Well... West Virginia was, ah, complicated.
You can draw those maps different ways.
Here's one way:
Posted on 11/27/2018 3:32:30 PM PST by C19fan
Your secession vote map is off quite a bit for the state of Virginia.
Here is a version with green showing the counties in Appalachia that actually voted for secession:
https://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/appalachia-county-secession-vote-map-1860-1861.110342/
And here is a similar map that shows the counties that were placed in the state of West Virginia despite their previous vote for secession:
https://sites.google.com/site/wvotherhistory/may-23-1861-vote-on-secession-from-u-s-/west-virginia-secession-map
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) told men to “shut up and step up”
Beto, listen to Mazie!
Well... West Virginia was, ah, complicated.
You can draw those maps different ways.
Here's one way:
So what you're suggesting is that you should be an honorary member of #MeToo?
You poor thing.
Your latest map shows the votes of delegates from West Virginia counties on the passage of the secession ordinance in the secession convention on April 17, 1861. The maps I linked to reflect the votes of the people of the West Virginia counties on May 23, 1861 in ratifying the secession ordinance.
While the delegate from Greenbrier County might have voted against the ordinance in April (or been absent) as indicated as a blue-gray county on your map, the voters of the county actually voted 1016 for secession to 110 against on May 23.
Similarly, the blue-gray county of Pocahontas on your map voted 360 for to 13 against in May although their representative to the secession ordinance apparently voted against the secession ordinance in April or was absent then. Other blue-gray counties on your map such as Braxton County: 553 for, 114 against, Gilmer County: 338 for to 186, Pendleton County: 696 for to 131, and so forth.
The May vote was the vote that counted as far as secession went. Incidentally, I think the May vote was a voice vote rather than a ballot vote. Having to publicly say what you were for put pressure on voters to join the majority of their county.
For example, here was what happened to known secessionists when the Union Army arrived in Harrison County (Source):
The Northern troops are easy committing outrages which would disgrace savages. Females have been outraged, houses plundered, and women and children driven from their homes. Yesterday, without provocation, they shot Mr. Banks Corlin, of Harrison county, because he was a Secessionist, and burned the barn and farm house of Peter B. Righter, of Marion county, after having plundered it of all its effects.
No doubt, the voice vote may well have had the same sort of effect on Unionists in Secession counties.
Thanks for the history lesson!
I've never tried to unpack all the twists & turns of West Virginia statehood history, but have always thought that when politicians added more secessionist counties to the new state, it had the long term effect of flipping the whole state from Unionist Republican majorities to Southern Democrat dominated -- for example the former Exalted Cyclops from Sophia in Raleigh County and long term Senator, Robert Byrd.
Donald Trump, the Republican, won every county in West Virginia in the 2016 presidential election. Trump won the state by 41.7 points (67.9% to 26.2% for Hillary). Of course, it didn't help Hillary in West Virginia that she threatened to shut down the coal industry. Some, but not all, of those "secessionist counties," as you called them, voted for Trump in even greater percentages than the state average.
On the other hand, there is truth in what you say. West Virginia elected a Democrat as governor in 2016 despite the overwhelming vote for Trump. Scroll down this Link to see the map of the governor's race by county in 2016. Interesting map. I don't know the demographics, cultural or educational backgrounds in the band of counties that voted for the Republican governor candidate. Joe Manchin (Democrat) won reelection to the Senate in 2018 (50% to 46%). The bulk of Manchin's wining vote margin came from Kanawha County (i.e., Charleston), a county that voted against secession in 1861.
Robert Byrd is the only clan member that I, a long time Republican and constitutional conservative, ever met (that I know of, LOL). I was invited to give a paper at an engineering conference in Charleston, WV, and Byrd was there and came over to talk to me and thank me for coming.
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