This is a tale of two Virginias. The first was a state built on the backs
of slaves and controlled by the wealthy. The second: a territory inhabited by
frontiersmen and former indentured servants. These two Virginias were incompatible but remained together for centuries until
a Civil War tore them apart. Now the United States has two Virginias, and the story of why is full of
exploration, defiance, and bloodshed. From the time the first colonial settlers reached the lands of what would
become West Virginia around 1763 to it becoming the 35th state in the Union, tensions between the people of
the Virginia territory were high. However, in order to understand exactly how
this riff was created and how it led to the two very different Virginias in the United
States today, we need to go back in time. On December 6, 1606, an expedition of
120 male colonists left England aboard the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and
the Discovery bound for the Americas. On May 13, 1607, the men aboard these ships
chose the land that would become Jamestown, Virginia, for their settlement. They named the piece of land after their King, James I. But this isn’t the beginning
of the story, not by a long shot. Before Europeans colonized the lands of Virginia, American Indians had been living
there for over 10,000 years. The relationship between the European colonists in Virginia and the Indigenous peoples of
the Americas would be a complicated one. Sometimes there would be
cooperation and respect among them, but more often than not, there would be bloodshed.
Around 14,000 years ago, nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers spread across
the North American continent. They crossed the Bering Land Bridge connecting
Asia and what is now Alaska, as large amounts of water were trapped in glaciers and
ice sheets due to an ongoing ice age. Some of these early Indigenous
Peoples likely also traveled down the West Coast using boats and
living off the bounties of the sea. The early peoples of the Americas followed
the migrations of mammoths and other game, which eventually led them to
every corner of the continent. By 9,000 BCE, indigenous tribes had reached
what is now Virginia. They created small communities in the area that lived off
the fish, small game, and gathered plants. Around 500 BCE, a mound-building culture known as the Adena built large
earthworks across the region, some of which still stand today in
the appropriately named Moundsville and the less appropriately named Charleston. For centuries the Indigenous Peoples of the area
worked together, warred, and grew in numbers. But when the White settlers landed in Virginia and declared that the area would now be
known as Jamestown, everything changed. In 1606 King James I chartered the Virginia
Company of London and the Plymouth Company to colonize any lands in the Americas not
yet claimed by another European power. One of the main goals of this
venture was to locate a water passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The Virginia Company’s expedition
was led by Christopher Newport, who was an experienced seaman and privateer. Before he left, Newport was given
a sealed envelope and instructed not to open it until he found
a place to establish a colony. Newport and his crew landed in what they
would name Jamestown on May 13, 1697. It was a swampy mosquito-infested area that lacked
sufficient fresh water, the perfect place to establish a town, right? The men opened the sealed
envelope they had been given before leaving, which provided them with instructions on how
to set up the government for the new colony. There were disagreements over how best
to survive; the land was unforgiving, and after only eight months in Jamestown, 38 of
the original 120 colonists were all that survived. A week after they arrived though, when
most of the colonists were still alive, Captain Newport took a small group of men on
an exploratory mission up the James River. It was on this expedition
that they met the Powhatan Indians. The Powhatans were part of a
confederation of tribes that extended from present-day North Carolina all
the way up to Richmond, Virginia. The British Crown claimed much of the North
Eastern part of the Americas as their own, even though indigenous people had been
living throughout the region for centuries. A number of charters were put in place,
but as different powers and companies vied for territory, the borders
of the colonies began to shift. In 1609 the Plymouth Company and Virginia
Company of London came to an agreement over a second Virginia charter which adjusted the
territory of Virginia. The 34th parallel would be the territory's northern border and
the 39th parallel its southern border. What was particularly interesting about this
charter was that its original coastal grant stated that Virginia’s territory
