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Appalachian Regional Commission

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The Appalachian Regional Commission ( ARC ) is a United States federal–state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life. Congress established ARC to bring the region into socioeconomic parity with the rest of the nation.

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139-492: The Appalachian Region, as defined by Congress, includes all of West Virginia and portions of 12 other states: Alabama , Georgia , Kentucky , Maryland , Mississippi , New York , North Carolina , Ohio , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , Tennessee , and Virginia . ARC serves 423 counties and 8 independent cities that encompass roughly 205,000 square miles (530,000 km), with a population of more than 25 million people. The Appalachian Regional Commission has 14 members:

278-569: A civil engineer and mining manager in Fayette County . Former West Virginia governor William A. MacCorkle described him as a man who knew the land "as a farmer knows a field". Beginning in 1898, Page teamed with northern and European-based investors to take advantage of the undeveloped area. They acquired large tracts of land in the area, and Page began the Deepwater Railway , a short-line railroad chartered to stretch between

417-559: A "Middle Eastern and North African" racial category to the 2020 census. The Trump administration nullified this change after coming to power in 2016. However, in 2024, the Office of Management and Budget under the Biden administration reinstated the proposed changes, announcing that the race categories used by the federal government would be updated, and that Middle Eastern and North African Americans will no longer be classified as white in

556-687: A company of gentlemen the land between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, known as the Northern Neck . Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron ultimately took possession of this grant, and in 1746 a stone was erected at the source of the North Branch Potomac River to mark his grant's western limit. George Washington surveyed a considerable part of this land between 1748 and 1751. His diary recorded that there were already many squatters, largely of German origin, along

695-531: A compromise demanded by the Kanawha region (Charleston lawyers Benjamin Smith and Brown) allowed counties and municipalities to vote subsidies for railroads or other improvement organizations. The resulting instrument was ratified (18,162 for and 514 against) on April 11, 1862. On May 13, 1862, the state legislature of the reorganized government approved the formation of the new state. An application for admission to

834-519: A constitution for the new state, beginning on November 26, 1861. During that constitutional convention, a Mr. Lamb of Ohio County and a Mr. Carskadon claimed that in Hampshire County, out of 195 votes only 39 were cast by citizens of the state; the rest were cast illegally by Union soldiers. One of the key figures was Gordon Battelle , who also represented Ohio County, and who proposed resolutions to establish public schools, as well as to limit

973-565: A constitutional convention met in Richmond to consider reforms to Virginia's outdated constitution. Philip Doddridge of Brooke County championed the cause of western Virginians who sought a more democratic frame of government, but western reforms were rejected by leaders from east of the Alleghenies who "clung to political power in an effort to preserve their plantation lifestyles dependent on enslaving blacks". Virginia leaders maintained

1112-531: A convention to meet in Wheeling on May 13, 1861. When this First Wheeling Convention met, 425 delegates from 25 counties were present, though more than one-third of the delegates were from the northern panhandle area. Soon there was a division of sentiment. Some delegates led by pro-Union slaveowner John S. Carlile favored the immediate formation of a new state, while others led by Waitman Willey argued that, as Virginia's secession had not yet been passed by

1251-607: A county's status are the three-year average unemployment rate and per capital market income. In order to better facilitate subregional analysis and in recognition of the differences between various areas in Appalachia, the ARC splits their service area into different regions—Northern, North Central, Central, South Central, and Southern. The ARC's definitions take into account political boundaries, physical geography, demographics, economic activity, and transportation activity. Previously,

1390-476: A debate surrounding Finnish whiteness and whether Finns should be classified as a Mongoloid peoples. David Roediger argues that the construction of the white race in the United States was an effort to mentally distance slave owners from slaves. The process of officially being defined as white by law often came about in court disputes over pursuit of citizenship . (share) The fifty states ,

1529-433: A federal appropriation, support grant making across a broad range of categories. All grants require performance measures. A regional research and evaluation program helps inform the agency's work. ARC emphasizes the leveraging of private-sector investments, relies on a broad network of public and private partnerships, and focuses on innovative, regional strategies to help communities help themselves. ARC targets its resources to

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1668-624: A flat rye bread called "bannock" as they emerged from the protohistoric era. A horizon extending from a little before the early 18th century is sometimes called the acculturating Fireside Cabin culture . Trading posts were established by European traders along the Potomac and James rivers . Tribes that inhabited West Virginia as of 1600 were the Siouan Monongahela Culture to the north, the Fort Ancient culture along

1807-438: A fourth of the registered voters cast votes. In most of what would become West Virginia, there was no vote at all, as two-thirds of the territory of West Virginia had voted for secession, and county officers remained loyal to Richmond. Votes recorded from pro-secession counties were mostly cast elsewhere by Unionist refugees from these counties. Despite that controversy, delegates (including many Methodist ministers) met to write

1946-720: A joint resolution recognizing the transfer. The Supreme Court decided in West Virginia's favor in 1870. The original charters for Maryland and Virginia were silent as to which branch of the upper Potomac was the boundary. This was settled by the 1785 Mount Vernon Conference . Nevertheless, when West Virginia seceded from Virginia, Maryland claimed West Virginia land north of the South Branch (all of Mineral and Grant Counties and parts of Hampshire , Hardy , Tucker and Pendleton Counties). The Supreme Court rejected these claims in two separate decisions in 1910. During

2085-414: A map. The study found less than 20% of respondents agreed that southern New York was part of Appalachia, as designated by the ARC, and that less than 10% of respondents agreed with the ARC's inclusion of northeastern Mississippi and northwestern Alabama in Appalachia. Respondents residing outside of Appalachia were more likely to define the region broadly, in agreement with the ARC, and respondents from within

2224-491: A matter of controversy. In the early 20th century, there were a number of cases where people of Arab descent were denied entry into the United States or deported, because they were characterized as nonwhite. In the early 21st century, MENA Americans began lobbying for the creation of their own racial group and were successful; in 2015, the US Census Bureau announced that it had responded to their requests and would add

