Chapter Four South Middle Atlantic States The South Middle Atlantic States are a group of four states located near our nation s capital, Washington, D.C. The states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia make up the region. The Land The South Middle Atlantic States have three distinct landforms; the mountains, the Piedmont, and the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Mountains higher to lower land. The fall line is close to the Atlantic Ocean in the north, but by the time it gets to Virginia and the Carolinas it is at least 100 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. Many of the cities of the South Middle Atlantic States are located on the fall line, because in the colonial days people built water mills (mills with machines moved by water-power) on the rivers of the region. 56 The main mountain range of the South Middle Atlantic States is the Appalachian Mountain Range, found in the forested western part of the region. Just to the east of the Appalachian Mountains is a narrow range called the Blue Ridge Mountains. The beautiful Shenandoah Valley is tucked between them in the western part of Virginia. The National Park Service has built a road through this area called the Blue Ridge Parkway. This road winds through valleys and tunnels and offers breathtaking sights of mountains and waterfalls. Piedmont The word Piedmont means at the foot of the mountain. The Piedmont, just to the east of the mountains, is an area with foothills and plains that slope down to the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Many of the farms and cities are located in this region, especially along the fall line. This is a line that divides the eastern Atlantic coastal plain from the Piedmont. It is called the fall line because it contains many rapids and waterfalls as the rivers go down rapidly from Chimney Rock lookout on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia Coastal Plain, Bays, and Rivers Much of the eastern part of the South Middle Atlantic States is low, coastal plain, with many bays and rivers located there. The Chesapeake Bay is a very large body of water in Virginia and Maryland. Delaware Bay borders the eastern shore of Delaware. Many large cities and ports are located on these bays. Major rivers such as the Susquehanna and the Potomac River feed
57
58
Population Map of the South Middle Atlantic States Delaware - DE Maryland - MD Virginia - VA West Virginia - WV 59
60 the Chesapeake Bay. The Potomac River is notable because it runs through Washington, D.C, and serves as a border between Virginia and Maryland. Climate The South Middle Atlantic States have cool winters and hot summers. A normal winter day is usually cold and snowy, while a normal day in summer is often hot and humid, although the mountainous regions of West Virginia and Virginia are cooler. Pockets of fog are often present in the mountain passes making it difficult to see the tops of the mountains. Economy Farming is one important part of the economy in the Middle Atlantic States. Most of the farming in the South Middle Atlantic States takes place in the Piedmont region and on the Delmarva Peninsula east of Chesapeake Bay, named from a combination of the three states that are on the peninsula, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. There farmers grow crops such as tobacco and vegetables. A major agricultural industry of the area is raising chickens. Many jobs in the South Middle Atlantic States have to do with the government since the area surrounds Washington, D.C., our national capital. People either work directly in government office buildings such as the Pentagon or for businesses that build military equipment and other products for the government. The region is also home to major chemical and manufacturing companies that provide work for residents of the area. History Colonial Period The state of Virginia played a leading part in our nation s history. The first successful English settlement was in Jamestown in 1607 on the Chesapeake Bay. The settlers of Jamestown were not ready for the hard work of starting a new settlement and had to be forced to grow crops by their leader, John Smith. After many difficult winters, however, the colony was able to survive. The Native Americans in the Jamestown area were under a chief called, Powhatan. Many interesting stories are told about how his daughter, Pocahontas, saved the life of John Smith, although historians are not sure whether the stories are true. What we do know as fact, however, is that John Smith and Jamestown survived. In 1619, the House of Burgesses met in Virginia for the first time, important because it was an early step to selfgovernment while the colonists were under British rule. After 1607, the other colonies were formed for various reasons. Settlers from Sweden came to Delaware, and the colony that became Maryland was formed for religious freedom, mainly for Roman Catholics from England. We will discuss the other colonies later. American Revolution The colonies in the South Middle Atlantic States were Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. By the The Pentagon is a huge complex of office buildings in Virginia which serves as the headquarters for the military of the United States.
