This video is sponsored in part by Bright Cellars. Maryland and Virginia Two bordering Mid-Atlantic states in these
United States. Separated by the Potomac River, oh and DC! They’re the only two states
to border the District of Columbia, aka Washington D.C., which is the federal
district that’s the capital of the entire country. Is there a rivalry between the Maryland
and Virginia? Yeah, I’d say there is, at least in the DMV, aka the National Capital
Region. And there’s the Maryland-Virginia football rivalry which is kind of something.
Overall, though, much of the difference between these two states is rooted in history, which
we’ll get to later on in this motion picture. Both states are along the East
Coast bordering the Atlantic Ocean, but oh they got some mountains further
inland. The Appalachian Mountains, to be specific, although there are
more mountains in Virginia overall. Both states have oceanic, humid subtropical and
humid continental climates. Being near the ocean, both do have to worry about
hurricanes. Being further north, Maryland doesn’t get quite as hot in
the summer months and Virginia doesn’t get quite as cold in the winter months, but
both have quite humid springs and summers. If you can’t handle humidity…yeah,
don’t move to Maryland or Virginia. Both have a topography that’s diverse, with
sandy dunes and low marshlands near the ocean, to gently rolling hills in the Piedmont Region,
to the aforementioned mountains out west. The Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in
the country, splits up both states. On the east side of it is the Delmarva Peninsula,
which includes both the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Eastern Shore of Virginia.
The Eastern Shore of both states is more rural and flat, and more vulnerable to hurricanes
and rising sea levels due to climate change. Both states have just one highway that links The
Eastern Shores to the rest of each state. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel links Virginia.
It is one of only 12 bridge-tunnel systems in the entire world. The massive
Chesapeake Bay Bridge connects Maryland, and it’s freaking busy and always backed up,
especially during the summer, which is why Maryland’s government has considered creating
a second bridge that crosses the Chesapeake. The median age in both is nearly
identical. (M- 38.8, V- 38.4) Both states have two of the lowest poverty rates
in the entire country.(M- 9%, V- 10%) Only New Hampshire currently has a lower
poverty rate than Maryland. The biggest religion in both
is Christianity. Specifically, Protestant, although Maryland has quite a bit
of residents who identify as Roman Catholic. More on why that is later in this motion picture. Both have lots of historic sites. If
you’re a regular viewer of my channel, first of all thank you, and second um yeah you
would love all the preserved history in both. Both have residents who speak multiple,
distinct accents AND dialects. So what about differences? Well, first of all Virginia is bigger in
land area. About four times bigger, actually. Virginia also has more people. (M- 6 million, V-
8.5 million). That said, Maryland has a higher population density, and only four states have
a higher population density than it. Maryland’s largest city, Baltimore, also is much bigger
than Virginia’s biggest city, Virginia Beach. Maryland is completely part of the
Northeast Megalopolis (mwhahahahahaha) a part of the country that contains more
than 17 percent of its entire population, or some 50 million people on less
than 2% of the country’s land area. The cost of living is higher in
Maryland, overall. That said, around the District of Columbia,
it’s all expensive for real. Virginia borders more states. In addition
to bordering the District of Columbia, (which is not a state of course) and Maryland,
Virginia also borders West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Maryland also
borders Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia. And now might be a great opportunity to uh,
talk about how Maryland is totally the weirdest shaped state in the country. What the
heck is up with that anyway? I mean, it’s almost broken into two
right there. By the way, this area is often called Maryland’s narrow
waist or skinny neck. At its narrowest point, there is less than two miles (3km) of Maryland
between West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Well, before we get into how
Maryland got its crazy shape, let’s just get into the history of both states
shall we? We shall? Well good. We shall indeed. Humans have lived in the area of
modern-day Virginia and Maryland for thousands of years. Before European arrival, eastern modern-day Virginia was dominated
by the Powhatan Confederacy. However, several other American Indian tribes are native
to the area, including the Tutelo and Saponi, Catawba, and Cherokee. Meanwhile, modern-day
Maryland was also home to the Powhatan and Tutelo and Saponi, but additionally the Nanticoke,
Lenape, Susquehannock, and Massawomeck. In 1607, the English came over. In fact, that’s
why I’m speaking English to you right now. The London Company established the Colony of Virginia,
named after Queen Elizabeth the First of England, who was known as the Virgin Queen. Eh? Ehhh?
