Virginia used to be a much larger state. We asked Virginia Humanities for insight into why and how West Virginia cleaved off from our commonwealth in 1863. Here are excerpts from the organization's Encyclopedia Virginia.
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FROM REVOLUTION
* Sectional issues in Virginia emerged during the Revolutionary period. The Virginia Constitution of 1776 hampered western influence: It placed property-holding qualifications on voters and officeholders, which boosted eastern political representation.
* Western Virginians faced a tax code that benefited slaveholders and large landowners, as well as eastern reluctance to dedicate taxes for western internal improvements. So westerners clamored for change.
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