A Research Paper On The West Virginia State

Introduction

I chose the state West Virginia because it was the first state I thought of this is because of the song “Take me home, Country roads” from John Denver, I always sing this song when I go on camp. I think West Virginia is small but that it does have a lot to tell about. In this paper I will write about the history, geography, culture and politics of West Virginia. In the first chapter “History of West Virginia” I will write about the events that happened in West Virginia, but because West Virginia only became an independent state after the civil war I will also write about what happened on the land of West Virginia before it was created. The second chapter “Geography of West Virginia” is about the three main subfields: physical geography, human geography and the economical aspects of West Virginia. In the physical geography I will write about the amount of forest, the climate and the amount of mountains in West Virginia. In human geography I will write about how many people live per square km. In the chapter “Culture of West Virginia”, which is the third chapter, I will write about how people live, traditions and traditional food in West Virginia. You will really get to know how a life in West Virginia is. In the fourth chapter”Politics of West Virginia” you can read about the political preferences of the people in West Virginia, I will show the results of the most recent elections and the candidates for the upcoming election.

In these chapters I will find out how West Virginia itself is influenced by these aspects, I will also compare these aspects to my own context, Europe and the Netherlands. I hope that in this paper I will learn a lot about West Virginia and understand why John Denver wrote some of the lyrics in his song.

History of West Virginia

West Virginia decided to separate themselves from Virginia during the civil war, which lasted from 1861 until 1865. The congress granted them statehood on the 20th of June 1863. Although West Virginia only became a separate state in 1863 a lot of things happened on the land of West Virginia before it was an independent state.

Historical Phases

From 10, 500 before Christ the Paleo-Indian culture is found in West Virginia along the river valleys. The Paleo-Indians are the first known peoples who lived in America. After the Paleo-indians West Virginia follows the traditional Archaic phases from 8000 until 1000 BC. These phases are human adjustments to the changing conditions in the climate. Most of the information about the Archaic phases comes from archeological sites. Some phases West Virginia went through are: the Maple Creek Phase, the Buffalo Phase, the Brewerton Phase and the Dunlop Phase. After the Archaic Phases the Adena tribe made a great cultural change in West Virginia during the Woodland Period which lasted from 1 until 1200 AD. The people in the Adena tribe were farmers, they grew sunflowers, may grass and several other seeds, they also raised turkeys and kept dogs as pets. In the late Prehistoric which lasted from 950- 1650 AD Fort Ancient tradition phases were followed in West Virginia. Tribes started trading and many cultures started mixing together European settlers In 1671 the first English settlers were sent into West Virginia, the Iroquois and other tribes didn’t really make effort to settle in West Virginia so in 1722 the Treaty of Albany was made. In this treaty they made the Blue Ridge Mountains the border of the white settlement. After this treaty was signed a lot of settlers started to move in to West Virginia. The state of Virginia was formed in 1734, it included everything west of the mountain range. In 1736 the Iroquois tribes were mad about the colonisation and wanted to start a war, this was prevented by Governor Gooch in 1744 where he paid 400 pounds in the Treaty of Lancaster. In 1750 settlers crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains but they were stopped by the tribes. A new treaty was made in 1752 which made that the English got more land. In 1748 and 1761 two ferries started to sail across the river in West Virginia, this was the start of the West Virginian Waterways. In the late 18th century a lot of sites along the river were used to repair boats and make trade more easy. John Brown in Harpers Ferry In 1859 just before the civil war John Brown wanted to free the slaves by starting an armed slave revolt in Harpers Ferry where a federal state arsenal was placed. When he got the weapons on 16 October he went to get the slaves out, he thought they would want to get away but sources say only 30 man got out to start a revolt. The army was warned that John Brown broke into the weapon arsenal. So the next day on October 17th the army spotted John Brown and his man. All the ways of escaping were blocked and he couldn’t go anywhere. On the 18th of October Brown was killed and the rest of the raiders were captured.

Job History

The main transported good in West Virginia is coal, also salt plays a big part in the Trade of West Virginia especially in the late 19th century. Because of the trade in these goods railroads and ships were made very fast in West Virginia. But with the mining of coal and salt there were also negative effects, safety in the mines and also economic issues. In the Second World War West Virginia helped America a lot, many men and women served in the army and they also provided coal. With this came that the unemployment disappeared, because people needed to work non stop to provide all the coal. The Netherlands didn’t have a big influence on the history of West Virginia however Europe did a lot, there were a lot of European settlers which changed the culture of West Virginia and they even created a separate part of land, this was not called West Virginia yet but it was the same land. Neither did West Virginia have a big influence on The Netherlands. The historical events that happened in West Virginia helped to shape West Virginia as to where it is now. Another important factor in shaping West Virginia is the geography, it influenced the state as well as the history of the state.