1700s, each of these colonies had its own government, even though Great Britain didn t care about what these colonial governments said. Because so many people of different ideas were moving there, Britain had a hard time controlling the colonies. Britain responded with many actions and laws (called Acts ) that the colonies did not like. We have already discussed the American Revolution which first began mainly in the New England and Middle Atlantic States. After 1780, much of the fighting moved to the South because Great Britain believed that the Tories in the South would help them win a victory. A Tory was a person who was on the British side. From 1780 to 1782, the British were in control as far south as the important seaport of Charleston, South Carolina. However, after the significant battle of Cowpens, South Carolina, the colonials eventually were able to push the British to defeat at Yorktown in 1781. Since Yorktown was on the Chesapeake Bay, the French were able to help the colonists by blocking British ships from entering the Bay to save their troops at Yorktown. As a result, the colonists gained the victory in 1781 with the help of the French government and people. However, the Americans did not sign a peace treaty with Britain until 1783, at the Treaty of Paris. War of 1812 After several years, America fought Britain again in the War of 1812. During that war, the British attacked many American ports in the Chesapeake Bay. They even burned Washington, D.C. After the war, the United States still remained an independent country. The Civil War The Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861-1865. A civil war is a war in which people from the same country fight each other. During the Civil War over 600,000 Americans lost their lives! The battle of Antietam in Maryland was a major battle in the Civil War. The bridge in the picture was captured by northern troops during the battle. After the battle, President Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation which freed the southern slaves. The war began at Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay in 1861. Most of the southern states seceded (left the nation) and formed the Confederacy with Richmond, Virginia as its capital. Many of the battles of this war were fought in Virginia, between Washington, D.C. and Richmond, because both armies wanted to capture the capital city of its enemy. At first the southern states had much success, especially because of a brilliant general named Robert E. Lee. However, on July 3, 1863, the northern army was able to win a great victory at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Although many generals were involved for both the North and the South, the Northern general, General Ulysses S. Grant, continued to fight General Lee of the 61
Confederacy in many battles near the two capitals. After much bloodshed, the South surrendered at Appomattox Court House in Virginia in 1865. Bethany Beach on the Delaware coast. Delaware - The First State The Beginnings of Delaware The first Europeans to settle in Delaware came from the Netherlands in 1631. The Indians from the Lenni Lenape, whom we have studied before, raided the settlement and destroyed it. However, because they caught diseases from the colonists, the Native Americans soon left the area. In 1638 settlers from Sweden came and set up a town near the present day city of Wilmington, and called the Delaware region, New Sweden. The Dutch felt threatened by the Swedish settlement, so they took control of the area by the year 1655. Until 1701, when William Penn gave them permission to become a separate colony, Delaware was under the rule of Pennsylvania. Delaware is called "The First State" because on December 7, 1787, it was the first state to approve the United States Constitution. Land and Water Delaware is a small state that is on the east side of the Delmarva Peninsula between the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. Much of the shoreline on Delaware Bay is swampland protected by the state. The southern part of the state also has a small shoreline on the Atlantic Ocean that is lined with sandbar islands. Because the Piedmont is only in the northern part of the state, much of Delaware is low, coastal plain. The fall line runs between these two landforms in northern Delaware near the Christina River. The coastal plain used to have many cypress swamps, but today, the only major swamp in Delaware is called the Great Cypress Swamp, and is protected by the state. Farming The best farmland in Delaware is found along a low ridge between the watersheds of the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. A watershed is an area that is drained by a river to a body of water. Soybeans are the state s number one crop, using about forty percent of the farmland. Delaware has always been known for its poultry industry (chickens). In fact, the state makes most of its money in agriculture from the sale of broilers (small, young chickens). The blue hen chicken, developed in Delaware, is a well-known breed of chicken. Economy Delaware has always been known for its chemical industry. In the early 1800s, a Frenchman by the name of Du Pont came to Delaware to start a gunpowder mill on 62
