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AGRICULTURE

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Originally appearing in Volume V28, Page 564 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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AGRICULTURE .—The See also:

state is primarily agricultural. In See also:general the richer western See also:part is devoted to crops, and the eastern part to raising live-stock. The See also:crop of See also:Indian See also:corn in 1909 was 27,632,000 bushels, and the acreage 88o,000. The See also:wheat crop was 4,810,000 bushels, and the acreage 370,000. The crop of See also:buckwheat was 499,000 bushels (grown on 22,000 acres). The See also:rye crop was 148,000 bushels, and the acreage 11,000. The See also:production of oats was 2,156,000 bushels (grown on 98,000 acres). In 1909 the acreage of See also:hay alone was 675,000 acres, and the crop was 844,000 tons, valued at $1I,225,000. See also:Tobacco is grown throughout the state; in 1909 on 12,000 acres was grown a crop of 12,000,000 lb, valued at $1,663,200. Stock-raising is an important See also:industry, especially in the eastern part of the state. Mines and Quarries.—The state's See also:great See also:mineral See also:wealth is in coals of various kinds, See also:petroleum, and natural See also:gas. The See also:coal deposits underlie about 17,000 sq. m.

(more than 70 % of the See also:

total) of the state's See also:area, and bituminous coal has been found in 51 of the 55 counties; this is one of the largest continuous coal See also:fields in the See also:world. The See also:principal districts are the See also:Fairmont (or Upper See also:Monongahela) and the See also:Elk See also:Garden (or Upper See also:Potomac) in the See also:northern, and the Pocahontas (or See also:Flat See also:Top) and the New and Kanawha See also:rivers districts in the See also:southern part of the state. The total output of the state was 44,648 tons in 1863, when the first shipments outside the state were made; and 41,897,843 tons (valued at $40,009,054) in 1908, when the output of See also:West See also:Virginia was third in quantity and in value among the states of the See also:Union, being exceeded only by that of See also:Pennsylvania and of See also:Illinois. The seams are principally above See also:water levels and in many cases have been laid See also:bare by erosion; and the See also:supply is varied—besides a " See also:fat coking, gassy bituminous," there are an excellent grade of splint coal (first See also:mined in 1864 at Coalburg, Kanawha See also:county) and (except that in See also:Kentucky) the only important supply of cannel coal in the See also:United States. Most of the mines are operated under " non-union " rules. The bituminous coal of West Virginia is a particularly See also:good coking coal, and in 1905, 1906, 1907 and 1908 West Virginia ranked second (to Pennsylvania) among the states of the Union in the amount of See also:coke manufactured; the Flat Top See also:district is the principal coke-making region. Petroleum ranks second to coal among the state's mineral re-See also:sources. In 1771 See also:Thomas See also:Jefferson described a " burning See also:spring " in the Kanawha Valley, and when See also:wells were drilled for See also:salt brine near See also:Charleston petroleum and natural gas were found here before there was any drilling for oil in Pennsylvania. Immediately before the See also:Civil See also:War, petroleum was discovered in shallow wells near See also:Parkersburg, and there was a great See also:rush of prospectors and speculators to the Little Kanawha Valley. But the Civil War interrupted development. After the war, wells were drilled at Burning Springs, Oil See also:Rock, See also:California See also:House, See also:Volcano, Sandhill and Horseneck, and in the years 1865–1876 3,000,000 bbls. of oil, valued at $20,000,000, were taken out of these districts. A successful well in See also:Marion county, near Mannington, far from the region of the earlier wells, was drilled in 1889, and the output of the state increased from 119,448 bbls. in 1888 to 544,113 in 1889, and to 2,406,218 in 1891; in 1893 it was first more than 8,00o,000 bbls.