2363-525: A minority in many American Indian reservations , parts of the South , especially areas part of the “ black belt ”, the District of Columbia , all US territories , and in many urban areas throughout the country. However, when including multiracial Americans , those who identify as part or fully White make up the majority of the population in every state except for Hawaii, along with Puerto Rico. Overall

2502-509: A popular vote on the formation of a new state and for a convention to frame a constitution if the vote were favorable. In the October 24, 1861, election, 18,408 votes were cast for the new state and 781 against. The election results were questioned since the Union army then occupied the area and Union troops were stationed at many of the polls to prevent Confederate sympathizers from voting. This

2641-428: A project and formally approves it. ARC is designed as a federal-state partnership that employs a flexible "bottom up" approach, enabling local communities to tailor support to their individual needs. ARC relies on local regional planning agencies (local development districts) to develop effective strategies for local economic development. ARC has made investments in such essentials of comprehensive economic development as

2780-486: A property qualification for suffrage , effectively disenfranchising poorer farmers in the west whose families did much of the farm work themselves. In addition, the 1829–30 convention gave slaveholding counties the benefit of three-fifths of their slave population in apportioning the state's representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a result, every county west of the Alleghenies except one voted to reject

2919-640: A provision for the gradual abolition of slavery be inserted in its constitution (as Battelle had urged in the Wheeling Intelligencer and also written to Lincoln). While many felt West Virginia's admission as a state was both illegal and unconstitutional, Lincoln issued his Opinion on the Admission of West Virginia finding that "the body which consents to the admission of West Virginia is the Legislature of Virginia", and that its admission

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3058-575: A report on diseases of despair , which found that deaths due to drug overdose , suicide , and alcoholic liver disease were higher than average, especially in the parts of Appalachia under the most economic stress. From September 1967 to 2008, the Commission published a magazine Appalachia (ISSN 0003-6595), which was bimonthly from September 1967 to the fall of 1986. Then it was quarterly between summer 1987 and summer/fall 1995, and annual from 2004 to 2008. West Virginia West Virginia

3197-518: A result of the efforts of Pound and Southern Democrats , and was instead directly sent to local ruling whites. Today, few residents of northeastern Mississippi and northwestern Alabama are aware they are a part of what Congress has designated as Appalachia, and do not consider themselves to be Appalachian. The ARC uses an index-based system to classify counties based on economic status, with five categories: distressed, at-risk, transitional, competitive, and attainment. In addition to county classifications,

3336-495: A result, it extends beyond the geographic area usually thought of as "Appalachia." While Congress did aim to define Appalachia, the ultimate purpose and concern of the ARC is economic development rather than cultural definition. A study conducted in 1981 comparing the perceptions of Appalachia's boundaries and the ARC's definition, published in the academic journal Southeastern Geographer, asked respondents to draw an encircled area identifying what they considered to be Appalachia on

3475-555: A rival state government and two U.S. senators (Willey and Carlile) to replace secessionists before adjourning. The federal government promptly recognized the new government and seated the two new senators. Thus there were two state governments in Virginia: one pledging allegiance to the United States and one to the Confederacy . The second Wheeling Convention had recessed until August 6, then reassembled on August 20 and called for

3614-707: A safe and efficient highway system; education, job-training, and health care programs; water and sewer systems; and entrepreneurial and capital market development. ARC has helped cut the number of high-poverty counties in Appalachia from 295 in 1960 to 91 in 2015, reduce the infant mortality rate by two-thirds, and double the percentage of high school graduates. From 2010 to 2015, ARC programs helped create or retain over 101,000 jobs in Appalachia through projects that include entrepreneurship, education and training, health care, telecommunications, business development, and basic infrastructure. Grants during that period leveraged almost $ 2.7 billion in private investments. ARC commissioned

3753-530: A tribal trade system culture that crafted cold-worked copper pieces. In the 1670s, during the Beaver Wars , the powerful Iroquois , five allied nations based in present-day New York and Pennsylvania, drove out other Native American tribes from the region to reserve the upper Ohio Valley as a hunting ground. Siouan language tribes, such as the Moneton , had previously been among the earliest recorded in

3892-493: A whole make up a racially diverse group and are the largest minority in the country. Beginning in 1930, Mexican was added as a distinct race on the US census with the explanation that "practically all Mexican laborers are of a racial mixture difficult to classify". The Mexican racial category was removed in 1940, with new direction that "Mexicans are to be regarded as white unless definitely of Indian or other nonwhite race"; this

4031-575: A whole, but in the western counties 34,677 voted against and 19,121 voted for the ordinance. The Second Wheeling Convention met as agreed on June 11 and declared that, since the Secession Convention had been called without popular consent, all its acts were void and all who adhered to it had vacated their offices. The Wheeling Conventions, and the delegates themselves, were never actually elected by public ballot to act on behalf of western Virginia. Of its 103 members, 33 had been elected to

4170-679: Is Charleston with a population of 49,055. West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, and was a key border state during the American Civil War . It was the only state to form by separating from a Confederate state, one of two states (along with Nevada ) admitted to the Union during the Civil War, and the second state to separate from another state, after Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820. Some of its residents held slaves, but most were yeoman farmers, and

4309-501: Is bituminous coal , and the official state gemstone is silicified Mississippian fossil Lithostrotionella coral. The limestone also produced a useful quarry industry. Usually small, and softer, high-calcium seams were burned to produce industrial lime. This lime was used for agricultural and construction purposes; for many years a specific portion of the C & O Railroad carried limestone rock to Clifton Forge, Virginia as an industrial flux. Salt mining had been underway since

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4448-596: Is "White" have changed throughout the history of the United States. The term "white American" can encompass many different ethnic groups. Although the United States census purports to reflect a social definition of race, the social dimensions of race are more complex than Census criteria. The 2000 US census states that racial categories "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country. They do not conform to any biological, anthropological or genetic criteria." The Census question on race lists

4587-477: Is a landlocked state in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States . It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast, Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. West Virginia is the 10th-smallest state by area and ranks as the 12th-least populous state , with a population of 1,793,716 residents. The capital and most populous city

4726-473: Is difficult to track full or partial ancestry from Spain in White Hispanics , Mestizos , or Mulattoes since people of direct Spanish descent are also classified as Hispanic, and though the census does track Hispanics' national origin, it does not classify it by race. In 2021, 995,583 people of any race claimed ancestry from Spain, 0.3% of the total population. However, genetic studies have found that

