Is West Virginia Unconstitutional?
A new debate for the family dinner table
Welcome back to the This Day In Esoteric Political History newsletter. Each week, a member of our team (or a friend of the show) gathers together bits of America’s past and attempts to find a throughline that might add a little understanding to our current moment.
Here’s what happened over the week ahead in American political history…
December 26
1799: Henry Lee III eulogizes George Washington as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen"
1862: 38 Dakota men are executed by hanging in Mankato, Minnesota—the largest such killing in US government history
December 27
1945: The International Monetary Fund is created
1968: Apollo 8 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean
December 28
1832: John Calhoun becomes the first VP to resign, citing political differences with President Andrew Jackson
1846: Iowa becomes the 29th state
1973: President Richard Nixon signs the Endangered Species Act into law
December 29
1845: Texas becomes the 28th state.
1848: Gas lights are installed at the White House by President James Polk
1890: Approximately 300 Lakota warriors and civilians are killed by US forces at near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota
1975 : A bomb, planted in a luggage locker, exploded at NYC’s LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 and injuring 74. If it had gone off just minutes earlier, it would have killed hundreds more
1983: The US announces its withdrawal from UNESCO because of its “hostility toward the basic institutions of a free society”
December 30
1813: British soldiers, under Maj. General Phineas Riall, burn Buffalo, NY
1853: The US buys land from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase
December 31
1862: Abraham Lincoln signs an act that admits West Virginia to the Union, dividing Virginia in two
1879: Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public
1907: The first NYE celebration featuring the New Year’s Eve Ball is held in Times Square
1948 : Idaho Department of Fish and Game relocates 76 beavers by parachuting them out of airplanes
1951: The Marshall Plan expires
1991: The last official Soviet Union institutions cease operations
1999: The US hands control of the Panama Canal to Panama
2019: The World Health Organization office in China is informed of cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause, detected in Wuhan
January 1
1863: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory, declaring the freedom of all slaves in Confederate-held territory
1892: Ellis Island begins processing immigrants into the United States, serving as the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station for over sixty years
1923: The Rosewood Massacre, a racially motivated attack on the predominantly Black town of Rosewood, Florida, begins and lasts until January 7
1984: The once-unified Bell System begins life as eight separate companies following a government-led breakup effort
1994: The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) comes into effect, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America
In which we take the above collection of events and find themes, throughlines, rabbit holes and more. This week it’s Jacob Feldman’s turn at the typewriter.
Have you heard the one about West Virginia? No, not that one. I’m talking about the joke argument that WV isn’t even a legit state at all, given its controversial founding.
The Mountain State was formed in the heat of the Civil War. Residents west of the Appalachians had long been resentful of Virginia’s controlling populace of rich farmers on the other side of the ridge. But the Constitution had been clear about not allowing breakaway states to form without the approval of the existing state’s legislature. And Virginia wasn’t willing to let go.
But within months of VA’s secession in 1861, Unionists in the state’s northwest saw an opportunity. They quickly formed their own government of Virginia and began lobbying for statehood.
President Lincoln hesitated. He feared the precedent of allowing a state to divide itself. And wasn’t the whole Civil War being fought over the issue of secession anyway? But he came to see the perspective of the rebels-within-a-rebellion.
“There is still difference enough between secession against the constitution, and secession in favor of the constitution,” he concluded.
The rogue state survived the end of the conflict, even though its status was never directly taken up by the Supreme Court. A 100-page legal review of the case, published in 2002, ultimately decided that, “West Virginians may rest secure in the knowledge that their State is not unconstitutional…. Probably.”
For some reason, the debate resonates with me today for more than just its esotericism. Amid the horrific chaos of the Civil War, the US administration continued to balance pragmatism with respect for the constitution, working to justify an unprecedented act and answer the will of the people within the existing rules, even if it required a bit of a stretch. In the constitutional debates that are sure to come, it’s worth keeping an eye out for the places where the desired ends can be achieved with minimal rule-bending. Will our actions also hold up to 150 years of periodic scrutiny?
And if you feel bad for not knowing the patriotic origins of West Virginia, console yourself with this: much of the history has been lost on West Virginians themselves as well.
More Esoterica
If you’re looking for some holiday reading, Jody has put together a list of books by authors we featured on the show this year (including our hosts!). Check it out!
Meanwhile, Kellie raved about Wesley Morris’ recently released show about Stevie Wonder, The Wonder of Stevie. I’ll be checking that out soon!
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