Anyway, the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English colony in the Americas, which
is why Old Dominion is the state nickname today. After a rough start, the settlement of Jamestown,
located on the north bank of the James River, eventually thrived as the first permanent English
settlement in the Americas. They first settled the area for gold, but ain’t no gold ‘round
those parts. However, they soon figured out how to grow tobacco, which might as well have
been gold amirite since it became so valuable. European settlement steadily increased after
tobacco became a cash crop. In August 1619, the first recorded slaves from Africa arrived near
Jamestown and worked in tobacco fields. Over the following decades, more and more Africans would
be forced to migrate to Virginia to become slaves. Meanwhile, a dude known as Sir George Calvert,
1st Baron Baltimore, took quite an interest in the English colonization of the Americas, not only
because he wanted to make money there, but also because he wanted to set up his own colony there
as a place of refuge for persecuted Irish and Roman Catholics. See? I told you I would bring
up Roman Catholics again. You didn’t believe me did you! Anyway, in 1632, King Charles I
granted a charter to Calvert to form a colony, but then Calvert died, so his son
Cecilius got it going, with his other son, Leonard, becoming its first colonial
governor. They named it Mary Land, and really pronounced it that way, not like us
crazies today calling it “Maryland.” Besides, it WAS Mary’s land. They named it in honor of
Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of King Charles I. Anyway, this began many, many years of border
disputes between Virginia and Maryland. Many of the earliest settlers of the colonies of
Maryland and Virginia were indentured servants, or people who paid for their passage to the Americas
by being forced to work for somebody for a certain number of years before getting their freedom.
This really picked up after King Charles I was uh…ya know, executed for treason in 1649. That
same year, Maryland passed the Toleration Act, which kind of accidentally expanded religious
liberty even though it made it illegal to deny that Jesus was the son of God with the
punishment of DEATH holy crap. Still, it was the first law on religious tolerance
in British North America so that’s something. Beginning in the late 1660s, both Virginia
and Maryland colonists would sadly pass new laws that further restricted the rights of
all blacks, both free and slaves. Meanwhile, the British crown had taken
over the Colony of Virginia since they didn’t like how the London Company
was running things. For the rest of the 1600s, the colony grew quickly and brought a lot of
wealth to England and certain plantation owners. In 1682, Maryland wanted to take over all
of the aforementioned Delmarva Peninsula but the new king, Charles II, didn’t let
them, instead giving what became known as Delaware to Pennsylvania. Well, for the next 75
years or so, Maryland NOW had border disputes with Pennsylvania, regarding both its eastern border
AND northern border? Wait northern border? Yep, that’s a pretty famous border. Today’s
it’s known as the Mason–Dixon line, named after Jeremiah Mason and Charles Dixon,
who drew it up in the 1760s. They settled the northern border between Maryland and
Pennsylvania once and for all, dad gomit, and that border eventually became an informal boundary
between states in the North where slavery was illegal and states in the South where slavery
was legal. Meanwhile, out west Virginia still had been disputing Maryland’s southern border.
Maryland wanted it to be the southern branch of the Potomac River. Virginia wanted it to be the
northern branch. Long story short, Virginia won the border battle since they were the bigger,
more powerful colony. Virginia and Maryland did settle disagreements over how to share the
Potomac River, however, with the Compact of 1785, which served as a model for other states
on how to settle disputes in the future. Oh I skipped over the American Revolution.
Uh yeah the citizens of both Maryland and Virginia played a big role fighting
for independence from Great Britain. Obviously, some of the most important
figures from the revolution, like Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and
George Washington, came from Virginia. After the United States became an independent
country, both Maryland and Virginia thrived. In 1790, Virginia was the most populous
state and Maryland was sixth most populous. In the War of 1812, Maryland saw a lot of action, especially with the Battle of Baltimore at Fort
McHenry. It was that battle which inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem “Defence of Fort
McHenry,” which later became the lyrics for “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which today is
the national anthem of the United States. Sadly, a big reason why the two states thrived
in the early 1800s was slave labor. In 1831, an enslaved preacher named Nat Turner led a slave
rebellion in Virginia, killing as many as 60 people. In response, around 30 African Americans
were hanged or expelled from the state, and the General Assembly passed harsher slave laws, like
laws making it illegal to teach slaves how to read or write. Both Frederick Douglass and Harriet
Tubman escaped slavery in Maryland and both became heroes to the abolitionist movement. Tubman
even went back to Maryland at least 13 times afterward to rescue at least 70 more
people out of slavery. Dang that’s courageous. Virginia was also where the abolitionist
John Brown tried and failed to incite another slave rebellion in 1859. He attempted
to take over a federal armory at Harpers Ferry, but ultimately Brown was captured and executed. After the election of Abraham Lincoln as
President in 1860, Virginia’s General Assembly voted to secede from the Union over the slavery
issue, and this soon, along with other states seceding, led to the American Civil War, with
Virginia leading the fight for the newly formed Confederate States of America. Maryland, even
though it was still a slave state, decided to stay with the Union. Meanwhile, several Western
Virginians in Wheeling also opposed secession and wanted to stay with the Union. In October 1861,
they voted for a new state, and the next April they had a new constitution. They were admitted
to the Union as West Virginia on June 20th, 1863. So this split Virginia into two states,
with West Virginia fighting for the Union and Virginia fighting for the Confederates, and
it was basically a smaller version of the entire war. Many big name Confederate generals, like
Jeb Stuart, George Pickett, and Robert E. Lee, were from Virginia. Most of the battles in the
Eastern Theater of the Civil War took place in Virginia, mainly since the Confederates had to
defend its national capital there, which was in Richmond. There is no doubt that the Civil War
left Virginia devastated, although Maryland was where the horrific Battle of Antietam took place.