Wilmington, Delaware skyline Reformed Worldview Perspective: The recession of 2008 and 2009 was caused partly because many people borrowed more than they could pay back. As Christians, we may use credit cards but must be careful that we pay back what we owe. Talk about how using credit cards can be both good and bad. Maryland - The Old Line State Brandywine Creek. Today, the Du Pont Corporation is a large company that produces a variety of chemical and energy products. The biggest city of Delaware is Wilmington, in the northern part of the state. Most of the people in Delaware live near there. Wilmington is a center for credit card banking. A credit card allows you to buy products and services without paying with paper or coin money and then allows you to pay back later, as long as you pay some interest. Dover, the capital of Delaware, is in the middle of the state. In 2008, Delaware Senator Joe Biden from Delaware was elected to be Vice- President of the United States to serve with President Barack Obama. Delaware's capitol building in Dover History The colony of Maryland was formed to protect the rights of Roman Catholics, because many of them were persecuted in America as well as in Europe. In 1632, Lord Baltimore, also named Cecil Calvert, received a charter from King Charles I that gave him the right to start a colony where he hoped there would be freedom of religion. His brother, Leonard Calvert, who became the first governor, desired that Protestants and Catholics could work side by side. One Native American tribal group in the region at this time was the Algonquin (Al GAHN quinn). These tribes wanted an ally against their enemies, the mighty Susquehannock (Sus Kwih HAN ock). Eventually, the colonists helped them defeat the Susquehannock, mainly because the Native Americans died of diseases that the colonists had brought to the New World. Annapolis, named after Great Britain s Queen Anne, became the capital in the early 1700s. It soon was known in the colonies as a center of music and art. The port of Baltimore was established at this time, because it had an excellent natural harbor on the Chesapeake Bay. After colonists settled farther inland, disagreements arose when people from Pennsylvania and Maryland started to settle on the same land. Finally, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon settled this problem by marking 63
64 a straight line between the two states and a line between Maryland and Delaware. This became the important Mason-Dixon Line that divided the northern states from the southern states already before the Civil War. The colonists soon developed a rebellious attitude toward Great Britain. In 1774, rebels (colonists who were against British rule) protested a tax on tea by burning the ship called Peggy Stewart in Annapolis harbor. Most of the people did not agree with the violence, but the American Revolution had already begun. During the American Revolution General George Washington was trapped on Manhattan Island in New York City, and brave Maryland troops held a strong line. From this, Maryland began to be called the Old Line State. Maryland played an important role in the War of 1812 when British ships attacked many Chesapeake towns and even burned the capital. At Fort McHenry near Baltimore, citizens built barricades to protect the city, but the British just bombed them from their ships anyway. During the battle, Francis Scott Key saw the American flag waving in the middle of these bombs. He wrote the "Star Spangled Banner" which later became our national anthem. Fort Mc Henry in Baltimore After the War of 1812, the United States grew in population. Over many years, the government built the National Road from Maryland to Illinois. Canals such as the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal were built so that ships could cut across from the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware Bay. The Baltimore and Ohio (B & O) Railroad was originally started in Maryland and it soon became a center in the growth of our nation. The Land The shape of Maryland is unique. The western part of the state is a thin cut of land to the north of the Potomac River. The state of West Virginia is to the west and Pennsylvania is north of the Mason-Dixon Line, which forms the boundary. The Allegheny, Blue Ridge, and Appalachian Mountains cut through this the state. Backbone Mountain, with an elevation of 3360 feet, is located in the extreme western part of Maryland. The eastern part of Maryland wraps around the Chesapeake Bay, which is formed especially by the mouths of two great rivers, the Susquehanna River and the Potomac River. Excellent natural harbors can be found here because the 200 mile long bay is deep and protected from the Atlantic Ocean. Wildlife abounds in the bay because of the many estuaries, marshes, and swamps. West of the bay is the Piedmont where much of the farming takes place. In the southern part of the bay is Bloodsworth Island, a U.S. Navy preserve, which is pock-marked with many craters from target practice of the navy that occurred until 1996. Maryland has a short coastline with the Atlantic Ocean. The famous Assateague Island from the book, Misty of Chincoteague, is here. According to legend, the wild horses found here are from a Spanish galleon that was wrecked in the 1500s.
