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Yes, Georgia is more diverse, and perhaps the average Georgia resident might be more liberal on some issues than the average West Virginian. But Georgia is very racially polarized, and I'm not sure if that always equates with conservative.
WV is not really south. It has elements of southern culture, sure, but it is very different from the south. WV never really had slaves, even when it was part of VA, or a big black population. There wasnt Jim Crow and all the racial tension in WV that happened in the rest of the south. There was never resentment in WV over the civil war, or towards the civil right movement and the US federal government for ending segregation. The whole resentment based politics never rook root.
Just a slight correction on some of this, which is basically what we all learned in WV history, but is not really accurate. While West Virginia had much fewer slaves than east Virginia the slave system was very important to the economics of the region, Charleston was built to a great degree on slave labor, Wheeling was an important junction in the selling of slaves to the lower south. The actual dollar value of the slaves living in WV in 1860 was about one-third billion dollars in today's terms and the work they did contributed to the WV economy even for people who didn't own slaves. Wilma Dunaway has written extensively on this and has two books on the mountain south and slavery. Here is the Wikipedia article on WV slavery.
WV had a number of Jim Crow laws-
1872
West Virginia Constitution Restricts Schools
The West Virginia Constitution is amended to state, "White and colored persons shall not be taught in the same school." In 1873, 1901, and 1931, the state legislature will create laws to enforce the constitutional mandate.
1873 West Virginia limits juries to while males.
In 1879, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Strauder v. West Virginia that the state had "failed to permit blacks the right to serve as jurors along with its other obligations in qualifying them for citizenship."
1873
West Virginia Restricts Records
According to a West Virginia law, official records of black births, marriages, and deaths cannot be kept in the same books that contain records of white births, marriages, and deaths.
1882
West Virginia Resticts Marriage
West Virginia enacts an anti-miscegenation law that prohibits any white person from marrying someone of another race. Those who violate the law are subject to a $100 fine and incarceration for up to one year. Those who perform an interracial marriage ceremony will be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $200. The statute and the penalties associated with it will be renewed in 1931 and 1955.
The Weston, Spencer and Huntington state hospitals shall be used for the care and treatment of white persons, and the Lakin state hospital shall be used for the care and treatment of colored persons.
There was a great deal of resentment in WV about the Civil War, since the state was created without the consent of most of the people living in it. This is why the Wheeling constitution was thrown away and a new constitution was written under the leadership of Samuel Price, former Va. Lt. Gov. under the Confederacy. This is the present constitution. WV went on to elect the first ex-Confederate in any state to the Governorship and to the US Senate, Henry Mathews and Allen T. Caperton, respectively. There is a large chapter on WV in "Why the Solid South", which explains the Democratic takeover of the state in 1871.
Not to divert the thread, but in the year of the sesquicentennial we need to correct the cardboard history we grew up with.
Just a slight correction on some of this, which is basically what we all learned in WV history, but is not really accurate. While West Virginia had much fewer slaves than east Virginia the slave system was very important to the economics of the region, Charleston was built to a great degree on slave labor, Wheeling was an important junction in the selling of slaves to the lower south. The actual dollar value of the slaves living in WV in 1860 was about one-third billion dollars in today's terms and the work they did contributed to the WV economy even for people who didn't own slaves. Wilma Dunaway has written extensively on this and has two books on the mountain south and slavery. Here is the Wikipedia article on WV slavery.
WV had a number of Jim Crow laws-
1872
West Virginia Constitution Restricts Schools
The West Virginia Constitution is amended to state, "White and colored persons shall not be taught in the same school." In 1873, 1901, and 1931, the state legislature will create laws to enforce the constitutional mandate.
1873 West Virginia limits juries to while males.
In 1879, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Strauder v. West Virginia that the state had "failed to permit blacks the right to serve as jurors along with its other obligations in qualifying them for citizenship."
1873
West Virginia Restricts Records
According to a West Virginia law, official records of black births, marriages, and deaths cannot be kept in the same books that contain records of white births, marriages, and deaths.
1882
West Virginia Resticts Marriage
West Virginia enacts an anti-miscegenation law that prohibits any white person from marrying someone of another race. Those who violate the law are subject to a $100 fine and incarceration for up to one year. Those who perform an interracial marriage ceremony will be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $200. The statute and the penalties associated with it will be renewed in 1931 and 1955.
The Weston, Spencer and Huntington state hospitals shall be used for the care and treatment of white persons, and the Lakin state hospital shall be used for the care and treatment of colored persons.