would extend "from sea to sea." So, in 1609 Virginia technically included
everything between these two parallels all the way to the west coast. The
colonists at this time may have only spread several miles from the coast, but
according to the Second Virginia Charter, the borders of the Virginia
Territory were transcontinental. The charter also gave the colonists the right to
explore further west and claim whatever land they saw fit, even though the land had numerous
indigenous peoples and tribes living on it already. This would not be a deterrent for
the European colonists of Virginia though. They pushed further west and forced any native
populations off their lands so that they could be settled by English explorers. If a tribe
did not cooperate, a bloodbath would ensue. Virginians continued to populate the region, and by 1630 there were approximately 2,500
colonists in Virginia. 20 years later, there would be close to 18,700. By 1660 there were
around 27,000 colonists in the Virginia territory. By 1670 adventurers reached the Blue
Ridge Mountains, and the following year, these explorers would follow
the New River to Peter’s Falls, not far from where the future Virginia
and West Virginia border would be drawn. For almost a century, Virginia continued
to grow in population and prosperity. By 1700 the Virginia territory was
reaching close to 60,000 inhabitants. The slave trade had made owning plantations
incredibly lucrative, however this lifestyle was specific to the more farm friendly lands
of middle and eastern territories of Virginia. The rugged terrain of the Blue Ridge Mountains
and beyond was resource-rich, but its geography not nearly as conducive to large-scale farming or
plantations. This meant that as plantation owners and merchants along the coast were acquiring
more and more wealth, those living in western Virginia were living just to survive. Many of
the settlers enjoyed this lifestyle and sought it out by choice, but the widening gap in power
and influence between wealthy representatives and those that came from the frontier
lands was becoming more and more evident. When the French and Indian War broke out in 1754, western Virginia was on the
front lines of the conflict. The territory now had 230,000 people living within
its borders, at least 60,000 of which were slaves. Battles were fought, blood was shed, and
the British suffered several defeats. However, Britain finally claimed victory in
1763 and was granted control over all lands west of the Appalachian Mountains to the
Mississippi River. This further extended the lands of Virginia, which was already one
of the larger territories in the colonies. On October 7, the British Government
announced the Proclamation Line of 1763, which was the name given to the boundary
running along the Appalachian Mountains that colonists were not allowed to settle past. Even though Britain now controlled a large amount
of territory on the other side of the Proclamation Line, the government feared that if settlers
continued west, more conflict with Indians would arise and could lead to another costly war.
In order to avoid this, British colonists were forbidden from forming any type of
permanent towns or villages in the West. This was a problem for many frontiersmen
as many had already begun exploring the region and had plans to
settle past the Appalachians. It was less so a problem for wealthy landowners
in eastern Virginia that had lucrative plantations and deep ties to the British crown.
But there were some wealthy Virginians who opposed the proclamation, such as the
young plantation owner, George Washington, who saw it as the British Crown overstepping
and suppressing an opportunity for colonists to expand their land holdings to pay off debt and
increase their ability to become self-sufficient. But just because a government thousands of
miles away wanted Virginia colonists to stay to the east of the Appalachian Mountains
didn’t mean they were going to listen. Despite the Proclamation Line and threats
from Loyalists and British soldiers, frontiersmen continued west over the Appalachians
and began settling the lands on the other side. Unsurprisingly, anyone who lived west of the
Appalachian Mountains became increasingly discontent with the Virginian government in the
East, and discussions of starting a new colony made their way through many frontier settlements
throughout the western territories of Virginia. In 1769 a new colony was proposed with the
name Vandalia. This would have been the 14th British colony and would encompass
all of the western Virginia territory, part of Pennsylvania, and continue
into the Ohio River Valley. There was some disagreement over the
exact boundaries of this new colony, and the name was even debated over with
others like Westylvania being proposed. Regardless of the actual name of the
proposed colony, one thing was for sure, the settlers in the western regions of