Geography of West Virginia

Geography has multiple subfields you can focus on, in this chapter I will write about the physical, human and economic subfield of West Virginia and compare it to the Netherlands

Physical Geography

West Virginia also known as the mountain state is the 41st largest state with its 62, 754. 8 square kilometers. This 62, 754. 8 square kilometers is made up out of 393 km2 of water and 62, 361 km2 of land. According to the United States Department of Agriculture West Virginia houses 12 million acres of forest, this is 48, 562. 28 square kilometers. This means that 77. 87% of the land in West Virginia is covered in trees. West Virginia got its nickname “the mountain state” because it is almost entirely mountainous, these mountains are due to the Appalachian Mountain Region where West Virginia lies in completely. The highest point of West Virginia is 1, 482 meters. The Netherlands is 41, 543 square kilometers big, this means West Virginia is 21, 211. 8 Km2 bigger than the Netherlands. This 41, 543 square kilometer is filled with 3500 Km2 of forest, this is 8. 42% which means that West Virginia has 69. 45% more forest compared to their land. West Virginia is also different from the Netherlands in how mountainous it is, the highest point of the Netherlands is 323 meters high, so the highest point of West Virginia is 1, 159 meters higher than the highest point of the Netherlands. And While West Virginia is one of the highest states of America the Netherlands lies under sea level. West Virginia has a humid subtropical climate, this means they have hot summers and Mild winters. The temperature ranges from -4 until 24, the lowest temperature ever measured is -37 and the highest temperature is 44. The precipitation in West Virginia ranges from 81 until 140 cm a year. Valleys in the east have a lower amount of precipitation because the mountains of the Allegheny front cause a rain shadow. West Virginia is one of the cloudiest states of America because of the mountains. In the Netherlands we have a cfb-climate, this means we have mild winters like West Virginia and cool summers, which they don’t have in West Virginia, due to the sea. If you compare the graphs you can see that West Virginia and the Netherlands have the same shape in the graph for temperature, but that the temperatures are higher. When we look at precipitation you see that it rains more in West Virginia.

Human Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau the population of West Virginia in 2016 was 1, 813, 102. This means that the population density is 29. 8 people per square kilometer. In 2017 the population in the Netherlands was 17. 084. 719 people, the population density was 411. 3 people per square kilometer. That is 381. 5 people more than West Virginia.

Economic Aspects

The GDP of West Virginia is 66. 496 billion dollars according to the BEA data (2016) this was 0. 92% lower than the year before, in that year West Virginia was at its top. In 2016 the GDP per capita was 36, 315 dollars, this was 0. 38% lower than the year before but 1. 57% higher than 3 years back. If West Virginia would be on the list of countries by GDP it would be on the 62th place. West Virginia had an unemployment rate of 5. 3% in 2018 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The GDP of the Netherlands was 826. 2 billion dollars in 2017 according to the World Bank. This is 759. 704 dollars more than West Virginia. The GDP per capita is 49, 760, this is 13, 445 more than West Virginia. The Netherlands is on the 14th place on the list of countries by GDP. The unemployment rate was 3. 9% in 2018 according to eurostat which is 1. 4% lower than West Virginia. West Virginia is a very mountainous state with a lot of forest, it has a mild climate and a lot of clouds. People don’t live close together compared to the Netherlands. West Virginia is an average rich state with a steady GDP.

Culture of West Virginia

Culture is also a part of human geography, it gives you information about how people live and what their traditions are. In this chapter I will write about the origin of the culture in West Virginia, the races, the typical food and their traditions.

Origin of the West Virginian Culture

West Virginia has the Appalachian culture, the Appalachian culture origins from the American Civil War. You can mainly see this culture by the folk music, this music was brought to West Virginia by the Scottish and Irish settlers. This music consists of the violin, the banjo and the Appalachian dulcimer. The music that is also seen in the West Virginian culture is the African- American blues. For over 20 years there has been a festival in Elkins every year celebrating the Appalachian culture. Due to the Appalachian culture the accent in West Virginia is Appalachian English, this is mainly spoken in mountainous states with an Appalachian culture.