4865-447: Is provided through 73 local development districts, which are multi-county organizations with boards made up of elected officials, business people, and other local leaders. The ARC is a planning, research, advocacy, and funding organization. It does not have any governing power within the region. The ARC's geographic range of coverage was defined by Congress broadly, in order to cover as many economically underdeveloped areas as possible; as

5004-623: Is the only state entirely within the area served by the Appalachian Regional Commission ; the area is commonly defined as " Appalachia ". The state is noted for its mountains and rolling hills, its historically significant coal mining and logging industries, and its political and labor history . It is also known for its tourism and a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities, including skiing , whitewater rafting , fishing , hiking , backpacking , mountain biking , rock climbing , and hunting . From

5143-455: The 1980 census 49,598,035 Americans cited that they were of English ancestry, making them 26% of the country and the largest group at the time, and in fact larger than the population of England itself. Slightly more than half of these people would cite that they were of " American" ancestry on subsequent censuses and virtually everywhere that "American" ancestry predominates on the 2000 census corresponds to places where "English" predominated on

5282-640: The American Revolution . A 2015 genetic study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics analyzed the genetic ancestry of 148,789 European Americans . The study concluded that English ancestry is the most common European ancestry among white Americans, with this component ranging between 20% (Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota) and 55% (Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas) of the total population (regardless of race) in all 50 states. These states strongly correlated with those where

5421-746: The American Revolutionary War . Some speculative land companies, such as the Vandalia Company , the Ohio Company and the Indiana Company , tried but failed to legitimize their claims to land in parts of West Virginia and present-day Kentucky. This rivalry resulted in some settlers petitioning the Continental Congress to create a new territory called Westsylvania . With the federal settlement of

5560-555: The District of Columbia , and Puerto Rico as of the 2020 United States Census White Americans constitute the majority of the 332 million people living in the United States, with 71% of the population in the 2020 United States Census , including 61.6% who identified as 'white alone.' This represented a national white demographic decline from a 72.4% share of the US's self-identified white alone population in 2010. The largest ethnic groups (by ancestry) among White Americans were English or British, followed by Germans and Irish. In

5699-653: The Great Depression to the 1990s, the state voted heavily for the Democratic Party due to its tradition of union-based politics. Since then, the state has become heavily Republican , and is considered a "deep red" state at the federal level. Many ancient manmade earthen mounds from various prehistoric mound builder cultures survive in West Virginia, especially in the areas of present-day Moundsville , South Charleston , and Romney . Artifacts uncovered in these give evidence of village societies with

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5838-603: The Industrial Revolution in the U.S. and the steamships of many of the world's navies. The residents (both Native Americans and early European settlers) had long known of the underlying coal, and that it could be used for heating and fuel. However, for a long time, "personal" or artisanal mining was the only practical development. After the War, with the new railroads came a practical method to transport large quantities of coal to expanding U.S. and export markets. As

5977-593: The Ohio River in 1872 opened access to the New River Coal Field. Soon, the C&;O was building its huge coal pier at Newport News, Virginia , on the large harbor of Hampton Roads . In 1881, the new Philadelphia-based owners of the former Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O), which stretched across Virginia's southern tier from Norfolk , had sights clearly set on West Virginia, where

6116-746: The Pennsylvania and Virginia border dispute , creating Kentucky County, Virginia , Kentuckians "were satisfied [...] and the inhabitants of a large part of West Virginia were grateful." The Crown considered the area of West Virginia part of the British Virginia Colony from 1607 to 1776. The United States considered this area the western part of the state of Virginia (commonly called Trans-Allegheny Virginia ) from 1776 to 1863, before West Virginia's formation. Its residents were discontented for years with their position in Virginia, as

6255-504: The Shenandoah Valley , are not included in the ARC's charter. The inclusion of northeastern Mississippi and northwestern Alabama in the ARC's charter was additionally in part based on an altered Rand McNally map submitted to Congress and the governor of Mississippi at the suggestion of local developer George Thompson Pound, depicting mountains in the two states that did not exist. This was done for two main reasons—to undermine

6394-634: The South Branch Potomac River . Christopher Gist , a surveyor in the employ of the first Ohio Company , which was composed chiefly of Virginians, explored the country along the Ohio River north of the mouth of the Kanawha River between 1751 and 1752. The company sought to have a 14th colony established with the name " Vandalia ". Many settlers crossed the mountains after 1750, though they were hindered by Native American resistance. Few Native Americans lived permanently within

6533-812: The US census parameters for race give each national origin a racial value. On some government documents, such as the 2007 SEER program's Coding and Staging Manual, people who reported Muslim (or a sect of Islam such as Shia or Sunni ), Jewish , Zoroastrian , Caucasian , or a MENA or Latin American ethnicity as their race in the "Some other race" section, without noting a country of origin or Native American tribal affiliation, were automatically tallied as White. The 1990 US census Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) listed " Caucasian " or " Aryan " among other terms as subgroups of "white" in their ancestry code listing, but 2005 and proceeding years of PUMS codes do not. In

6672-529: The Virginia Board of Public Works . Virginians—led by former Confederate general William Mahone —formed a political coalition based upon this: the Readjuster Party . West Virginia's first constitution provided for the assumption of a part of the Virginia debt, but negotiations opened by Virginia in 1870 were fruitless, and in 1871 Virginia funded two-thirds of the debt and arbitrarily assigned

6811-595: The Virginia Colony , sent a party from Fort Henry led by Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam to survey this territory. They were the first Europeans recorded as discovering Kanawha Falls . Some sources state that Governor Alexander Spotswood 's 1716 Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition (for which the state's Golden Horseshoe Competition for 8th graders is named) had penetrated as far as Pendleton County , but modern historians interpret

6950-551: The Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 voted to secede from the Union, but of the 49 delegates from the northwestern corner (which ultimately became West Virginia) only 17 voted in favor of the Ordinance of Secession , while 30 voted against (with two abstentions). Almost immediately after that vote, a mass meeting at Clarksburg recommended that each county in northwestern Virginia send delegates to

