Modern Development
The post-Reconstruction period was one of poverty and political strife; the state was in ruins and burdened by a $45 million public debt. Most of the more than 350,000 freedmen (former slaves) were destitute. With the plantation system destroyed, large estates were broken up into small tenant farms. Tobacco remained the principal crop, but a number of farmers turned to raising vegetables and livestock.
The slow process of economic recovery started in the 1880's. New railroad construction led to the opening of coal mining districts in the mountains. Newport News developed as a port for coal export. The manufacture of cigarettes began in Richmond. Roanoke became an important urban center after the Norfolk and Western Railway located its shops there. Prosperity, however, did not return until the 1890's.
In politics, two parties vied for control of the government. They were the Conservatives (the traditional Democratic state leadership that had controlled Virginia in the antebellum, or prewar, period) and the Readjusters (mainly Radical Republicans, disgruntled Democrats, and freedmen). The Readjusters had some electoral success in the early 1880's, appealing to blacks and to poor whites. In 1885, however, the Conservative faction (by then having resumed the name Democratic party) came to power. The party espoused conservatism and white supremacy.
In 1902 a new constitution was adopted. It imposed a poll tax and a literacy test, which effectively excluded nearly all blacks and many poor whites from voting and thus strengthened the Democratic party. Oneparty government, controlled by business and financial interests, became firmly entrenched in the 20th century. The Democrats' domination of state government lasted for decades. During that time, the party organization was headed successively by three United States senators—Thomas S. Martin (who served in the Senate, 1893–1919); Carter Glass (1919–46); and Harry F. Byrd, Sr. (1933–65). Byrd was also governor, 1926–30.
In the first half of the 20th century, the state's largely agrarian society was transformed into a more urban, industrialized one. Although about 85 per cent of the population still lived in rural areas in the first decade of the 1900's, money and power had shifted to the cities, including Richmond, Norfolk, Newport News, Petersburg, Roanoke, and Lynchburg. In these years, coal mining and the manufacture of tobacco products and textiles grew rapidly. World War I brought increased prosperity to the state. There was a boom in the shipbuilding industry, munitions plants were built, and military and naval installations were established.
Economic growth continued in the 1920's. After Byrd's election as governor in 1925, measures to attract new industry were adopted, appropriations for highways and education were significantly increased, and state government was reorganized and streamlined. The national depression of the 1930's slowed the state's economy, but Virginia was not as severely affected as other states and was able to recover more rapidly than most. The expansion of the federal bureauracy under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal led to spectacular growth in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. From 1930 to 1940, population rose 11 per cent, exceeding the national average growth rate.
As in World War I, Virginia during World War II was one of the most prosperous states of the Southeast. War industries sprang up throughout the state and military and naval facilities expanded. Population underwent significant growth both in the Washington suburbs and in the Hampton Roads area, increasing 25 per cent from 1940 to 1950. Also during the decade, an improved highway system brought tourists in large numbers to the state's many historic sites.
Virginia opposed desegregation of schools when it was mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954. The state carried out a program of resistance through legal maneuvers. It failed, however, and the first steps toward integration were taken in 1959. Beginning in the 1960's, Republicans were elected to statewide office, marking the reestablishment of two-party politics in Virginia after nearly 80 years of Democratic dominance. In 1970 A. Linwood Holton, Jr., became the first Republican governor in nearly a century.
In the 1980's, Virginia benefited economically from the national defense build-up under the Reagan Presidency. Also during the decade, voters elected the first black and the first woman to hold statewide office. In 1990, L. Douglas Wilder became the first black governor of the state; he served until 1994.
In the early 21st century, Virginia kept its economy strong through its broad base of manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, and federal government activities. This economic situation has kept the state’s unemployment levels below the national average. The most deadly shooting in U.S. history occurred in 2007 at Virginia Polytechnic and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg. The gunman was a student of the school, and killed 27 fellow students, 5 teachers, and wounded many others before turning the gun on himself.
