Well it happened again. As I was roaming around the blogs for West Virginia Day, I came across one that asked folks how they picture a West Virginian. This is one of the comments
Now, for those that are not aware, below is a visual of the Confederate States of America.
For those who slept through history class, you can find out more about this map at CivilWar.com
For another view on the matter, I got a giggle over at Direct Online Marketing
Filed under: West Virginia
Rebecca - thanks for the shout out. But even bigger thanks for the post and the map! West Virginia is its own state!!!!!!!! (and a pretty good one at that)
Thank God that somebody DID stay awake during History Class. For the rest of the country (and world) that considers itself to be far and above our level of education, it is quite ironic that they don’t realize WE WERE A NORTHERN STATE!!!!
Yes, there were a few still loyal to the south, so what? After all, it was the war that put brother against brother, no more so than right here at home. Those outside of our borders would do well to look into their own history books, they would find that they too still have much to learn.
The irony of him/her stereotyping our state with a lack of education while not knowing their history/geography made me giggle a bit inside.
I just brush it off and go on about my day.
While it is important to stay awake in class, it is even more important to question your teachers about what they are saying. West Virginia is not a Northern state. I will quote from the Constitutional Convention in Wheeling in 1862, Mr. Stuart of Doddridge County, in his exact words “Now, Mr. President, to show you-and it needs but to look at the figures to satisfy the mind of every member-that even a majority of the people within the district composed of the thirty-nine counties have never come to the polls and expressed their sentiments for a new State.”
They added 11 more counties to the new state, and 10 of those counties were Confederate counties. You can see the map of Confederate West Virginia here-
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Wvmapagain.png
The counties in green voted to secede from the Union. You should read Richard Curry’s “A House Divided” if you want to know the true story of West Virginia.
Thank you Bob,
Your input has indeed inspired me to read further. I believe I will start here ~ http://www.wvculture.org/HISTORY/statehood/cc112661.html
Hi Rebecca, good luck with the Convention records. If you manage to read them all (I haven’t yet) you will have done something I don’t think any historian in the country has done for decades.
It is important to remember when they refer to “the people” they are only referring to the people who support them, not all the people of West Virginia. One of the most important quotes I’ve ever found I’ve never seen quoted outside of the original source. It was by Daniel Polsley, the Lt. Gov. in Wheeling, Aug. 16, 1861, who said “If they proceeded now to direct a division of the State before a free expression of the people could be had, they would do a more despotic act than any ever done by the Richmond [Secession] Convention itself.” He goes on to say that not even 1/4 of the counties included could give a fair expression upon the proposition. “How West Virginia Was Made”, ed. by Virgil Lewis, pg. 230.
Here is a link to an important book “The Disruption of Virginia” by James McGregor which Google Books has finally put on line. I linked it starting at Chapter XI, the early part of the book is about sectional differences and can be found in any WV history book. It only gets interesting starting with the May Convention.
http://www.google.com/books?id=px4SAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA192&dq=disruption+virginia
Another point to consider is the destruction of this Constitution by the voters in 1871. It was basically an act of revenge upon Wheeling by the voters, many of whom had been disfranchised and were not able to vote until 1870-71. Here is a link to a Marshall Univ. thesis on the 1872 Constitution. Good luck with all this.
http://www.marshall.edu/etd/masters/hartman-richard-2004-ma.pdf
Hello Bob,
I have managed to read a good bit of the convention and one meeting I found fairly interesting was held February 15, 1862. On that date, the county commissioners were instructed of their duties for publishing and conducting the polls …
“1. It shall be the duty of the President of this Convention, immediately upon its adjournment, to subscribe and pause to be duly certified copies of the foregoing Constitution with this schedule annexed, and to deliver one of said copies to the governor, and the other copies to the commissioners hereinafter appointed.
“2. It shall be the duty of who are hereby appointed commissioners* with full power and authority to act for this Convention upon the receipt of such certified copy, to cause the same to be published once a week for successive weeks, in so many of the news papers published within the boundaries of the proposed State of West Virginia as they may deem necessary, and to distribute properly the printed copies of said Constitution, heretofore provided for by this Convention.
Further in the instructions it was written……
” ……that should a polling place be there be in any of said counties any military or hostile assemblage of persons, or other cause to interfere with the full expression of the will of the voters they may assemble at any other place within, or convenient to, their respective counties”
From that date until February 18, 1862, some minor wording adjustments were made to the Constitution and the sessions did not commence again until February 12, 1863 when the results of the polls were to be presented.
Although my reading time is much limited by my family responsibilities, from what I have read of these sessions I have to conclude that the commissioners were instructed to make every effort possible to insure that anyone that wanted to vote was given the opportunity to do so.
In regards to the destruction of the Constitution, when the Convention re-assembled at 2 PM on February 15, 1862…..
Mr. Lamb moved that the Convention order five thousand copies of the Constitution to be printed.
Mr. Dering moved to amend the motion by inserting ten thousand instead of five thousand, which was agreed to.
And the motion of Mr. Lamb was adopted, as amended.
Guess we’re pretty lucky they made that decision huh?
Thanks for all the great info Bob. I look forward to winter when I will have more time to read.