; and in 1900 it was 16,195,675. After 1900 it gradually decreased—although new pools in Wetzel county were found in 1902—and in 1908 it was 9,523,176 bbls. (valued at $16,911,865). Natural gas, like petroleum, was first heard of in West Virginia in connexion with a burning spring on the Kanawha, and there were gas springs on the Big Sandy and the Little Kanawha. In 1841 natural gas was found with salt brine in a well on the Kanawha, and was used as a See also:

fuel to evaporate the salt water. The production was not large until after 1895; it was valued at $1,334,023 in 1898, at $3,954,472 in 1901, at $20,075,804 in 1905, at $16,670,962 in 1907, and at $14,837,130 in 1908, when (as since 1904, when it first was greater than that of See also:Indiana) it was second only in value to that of Pennsylvania. The principal See also:field is in Wetzel county, but there are important supplies in See also:Lewis, See also:Harrison, Marion, Monongahela, See also:Lincoln and See also:Wayne counties. Much of the natural gas is piped out of the state into See also:Ohio (even into the northern parts), Kentucky, Pennsylvania and See also:Maryland; within the state gas has been utilized as a fuel in See also:carbon See also:black and See also:glass factories. Brine wells have been mentioned above; the salt industry is still carried on in See also:Mason county, and in 1908 145,157 bbls. were produced with a value of $10,481 ; and there is a small output of See also:bromine. See also:Iron ore is found in the state in the coal hills (especially See also:Laurel Hills and See also:Beaver Lick See also:Mountain), but the deposits have not been worked on a large See also:scale. See also:Pig iron is manufactured cheaply because of the See also:low See also:price of fuel; in 1907 the value of pig iron manufactured in the state was $6,454,000. There are deposits of excellent See also:clay, especially for pottery, and in 1907 ($2,159,132) and 1908 ($2,083,821) the state ranked after Ohio and New See also:Jersey in the value of pottery.

The total value of all clay products in West Virginia was $3,261,736 in 1908. An excellent glass See also:

sand is See also:pro-cured from crushed See also:sandstone near See also:Berkeley Springs, See also:Morgan county. Grindstones have been quarried in See also:Wood and See also:Jackson counties. There are black See also:slate deposits near Martinsburg. There are mineral springs, mostly medicinal See also:waters, in Greenbrier, Summers, See also:Webster, Ohio and See also:Preston counties. Among the more noted medicinal springs are: classed as calcareous and earthy, Sweet Springs, 74° F., in See also:Monroe county, diuretic and diaphoretic; and Berkeley Springs, 74° F., in Morgan county, reputed restorative in neuralgic cases, and as containing See also:sulphur; Salt Sulphur Springs, in Monroe county, of value in See also:scrofula and skin diseases. Manufactures.—Manufacturing is largely localized in the See also:north-western part of the state along the Ohio See also:river. The value of the factory product in 1905 was $99,040,676. The principal manufacture is iron and See also:steel: in 1905 the product of steel See also:works and See also:rolling See also:mills was $13,454,802. The iron mills are almost all in the vicinity of See also:Wheeling. The first rolling See also:mill west of the Alleghanies was probably one near See also:Morgantown. Next in importance among the state's manufactures are See also:lumber and See also:timber, and See also:flour and grist mills.

The tanning, currying and See also:

finishing of See also:leather, an industry largely dependent on the plentiful supply of See also:oak and See also:hemlock bark for tanning, is Centralized in the northern and eastern parts of the state, near the forests. The glass industry began in Wheeling in 1821, and there a See also:process was discovered by which in 1864 for soda ash bicarbonate of See also:lime was substituted, and a lime glass was made which was as See also:fine as See also:lead glass; other factors contributing to the localization of the manufacture of glass here are the fine glass sand obtained in the state and the plentiful supply of natural gas for fuel. Transportation and See also:Commerce.—Railway development in West Virginia has been due largely to the exploitation of the coal and lumber resources of the state. The See also:Baltimore & Ohio railway leads in trackage: it enters the state with several lines at its northern end; its See also:main See also:line crosses this portion of the state from See also:east to west, striking the Ohio at Parkersburg, and one of its lines (Ohio River railway) extends nearly the length of the state from Wheeling in the north through Parkersburg to Kenova in the See also:south. This road serves as a See also:carrier for the northern coal producing districts. The Chesapeake & Ohio traverses the southern part of the state, from See also:White Sulphur Springs in the east, through Charleston to the Ohio, serving the New and Kanawha rivers coal district as a See also:freight carrier; the See also:Norfolk & Western runs just within the south-western boundary along the valley of the Big Sandy, carrying coal both east and west from the Pocahontas coal-field; and the new Virginian railway entering at the south-east taps the coal-producing region (the Kanawha and Pocahontas districts) at Deepwater, serving in addition to the Norfolk & Western as a carrier of coal to Norfolk on the Virginia See also:coast. The railway mileage of the state See also:grew with great rapidity in the See also:decade 188o-1890; it was 691 m. in 188o, 1,433.30 in 189o, 2,473.34 in 1900 and 3,215.32 in See also:January 1909. Natural facilities for transportation, afforded by the Ohio river and its branches, the Monongahela, at the northern end of the state, and the Little Kanawha and the Great Kanawha, are of See also:special value for the shipment of lumber and coal. The Monongahela has been improved by locks and dams to Fairmont. It is the carrier of a heavy See also:tonnage of coal to See also:Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The Little Kanawha, which has also been improved, serves chiefly for the transportation of logs which are floated down to the Ohio. See also:Population.—The population of West Virginia at the various censuses since its organization as a state has been as follows: 1870, 442,014; 188o, 618,457; 1890, 762,794; 1900, 958,800; 1910, 1,221,119.

In 1890-1900 and 1900-1910 the increase in population was more than one See also:

fourth. Of the total population in ',goo, 97.7% was native-See also:born, 892,854 were native whites, 43,499 were negroes, 56 were See also:Chinese and 12 were See also:Indians. Of the inhabitants born in the United States 61,508 were natives of Virginia, 40,301 of Ohio, 28,927 of Pennsylvania and 10,867 of Kentucky; and of the See also:foreign-born there were 6537 Germans, 3342 Irish, 2921 Italians and 2622 See also:English. Of the total population 71,388 were of foreign parentage—i.e. either one or both parents were foreign-born, and 18,232were of See also:German and ro,534 of Irish parentage, on both the See also:father's and the See also:mother's See also:side. In 1906 there were in the state 3or,565 members of religious denominations, of whom 86.2% were Protestants. The Methodist bodies with 115,825 communicants (38.4% of the total communicants or members) were the strongest. There were 67,044 See also:Baptists (2226 United Baptists, 2019 See also:Primitive Baptists and 1513 See also:Free Baptists); 40,011 See also:Roman Catholics; 19,993 United Brethren, all of the " New Constitution "; r9,668 Presbyterians; 13,323 Disciples of See also:Christ; 6506 See also:Lutherans, and 5230 See also:Protestant Episcopalians. The principal cities of the state are Wheeling, See also:Huntington, Parkersburg, Charleston (the See also:capital), Martinsburg, Fairmont and See also:Grafton. See also:Administration.—The first constitution of 1863 was superseded by the See also:present See also:instrument which was adopted See also:August 1872 and was amended in 188o, 1883 and 1902. The constitution may be amended by either of two methods. A See also:majority of the members elected to each house may submit the question of calling a See also:convention to the See also:people; and if a majority of the votes See also:cast approve, an See also:election for members of a convention shall be held, and all acts of the convention must be submitted to the people for ratification or rejection. On the other See also:hand, a two-thirds majority of each house of the legislature may submit an See also:amendment or amendments to popular See also:vote at the next general election, when the approval of a majority of the qualified voters is necessary for ratification.

All male citizens above twenty-one years of See also:

age have the right of See also:suffrage, subject to a See also:residence of one See also:year in the state and sixty days in the county in which they offer to vote. Paupers, insane, and those convicted of See also:treason, See also:felony or See also:bribery in an election are barred, " while the See also:disability continues," and no See also:person in the military, See also:naval or marine service of the United States is deemed a See also:resident of the state by See also:reason of being stationed therein. An See also:official blanket See also:ballot containing the names of the candidates arranged in columns according to party is provided at public expense. Executive.—The executive See also:department consists of the See also:governor, secretary of state, See also:superintendent of free See also:schools, auditor, treasurer and See also:attorney-general, all elected by the people at the See also:time of the presidential election and serving for four years from the fourth of See also:March following. The governor must have been a See also:citizen for five years preceding this election, must have attained the age of See also:thirty and is ineligible for re-election during the four years succeeding the expiration of his See also:term. In See also:case of the See also:death, resignation or other disability of the governor, the See also:president of the See also:Senate acts as governor, and in case of his incapability the See also:Speaker of the House of Delegates; and these two failing, the legislature on See also:joint ballot elects an acting governor. A new election must be called to fill the vacancy unless the unexpired term is less than one year. The governor appoints, subject to the consent of a majority of the members elected to the Senate, all See also:officers whose See also:appointment or election is not otherwise provided for. In case of a vacancy in the See also:court of appeals or in the See also:circuit court the governor appoints until the next general election, or if the unexpired term is less than two years, until the end of the term. The governor sends a See also:message at the beginning of each session of the legislature, and may convene the houses in extraordinary session when he See also:deems it necessary. He may See also:veto a See also:bill, or in case of an See also:appropriation bill, the See also:separate items, but this veto may be overridden by a See also:simple majority of the total membership of each house. Any bill not returned with objections within five days after presentation becomes a See also:law.

An appropriation bill cannot be vetoed after the legislature adjourns. Legislative.—The legislature, consisting of the Senate and the House of Delegates, meets at the capital on the first Wednesday in January of the See also:

odd years. The Senate is composed (1910) of thirty members, chosen from fifteen districts for a term of four years, but one See also:half the membership retires biennially. A senator must be twenty-five years of age, and must have been a citizen of the state for five years and a resident of the district for one year preceding his election. The Senate elects a president, confirms or rejects the nominations of the governor, and acts as a court of See also:impeachment for the trial of public officers, besides sharing in legislative functions. The House of Delegates is composed (1910) of eighty-six members, of whom each county chooses at least one. A delegate must be a citizen and have resided one year in the county from which he is chosen. No person holding a lucrative See also:office under the state or the United States, no salaried officer of a railroad See also:company, and no officer of any court of See also:record is eligible for membership in either house. Besides its legislative functions the House prepares articles of impeachment and prosecutes the proceedings before the Senate. The length of the legislative session is See also:forty-five days, 562 but it may be extended by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house. No See also:act takes effect until ninety days after its passage unless two-thirds of the members of each house specifically See also:order otherwise. Judiciary.—The judicial See also:power is vested in the Supreme Court of Appeals, the Circuit courts, such inferior courts as may be established, county courts, the See also:powers and duties of which are, however, chiefly See also:police and fiscal, and in justices of the See also:peace.

The Supreme Court of Appeals, consisting of five See also:

judges, elected for terms of twelve years, holds three terms annually, one at Wheeling, one at Charleston and one at See also:Charles See also:Town. It has See also:original See also:jurisdiction in cases of habeas corpus, See also:mandamus and See also:prohibition, and appellate jurisdiction in cases involving a greater amount than one See also:hundred dollars; concerning See also:title or boundary of lands, See also:probate of See also:wills; the appointment or qualification of See also:personal representatives, guardians, curators, committees, &c.; concerning a mill, roadway, See also:ferry or landing; the right of a See also:corporation or county to See also:levy tolls or taxes; in cases of quo warranto, habeas corpus, mandamus, certiorari and prohibition, and all others involving freedom or the constitutionality of a law; in criminal cases where there has been a conviction for felony or See also:misdemeanour in a circuit, criminal or intermediate court; and in cases See also:relating to the public revenues. The court designates one of its members as president. Nineteen judges elected for terms of eight years in eighteen circuits compose the circuit court, the judges of which have original jurisdiction of matters involving more than $5o; of all cases of habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto and prohibition; of all cases in See also:equity; and of all crimes and misdemeanours. The judges have appellate jurisdiction of cases civil and criminal coming up from the See also:lower courts. In order to relieve the circuit judges the legislature has established by special acts inferior courts, generally with criminal jurisdiction only, in nine counties of the state. The judicial powers of the county court are confined to probate, the appointment of executors, administrators and other personal representatives, and the See also:settlement of their accounts, matters relating to apprentices and to contested elections for county and district officers. (See below under See also:Local See also:Government.) One or two justices of the peace (de-pending on population) are elected from each magisterial district; there must be not less than three, nor more than ten, districts in each county. Local Government.—As in Virginia, the county is the unit of government, though an unsuccessful See also:attempt to introduce the township See also:system was made in the first constitution. The county court, consisting of three commissioners elected for six years but with terms so arranged that one retires every two years, is the police and fiscal authority. Other officers are the clerk of the county court, elected for six years, the See also:sheriff, who also acts as tax-See also:collector and treasurer, the prosecuting attorney, one or two assessors, the surveyor of lands and the superintendent of free schools, all elected for the term of four years; the sheriff may not serve two consecutive full terms. In addition there are boards appointed or elected by various authorities and charged with specific duties.