Virginia were becoming more serious about cutting their ties with the government in the
Virginia Colony capital of Middle Plantation, which by this point had been renamed Williamsburg. By 1770 there were 447,000 people
living in the Virginia territory, and discontent with British rule was being felt
throughout the colonies, not just in Virginia. Murmurings of revolution, especially in
the northern colonies, started to spread. The pioneers in the western territories voiced
their displeasure with the current status quo even more loudly. The land in the region wasn’t
suitable for large-scale farming, and therefore the use and trade of slaves that bonded much
of eastern Virginia was not prevalent in the western frontiers. On top of that, many people in
the western territories had come from indentured servitude themselves, making the concept of
slave ownership particularly unappealing to them. Unlike eastern Virginia and much of
the rest of the colonies, the western territories would not see much fighting during
the Revolutionary War. This did not mean though, that the men in the region didn’t
fight in the war; they absolutely did. One of the most famous examples of this occurred
in July of 1775 when 98 militiamen of the Berkeley County Rifle Company marched from Mecklenburg,
Virginia, which is now Shepherdstown, West Virginia, all the way to Boston in 25 days in what
became known as the Beeline March to Cambridge. This was a distance of more than 400
miles meaning that the soldiers were traveling no less than 16 miles a day, carrying
supplies over rugged terrain and battle-ravaged landscapes to reinforce General Washington
and his troops against a British attack. Of course, the American Rebels
eventually won the war, and on July 4, 1776, representatives of the thirteen colonies
voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence, authored by Thomas Jefferson and signed by the
56 members of the Second Continental Congress. The Revolutionary War effectively came
to an end when the British were forced to surrender Yorktown in 1783,
and on September 3rd of that year, the Treaty of Paris was signed,
formally ending the conflict. The 13 original colonies drafted a
new constitution, George Washington was elected the first President of the United
States, and the rest, as they say, is history. But that is not where the
story of the two Virginias ends. It would take another much bloodier
war to formally establish West Virginia. A war that would pit brother against
brother and would rip the country in two. It is estimated that approximately 6,800 American
soldiers were killed in battle during the American Revolution. Almost 100 years later, 620,000 men
would die as a result of the American Civil War. Between the end of the Revolutionary
War and 1861, 34 territories had become ratified as states. However, Virginia
was still one massive state with around 1.6 million people living in its
borders, of which around 500,000 were slaves. This meant that over 30% of
the Virginia population was enslaved people. And things hadn’t gotten much better between
the western population and the wealthier parts of eastern Virginia. However, it would
be what the leadership of Virginia would do in the years leading up to 1861 that would
result in the state finally splitting in two. As tensions started to rise between
states in the north that had abolished slavery and the southern states that
needed slaves for their livelihood, a catalyst for what was to come
developed in western Virginia. On October 16, 1859, an abolitionist
by the name of John Brown led a group of armed men to seize the arsenal at
Harpers Ferry in western Virginia. This was meant to be the first stage in a
master plan to establish a safe haven for freed slaves in the mountains of Virginia and
Maryland, and John Brown had secured enormous amounts of funding from wealthy Bostonians
for this dream of freedom for former slaves. Harpers Ferry was chosen as the perfect location
to launch a raid because of its large supply of weapons and its relatively close position to
the southern slave states. It would act as a gateway to ferry freed slaves to safety
and protect them from any bounty hunters or slave catchers that might try to bring them
back to the plantations they had escaped from. And on the night of October 16th, John Brown
and his 21 militants stormed the armory. Unfortunately for Brown’s revolution, state and federal troops were dispatched
to Harpers Ferry to deal with the rebels. Although Brown’s heart might have been
in the right place, his plans weren’t, and after only two days soldiers
overwhelmed the men holding the armory. 17 men died during the battle,
including two of Brown’s own sons. Brown and the rest of the men were tried
in Charles Town, found guilty of treason, murder, and conspiring with
slaves to rebel, and hanged. Most Northerners denounced Brown and his actions.