Farming Maryland grows a wide variety of crops, including nursery and greenhouse products, which are becoming popular because the residents of nearby cities want to buy them for their homes. Although corn and soybeans are important crops, the eggs and the meat of chickens are the most important agriculture products. Perdue Farms, located in Salisbury, Maryland, is a large poultry business in southeastern Maryland. You often see this brand in the meat section of the local grocery store. Economy The Chesapeake Bay is very important to the economy of Maryland, mainly because of the seafood industry. The symbol of this industry is the blue crabs which are eaten by many local residents and tourists, who find it takes a lot of practice to clean and eat blue crab! Oysters and clams are also harvested from the bay by local workers. Many residents of the area have jobs in restaurants which serve delicious seafood from the bay. A large number of Maryland residents are wealthy because of the high-paying jobs available in the area. As we stated in the introduction, because Maryland is close to Washington, D.C., many government jobs are available. Numerous businesses that build products for our military are nearby, such as Lockheed-Martin in Bethesda, Maryland. Another company that provides jobs for residents of Maryland is the Black and Decker Company which began as a tool manufacturer located in Baltimore. Today, it has grown into a large corporation that produces power tools and other products. Cities Port of Baltimore, Maryland The port of Baltimore was settled about 300 years ago because of its excellent natural harbor. Today, Baltimore is the largest city in Maryland with 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 the harbor is deep. Maryland s state capital is in the city of Annapolis, the home of the U.S. Naval Academy, which trains young naval officers for work in the U.S. Navy. District of Columbia The District of Columbia is a small box-shaped piece of land along the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia, but is not a part of either state. Located in this District is our nation s capital, Washington, District of Columbia (D.C.). Many famous buildings are there. The two most famous ones are the White House where the President lives, and the U.S. Capitol Building where the Congress of the United States makes laws. Both are located on Pennsylvania Avenue, with the Capitol Building southeast of the White House. Across the street from the Capitol is the U.S. Supreme Court Building, and west of the Capitol are the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and several museums and War Memorials, all located on the National Mall. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial are to the south of the National Mall. 65
It is impossible to name all of the important government buildings in this book. Find a map of Washington D.C. which shows all the government buildings in the area, and you will be able to understand why the number of government workers that come to Washington, D.C. every day is astounding. 66 Reformed Worldview Perspective: As Christians, the Bible commands us to pray for those who rule over us and submit to them. We are called to obey them except when they command us to sin. Discuss how that could happen. Our national government is divided into three different branches. They are called the legislative (LEH jis LAY tiv) branch, the executive (ihg ZEH cue tiv) branch, and the judicial (jew DIH shul) branch. The legislative branch makes the laws for our country. Another name for this assembly of people is the Congress which meets at the United States Capitol. The Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives (also called the House). The executive branch includes the president and vice president and all of the people who work for them. The executive branch makes sure that the people of the country follow the law. The President is also the commander in chief of the military and the most important representative of the United States who meets with foreign nations. The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court Justices who must make sure that the nation s laws are fair to all the citizens. How do these three branches of government work together to make laws? First, when a law is proposed it is called a bill. In order for a bill to become a law, both the House and the Senate have to approve it with over half of the members of the House and over half of the Senate saying, Yes, for a bill to be approved. Then, if the President signs the bill, it becomes a law. Although it rarely happens, the Supreme Court can declare that a law is not fair according to the United States Constitution. West Virginia - The Mountain State History The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Early explorers came to the West Virginia area already in the 1600s when it was still a part of the Virginia colony. George Washington, who later became our first President, came there in 1747 as a young apprentice surveyor (a person who marks off the boundaries of property). Washington owned large tracts of land near the Kanawha River in the far western part of the state. When many early settlers moved onto his land, 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 mountains against the orders of the King of England, who said in 1750 that no white settlers could settle across a line that he made through the Appalachians Mountains. Shortly after this, the French and Indian War was fought. During this war, battles were fought at Fort Henry near Wheeling, West Virginia, in the panhandle region of the northern part of the state. After the British victory at Fort Duquesne in 1758, peace came to the western Virginia area.