They include the local See also:

board of See also:health and the board of See also:jury commissioners. Each of the magisterial districts (of which, as has been said, there must be at least three and not more than ten in each county) elects one or two magistrates and See also:con-stables, and a board of See also:education of three members. The constitution provides that the legislature, on the See also:request of any county, may establish a special See also:form of county government, and several of the larger and more populous counties have special acts. See also:Miscellaneous See also:Laws. -A woman's right to hold, See also:manage and acquire See also:property is not affected by See also:marriage, except that unless she lives apart from her See also:husband, she may not See also:mortgage or convey real See also:estate without his consent. A woman becomes of age at twenty-one. Rights of See also:dower and See also:courtesy both exist. When a husband See also:dies intestate leaving a widow and issue, the widow is entitled to the See also:life use of one-third of the real estate and to one-third of the personal estate absolutely. If there is no issue she takes the whole of the personal estate, while-the real estate, subject to her dower, goes first to her husband's father and then to his mother, See also:brothers and sisters. If the wife dies intestate the husband has a right to the use of her real estate for life, and to one-third of the personal estate if there is issue; otherwise to the whole. Neither can by will deprive the other of the right of dower or courtesy in the real estate and of the right to one-third of the personal estate. See also:Children may be disinherited with or without cause.

Any See also:

parent or See also:infant children of deceased parents may set apart personal estate not exceeding $200 in value which shall be exempt from See also:execution. A See also:homestead not exceeding $See also:I000 in value may be set apart, provided that it is recorded before the See also:debt against which it was claimed was contracted. Marriages between whites and negroes, or where either party had a wife or husband living, or within the prohibited degrees of See also:consanguinity, or where either was insane or physically incapable of marriage, or where the male was under eighteen or the See also:female under sixteen may be annulled. No female or male under twelve may be employed in mines, and no See also:child under twelve may be employed in a factory, and when school is in session none under fourteen. Charities, £&c.—The state charitable and penal institutions consist of the West Virginia See also:Hospital for the Insane at See also:Weston, the Second Hospital for the Insane at See also:Spencer, three miners' hospitals—one at Welch, one at McKendree and one at Fairmont; the West Virginia See also:Asylum for Incurables at Huntington, Schools for the See also:Deaf and See also:Blind at See also:Romney, the West Virginia See also:Penitentiary at See also:Moundsville, the West Virginia Reform School at Grafton and the West Virginia See also:Industrial See also:Home for Girls near See also:Salem. These are all under the supervision of a state board of See also:control of three members, appointed by the governor, which was created in 1909, and also has control of the finances of the state educational system. There is also a state humane society, which was organized in 1899 for the See also:protection of children and of the helpless aged, and for the prevention of See also:cruelty to animals. The West Virginia Colored Orphans' Home near Huntington is not under state control, but has received appropriations from the legislature. In 1908 a law was enacted for establishing the West Virginia Children's Home to be under the control of the Humane Society. Education.—Each magisterial district constitutes a school district and there are also a few See also:independent school districts. For each school district there is a board of education consisting of a president and two commissioners, each elected for a term of four years, one See also:commissioner every two years. This board is authorized to establish and alter sub-districts.