7089-478: The anthracite mines of northwestern New Jersey and Pennsylvania began to play out during this same time period, investors and industrialists focused new interest in West Virginia. Geologists such as Dr. David T. Ansted surveyed potential coal fields and invested in land and early mining projects. The completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) across the state to the new city of Huntington on

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7228-465: The 18th century, though it had largely played out by the time of the American Civil War, when the red salt of Kanawha County was a valued commodity of first Confederate, and later Union, forces. In the years following, more sophisticated mining methods would restore West Virginia's role as a major producer of salt. However, in the second half of the 19th century, there was an even greater treasure not yet developed: bituminous coal . It would fuel much of

7367-511: The 1980 census. White Americans alone (including White Hispanics) are the majority racial group in most of the United States. As of 2022, they are not the majority in Hawaii , California , Texas , New Mexico , Nevada, and Maryland , making up just under half of the population in the last four states. If White Hispanics are excluded, they are also a minority in Georgia. They are also

7506-447: The ARC additionally classifies specific census tracts within non-distressed counties as distressed if they meet the standards of economic distress set by the ARC. The category at-risk was introduced on ARC maps in 2006; before then only the four other categories were used. The ARC uses several indicators to designate an area as distressed, including median family income and the local poverty rate. Additional factors that go into determining

7645-432: The ARC's subregions only consisted of Northern, Central, and Southern. These classifications were revised in 2009 in order to make subregional analysis more specific. As part of this process, in 2005, several new subregion schemes were proposed. Notably, two proposals involved the categorization of the ARC's service area into areas that were distinctly labeled as being part of Appalachia or separate from it, which had addressed

7784-539: The American Revolution, the movement to create a state beyond the Alleghenies was revived and a petition for the establishment of " Westsylvania " was presented to Congress , on the grounds that the mountains presented an almost impassable barrier to the east. The rugged terrain made slavery unprofitable, and time only increased the social, political, economic, and cultural differences ( see Tuckahoes and Cohees ) between Virginia's two sections. In 1829,

7923-541: The Appalachian region. One of the ARC's Co-Chairs is also quoted as saying that Biden's proposed American Jobs Plan provides $ 1B in infrastructure repair to help distressed communities. [1] As mandated by Congress, ARC helps coordinate federal, state, and local initiatives to spur economic development in Appalachia. Each year, Congress appropriates funds, which ARC allocates among its member states. The Appalachian governors submit to ARC their state spending plans for

8062-663: The C&O and N&W presidents thought they could thus kill the Page project, they were to be proved mistaken. One of the silent partner investors Page had enlisted was millionaire industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers , a principal in John D. Rockefeller 's Standard Oil Trust and an old hand at developing natural resources and transportation. A master at competitive "warfare", Henry Rogers did not like to lose in his endeavors and also had "deep pockets" . Instead of giving up, Page (and Rogers) quietly planned and then built their tracks all

8201-567: The C&O at its line along the Kanawha River and the N&;W at Matoaka —a distance of about 80 miles (130 km). Although the Deepwater plan should have provided a competitive shipping market via either railroad, leaders of the two large railroads did not appreciate the scheme. In secret collusion, each declined to negotiate favorable rates with Page, nor did they offer to purchase his railroad, as they had many other short-lines. However, if

8340-561: The Civil War, Union General George B. McClellan 's forces gained possession of the greater part of the territory in the summer of 1861, culminating at the Battle of Rich Mountain , and Union control was never again seriously threatened. In 1863, General John D. Imboden , with 5,000 Confederates, raided a considerable portion of the state and burned Pierpont's library, although Willey escaped their grasp. Bands of guerrillas burned and plundered in some sections, and were not entirely suppressed until

8479-503: The Continental Army, showed war-weariness in what became West Virginia. Social conditions in western Virginia were entirely unlike those in the eastern part. The population was not homogeneous, as a considerable part of the immigration came by way of Pennsylvania and included Germans, Protestant Scotch-Irish , and settlers from states farther north. Counties in the east and south were settled mostly by eastern Virginians. During

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8618-539: The General Assembly to reapportion representation based on the white population in 1865, or else put the matter to a public referendum. But the east also gave itself a tax advantage in requiring a property tax at true and actual value, except for slaves. Slaves under age 12 were not taxed and slaves over that age were taxed at only $ 300, a fraction of their true value, but small farmers had all their assets, animals, and land taxed at full value. Despite this tax and

8757-592: The Iroquois. They eventually settled somewhere between the Kanawha and Little Kanawha Rivers. During the 1750s, when the Mingo Seneca seceded from the Iroquois and returned to the Ohio River Valley, they contend that this tribe merged with them. The Shawnee arrived as well; though primarily stationed within former Monongahela territory approximately until 1750, they extended their influence throughout

8896-519: The Middle East or North Africa. It includes people who indicated their race(s) as "White" or reported entries such as German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian. In US census documents, the designation White overlaps, as do all other official racial categories, with the term Hispanic or Latino , which was introduced in the 1980 census as a category of ethnicity , separate and independent of race . Hispanic and Latino Americans as

9035-551: The N&W was also shipping from new coal piers at Hampton Roads. In 1889, in the southern part of the state, along the Norfolk and Western rail lines, the important coal center of Bluefield, West Virginia , was founded. The "capital" of the Pocahontas coalfield , this city would remain the largest city in the southern portion of the state for several decades. It shares its name with a sister city, Bluefield , in Virginia. In

9174-401: The Office of Management and Budget announced that the race categories used by the federal government would be updated, and that Middle Eastern and North African Americans will no longer be classified as white in the upcoming 2030 Census. The most commonly reported ancestries of White Americans include English (12.5%), German (7.6%), Irish (5.3%), Italian (3.2%), and Polish (1.3%). It

9313-956: The Ohio River from the Monongahela to Kentucky and extending an unknown distance inland, and the Eastern Siouan Tutelo and Moneton tribes in the southeast. There was also the Iroquoian Susquehannock in the region approximately east of the Monongahela River and north of the Monongahela National Forest, a possible tribe called the Senandoa, or Shenandoah, in the Shenandoah Valley and the easternmost tip of

