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History of Virginia

Try to answer these questions about the history of the state of Virginia.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: June 3, 2017
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First submittedJune 3, 2017
Times taken9,921
Average score70.0%
Rating4.32
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Question
Answer
Who is Virginia named for?
Queen Elizabeth
Fill the blank in this Patrick Henry quote: Give me liberty, or give me ____!
Death
Who founded the University of Virginia in 1819?
Thomas Jefferson
Who wrote the United States Bill of Rights?
James Madison
What was, historically, Virginia's most important cash crop?
Tobacco
What English colony was established in 1585 but vanished shortly thereafter?
Roanoke
Who established that colony?
Sir Walter Raleigh
What was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas?
Jamestown
What Native American woman saved John Smith from execution? (according to legend)
Pocahontas
What college, founded in 1693, is the second oldest in the United States?
William & Mary
What is the name of George Washington's estate?
Mount Vernon
What city was capital of the Confederate States of America?
Richmond
What state seceded from Virginia in 1862?
West Virginia
Who led the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War?
Robert E. Lee
Where did that General surrender in 1865?
Appomattox Courthouse
What military cemetery was built in 1864 on the former estate of that general?
Arlington National
Cemetery
What President led the U.S. during the "Era of Good Feelings"?
James Monroe
Who led a slave rebellion in Southampton County in 1831?
Nat Turner
What nickname did Confederate general Thomas Jackson acquire
at the First Battle of Bull Run?
Stonewall
Where did Cornwallis surrender to Washington in 1781?
Yorktown
+9
Level 76
Jun 5, 2017
I thought Roanoke was in NC...
+2
Level 80
Jun 5, 2017
I believe you're thinking of Roanoke Rapids, NC.
+8
Level 88
Aug 2, 2018
The Roanoke Colony was near Manteo, far down North Carolina's Cape Hatteras.
+2
Level 61
Aug 4, 2021
Yes it is, but when Raleigh founded the first colony there and later the 2 other colonies, it was considered Virginia because North Carolina was not in existence yet. Today we consider it NC but when they established those colonies it was considered Virginia. Raleigh named the Roanoke colony Virginia so it is how you perceive history and translate it to today's borders.
+5
Level 65
Jun 25, 2022
Yet the point still stands that it is not part of modern Virginia. Historical events in the Louisiana Territory are not relevant to the history of modern Louisiana, because they took place outside of the borders of the modern region. Historical regions and modern regions, especially those with colonial pasts where toponyms were not well founded and fluidly changed, are not usually interchangeable.
+4
Level 67
Aug 28, 2017
The "former estate" of Robert E. Lee was actually the confiscated estate. His land was stolen by the federal government.
+10
Level 74
Dec 8, 2017
Sure, but 1) he did commit treason and the government could punish him however they liked, and 2) the wording used is still correct.
+2
Level 63
Feb 25, 2018
Yes, he was fortunate that he adhere to Lincolns' "with malice toward none and charity towards all."
+8
Level 75
Feb 25, 2018
Yes, the wording of the clue is correct, but no, the federal government cannot "do whatever it likes". It has to follow the constitution. After years of court battles the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Lee family that the Arlington estate had been taken unconstitutionally. (When the Lee family sent someone to pay their land taxes the money was refused on the grounds that they weren't being paid in person, and the estate was then auctioned for nonpayment of taxes. The US government bought the property cheaply on the courthouse steps.) By the end of the long court appeals process many burials had been made on the estate, a fort had been built, and a large freedmen's town had been established. Robert and Mary were both deceased by then and their son, Custis Lee, agreed to the congressional offer of fair market price of $150,000 and sold the estate to the government. (BTW, President Johnson issued amnesty and pardons to all Confederates at the end of the war.)
+2
Level 74
Nov 26, 2020
kind of a dumb comment by me. thanks for sharing that information.
+2
Level 74
Dec 8, 2017
Danville is also in Virginia and was also the capital of the Confederacy.
+3
Level 73
Mar 5, 2018
they moved there temporarily for a few days yes, but it was never the capital of the CSA. Jefferson Davis and his cabinet were only there from 3-10 April 1865.
+2
Level 58
Feb 25, 2018
plus i missed only one spelled roanoake and it was wrong i feel empty inside
+2
Level 52
Feb 25, 2018
I’m from Roanoke, VA.
+2
Level 30
Mar 1, 2018
My favorite Commonwealth, full of history and great Americans of the past. Shame what it's become nowadays.
+3
Level 82
Mar 2, 2018
I'd ask what you meant by that but based on other comments I've seen you leave I don't actually care to know.
+2
Level 88
Aug 2, 2018
I think he's saying it's a shame you left; it's really decayed since.
+3
Level 82
Mar 1, 2020
That was in 2007. In many ways it's gotten better since then.
+3
Level 89
Jun 25, 2022
What do you mean by nowadays? Would you rather live in Virginia during slavery and Jim Crow?
+2
Level 85
Jul 18, 2021
Roanoke colony was in North Carolina.
+1
Level 61
Aug 4, 2021
It is today with our borders. But when Raleigh established the 3 colonies there he didn't name them North Carolina, he named it Virginia. The whole area was claimed by Raleigh which he declared Virginia. Jamestown and Roanoke area were Virginia when these colonies were established. So technically Roanoke is considered part of Virginia history. But it also is how you perceive the history. Today we consider it NC but when these early colonies were established they were Virginia. The Carolina Province wasn't declared until 1629.
+1
Level 59
Jun 27, 2022
In 1585, QE granted what she called "Virginia" to Raleigh after he visited what is now the NC outer banks. The charter of the Colony of Virginia was 1606 and covered most of the east coast of the US. By 1609, 2nd charter included most of the Great Lakes and central and western Canada. In short, you can define most North American history from then as "Virginia", but most would restrict it to the current borders. At the same time, the history of the Nansemond Indian tribe before settlement would still be part of Virginia history. I grew up and was educated in VA and lived 20 years in NC and neither would consider the Lost Colony as VA history
+4
Level 71
Jun 25, 2022
I get that Virginia historically more important in the colonial and antebellum eras, but I feel like it's unfair that there are no questions on here after 1865? Like, there could have been questions on here about Jim Crow or Loving v. Virginia or the construction of the Pentagon or the Virginia Tech shooting. I'm not an expert on Virginia history, but I'm sure a few more things in the past 150 years could have been scrounged up.