A law enacted in 1908 requires that children between eight and fifteen years of age shall attend school twenty-four See also:

weeks each year, provided the public school in their district is in session that length of time. The county supervision of public schools is vested in a county superintendent, who is elected for a term of four years. The state supervision is vested in a state superintendent, who is elected for a term of four years. A state board of education, consisting of the state superintendent and five other persons appointed by him, constitutes a state board of examiners (for special See also:primary, high school and professional certificates) and prescribes the course of study. There is also a state school See also:book See also:commission, consisting of the state superintendent and eight other members appointed by the governor. The state maintains six normal schools for whites (at Huntington, Fairmont, West See also:Liberty, Glenville, Shepherdstown, See also:Athens) and two for negroes (at See also:Institute and at Bluefield). They are governed by a board of regents consisting of the state superintendent and six other members appointed by the governor. At the See also:head of the educational system 1s the West Virginia University (1867) at Morgantown (q.v.). The principal institutions of higher learning not under state control are See also:Bethany See also:College (See also:Christian, 1841), at Bethany; See also:Morris See also:Harvey College (Methodist Episcopal, Southern, 1888), at Barboursville; West Virginia Wesleyan College (Methodist Episcopal, 189o), at Buckhannon; and See also:Davis and Elkins College (Presbyterian, 1904), at Elkins. See also:Finance.—The state See also:revenue is derived mainly from a general property tax, See also:licence taxes levied on various businesses and occupations, a See also:collateral See also:inheritance tax and a capitation tax. For the year ending on the 3oth of See also:September 1908 the receipts were $3,382,131.66 and the disbursements $3,482,317.03. West Virginia's See also:share of the Virginia debt which existed when West Virginia was set off from Virginia has not yet been determined (see below, § See also:HISTORY), but other than this the state has no debt, and the contraction of a state debt other than " to meet casual deficits in the revenue, to redeem a previous liability of the state, to suppress insurrection, repel invasion or defend the state in time of war " is forbidden by the constitution.

The indebtedness of a county, See also:

municipality or school district is limited to 5 % of the value of its taxable property. History.—That part of Virginia beyond the See also:Alleghany mountains was a favourite haunt of the Indians before the first coming of the whites, and there are many Indian mounds, indicative of an See also:early and high cultural development, within the present limits of the state, and especially in the neighbourhood of Moundsville (q.v.). The western part of Virginia was not explored until See also:long after considerable settlements had been made in the east. In 1671 General Abram Wood, at the direction of Governor See also:William Berkeley (c. 1610-1677), sent a party which discovered Kanawha Falls, and in 1716, Governor See also:Alexander Spottswood with about thirty horsemen made an excursion into what is now See also:Pendleton county. See also:John See also:Van See also:Metre, an Indian trader, penetrated into the northern portion in 1725, and Morgan ap Morgan, a Welshman, built a See also:cabin in the present Berkeley county in 1727. The same year German settlers from Pennsylvania founded New See also:Mecklenburg, the present Shepherdstown, on the Potomac, and others soon followed. Charles Il.of See also:England, in 1661, granted to a company of gentlemen the See also:land between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, commonly known as the " Northern See also:Neck." The See also:grant finally came into the See also:possession of Thomas, See also:Lord See also:Fairfax, and in 1746 a See also:stone was erected at the source of the north See also:branch of the Potomac to See also:mark the western limit of the grant. A considerable part of this land was surveyed by See also:George See also:Washington between 1748 and 1751. The See also:diary kept by the See also:young surveyor indicates that there were already many squatters, largely of German origin, along the South Branch of the Potomac. See also:Christopher Gist, a surveyor in the employ of the first Ohio Company (see Oxio COMPANY), which was composed chiefly of Virginians, in 1751–1752 explored the See also:country along the Ohio river north of the mouth of the Kanawha, and the company sought to have a fourteenth See also:colony established with the name " Vandalia." Many settlers crossed the mountains after 1750, though they were somewhat hindered by Indian depredations. Probably no Indians lived within the present limits of the state, but the region was a See also:common See also:hunting ground, crossed also by many war trails, and during the See also:French and Indian war (1754–63) the scattered settlements were almost destroyed.