Racial Composition

The racial composition of West Virginia in 2010 according to Census is: 93. 9% white, 3. 4% black, 0. 7% Asian and 0. 2% Native Americans. This composition fits with the ancestry groups in West Virginia. More than 50% of all the people in West Virginia have European ancestry, this explains that 93, 9% of the population is white. The second biggest group is American, which is 12. 9%, which explains the 3. 4% black people living in West Virginia but also a part of the white population. The religion of West Virginia also fits with the ancestry and racial composition, 70% of the people is Protestant and 6% is Catholic, this fits with the large group of white people and the European ancestry. Also 18% of the people do not have a religion In the Netherlands most people are white as well, in the Netherlands there are more other racial groups, this is because after the Second World War there was a great demand of labour. In West Virginia the biggest religion is Protestant, in the Netherlands most people don’t have a religion, the second biggest religion group is Catholic by 23. 7%, and after that come the Protestants with 5. 7% this is the opposite of what it is in West Virginia where Protestants are the biggest group and Catholic the smaller.

Food

West Virginia has some local foods that are very explicit. First the pepperoni roll, these dinner like rolls were originally made as lunch for the mineworkers. It is a pepperoni wrapped in soft dough and softly baked. Secondly they have a West Virginia hotdog, which is topped with chili, tomato sauce and slaw. Thirdly in West Virginia you can find a lot of berries and mushrooms, you can also find ramps. A ramp is a mix between a garlic and an onion. Ramps are so popular in West Virginia that they even have festivals to celebrate them. Lastly West Virginia is the state with the most family owned farmers markets.

Traditions

Every state or country has traditions, some traditions in West Virginia are: in West Virginia it is a tradition to go deer hunting in the thanksgiving week, schools are off so people have enough time to go to the forests. On the 20th of June the people in West Virginia celebrate the day of the admission to the union, they celebrate this really big and they feel like it’s their own birthday. People from West Virginia are very kind and polite, they nod or say hi to people they pass on the street even though they don’t know them. In West Virginia they have a lot of old fashioned fairs, on these fairs they do a lot of things. They race with land mowers, you can bring your own land mower and sign up to race against other people. The second thing they do is watching how a cow is born, when a mother cow goes into labour this will be announced on the speakers so people can watch a calf getting born. At the Braxton county fair a monster truck goes through the streets and you can watch but also sit in one. Another weird contest is the bubblegum blowing contest, players compete by blowing the biggest bubble with bubblegum. At the Mountain State Art & Craft Fair they replay the civil war with authentic costumes and weapons. West Virginia is a state where you can clearly see how the culture originated and traditions started. It has a lot of local food and traditions. White people are the dominant race in West Virginia.

Politics of West Virginia

Politics are important for a state, it influences the culture, the economy and it makes history, it influences and gets influenced by all the other topics I talked about in my paper: History, Geography and Culture. In this chapter I will talk about recent and upcoming elections and about what this says about the political preferences in West Virginia.

Midterm Elections

On the 6th of November 2018 midterm elections were held in the US, in the midterm elections people vote for the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 people in the senate, in the midterm elections every state can choose 2 senators. The house of representatives has 437 seats, these are chosen by states according to their population size. West Virginia has 3 seats in the House of Representatives, at the elections in 2018 the people in West Virginia chose 3 Republicans: David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Evan Jenkins. The seat from the Senate that had to be chosen by West Virginia at the midterm elections in 2018 is filled by the Democrat Joseph Manchin with 49. 6% of the votes, he was closely followed by the Republican Patrick Morrisey who had 46. 3% of the votes. The seat from West Virginia that has to be chosen in 2022 is now filled by the Republican Shelley Moore Capito.

Presidential Elections

In 2016 when the presidential elections were held 68. 5% of all west Virginians voted for a Republican, all 5 of the electoral votes went to Donald trump as well. Political preferences West Virginia was a Democratic state, it voted Democratic at every election between 1932 and 1996 except for 1956, 1972 and 1884. But it is becoming more Republican since 2000 when the People in West Virginia voted for George W. Bush. In 2012 Obama failed to win any county at all and so did Hillary Clinton. However at Midterm elections the votes between Democrats and Republicans are almost even. This means that West Virginia is on its way to becoming a Republican state while it first was a Democratic state. That is why it is now a swing state. I think this switch is because of their history with coal mines, the Democrats gave them a bigger opportunity for keeping their job and that is why people always voted for Democrats, but nowadays there aren’t as much miners anymore so they don’t need this opportunity anymore so they will vote on Republicans more often.