They agreed that slavery should be abolished, but seizing a government facility was
not the way to go about it. The South, on the other hand, was shocked and horrified by
John Brown’s actions. They already feared slave rebellions on their plantations, and they
now believed that abolitionists would help incite or fund such revolts. Slaveowners
started condemning all abolitionists as a threat to the institutions of the South. And
to be fair, they weren’t far from the truth. Many people living in western Virginia were torn
by what John Brown had done. Some believed that slaves should be freed and more closely aligned
their stance with abolitionists of the North. Others allied themselves with eastern Virginia
and the slave institutions still dominating the eastern part of the state, and John Brown's
actions divided parts of Virginia even further. As the American Civil War loomed on the
horizon and states began to secede from the Union, discussions of western Virginia
becoming its own state emerged once again. Ever since the Proclamation Line of 1763 had
been established, there had been discontent in western Virginia and a growing identity
that was different from the rest of the state. The Proclamation Line was now gone, but
the fundamental differences between the populations of Virginia remained. Now
seemed like the perfect time to apply for statehood. However, not everyone
agreed, and there was no organized push for western Virginia to become
its own state until April 17, 1861. It was on this date that the state government
held the Virginia secession convention to vote on whether the state should secede from
the Union like six others already had. South Carolina was the first
state to secede on December 20, 1860. Mississippi followed on January
9, 1861; then Florida on January 10; Alabama on January 11, Georgia on January 19,
Louisiana on January 26, and Texas on February 1. On April 17, at the secession
convention in Richmond, the majority of state representatives
voted to secede from the Union. However, almost all of the Western territories
voted against the resolution. After Virginia seceded, Arkansas,
Tennessee, and North Carolina followed, leading to a total of 11 states separating
from the United States of America and forming the Confederate States of America
Many in western Virginia were outraged by the decision of the Virginia government
to leave the Union. The following month a meeting was held in the town of Wheeling
near the northern Virginia border. The forum was flooded with Western representatives
of Virginia. They concluded that the Ordinance of Secession was an illegal attempt to overthrow
the Federal Government. It was decided that the majority of western Virginia did
not want to separate from the Union, and therefore, they would secede from
Virginia itself and form a new state. This new state was to be named
Kanawha. It would consist of 39 counties and would have borders
very similar to West Virginia today. The name Kanawha was chosen in part to
honor the Indigenous American peoples who had lived in the area, and Kanawha had also
been used to name one of the major rivers running through the region as well. Before
they could secede from the seceders though, they first needed to discuss the proposal
with the Federal Government in the north. In June of 1861, a second Wheeling convention
was held, and the Richmond government was voted to be void of all power due to their
traitorous activity. The representatives in attendance established the Restored
Government of Virginia and sided with the Union. Elections were held to populate the
state officer positions of the new government in western Virginia. In October, a general
election was carried out in all counties that would become part of the proposed
new state. The overwhelming majority of citizens living in the western countries
voted for the creation of the new state. Everything was now set up for Virginia to be
split in two. However, there were still a few more hoops the western territory needed to jump
through in order to be ratified as its own state. In April of 1862, a new constitution was
presented to the people of western Virginia, which needed to be voted on
before moving forward. Again, the population overwhelmingly
supported the new constitution. Over the course of elections, votes, and
transitioning towards becoming a state, the previously proposed name of
Kanawha was changed to West Virginia. Elected governor Francis H.
Pierpont went to Washington, D.C., to meet with the Federal Government and
formally secure recognition of the new state. This process would take some time as the United
States government was now a little busy dealing with a war against the Confederacy. Also,
the newly proposed state would need to make a very big concession if they ever hoped
to govern themselves and join the Union. The stipulation was that West Virginia
could not be a slave state. This made sense as the whole reason that the Civil
War was being fought was that the South wanted to keep their slaves so badly they
were willing to betray their own country to do it. Rich plantation owners' very
way of life would collapse if they had to start paying workers to farm their fields.
Abolishing slavery wasn’t a problem for many in West Virginia who didn’t own slaves
and weren’t plantation owners themselves. Therefore, it was written into the state
constitution that any slaves in West Virginia would be gradually emancipated
over time. With this clause added to the constitution of West Virginia, the Federal
Government approved its request for statehood. Just weeks before the Battle of Gettysburg, on
June 20, 1863, West Virginia officially became the 35th state in the Union. Although,
at that point, the Union was in shambles. The country was divided, and Americans were
killing one another over the institution of owning another human being. It was
a dark, dark time in U.S. history. West Virginia would play a vital role in the
American Civil War as a border state. It would send around 32,000 men to fight for the Union.
