The most populous and powerful States in our union at the present time are California, Texas, and New York, ranked # 1, #2 and #4, respectively, in population at the present time, to which each of these States have multiple claims to fame, such as the great public University system and the agricultural might of California, the largest oil producer of all the States and owner of its own power grid in Texas, and New York with its great natural harbor and is well known as the financial capital of the world. Yet, at the time of the founding of America as we know it, the most populous State of our union was not New York, but Virginia, a crown it would keep until 1810. In fact, four of our first five Presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and James Madison were all native Virginians. Yet, in the present day, the population of Virginia doesn't even make the top ten, and although it is true that the western portion of Virginia was separated during our civil war and became its own State in 1863, even with West Virginia's population Virginia would barely beat out Georgia in population for 8th place. And while it is also true that Kentucky was carved out of a portion of Virginia, so too it was true that Tennessee was carved out of North Carolina, as well as other States having some portions of their State separated at some point into new States.
Back in its day Virginia was an economic powerhouse, but highly dependent upon tobacco crops and therefore slavery for its wealth and for its continual growth of the plantation class and gentry, but over time, because of a lack of diversity in economic opportunity, its lack of industrial might, its tired soil, its lack of a natural deep harbor such as New York, Virginia began to lose its power and influence, and instead relied more on its historical significance and failed to recognize that its national influence was being overtaken by New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.
What probably hurt Virginia more than anything else was that it was a slave-owning State, to which, in any economy whereby a significant portion of the labor and thereby its wealth is generated by those that are enslaved, encourages indolence by the upper class because labor, especially hard labor, is frown upon as being beneath them, and thereby ultimately produces owners of capital and land, that are lacking in the characteristics and the value of hard work, study, and industrious fortitude, replaced instead with the attitude of a slothful leisure class, with the projected image of genteel mannerisms, while lacking in substance and character inside.
A State, or a nation, is only as good as its people as a whole are willing to engage themselves in profitable enterprise, to which, hard work, dedication, effort, courage, and perseverance, are all attributes necessary for positive results to come to fruition. There was a time when the best and the brightest were indeed in Virginia, rare men of incredible fortitude, insight, and brilliance, but rather than listening to and emulating these great men, Virginia believed wrongly that things would always be as they had been and failed to recognize that ultimately you surely do reap what you have sowed.