Governor

The governor is the highest elected official of the state, the governor has control over the government in the state and the budget they can spend. They can appoint officials like judges, it is also possible that they are commander in chief of the State Army, they can also pardon a criminal sentence in their state. In West Virginia they serve 4 years. The governor is chosen in the gubernatorial elections, in West Virginia these elections were in 2016. The nominees were Jim Justice who is a Democrat, the Republican Bill Cole and Charlotte Pritt from the mountain party. Jim Justice won with 49. 1% of the votes followed by Bill Cole with 42. 3% and lastly Charlotte Pritt with 5. 9%. The next gubernatorial election will be in 2020, according to WVpublic (2018) Stephen Smith is one of the running candidates, after he stepped down from his director job at a kids and family organisation he announced that he would run as a Democratic candidate. Republicans Mike Folk and Jim Justice also announced their candidacy. In the Netherlands there are a lot more parties than in America, we say that parties are more left or more right. In America the Republicans would be more right and the Democrats more left. In the netherlands most of the parties are placed in the more right group, if you compare this to the voting and political preferences from people in West Virginia it almost corresponds with the preference from people in the Netherlands, because in West Virginia it is divided and in the Netherlands it is as well. In the voting results of the recent election you can see West Virginia is a swing state, but it is on its way to become a Republican state, these preferences correspond with the political preferences from the Netherlands.

Conclusion

In the introduction I wrote that I hoped that while writing this paper I would learn about why John denver wrote some of the lyrics in the song Take me home, Country roads and I did. In the second lyric of the song John Denver wrote:”Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River”, I now know that the Blue Ridge Mountains is a mountain range in West Virginia, in the first chapter “history of West Virginia” I wrote that this mountain range was the border of the white settlers, the settlement of the white people was one of the Important historical events I talked about in this chapter. “The sentences Dark and Dusty, painted on the sky. Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in the eye. ” are also a part of the song written by John Denver. In chapter two I told about the climate, because of this I know that West Virginia is the cloudiest state of the USA. This was one of the physical aspects I wrote about in the chapter about geography, I also wrote about the human and economical aspects in this chapter. In the third chapter “Culture in West Virginia” I wrote about how People in West Virginia live and Their traditions, for example the fairs that they have a lot in West Virginia. In the fourth chapter I wrote about the politics in West Virginia, their political preferences and their recent election results. Although West Virginia isn’t that old there is a lot of things to tell about, West Virginia is a mountainous state, it is very favourable for mining and that is where people in West Virginia got their money from, because they were miners they always voted Democrat but now when they don’t mine they don’t have to do that anymore. West Virginia is a swing state but it is on its way to become Republican. The white settlers influenced the culture of West Virginia a lot, the accent and music were brought to West Virginia by them, they have festivals for the music and still speak the dialect. I think West Virginia is a beautiful state and I would love to go there sometime.

References:

1. https://www. history. com/topics/us-states/west-virginia
2. http://plainshumanities. unl. edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp. na. 006
3. https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/History_of_West_Virginia
4. https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/John_Brown%27s_raid_on_Harpers_Ferry
5. https://www. battlefields. org/learn/topics/john-browns-harpers-ferry-raid
6. https://timeline. com/battle-blair-mountain-coal-70029eeab53e?gi=6e60fffb8081
7. https://www. fs. fed. us/nrs/pubs/ru/ru_fs123. pdf
8. http://www. hugovandermolen. nl/bosbouwbeleggingen. nl/Nederlandse%20bossen. php
9. https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Humid_subtropical_climate
10. https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/West_Virginia#Geography
11. https://nl. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nederland
12. https://www. deptofnumbers. com/gdp/west-virginia/
13. https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita
14. https://www. iexplore. com/articles/travel-guides/north-america/united-states/west-virginia/history-and-culture
15. https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/West_Virginia#Culture
16. https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Demography_of_the_Netherlands
17. https://www. cbs. nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2016/51/helft-nederlanders-is-kerkelijk-of-religieus
18. https://wvtourism. com/food-secrets-wv/
19. https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/West_Virginia_Day
20. https://www. onlyinyourstate. com/west-virginia/wv-traditions/
21. https://youtu. be/VAj-Y3gr3f4
22. https://www. britannica. com/topic/Senate-United-States-government
23. https://ballotpedia. org/United_States_Senate_election_in_West_Virginia, _2018
24. https://ballotpedia. org/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_W est_Virginia, _2018
25. https://youtu. be/4gseOeyS0NQ
26. https://ballotpedia. org/Presidential_election_in_West_Virginia, _2016
27. https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/2016_United_States_presidential_election_in_West_Virginia
28. https://en. m. wikipedia. org/wiki/2016_West_Virginia_gubernatorial_election
29. https://www. wvpublic. org/post/west-virginia-community-organizer-jumps-2020-gubernatorial-race#stream/0
30. https://www. williamsonforward. com/blog/wv-gubernatorial-candidate-visits-williamson?fbclid=IwAR3E4Wlb-tKmUaw4YOLEDF3TS6M7R9Tx-36QIFZTSBEmT-nKS77Gws9TExk
31. https://nl. m. wikipedia. org/wiki/Links_en_Democraten