9452-521: The Ohio River region. They were West Virginia's last Native tribe and were driven out by the United States during the Shawnee Wars (1811–1813). The Erie, who were chased out of Ohio around 1655, are now believed to be the same as the Westo , who invaded as far as South Carolina before being destroyed in the 1680s. If so, their path would have brought them through West Virginia. The historical movement of

9591-526: The President's Appalachian Regional Commission to assist in advancing legislation to bring federal dollars to Appalachia. This legislation, the Appalachian Redevelopment Act, was enacted by Congress in 1965, creating the ARC as a federal agency. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on March 9, 1965. All of ARC's activities must advance at least one of the five strategic investment goals articulated in its 2016–2020 strategic plan adopted in November 2015: The bulk of ARC funds, which come from

9730-438: The Shattaras, or West Virginia Cherokees. They took in and merged with the Monetons, who began to call themselves the Mohetons. The Calicua also began to call themselves Cherokees soon after, showing an apparent further merger. These Shattaras were closely related to the tribes that formed to the south in the aftermath of the Westo—the Yuchi and Cherokee. From 1715 to 1717, the Yamasee War sprang up. The Senandoa allegedly sided with

9869-411: The Shawnee returned to war, joining the Chickamauga , a band of Cherokee known for the area where they lived. Native American attacks on settlers continued until after the American Revolutionary War . During the war, the settlers in western Virginia were generally active Whigs ; many served in the Continental Army . Claypool's Rebellion of 1780–1781, in which a group of men refused to pay taxes to

10008-613: The Susquehanna River of Eastern Pennsylvania. The Manahoac were probably forced out in the 1680s when the Iroquois began to invade Virginia. The Siouan tribes there moved into North Carolina and later returned as one tribe, known as the Eastern Blackfoot, or Christannas. The Westo did not secure the territory they conquered. Even before they were gone, displaced natives from the south flooded into freshly conquered regions and took them over. These became known as

10147-468: The Tidewater and Piedmont slaveholders' political dominance. In addition to differences over slavery, he and allies felt the Virginia government ignored and refused to spend funds on needed internal improvements in the west, such as turnpikes and railroads. West Virginia was the only state in the Union to separate from a Confederate state ( Virginia ) during the Civil War. In Richmond on April 17, 1861,

10286-635: The Tutelo and carbon dating of the Fort Ancients seem to correspond with the given period of 1655–1670 as the time of their removal. The Susquehannocks were original participants in the Beaver Wars but were cut off from the Ohio River by the Iroquois around 1630 and found themselves in dire straits. Suffering from disease and constant warfare and unable to provide for themselves financially, they began to collapse and moved further and further east, to

10425-526: The Union was made to Congress, introduced by Senator Waitman Willey of the Restored Government of Virginia. Carlile sought to sabotage the bill, first trying to expand the new state's boundaries to include the Shenandoah Valley, and then to defeat the Willey amendment at home. On December 31, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln approved an enabling act admitting West Virginia on the condition that

10564-538: The VGN's well-engineered 20th-century tracks continue to offer a favorable gradient to Hampton Roads. White Americans White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans ) are Americans who identify as white people . In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau , which collects demographic data on Americans , defines "white" as "[a] person having origins in any of

10703-658: The Virginia General Assembly on May 23. This included some hold-over state senators whose four-year terms had begun in 1859, and some who vacated their offices to convene in Wheeling. Other members "were chosen even more irregularly—some in mass meetings, others by county committee, and still others were seemingly self-appointed". An act for the reorganization of the government was passed on June 19. The next day, convention delegates chose Francis H. Pierpont as governor of Virginia and elected other officers to

10842-563: The Yuchi and were destroyed by Yamasee allies. Therefore, if the Senandoa were the same tribe as the Moneton, this would mean the collapse of Shattara-Moneton culture. Another tribe that appeared in the region was the Canaragay, or Kanawha. It later migrated to Maryland and merged into colonial culture. In 1671, General Abraham Wood , at the direction of Royal Governor William Berkeley of

10981-504: The area. Conflicts with European settlers resulted in various displaced Native tribes settling in West Virginia, where they were known as Mingo , meaning "remote affiliates of the Iroquois Confederacy". The area now identified as West Virginia was contested territory among Anglo-Americans as well, with the colonies of Pennsylvania and Virginia claiming territorial rights under their colonial charters to this area before

11120-621: The areas of greatest need, with at least half of its grants going to projects that benefit economically distressed areas and counties. ARC's FY 2016 appropriation included $ 50 million in funding through the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative. This multi-agency initiative, launched in 2015, targets federal resources to help diversify economies in communities and regions that have been affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations, and coal-related supply chain industries due to

11259-432: The border between West Virginia and Virginia includes the "Saltpeter Trail", a string of limestone caverns containing rich deposits of calcium nitrate which were rendered and sold to the government. The trail stretched from Pendleton County to the western terminus of the route in the town of Union , Monroe County . Nearly half of these caves are on the West Virginia side, including Organ Cave and Haynes Cave . In

11398-751: The border from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Huntington in the southwest is close to Ohio and Kentucky, while Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry in the eastern panhandle region are considered part of the Washington metropolitan area, between Maryland and Virginia. West Virginia is often included in several U.S. geographical regions, including the Mid-Atlantic, the Upland South , and the Southeastern United States . It

11537-413: The categories White or European American , Black or African American , American Indian and Alaska Native , Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander , Asian , plus "Some other race", with the respondent having the ability to mark more than one racial or ethnic category. The Census Bureau defines White people as follows: "White" refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe,

11676-536: The census group corresponding most closely to those persons who identify as and are perceived to be white in common usage; similarly not all Hispanic/Latino people identify as "white", "black", or any other listed racial category. In 2015, the Census Bureau announced their intention to make Hispanic/Latino and Middle Eastern/North African racial categories similar to "white" or "black", with respondents able to choose one, two, or more racial categories; this change

11815-442: The changing economics of America's energy production. The Trump Administration's proposed budget for FY 2018 would have eliminated funding for the ARC. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell assured constituents no funding would be cut from the ARC. In contrast, President Biden's first budget included $ 253,000,000 for the ARC. Biden's stimulus proposal budgeted an additional $ 5.3 Billion in direct aid to local governments in

