Ever since discovering that large parts of what would become southern West Virginia actually
were in favor of secession even at the original April convention (notably such counties as Logan, Boone and Wyoming), I have imagined what if the split in Virginia was more consistent with original votes on secession??
The map above gives an idea of how “West Virginia” might have been formed boundaries had been more closely reflective of the original April vote re secession. I have, as noted earlier, removed many secessionist southern counties and transferred them back to Virginia, but have added a number of counties in what is today Northern Virginia as these counties, near the national capital, were not in favour of secession at the original April convention (though they did reverse in May) and were considered for inclusion in the new state. I considered adding Augusta and Highland Counties – which also voted against secession – but felt this would make the map a bit difficult and was unsure about how supportive they were for secession since they were never considered for the seceding state.
Pink-coloured Eastern Shore counties voted against secession in April and were considered for inclusion in the new state, but would be very difficult to imagine as part of any “West Virginia” given they were close to parts of Maryland that ultimately supported that state’s unsuccessful move to secede.
The basic question is how would this alternate “West Virginia” (and alternate
Virginia) have developed politically in the century and a half since the Civil War? It would no doubt have been more Republican than the actual GOP up to the Bill Clinton Presidency since:
- Democratic secessionist counties remain in Virginia
- most of the major coal counties that became union centers with the New Deal remain part of Virginia
- suburban counties in the alternate “West Virginia” leaned Republican between Eisenhower and Bill Clinton
Other possible differences:
- the concentration of coal counties in VA rather than “WV” might have permitted a landowner/mining alliance similar to Alabama to develop more deeply in VA, which would have made for a more turbulent Civil Rights period in the alternate VA
- NOVA – which becomes eastern “West Virginia” is this alternate secession proposal – might have felt much more isolated from its state government and pressed harder for a DC statehood of which it would have been a part
Any further thoughts on this alternative Virginia split?