The Battle of Point Pleasant was fought in 1774 between the Virginians and the Native Americans. Because it was fought before the Battle of Lexington which took place in April of 1775, and because many Virginians believed that the Indians in the battle were aided by the British, some people claim that this was the first battle of the American Revolution. A few years later during the Revolutionary War, many of the Native Americans who lived in what is now West Virginia fought on the British side. Fort Henry, near Wheeling, was the site of many attacks. When the United States was formed following the defeat of the British, western Virginia was still a part of Virginia. Many settlers continued moving into the area in the 1800s. One of them, the famous Daniel Boone, later became a lieutenant colonel in the Kanawha County militia. During the Civil War, the residents of western Virginia were against slavery while eastern Virginia wanted slavery. The plantation owners east of the mountains had more voting power, so Virginia remained a slave state when the Civil War began. At the request of the people of western Virginia who were against slavery, Congress decided to form the state of West Virginia in 1863, while the Civil War was being fought. The Land West Virginia has a strange shape. The Ohio River forms the northwest border and the Tug Fork River forms the southwest border of the state. The border with Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania is so jagged that West Virginia has two panhandles, one in the north, and one in the east. The Mountain State is a good nickname for West Virginia. The Allegheny Mountains are in much of the eastern part of the state. Spruce Knob, with an elevation of 4863 ft., is located here. Although the residents of the state enjoy the scenic beauty of these tree covered mountains, these mountains are the reason why West Virginia has very little farming compared to other states. Poultry and egg farms account for about half of the agricultural economy. The western part of the state is the Allegheny Plateau. The major rivers are the Kanawha and Little Kanawha Rivers. The Monongahela River starts in the mountains and flows through this plateau north to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Ohio River between West Virginia and Ohio. King Coal West Virginia is a major coal-mining state. It ranks second in coal production only to the state of Wyoming. Many of the coal mines are in the Allegheny Mountains of the eastern part of the state. Coal is mined in various ways. A shaft mine is deep under-ground and workers must be lowered by elevators down into the mine. In an open-cast mine, heavy equipment cuts coal away on the earth s surface. A slope mine is similar to a shaft mine except that a tunnel slopes down 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 brought by a conveyor belt down to the plant. Miners face many dangers in their work. One danger is Black Lung Disease, which can develop from inhaling the coal dust of the mine. Another 67
danger for miners is that at any time explosions can occur when too much methane gas collects in the air. Miners can also suffocate and die from polluted air. The government, especially in recent years, has passed many laws to protect miners from dangers such as these. Disasters still happen even with the new laws. The Sago Mine Disaster, which occurred in central West Virginia in January of 2006, was in the national headlines for several days because thirteen people suffocated and died after being trapped in a cave-in. Only one man survived. After this disaster, Congress passed even more laws for mine safety. The coal-mining industry itself in West Virginia is also in danger because environmentalists are concerned that coal mining hurts the environment (climate, soil and air around the mine) and they want to stop some of the mining. They are especially concerned with the type of mining in which mountain tops are removed. President Obama sided with the environmentalists when he supported regulations that make it very difficult for West Virginia miners to remove mountain tops or to fill in rivers. Environmentalists are not only concerned about the effect that mining has on the environment, but they also want to protect the scenic beauty of the area. Charleston is the capital of West Virginia Many of the people of West Virginia are poor, especially those who live in the mountains. Few of them receive a college education, and many of the children there grow up in poor health. This has become a great concern, especially after some national television programs showed the poor condition of the children. However, in areas such as the city of Wheeling and the state capital, Charleston, the government is trying to promote and encourage growth in the economy. As a result, major companies have moved to the state of West Virginia providing jobs for many workers there. In the recession (a time of unemployment and hard times for business) of 2008-2009, even though many surrounding states were experiencing very high unemployment, these new companies provided many West Virginia workers new opportunities. Virginia - The Old Dominion Rich in History 68 A coal barge on the Ohio River in West Virginia The state of Virginia is rich in history. When students of history travel near the York and James River of eastern Virginia, they will see where colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown were settled. When they visit these
places, they can actually see what life was like during colonial and Revolutionary War days, because historians and archeologists have worked hard to uncover and recreate these sites. The nickname of Virginia is the Old Dominion because Virginia was loyal to the British king during the English Civil War, a war that happened long before the American Revolution. However, the motto of Virginia is Sic Semper Tyrannis, which is Latin for Thus Always to Tyrants. The motto speaks about the colonists rebelling against the King of Britain whom they considered to be a tyrant. Mother of Presidents Virginia is called the Mother of Presidents because eight presidents were born there. It is remarkable that four of our nation s first five presidents were from Virginia. George Washington s home, Mount Vernon, is in eastern Virginia by the Potomac River, near Washington, D.C. Because at this time there was no organized western exploration, and because maps of the west had not yet been drawn, George Washington at one time had hopes that the Potomac River might flow all the way to the western ocean. Today, tourists can visit the house that Washington inherited from his family. Monticello, Thomas Jefferson s home, is also in eastern Virginia. In addition to being our third president, Jefferson was an avid gardener and scientist. He grew many different kinds of plants, including some taken from the Lewis and Clark expedition to the west. Another president born in Virginia was James Madison, our fourth president, who is wellknown for his work in helping to write the Constitution, and for his leadership as President during the War of 1812. In addition, James Monroe, our fifth president, William Henry Harrison, our ninth president, John Tyler, our tenth president, James K. Polk, our eleventh president, and Woodrow Wilson, our twentyeighth president, were all born in Virginia! The Land Eastern Virginia is the Atlantic