In 1774 the governor of Virginia, Lord See also:

Dunmore, himself led a force over the mountains, and a See also:body of See also:militia under General See also:Andrew Lewis dealt the See also:Shawnee Indians under Cornstalk a crushing See also:blow at Point Pleasant (q.v.) at the junction of the Kanawha and the Ohio rivers, but Indian attacks continued until after the War of See also:Independence. During the war the settlers in Western Virginia were generally active Whigs and many served in the See also:Continental See also:army. Social conditions in western Virginia were entirely unlike those existing in the eastern portion of the state. The population was not homogeneous, as a considerable part of the See also:immigration came by way of Pennsylvania and included Germans, the Protestant Scotch-Irish and settlers from the states farther north. During the War of Independence the See also:movement to create another state beyond the Alleghanies was revived, and a See also:petition (1776) for the See also:establishment of " Westsylvania" was presented to See also:Congress, on the ground that the mountains made an almost impassable barrier on the east. The rugged nature of the country made See also:slavery unprofitable, and time only increased the social, See also:political and economic See also:differences between the two sections of the state. The convention which met in 1829 to form a new constitution for Virginia, against the protest of the counties beyond the mountains, required a property, qualification for suffrage, and gave the slave-holding counties the benefit of three-fifths of their slave population in apportioning the state's See also:representation in the lower Federal house. As a result every county beyond the Alleghanies except one voted to reject the constitution, which was nevertheless carried by eastern votes. Though the Virginia constitution of 1850 provided for white manhood suffrage, yet the See also:distribution of representation among the counties was such as to give control to the See also:section east of the See also:Blue See also:Ridge Mountains. Another grievance of the West was the large See also:expenditure for See also:internal improvements at state expense in the East compared with the scanty proportion allotted to the West. For an See also:account of the Virginia convention of 1861, which adopted the See also:Ordinance of See also:Secession, see VIRGINIA. Here it is sufficient to say that only nine of the forty-six delegates from the present state of West Virginia voted to secede.

Almost immediately after the See also:

adoption of the ordinance a See also:mass See also:meeting at Clarksburg recommended that each county in north-western Virginia send delegates to a convention to meet in. Wheeling on the 13th of May 1861. When this "First Wheeling Convention" met, four hundred and twenty-five delegates from twenty-five counties were present, but soon there was a See also:division of sentiment. Some delegates favoured the immediate formation of a new state, but the more far-sighted members argued that as the ordinance had not yet been voted upon by the people, and Virginia was still in the Union, such See also:action would be revolutionary, since the United States Constitution provides that no state may be divided without its consent. Therefore it was voted that in case the ordinance should be adopted (of which there was little doubt) another convention including the members-elect of the legislature should meet at Wheeling on the xrth of See also:June. At the election (23rd May 1861) the ordinance was ratified by a large majority in the state as a whole, but in the western counties 40,000 votes out of 44,000 were cast against it. The " Second Wheeling Convention" met according to agreement (11th June), and declared that, since the Secession Convention had been called without the consent of the people, all its acts were void, and that all who adhered to it had vacated their offices. An act for the " reorganization " of the government was passed on the 19th of June. The next See also:day See also:Francis H. Pierpont was chosen governor of Virginia, other officers were elected and the convention adjourned. The legislature, composed of the members from the western counties who had been elected on the 23rd of May and some of the hold-over senators who had been elected in 1859, met at Wheeling on the 1st of See also:July, filled the See also:remainder of the state offices, organized a state government and elected two United States senators who were recognized at Washington. There were, therefore, two state governments in Virginia, one owning See also:allegiance to the United States and one to the Confederacy.