11954-468: The commission because of similar problems with unemployment and poverty. In 2008, the Youngstown, Ohio region was declared part of Appalachia by the ARC due to the collapse of the steel industry in the region in the early 1980s, and the continuing unemployment problems in the region since . Additionally, certain regions generally considered to be part of Appalachia, such as most of Virginia's portion of

12093-531: The constitution, which nevertheless passed because of eastern support. The eastern planter elite's failure to make constitutional reforms exacerbated existing east–west sectionalism in Virginia and contributed to its division. The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850–51 , the Reform Convention, addressed a number of issues important to western Virginians. It extended the vote to all white males 21 years or older. The governor, lieutenant governor,

12232-524: The constitutional amendment of 1866 was abrogated. Republicans had taken the first steps toward this change in 1870. On August 22, 1872, an entirely new constitution was adopted. Beginning in Reconstruction , and for several decades thereafter, the two states disputed the new state's share of the prewar Virginia government's debts, which had mostly been incurred to finance public infrastructure improvements, such as canals, roads, and railroads under

12371-548: The contemporary United States, essentially anyone of European descent is typically considered white. People of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent may also be considered white. However, many of the ethnic groups classified as white by the US census, such as Arab Americans , Berber Americans , Jewish Americans of European or MENA descent, and Hispanics and Latinos of European or MENA descent may not always identify as, and may not always be perceived to be, white. Social perceptions of whiteness have evolved over

12510-746: The course of American history. For example, Benjamin Franklin commented that the Saxons of Germany and the English "make the principal Body of White People on the Face of the Earth". Historically, many individuals of European descent were not readily integrated into mainstream American society and found themselves caught on the "dark" side of the white/black binary, including Irish, Italians, Greeks and Slavs. In Minnesota, increasing numbers of Finnish immigrants led to

12649-411: The delegates provided for the gradual abolition of slavery in the new state constitution. The state legislature abolished slavery in the state, and at the same time ratified the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery nationally on February 3, 1865. West Virginia's northern panhandle extends adjacent to Pennsylvania and Ohio to form a tristate area , with Wheeling , Weirton , and Morgantown just across

12788-453: The direct funding of black communities in the affected areas in favor of preserving white supremacy , and to engage in historical negationism , made possible due to the method which the ARC used to fund communities within its charter. An area home to a large number of black Americans with an extensive history was effectively forced into a region known for its predominantly white culture and lack of slavery within American history, in spite of

12927-463: The educational attainment for Whites being higher for those born outside the United States: 38% of foreign born, and 30% of native born Whites had a college degree. Both figures are above the national average of 27%. Gender income inequality was the greatest among Whites, with White men outearning White women by 48%. Census Bureau data for 2005 reveals that the median income of White females

13066-477: The fact that not all of the area the ARC serves is Appalachian. Beginning in about 1960, the Council of Appalachian Governors, a group of the ten governors of the Appalachian states of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, united to seek federal government assistance for the mountainous portions of their states, which lagged behind

13205-551: The government was dominated by the planter elite of the Tidewater and Piedmont areas. The legislature had electoral malapportionment, based on the counting of slaves toward regional populations, and western white residents were underrepresented in the state legislature. More subsistence and yeoman farmers lived in the west, and they were generally less supportive of slavery, although many counties were divided on their support. Residents of that area became more sharply divided after

13344-552: The governors of the 13 Appalachian states and a federal co-chair, who is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate . A professional staff carries out the work of the Commission. The current federal co-chair is Gayle Conelly Manchin . Manchin was appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate on April 29, 2021, by voice vote. The 2024 states' co-chair is Tennessee governor Bill Lee . Grassroots participation

13483-542: The highest concentration of those referred to as "non-Hispanic whites" by the Census Bureau are found in the Midwest , New England , the northern Rocky Mountain states, Kentucky , West Virginia , and East Tennessee . The lowest concentration of whites was found in southern and mid-Atlantic states. (2022 est.) Although all large geographical areas are dominated by White Americans, much larger differences can be seen between specific parts of large cities. States with

13622-400: The highest percentages of White Americans, either White Alone or in combination with another race as of 2020: States with the highest percentages of non-Latino/Hispanic whites, as of 2020: [REDACTED] White Americans have the second highest median household income and personal income levels in the nation, by cultural background. The median income per household member was also

13761-411: The highest, since White Americans had the smallest households of any racial demographic in the nation. In 2006, the median individual income of a White American age 25 or older was $ 33,030, with those who were full-time employed, and of age 25 to 64, earning $ 34,432. Since 42% of all households had two income earners, the median household income was considerably higher than the median personal income, which

13900-473: The judiciary, sheriffs, and other county officers were to be elected by public vote. The General Assembly's composition was changed. Representation in the House of Delegates was apportioned based on the census of 1850, counting whites only. The Senate representation was arbitrarily fixed at 50 seats, with the west receiving 20 senators and the east 30. This was made acceptable to the west by a provision that required

14039-408: The lack of internal improvements in the west, the vote was 75,748 for and 11,063 against the new constitution. Most of the opposition came from delegates from eastern counties, who did not like the compromises made for the west. Given these differences, many in the west had long contemplated a separate state. In particular, men such as lawyer Francis H. Pierpont from Fairmont had long chafed under

14178-399: The largest number of people identified with "American" ancestry on the census. Many white Americans also have ancestry from multiple countries. According to the 2022 American Community Survey , 76,678,228 Americans identified with multiple European, Middle Eastern, or North African ancestry groups, with the large majority of these identifying with various European groups. Definitions of who

14317-480: The late 18th century, saltpeter miners in Haynes Cave found large animal bones in the deposits. These were sent by a local historian and frontier soldier Colonel John Stuart to Thomas Jefferson . The bones were named Megalonyx jeffersonii , or great-claw, and became known as Jefferson's three-toed sloth. It was declared the official state fossil of West Virginia in 2008. The West Virginia official state rock

