanted it to end.What does the Bible say about slavery?


off the Atlantic coast of both Maryland andVirginia.

On the top of one mountain in this park, youcan stand in three states at once!

Farming

Tobacco has been an important crop of Virginiasince colonial days, and is still grown in most ofthe farms of central Virginia. Tomatoes have

Reformed Worldview Perspective:Because more and more people areliving near the Bay, there is a concernthat the Bay is becoming too polluted.In 1997, fish died in many of the feederstreams of Chesapeake Bay becausethey ate small organisms that were toxic,containing poisons from lawn fertilizer,farming, and manufacturing. How do weas Christians prevent pollution of thewater?

The coast of Virginia is filled with beaches thatlure tourists to the area. In the southern part ofthe state there once were many swamps thatover the years have been drained for agriculture.Today, the Great Dismal Swamp, located southof Norfolk, is an example of what this arealooked like before it was drained.

The Piedmont is a large part of central Virginia.The fall line continues in this area and providedwater power to towns that began near saw millsin years gone by. Because ships could not gopast the fall line, they had to unload their goodsat these towns.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are the first thin lineof mountains that you come to as you go westin Virginia. The beautiful Shenandoah Valley,to the west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is anarea where many Civil War battles were fought.The Blue Ridge Parkway is a special highwaythat runs through this scenic area.

The Appalachian Mountains are in the westernpart of the state. Mt. Rogers, with an elevationof 5729 ft., is found here. The beautifulCumberland Gap National Park, a place whereDaniel Boone led settlers through the mountainsto the frontier, is at the western tip of the state.

recently become the crop that gives Virginiafarmers the most income. Grown on theDelmarva Peninsula, tomatoes are used for avariety of foods. Some are sold at markets,while others are sent to food-processing plantswhere they are used to make sauces for foodssuch as pizza. Soybeans and corn are grownmostly to feed the livestock of the Virginiafarms. Other valuable agricultural products ofVirginia are poultry and eggs.

Reformed Worldview Perspective: Thegovernment is trying to reduce theamount of tobacco that is grown inVirginia because tobacco is used forcigarettes. Tests show that cigarettesmoking is harmful to our health. Howshould Christians view smoking?

Tobacco Farmingin Virginia

Economy

The economy of northern Virginia is thriving,especially near our nation’s capital, Washington,D.C. As in other states near this city, many70


high-paying jobs are available in government andin businesses that make military equipment forthe government. The Pentagon is an exampleof a government office building with over20,000 employees! The men and women whowork there control the operations of our military.On September 11, 2001, the same day that twoairplanes hit the World Trade Center towers inNew York City, a hijacked plane also hit thePentagon. After that, the security at thePentagon was increased.

The county of Arlington, Virginia has 207,627residents. The area is home to the Net-plex,where many of our nation’s Internet servers arelocated. Internet servers are fast computersthat keep the Internet running. The governmentis concerned because these computers requireso much electricity. Yet, they realize that theInternet is very important today because of theimportance of global communication and thegreat amount of business which is carried onthrough the Internet. Armed guards watch atbusinesses in the Net-plex to make sure thatterrorists do not shut down these servers.

Richmond is the capital of Virginia. This largecity of 204,214 people is in the eastern part ofthe state on the James River. The city is a centerof bio-technology. Bio-technology involvesusing living organisms to make medicines orother products that can help make life betterfor people. One example of bio-technology isusing the living organism, bacteria, to makeinsulin for people with diabetes.

The largest city in Virginia is Virginia Beach onthe Atlantic Ocean. This city of 437,994 peoplehas many high rise apartment buildings and hotelsalong miles of beachfront. Tourists andbeachgoers can walk right onto the beach andenjoy swimming and other pleasurable activities.They can also visit the nearby colonial townsof Jamestown and Williamsburg, whereinteresting historic buildings and good guideshelp visitors to see what life was like in colonialdays.

Just north on the Chesapeake Bay from VirginiaBeach are the cities of Norfolk and NewportNews where important shipyards and portfacilities are found. Major shipbuilders are inthe area, such as the Northrup GrummanCompany in Newport News. This company isthe only one in the United States that buildsaircraft carriers for the United Statesgovernment. It takes more than seven years tobuild an aircraft carrier, providing jobs for21,000 people!

Reformed Worldview Perspective:Bio-technology often allows scientists tocure diseases that hurt people. However,Christians must be aware thatbiotechnology can be used wrongly. Forexample, when a scientist uses anabortion to help find a cure for a disease,then bio-technology is used in a wrongway.

Virginia Beach,Virginia

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