The Convention, which had taken a See also:

recess until the 6th of August, then re-assembled and (August 20) adopted an ordinance providing for a popular vote on the formation of a new state, and for a convention to See also:frame a constitution if the vote should be favourable. At the election (See also:October 24, 1861) 18,489 votes were cast for the new state and only 781 against. The convention met on the 26th of See also:November 1861, and finished its See also:work on the 18th of See also:February 1862, and the instrument was ratified by the people (18,162 for and 514 against) on the rlth of See also:April 1862. Next the legislature of the " Reorganized " government on the 13th of May gave its consent to the formation of the new state. Application for See also:admission to the Union was now made to Congress, and on the 31st of See also:December 1862 an enabling act was approved by President Lincoln admitting the state on the See also:condition that a See also:provision for the See also:gradual abolition of slavery be inserted in the Constitution. The Convention was reconvened on the 12th of February 1863, and the demand of Congress was met. The revised instrument was adopted by the people on the 26th of March 1863, and on the loth of April 1863 President Lincoln issued a See also:proclamation admitting the state at the end of sixty days (June 20, 1863). Meanwhile officers for the new state were chosen, and Governor Pierpont removed his capital to See also:Alexandria where he asserted jurisdiction over the counties of Virginia within the Federal lines. The question of the constitutionality of the formation of the new state was brought before the Supreme Court of the United States in the following manner. Berkeley and Jefferson counties lying on the Potomac east of the mountains, in 1863, with the consent of the " Reorganized " government of Virginia voted in favour of See also:annexation to West Virginia. Many voters absent in•the Confederate army when the vote was taken refused to acknowledge the See also:transfer on their return. The Virginia legislature repealed the act of cession and in 1866 brought suit against West Virginia asking the court to declare the counties a part of Virginia.

Meanwhile Congress on the loth of March 1866 passed a joint See also:

resolution recognizing the transfer. The Supreme Court in 1871 decided in favour of West Virginia, and there has been no further question. During the Civil War West Virginia suffered comparatively little. McClellan's forces gained possession of the greater part of the territory in the summer of 1861, and Union control was never seriously threatened, in spite of See also:Lee's attempt in the same year. In 1863 General John D. Imboden, with 5000 Confederates, overran a considerable portion of the state. Bands of guerrillas burned and plundered in some sections, and were not entirely suppressed until after the war was ended. The state furnished about 36,000 soldiers to the Federal armies and somewhat less than ro,000 to the Confederate. The See also:absence in the army of the Confederate sympathizers See also:helps to explain the small vote against the formation of the new state. During the war and for years afterwards See also:partisan feeling ran high. The property of Confederates might be confiscated, and in 1866 a constitutional amendment disfranchising all who had given aid and comfort to the Confederacy was adopted. The addition of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S.

Constitution caused a reaction, the Democratic party secured control in 1870, and in 1871 the constitutional amendment of 1866 was abrogated. The first steps toward this See also:

change had been taken, however, by the Republicans in 1870. In 1872 an entirely new constitution was adopted (August 22). Though the first constitution provided for the See also:assumption of a part of the Virginia debt, negotiations opened by Virginia in 187o were fruitless, and in 1871 that state funded two-thirds of the debt and arbitrarily assigned the remainder to West Virginia. The legislature of the latter state in 1873 adopted a See also:report declaring that between 1822 and 1861, during which See also:period the debt had been incurred, the western counties had paid an excess of taxes, more than equal to the amount which had been expended in the west for the purposes for which the debt had been incurred, and concluded with the statement: " West Virginia owes no debt, has no bonds for See also:sale and asks no See also:credit." In 1906 Virginia entered suit in the U.S. Supreme Court to compel West Virginia to assume a portion of the debt. West Virginia demurred, but was overruled, and on the 4th of May 1908 a See also:master was appointed to take testimony. The state rejected decisively the overtures made by Virginia in 1866, looking towards a See also:reunion of the commonwealths. See also:Governors of West Virginia. See also:Arthur I. Boreman . Republican 1863-1869 D.

D. T. Farnsworth (acting) „ 1869 Wm. E. See also:

Stevenson 1869-1871 John J. See also:Jacobs Democrat 1871-1877 See also:Henry M. See also:Mathews „ 1877-1881 See also:Jacob B. Jackson 1881-1885 E. See also:Willis See also:Wilson . 1885-1890 A. See also:Brooks See also:Fleming 1 1890-1893 Wm. A.

MacCorkle 1893-1897 George W. See also:

Atkinson Republican 1897-1901 See also:Albert B. White . „ 1901-1905 Wm. M. O. See also:Dawson 1905-1909 Wm. E.

End of Article: AGRICULTURE

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