14456-407: The latest American Community Survey in 2022, US Census Bureau estimates that 60.9% of the US population were White alone, while Non-Hispanic Whites were 57.7% of the population. Overall, 72.5% of Americans identified as White alone or in combination. European Americans are by far the largest panethnic group of white Americans and have constituted the majority population of the United States since

14595-529: The law, said if it was not enacted he would lose the election by 500 votes. Confederates' property might also 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

14734-600: The lifestyles of its residents, who tended to live in many small, relatively isolated communities in the mountain valleys. A 2010 analysis of a local stalagmite revealed that Native Americans were burning forests to clear land as early as 100   BCE. Some regional late-prehistoric Eastern Woodland tribes were more involved in hunting and fishing, practicing the Eastern Agricultural Complex gardening method which used fire to clear out underbrush from certain wooded areas. Another group progressed to

14873-551: The more time-consuming, advanced companion crop fields method of gardening. Also continuing from the ancient Indigenous people of the state, they cultivated tobacco through to early historic times. It was used in numerous social and religious rituals. " Maize (corn) did not make a substantial contribution to the diet until after 1150 BP ", to quote Mills (OSU 2003). Eventually, tribal villages began depending on corn to feed their turkey flocks, as Kanawha Fort Ancients practiced bird husbandry . The local Natives made cornbread and

15012-570: The mountains. A body of militia under then-Colonel Andrew Lewis dealt the Shawnee Natives , under Hokoleskwa (or "Cornstalk"), a crushing blow during the Battle of Point Pleasant at the junction of the Kanawha and the Ohio rivers. At the Treaty of Camp Charlotte concluding Dunmore's War , Cornstalk agreed to recognize the Ohio River as the new boundary with the " Long Knives ". But by 1776

15151-400: The movement of slaves into the new state, and to gradually abolish slavery. The education proposal succeeded, but the convention tabled the slavery proposals before finishing its work on February 18, 1862. The new constitution was more closely modeled on Ohio's than Virginia's, adopting a township model of government rather than the " courthouse cliques " of Virginia which Carlile criticized, and

15290-605: The nation's founding. The US Census Bureau uses a particular definition of "white" that differs from some colloquial uses of the term. The Bureau defines "White" people to be those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe , the Middle East or North Africa ". Within official census definitions, people of all racial categories may be further divided into those who identify as " not Hispanic or Latino " and those who do identify as " Hispanic or Latino ". The term "non-Hispanic white", rather than just "white", may be

15429-601: The need for federal government intervention in Appalachia. Another catalyst that helped lead to the creation of the ARC was the 1962 book Night Comes to the Cumberlands : A Biography of a Depressed Area by Harry M. Caudill on the poverty and history of the Cumberland area of Appalachia, predominantly in Kentucky . This book brought the situation in Appalachia to national attention. In 1963 President Kennedy formed

15568-696: The northern portion of the state and elsewhere, the older Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) and other lines also expanded to take advantage of coal opportunities. The B&O developed coal piers in Baltimore and at several points on the Great Lakes . Other significant rail carriers of coal were the Western Maryland Railway (WM), Southern Railway (SOU), and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N). Particularly notable

15707-594: The original accounts of the excursion as suggesting that none of the expedition's horsemen ventured much farther west of the Blue Ridge Mountains than Harrisonburg, Virginia . John Van Metre, a Native trader, penetrated into the northern portion in 1725. The same year, German settlers from Pennsylvania founded New Mecklenburg, the present Shepherdstown , on the Potomac River , and others followed. King Charles II of England , in 1661, granted to

15846-411: The original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa". This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. According to the 2020 census , 71%, or 235,411,507 people, were White alone or in combination, and 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were White alone. This represented a national white demographic decline from a 72.4% white alone share of the US population in 2010. As of

15985-425: The owners had large landholdings. Their railroad was renamed Norfolk and Western (N&W), and a new railroad city was developed at Roanoke to handle planned expansion. After its new president Frederick J. Kimball and a small party journeyed by horseback and saw firsthand the rich bituminous coal seam, which Kimball's wife named Pocahontas , the N&W redirected its planned westward expansion to reach it. Soon,

16124-482: The planter elite of eastern Virginia voted to secede from the Union during the Civil War. Residents of the western and northern counties set up a separate government under Francis Pierpont in 1861, which they called the Restored Government . Most voted to separate from Virginia, and the new state was admitted to the Union in 1863. In 1864 a state constitutional convention drafted a constitution, which

16263-410: The protest of black residents. As part of the scheme, attractions were to be built in the area with ARC funds celebrating the history of white settlers, with no attention paid towards the native Chickasaws who had once inhabited the region or the current black residents. Funding and development directed to the region after the establishment of the ARC largely eschewed black residents and communities as

16402-465: The region were more likely to define it restrictively. The majority of responses defined Appalachia as an area encircling the locations possessing the highest amount of negative characteristics that the ARC was created to combat—flooding, environmental degradation , poverty, and geographic isolation, among others. The ARC does not precisely correspond to what is considered Appalachia by the general public. For instance, parts of Mississippi were included in

16541-511: The remainder to West Virginia. The issue was finally settled in 1915 , when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that West Virginia owed Virginia $ 12,393,929.50. The final installment of this sum was paid in 1939. After Reconstruction , the new 35th state benefited from the development of its mineral resources more than any other single economic activity. Saltpeter caves had been employed throughout Appalachia for munitions;

16680-495: The remaining Virginia counties within the federal lines. The question of the constitutionality of the formation of the new state was later brought before the Supreme Court of the United States in Virginia v. West Virginia . Berkeley and Jefferson counties, lying on the Potomac east of the mountains, voted in favor of annexation to West Virginia in 1863, with the consent of Virginia's reorganized government. Many voters of

16819-454: The required referendum (as happened on May 23), such action would constitute revolution against the United States. The convention decided that if Virginians adopted the secession ordinance (of which there was little doubt), another convention including the members-elect of the legislature would meet in Wheeling in June 1861. On May 23, 1861, secession was ratified by a large majority in Virginia as

