The western part of Virginia was on the rough road to statehood but the journey wasn’t easy. Virginia seceded from the Union in May, 1861. One month later more than 100 delegates met in Wheeling to install a pro-Union “Restored Government of Virginia.” From their viewpoint, Virginia’s secession government in Richmond was illegal and illegitimate.
At this second Wheeling Convention, Marion county attorney Francis Pierpont was selected as governor. The delegates sent Waitman T. Wiley of Morgantown and John S. Carlile of Clarksburg, two of the strongest proponents for a new state, to join the U.S. Senate in Washington D.C. These three men would play large roles in the coming statehood struggle.
Washington D.C. recognized the restored Government of Virginia by welcoming its congressional representatives and acknowledging Pierpont as Virginia’s wartime governor. This allowed the creation of a new state to move forward.
According to the U.S. Constitution the original state must give its consent for a new state to be created, as Virginia had voted to allow Kentucky’s separation in 1791. Since Wheeling was now considered Virginia’s legitimate seat of government, the delegates began hammering out formal terms for statehood.
As you might expect delegates raged over what the new state’s name would be and where the boundaries would be. On August 20, 1861, John Carlile and his supporters proposed to forge 39 western Virginia counties into America’s 35th state, named “Kanawha.” The proposal received overwhelming support from the Wheeling delegates, who submitted it for a vote of the people. Like many border state elections during the war, the statehood vote was marked by ballot tampering, intimidation and violence. Despite all of this over 18,000 approved the referendum, with fewer than 800 against. A key milestone in the historic separation from Virginia had been reached. However, “Kanawha” was rejected by congress and West Virginia became the official name of what would become the new state. The work of hammering out a state constitution began and originally sought to avoid the issue of slavery in the new state but it was voted down 24 to 23. Then a proposal was passed and sent to Washington that no blacks free or otherwise could have permanent residency in the new state. Carlile made a proposal that ended his political career. His version was squashed and many drafts were made but Senator Wiley introduced a bill omitting Carlile’s controversial changes which was a compromise which had a majority vote in Congress. It didn’t alienate pro-slavery voters in West Virginia. The senate ratified the West Virginia Bill on July 14, 1862 and the House of Representatives followed on December 11th. Now all that was needed was President Lincoln’s signature.
Getting the president’s signature wasn’t automatic. He agonized over it for weeks. His cabinet was evenly divided on the issue. On December 18, Governor Pierpont wrote a desperate letter trying to influence Lincoln, saying a veto “would be disastrous to the Union cause in West Virginia”. Lincoln decided to sign the bill stating that “the admission of a new state turns that much slave soil to free.” The creation of West Virginia was a blow to the Confederacy. They became the 35th state on June 20th 1863.
