Medford mail tribune., July 01, 1963, Image 11

West Virginia Joins the Union
By MEBTON T. AKERS
UPI Correspondent
Rep. Jacob B. Blair entered
the White House through a
window early in the morning
of New Year's Day 1863.
Blair, a western Virginia
congressman, was looking for
information-not bent on bur
glary. The information he
wanted was vital to western
Virginians who were battling
to break away from the Old
Dominion so they could form
a new state and join the
Northern side in the Civil
War.
Congress earlier had passed
the bill which would enable
the western Virginians to set
up their state.
On New Year's Eve the bill
still was on President Lin
coln's desk, neither signed
nor vetoed. That was the last
day on which Lincoln could
act.
The President had not
made up his mind when the
western Virginians, nervous
about the fate of the bill they
had worked on so long and
so hard, went to the White
House at 7 p.m. on New
Year's Eve to present their
case again.
Sen. Wallman T. Willcy
and Rep. William G. Brown
accompanied Blair. They and
the other western Virginians
in Congress had been seated
as representatives of the state
of Virginia.
Bitter Against East
Virginia had seceded from
the Union in the spring of
1861 and its congressional
delegation had been with
drawn. The western counties
of the state refused to go
along with the Tidewater and
Piedmont section of the state
which lay east of the Alle
gheny Mountains. The major
ity of opinion in the western
counties was against slavery
and especially bitter against
the eastern part of the state.
The western Virginians ac
cused the eastern Virginians
of discrimination on taxation
and improvements and claim
ed they were no't equally rcp-
Tesented in the legislature.
The formed a government,
calling it the Restored Gov
ernment, and elected Francis
H. Pierpont as governor.
They also elected a legislature
and a congressional delega
tion. The Washington admin
istration recognized the Re
stored Government and Con
gress seated the delegation
after a brief debate.
But Lincoln was doubtful
about the constitutionality of
making western Virginia a
state. The Constitution says
that when a state is formed
from the territory of another
state, the original state mu:t
approve. Lincoln was not
sure the legislature of the
Restored Government had the
power to approve formation
of another state although it
had formally done so. Some
two-thirds of the state of Vir
ginia was not represented in
the Restored Government leg
islature. Expediency Doubted
The President also doubted
the expediency of forming the
new state. He felt it might set
a pattern for reconstruction
of the Union after the war, a
pattern which might compli
cate the problem.
"The division of a state is
dreaded as a precedent," Lin
coln wrote. "But a measure
made expedient by a war, is
no precedent for limes of
peace. It is said the admission
of West Virginia is secession,
and tolerated only because it
is our secession. Well, if we
can call it by that name, there
is still difference enough for
Secession against the Consti
tution, and Secession in favor
of the Constitution."
The President and the west
e r n Virginia congressmen
talked three hours that night.
going over the arguments.
The cabinet was divided. Sec
retary of State William H.
Saward, Secretary of Treas
ury Salmon P. Chase and
Secretary of War Edwin M.
Stanton favoring admission
and Attorney General Ed
ward Bates, Postmaster Gen
eral Montgomery Blair and
Secretary of Navy Gideon
Welles opposing.
Seventh Opinion
At the end of the confer
ence Lincoln told the con
gressmen that he had a sev
enth opinion that strongly in
fluenced him but he did not
tell the delegation whose
opinion it was and whether it
was for or against admission.
The delegation left at 10
p.m. no wiser than it had
been at 7 p.m. But Blair did
obtain permission from the
President to see him early
the next morning and learn
the verdict.
How 31air got into the
White House at dawn the
next morning is not clear yet.
One version is that he went
in through a window and into
the President's bedroom
where Lincoln was just aris
ing and still in his long red
flannel nightshirt.
The version which seems
nearest to the truth was writ
ten by Mrs. Anna Pierpont
Siviter, daughter of Governor
Pierpont, in her book called
"Recollections of War and
Peace." She wrote:
"The messenger (Mr. Blair)
scarcely slept that night, he
was up at daybreak, and wail
ing outside the White House
doors long before they were
opened. When an obliging
housemaid happened to
throw wide a long window
the visitor quietly slipped in
and made his way to the
President's office. Again the
adventurous Virginian had to
wait; but although it was
New Year's Day, and no busi
ness was to be transacted, the
r" i-irf Wi r. All to.ii.-tAi it n 11
. JIT : m- ;f
STATE PROCLAIMED On April 20,
1863, President Lincoln proclaimed that 60
days later West Virginia would become a
state. Virginia had seceded from the Union
in 1861 and its congressional delegation
withdrawn. The western counties of the
state had refused to go along. They claimed
that the eastern counties discriminated
against them in taxation and representa
tion matters, and the majority of people
in the western counties were against slav
ery. This map shows the location of the
western counties which became a state,
(UPI)
President soon came in. He
greeted Mr. Blair cheerily,
and then going to his desk
took out a document. 'Here is
your bill,' he said. 'Do you
see the signature?' Mr. Blnii
read, 'Approved - A. Lin
coln.' "
Four days before he was
assassinated nearly two years
later Lincoln revealed the
mysterious "seventh opinion"
to Governor Pierpont.
"During the conversation,"
Pierpont wrote, "The Presi
dent remarked that he believ
ed he had never told me of
the turning point with him in
considering the West Virginia
bill."
A last minute telegram
from Pierpont saying all was
lost in West Virginia if the
bill failed convinced the
President.
"That," Lincoln said, "was
the turning point in my mind
in signing the bill. I said to
myself, here, this is not a
constitutional question, It Is a
political question ... I will
not trouble myself further
about the constiutional part,
so I determined to sign the
bill. And I'm satisfied with
the conclusion."
Some details remained to
be settled before the .state
could come into being. One
was the question of emanci
pation of the relatively few
slaves.
Eventually a constitutional
convention decided on gradu
al emancipation and the is
sue was put to a vote of the
people on March 26. The tally
was 28 321 for emancipation
and 572 against.
Slate Elected
On April 20 Lincoln pro
claimed that 60 days later
West Virginia would become
a state. .
A bipartisan slate of offi
cers was elected without op
position, although no returns
were received from 15 south
eastern counties.
Inauguration of the new of
fices was held June 20 at
Linsly Institute in Wheel
ing, the temporary capital.
Arthur I. Boreman, the
new governor spoke.
"And now, today," he said,
"after many long and weary
years of Insult and injustice,
culminating, on the part of
the East (eastern Virginia) in
an attempt to destroy the
government, we have the
proud satisfaction of pro
claiming to those around us
that we are a separate state
in the Union."
"Our state is the child of
the rebellion . . ."
So was added the 35th star
in the American flag.
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Tribune
SECTION B
MEDFORD, OREGON, MONDAY, JULY 1, 1963 PAGES 1 to 12
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