There was a great deal of resentment in WV about the Civil War, since the state was created without the consent of most of the people living in it. This is why the Wheeling constitution was thrown away and a new constitution was written under the leadership of Samuel Price, former Va. Lt. Gov. under the Confederacy. This is the present constitution. WV went on to elect the first ex-Confederate in any state to the Governorship and to the US Senate, Henry Mathews and Allen T. Caperton, respectively. There is a large chapter on WV in "Why the Solid South", which explains the Democratic takeover of the state in 1871.
Not to divert the thread, but in the year of the sesquicentennial we need to correct the cardboard history we grew up with.
Notice I said never really had slaves. I wasnt saying it didnt have any. It just had a very few, that they were pretty nonexistent. WV was never really a slave state, nor relied on them even when it was part of VA. Im sure Charleston would have a lot of them, but it hardly represent all of WV and was, and still is, just another town.
WV did pass laws that could be considered racist, in the 19th century, so did every state. That was common stuff. Even Northern ones. However, it never passed Jim Crow laws. When the 20th century came out this stuff was not an issue.
In northern WV there is no resentment. Never was. Maybe in Southern WV there is. Culturally they are closer to Kentucky. So I can see a few people being upset about not being part of the South. In the Northern part of the state there is no love lost for the confederacy.
Another factor in the 2012 election was the very anti-coal stance taken by the Obama administration. That's not a way to garner votes in a state where coal is still a major part of the economy.
Another factor in the 2012 election was the very anti-coal stance taken by the Obama administration. That's not a way to garner votes in a state where coal is still a major part of the economy.
He hasn't actually taken any stance on coal.
That is just stuff the coal companies make up. Coal profits and employment are at an all time and coal is now rather irrelevant. Either way coal is not an issue Obama cares about. It is just a way to get votes against him.
Just a slight correction on some of this, which is basically what we all learned in WV history, but is not really accurate. .....
WV had a number of Jim Crow laws- .....
The Weston, Spencer and Huntington state hospitals shall be used for the care and treatment of white persons, and the Lakin state hospital shall be used for the care and treatment of colored persons.
It sure is good to see you post with your thorough research and deep understanding of how this state really developed. My perception is that a strong undercurrent of racism still exists in WV, although it seems much weaker that it was when I was growing up. Many of the Jim Crow laws you mentioned I had never seen. There were many "Whites Only" establishments in WV long after such things had gone out of favor in larger cities.
I find the original question odd, I and everyone I know have always voted for individuals not by party affiliation. Now true in the Primaries here in MA you have to declare for one or the other to vote, you can have republican ballot or Democratic ballot not both, but immediately after voting you can remove yourself from the declaration and become independent again.
I think these days many people vote for the individual irrespective of party.
That is just stuff the coal companies make up. Coal profits and employment are at an all time and coal is now rather irrelevant. Either way coal is not an issue Obama cares about. It is just a way to get votes against him.
Hah!!! So tell me Cry - do you believe Obama is anti-coal?? If you answer no, or I don't know, you are lying. He is anti-fossil fuels - and that includes coal. He's an idiot. He prefers we buy our energy from jihadist regimes in the middle east so that we are dependent, so he can bow down and apologize to righteous muslims for the sins of the Great Satan, America.
Hah!!! So tell me Cry - do you believe Obama is anti-coal?? If you answer no, or I don't know, you are lying. He is anti-fossil fuels - and that includes coal. He's an idiot. He prefers we buy our energy from jihadist regimes in the middle east so that we are dependent, so he can bow down and apologize to righteous muslims for the sins of the Great Satan, America.
I believe he is a small environmentalist, and no I dont believe he wants to do away with coal and fossil fuel production in the US so he is forced to be reliant on unstable ME regimes, nor does he want to be subservient to other individuals. RVAtoCNC in the past we disagreed on many issues, but you always seemed to be somewhat rational, however this post has shown a new side to you. If you want to argue his policies hurt coal production in the US you could make an argument, although this is still debatable, but what you just said is not only ridiculous but really easy to argue against. My future advice to you is if you want to argue that he is 'anti-coal' is to leave out, "he is secretly a Muslim working to undermine the US," angle.
Do not call me a liar when you do not know what I think. I am tired of you always going around and telling everyone they are liar when they dont agree with everything you say.
Also, to the original poster, this is an example of the attitude of many voters in WV to Obama, which is created by the coal companies. They would be hard pressed to actually tell how Obama is anti-coal other than, "He prefers we buy our energy from jihadist regimes in the middle east so that we are dependent, so he can bow down and apologize to righteous muslims for the sins of the Great Satan, America.
Well he did promise to bankrupt coal-burning power plants, but that was in 2008 so it doesn't explain the massive difference in the 2008 versus 2012 margin in WV.
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