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305:", and "Western Virginia" were suggested; it was decided that roll would be called and each member of the convention would answer their name with their preferred name for the new state. When one of the names reached a majority vote, it would be selected as the new name for the state. Upon the roll call, 30 of the 44 members had selected "West Virginia". Having reached a majority, the name for the new state officially became
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During the constitutional convention the boundaries of the new state went through various changes. The original composition of the state consisted of 39 counties, 15 of which were secessionist and had voted in favor of
Virginia's secession from the United States on May 23, 1861. Eventually nine more
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running through the area (itself named after the local
Canawagh, or Kanawha, Indian band, which were driven out of the area by the Iroquois sometime after 1780) and was originally proposed by a committee of the founding convention as the name for the new state.
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within the same state. Additionally, there was an expressed desire among the convention members to reflect their
Virginian heritage. After much debate, the motion passed 30–14, and a new name was sought.
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John
Heckewelder (Loskiel): Conoys, Ganawese, etc. explains Charles A. Hanna (Vol II, 1911:96, Ganeiens-gaa, Margry, i., 529; ii., 142–43,) using La Salle's letter of August 22, 1681 written at
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During the subsequent discussion, names such as "Allegheny", "Augusta", "Columbia", "New
Virginia", "Vandalia" (namesake of the failed
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on April 20, 1863, effective sixty days thereafter. West
Virginia was formally admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863.
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During the First
Constitutional Convention held in Wheeling on December 3, 1861, Harmon Sinsel, of
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and northwestern and southwestern
Virginia, was officially announced as a new state by President
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402:"The Kanawha Valley and its Prehistoric People | Council for West Virginia Archaeology"
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A House
Divided, A Study of Statehood Politics and the Copperhead Movement in West Virginia
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of August 20, 1861. The proposed name of "Kanawha" was based on the prominence of the
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was a proposed name for the 39 counties which later became the main body of the
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86:• Commonwealth of Virginia secedes from the United States and joins the
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The geopolitical separation from
Virginia had been approved by the
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Why Confederates Fought, Family and Nation in Civil War Virginia
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West Virginia, by then comprising 50 counties carved out of the
378:; West Virginia Encyclopedia online; accessed September 2014.
364:; "A State of Convenience" website; accessed September 2014.
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First proposed name for U.S. state split from Virginia
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Proposed states and territories of the United States
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443:, University of North Carolina Press, 2007, pg. 26
362:What's In A Name?: The Naming of West Virginia
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415:8 Things You May Not Know About West Virginia
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492:States and territories established in 1861
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255:on April 17, 1861.
101:Wheeling Convention
50:1861 map of Kanawha
253:American Civil War
76:American Civil War
334:Shenandoah Valley
291:County of Kanawha
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281:Name change
146:Preceded by
88:Confederacy
486:Categories
344:References
259:Background
237:U.S. state
468:39°N 81°W
313:Geography
39:1861–1863
245:Virginia
183:Virginia
105:Virginia
59:Wheeling
473:39; -81
233:Kanawha
55:Capital
31:of the
29:state
459:81°W
456:39°N
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