The bloodiest day in American history still was the day of that battle, which left around
23,000 soldiers killed, wounded, or missing. After the Confederacy lost the war
and the United States reunited, Virginia’s economy struggled for the rest of
the century. Maryland’s economy did better. Racial segregation was also not nearly as
pronounced in Maryland as it was in Virginia. It wasn’t until World War One when the economy really picked up again in
Virginia. By that time Maryland was booming, especially since it had attracted many
more immigrants from around the world. For much of the 1900s, Maryland
was growing at a faster rate than Virginia, but that trend
has reversed since the 1980s. Still, today the median household income remains
higher in Maryland. (M- $87,063, V- $81,947) Major industries today in Maryland include
healthcare, government and public services, and retail. Major industries in Virginia also include healthcare and government and
public services but additionally technology. According to both CNBC and Forbes Magazine,
Virginia is a much better state for business. In fact, CNBC thinks Virginia is THE best state
for business right now in the entire country. And yes, you may not be surprised to hear
that taxes are higher in Maryland, overall. More Maryland residents have college degrees. Maryland also spends more
money per student on education. The violent crime rate is much
lower in Virginia. Thanks Baltimore. Maryland leans more to the left politically. The
last time Virginia has voted for a Republican for President was 2004. Maryland? 1988.
Maryland’s state legislature also currently has more Democrats in power. That said, both
states do currently have Republican governors. Virginia residents are more religious. Maryland has a much more
ethnically diverse population. There are no professional sports teams in
Virginia, but Maryland has the Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Ravens. Oh, and technically
the Washington Commanders play in Maryland, although they may be building their
new stadium in…you guessed it…Virginia. Virginia often is nicknamed the “Mother of
Presidents” since eight American Presidents were born there. None have been born in Maryland,
surprisingly, although a Vice President, Spiro Agnew, was from there. Not saying it’s
good to be proud of that, but ya know. It’s much easier to gamble in Maryland. Here’s something I learned only recently about
Virginia. IT’S THE HOME OF THE INTERNET. Well, it’s the home of the majority of the
world’s internet traffic. Specifically, much of this traffic passes through the town
of Ashburn, due to its many, many data centers. Maryland is known for its blue crabs
and Virginia is known for its oysters. Maryland has a better flag. I
don’t care what anybody says. It’s the coolest looking state flag
in the country. Come at me bruh. Virginia is the only state in the country
in which its governor can only serve 1 four-year term. I can dig that. Judges in the Maryland Court
of Appeals randomly wear red robes? Ok, it’s time to wrap this baby
up because I’m talking about judge robes. In conclusion, Maryland and Virginia continue
to be two very desirable states to both live in and visit. They also remain two states
where the North meets the South, and if you’ve never been to the United States,
it makes sense to visit these two states first to get a great sample of the country. Heck,
you’ve even got the nation’s capital between them. This video is once again sponsored in part by
Bright Cellars. They once again shipped a box of wine directly to our house and mrs beat is here
with me again to open it she took the quiz online i took the quiz online they match up
the your palette you know on your tongue what you're like what you like
to taste that sounded kind of bad but that's okay as always it comes
with these informational cards let's see what we got all right we got the
california pinot noir rose petal press petal press apostate with a bunch of
naked people on color fast it's a subtle rising tail which is also a pinot noir obscura
another zinfandel which which of these wines are you most excited to try out i want to try obscura
let's learn about obscura so it says a classic california zinfandel this wine is boosting
with jammy strawberry and raspberry aromas spicy black peppercorn and the pallets is
balanced by a ripe round mouthfeel and you pair with watching the evening news i don't
think people watch the evening news anymore but the evening youtube how about that the evening
mr beat you go viewers of my channel will get 50 off a six bottle box like this one that includes
shipping click on the link in the description of this video to try it out you doing that helps out
my channel as well thanks for sponsoring bright sellers so which is better marylander virginia a
lot of you wanted me to compare those two states for this series speaking of which i only have
one state left and that is michigan what should i do with michigan should i compare it to ohio
like many of my twitter followers suggested or there's still the possibility of me comparing
the upper peninsula and lower peninsula let me know what i should do in those comments i'm still
torn between those two options thanks for watching