Although it should be mentioned that around 10,000 West Virginians also
fought for the Confederacy. However, West Virginia’s contributions
to either side were vastly overshadowed by the 155,000 Virginia men that served
in Confederate forces throughout the war. The Civil War came to an end when Robert E. Lee
surrendered the last major Confederate force to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox
Courthouse on April 9, 1865. Following the end of the war, states
in the south and along the border, including West Virginia, needed to be rebuilt.
Hundreds of thousands of men had been lost, and battles had ravaged the landscape. As the country healed itself while never
forgetting the wounds caused by the Civil War, West Virginia set out on its own
path as an independent state, and in 1885 the capital of West Virginia
was permanently established in Charleston. In the 1870s, as the nation recovered from the
brutality and destruction of the Civil War, West Virginia surprisingly became an emerging
industrial region of the country. While it had never been well suited for large, plantation
style farming, the government encouraged railroad expansion and exploitation of
the state's other natural resources, such as timber, coal, salt, oil, and natural
gas. Mining and collection of these resources would become the livelihood of many West
Virginians over the coming decades. However, their neighbor to the east would be set
on its own path after the Civil War. Virginia was placed under military rule
for 3 years after the Civil War ended. While this was happening, the country
entered a new phase under Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan. A general amnesty was
offered to southern whites in Virginia and other states that seceded to anyone who pledged
their loyalty to the United States government. Reconstruction also allowed these
white men to reclaim their property, with the exception of their slaves. However,
from the moment Reconstruction started, white former slave owners looked for new
ways to exploit black people by other means. Large numbers of northerners began moving
to Virginia, looking for opportunities, and they became known as “carpetbaggers” after
the suitcases they brought with them. However, these northerners played a vital role
in the reconstruction of Virginia and other southern states and allowed many of
their economic institutions to recover. Slowly both West Virginia and Virginia grew
into the states they are today. Just like it was at the start of colonial
expansion into western Virginia, there remains a large disparity
between the two current populations. The GDP of Virginia is around 512.95 billion
dollars, while the GDP of West Virginia is 71.65 billion dollars. But to be fair, West Virginia
is smaller both in population and land size. Virginia has 8.64 million
people within its borders, while West Virginia only has 1.78 million.
However, the sentiment between the two Virginias of today is much better than they
were in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. This brings us back to the question: why exactly
are there two Virginias in the United States? As we’ve learned from the history of the
region, a lot of it fundamentally had to do with people choosing different lifestyles.
What worked for wealthy Virginian plantation owners did not work for the rural areas that
would become West Virginia. The State laws, taxes, and government never really had the
best interests of the people in Western counties in mind. And when a government
doesn’t listen to a population of people, it often leads to a revolution. Or, in this
case, a new state with its own government. However, it was the secession of Virginia, which
was decided upon by the government in Richmond, that was the straw that broke the camel's back
for those living in the western part of the state. The vast majority of West Virginians didn’t want
to be separated from the Federal Government, and this population did not rely on
slave labor for their livelihood. Therefore, the real answer to the question of
why there are two Virginias is that there are two answers. The first is that Richmond did
not take into consideration the concerns of Virginia’s western more rural population.
The second is that there were fundamental differences in the lifestyles of the people living
in what would become West Virginia. A lifestyle that ended up not being compatible with that
of the central and eastern parts of the state. Was there any way that Virginia could
have remained unified? It is possible. If Richmond was less focused on maintaining
laws that benefited slave owners even though they oftentimes hurt or did not represent the
Western populations, then perhaps. However, slavery was so embedded in Virginian
society that even though the majority of western Virginians were demanding changes
and laws that were fairer, it is unlikely the state government would ever have taken
them as seriously as wealthy slave owners It was the fundamental differences between
frontiersmen, poor settlers, and former indentured servants, and the wealthy eastern population of
Virginia that led to a divide in the territory. This divide would eventually lead to West Virginia
becoming its own state. So, it is more likely than not that West Virginia would have inevitably
split away from Virginia even if the Civil War never happened and Virginia hadn’t seceded
from the Union. But they did, and ultimately, the result of this decision was that the
United States ended up with two Virginias.