Coastal Plain, also called the Tidewater area, because the ocean tides come up the rivers. Many estuaries are located here where the salt water of the ocean meets the fresh water of the rivers. The Chesapeake Bay is an important part of Virginia s landforms. When you look at your map on page 57 you will see that Virginia is both east and west of the Bay. Two counties of Virginia are on the far southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge connects these two counties with the rest of Virginia, which is west of the Bay. In the middle of the Bay, the bridge goes down underwater into two different tunnels connecting the two parts of Virginia. If you have read the book, Misty of Chincoteague, you will know that this story takes place on the Island of Assateague, located Reformed Worldview Perspective: When our Constitution was written, Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal. Yet, both Jefferson and Washington owned slaves even though both men disliked slavery and wanted it to end. What does the Bible say about slavery? Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home 69
70 off the Atlantic coast of both Maryland and Virginia. Reformed Worldview Perspective: Because more and more people are living near the Bay, there is a concern that the Bay is becoming too polluted. In 1997, fish died in many of the feeder streams of Chesapeake Bay because they ate small organisms that were toxic, containing poisons from lawn fertilizer, farming, and manufacturing. How do we as Christians prevent pollution of the water? The coast of Virginia is filled with beaches that lure tourists to the area. In the southern part of the state there once were many swamps that over the years have been drained for agriculture. Today, the Great Dismal Swamp, located south of Norfolk, is an example of what this area looked like before it was drained. The Piedmont is a large part of central Virginia. The fall line continues in this area and provided water power to towns that began near saw mills in years gone by. Because ships could not go past the fall line, they had to unload their goods at these towns. The Blue Ridge Mountains are the first thin line of mountains that you come to as you go west in Virginia. The beautiful Shenandoah Valley, to the west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is an area where many Civil War battles were fought. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a special highway that runs through this scenic area. The Appalachian Mountains are in the western part of the state. Mt. Rogers, with an elevation of 5729 ft., is found here. The beautiful Cumberland Gap National Park, a place where Daniel Boone led settlers through the mountains to the frontier, is at the western tip of the state. On the top of one mountain in this park, you can stand in three states at once! Farming Tobacco has been an important crop of Virginia since colonial days, and is still grown in most of the farms of central Virginia. Tomatoes have Tobacco Farming in Virginia recently become the crop that gives Virginia farmers the most income. Grown on the Delmarva Peninsula, tomatoes are used for a variety of foods. Some are sold at markets, while others are sent to food-processing plants where they are used to make sauces for foods such as pizza. Soybeans and corn are grown mostly to feed the livestock of the Virginia farms. Other valuable agricultural products of Virginia are poultry and eggs. Reformed Worldview Perspective: The government is trying to reduce the amount of tobacco that is grown in Virginia because tobacco is used for cigarettes. Tests show that cigarette smoking is harmful to our health. How should Christians view smoking? Economy The economy of northern Virginia is thriving, especially near our nation s capital, Washington, D.C. As in other states near this city, many
high-paying jobs are available in government and in businesses that make military equipment for the government. The Pentagon is an example of a government office building with over 20,000 employees! The men and women who work there control the operations of our military. On September 11, 2001, the same day that two airplanes hit the World Trade Center towers in New York City, a hijacked plane also hit the Pentagon. After that, the security at the Pentagon was increased. The county of Arlington, Virginia has 207,627 residents. The area is home to the Net-plex, where many of our nation s Internet servers are located. Internet servers are fast computers that keep the Internet running. The government is concerned because these computers require so much electricity. Yet, they realize that the Internet is very important today because of the importance of global communication and the great amount of business which is carried on through the Internet. Armed guards watch at businesses in the Net-plex to make sure that terrorists do not shut down these servers. Richmond is the capital of Virginia. This large city of 204,214 people is in the eastern part of the state on the James River. The city is a center of bio-technology. Bio-technology involves using living organisms to make medicines or other products that can help make life better for people. One example of bio-technology is using the living organism, bacteria, to make insulin for people with diabetes. Reformed Worldview Perspective: Bio-technology often allows scientists to cure diseases that hurt people. However, Christians must be aware that biotechnology can be used wrongly. For example, when a scientist uses an abortion to help find a cure for a disease, then bio-technology is used in a wrong way. Virginia Virginia Beach, The largest city in Virginia is Virginia Beach on the Atlantic Ocean. This city of 437,994 people has many high rise apartment buildings and hotels along miles of beachfront. Tourists and beachgoers can walk right onto the beach and enjoy swimming and other pleasurable activities. They can also visit the nearby colonial towns of Jamestown and Williamsburg, where interesting historic buildings and good guides help visitors to see what life was like in colonial days. Just north on the Chesapeake Bay from Virginia Beach are the cities of Norfolk and Newport News where important shipyards and port facilities are found. Major shipbuilders are in the area, such as the Northrup Grumman Company in Newport News. This company is the only one in the United States that builds aircraft carriers for the United States government. It takes more than seven years to build an aircraft carrier, providing jobs for 21,000 people! 71