16958-481: The rest of the United States in income, education, health care, and transportation. During the 1960 Presidential campaign , candidate John F. Kennedy met with the governors to hear their concerns and observed living conditions in West Virginia that convinced him of the need for federal assistance to address the region's problems. Unrest in the coal industry with movements like the Roving Pickets illustrated

17097-407: The second-lowest of any racial group, with 11% of white individuals living below the poverty line, 3% lower than the national average. However, due to Whites' majority status, 48% of Americans living in poverty are white. White Americans' educational attainment is the second-highest in the country, after Asian Americans'. Overall, nearly one-third of White Americans had a Bachelor's degree , with

17236-578: The state may have been home to the Manahoac people. The Monongahela may have been the same as a people known as the Calicua, or Cali. The following may have also all been the same tribe—Moneton, Moheton, Senandoa, Tomahitan. During the Beaver Wars, other tribes moved into the region. The Iroquoian Tiontatecaga (also Little Mingo, Guyandotte) seem to have split off from the Petun after they were defeated by

17375-693: The state's present limits, but the region was a common hunting ground, crossed by many trails. During the French and Indian War (the North American front of the Seven Years' War in Europe),Native allies of the French nearly destroyed the scattered British settlements. Shortly before the American Revolutionary War , in 1774 Crown Governor of Virginia John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore , led a force over

17514-516: The strongly pro-secessionist counties were absent in the Confederate Army when the vote was taken and refused to acknowledge the transfer when they returned. The Virginia General Assembly repealed the act of secession and in 1866 brought suit against West Virginia asking the court to declare the counties part of Virginia, which would have made West Virginia's admission as a state unconstitutional. Meanwhile, on March 10, 1866, Congress passed

17653-400: The upcoming 2030 Census, and Hispanic and Latino will also be treated similar to a racial, rather than ethnic, category. The Census Bureau defines the planned definition of White people as follows: "Individuals with origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, including, for example, English, German, Irish, Italian, Polish, and scottish." In cases where individuals do not self-identify,

17792-404: The vast majority of Hispanics in the US have varying amounts of European ancestry, with the largest component being Spanish or Iberian. The English Americans ' demography is also considered a serious under-count, as the stock tend to self-report and identify as simply " Americans " (7%), due to the length of time they have inhabited the United States, particularly if their family arrived prior to

17931-452: The war ended. The eastern panhandle counties were more affected by the war, with military control of the area repeatedly changing hands. The area that became West Virginia actually furnished about an equal number of soldiers to the Union and Confederate armies, about 22,000–25,000 each. In 1865, the Wheeling government found it necessary to strip voting rights from returning Confederates in order to retain control. James Ferguson, who proposed

18070-429: The way east across Virginia, using Rogers' private fortune to finance the $ 40 million cost. When the renamed Virginian Railway (VGN) was completed in 1909, no fewer than three railroads were shipping ever-increasing volumes of coal to export from Hampton Roads. West Virginia coal was also in high demand at Great Lakes ports. The VGN and the N&W ultimately became parts of the modern Norfolk Southern system, and

18209-420: The year, which include lists of projects they recommend for funding. The spending plans are reviewed and approved at a meeting of all the governors and the federal co-chair. The next step is approval of individual projects by the ARC federal co-chair. After the states submit project applications to the ARC, each project is reviewed by ARC program analysts. The process is completed when the federal co-chair reviews

18348-464: Was $ 48,554 in 2005. Jewish Americans rank first in household income, personal income, and educational attainment among White Americans. In 2005, White households had a median household income of $ 48,977, which is 10% above the national median of $ 44,389. Among Cuban Americans , with 86% classified as White, those born in the US have a higher median income and educational attainment level than most other Whites. The poverty rates for White Americans are

18487-674: Was a latecomer, the Virginian Railway (VGN). By 1900, only the most rugged terrain of southern West Virginia was any distance from the existing railroads and mining activity. Within this area west of the New River Coalfield in Raleigh and Wyoming counties lay the Winding Gulf Coalfield , later promoted as the "Billion Dollar Coalfield". A protégé of Dr. Ansted was William Nelson Page (1854–1932),

18626-470: Was also election day for local offices, and elections were also held in camps of Confederate soldiers, who elected rival state officials, such as Robert E. Cowan . Most pro-statehood votes came from 16 counties around the northern panhandle. Over 50,000 votes had been cast on the Ordinance of Secession, yet the vote on statehood garnered little more than 19,000. In Ohio County, home to Wheeling, only about

18765-542: Was canceled during the Trump administration. Other persons who are classified as "white" by the US census but may or may not identify as or be perceived as white include Arab Americans and Jewish Americans of European or MENA descent. In the United States, the term White people generally denotes a person of European ancestry, but has been legally extended to people of West Asian and North African (Middle Eastern, West Asian, and North African) ancestry. However, in 2024,

18904-652: Was continued in 1950. 1970 saw the creation of the Spanish Origin category, which superseded previous classifications for Latin Americans and is now represented by the Hispanic or Latino ethnic category. Hispanic or Latino was again to be raised to racial status for the 2020 census (along with Middle Eastern and North African), but this was canceled by President Donald J. Trump. The characterization of Middle Eastern and North African Americans as white has been

19043-409: Was lower than that of males of all races. In 2005, the median income for White American females was only slightly higher than that of African American females. White Americans are more likely to live in suburbs and small cities than their black counterparts. The following table lists all self-reported European and Middle Eastern ancestries with over 50,000 members, according to 2022 estimates from

19182-416: Was ratified by the legislature without putting it to popular vote. West Virginia abolished slavery by a gradual process and temporarily disenfranchised those who had held Confederate office or fought for the Confederacy. West Virginia's history has been profoundly affected by its mountainous terrain, numerous and vast river valleys, and rich natural resources. These were all factors driving its economy and

19321-515: Was therefore both constitutional and expedient. The convention was reconvened on February 12, 1863, and the abolition demand of the federal enabling act was met. The revised constitution was adopted on March 26, 1863, and on April 20, 1863, Lincoln issued a proclamation admitting the state 60 days later on June 20, 1863. Meanwhile, officers for the new state were chosen, while Pierpont moved his pro-Union Virginia capital to Union-occupied Alexandria , where he asserted and exercised jurisdiction over all

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