I never understand as to why people boycott the vote if they don't support the proposed idea. If anything, that just makes it more likely for the idea to pass.
The timber industry was huge in Western Virginia. It was actually much more in tune with the more industrial north than the agrarian south. Western Virginia also had 2 of the most important rivers in America run through it. The Monongahela River runs right through Morgantown which connected all the way to Pittsburgh and the Ohio River ran from Pittsburgh, PA through Wheeling all the way to the Mississippi.
The real question is why western Virginia, which has much more in common with WV, Tennessee, and Kentucky than with the tidewater areas, is still part of Virginia today.
US GOSH DANG MOUNTAINEERS WILL NEVER BE VIRGINIA! NEVER!!!!! OUR PEPPERONI ROLLS R DA BEST AND WE BIRTHED THE FIRST DUDE TO BREAK THE SOUND BARRRIER WE ARE THE BEST VIRGINIA, also, WE HAVE THE MOST PANHANDLES IN THE USA SO HAHAHAHAH
@@youngking2503 the USA's constitution is built on liberal principles. It's the literal opposite of tyranny. Waving the American flag is a support of western liberal democracies. You laughing at American's waving their flag is quite frankly ignorance on your part. Or you're a communist.
Unless the rules to the US Senate membership change, there's no incentive for any breakaway State to re-unify with their former States. The Virginias have 4 Senators; merge them both into a single State and then they'd just have 2.
The Constitution says that the states shall always have an equal number of senators. Each state could have only one senator or each state could have fifty senators but the number always has to be equal. This is the only clause in the US Constitution that cannot be changed by future amendments.
@@markthomas6703 No, it can be changed by Amendment. You just repeal the part saying that it requires a unanimous vote. This has been a known "loophole" for a while. Not that it would ever happen.
@@ZipplyZane "since it is mandated in the Constitution itself. (Article I, Section 3: “the Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state.”) And then, to further reassure the small states that this guarantee could be trusted, the Framers put this into Article V, after laying the onerous requirements for amending the Constitution: "Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate."
That's basically what the whole thing boils down to. The formation of West Virginia (at least how it was done) was technically illegal. But Virginia had just rebelled, fought a very bloody war, and lost. So no one was in the mood to hear Virginia's griping, and Virginia knew that they should just quit while they were behind, and they dropped the whole thing.
The formation of West Virginia was technically *legal*, but they really did interesting things with the technicalities to get it done. I mean they did have a technically state-wide referendum on the formation of West Virginia that all Virginians were invited to vote in, but if a large number of them refused to do so due to the tiny matter that they were in active rebellion against the authority that set up the referendum, well, that's hardly the fault of those who who set up the referendum, right?
I mean Virginia was hoping that the whole thing was "technically" illegal under (lack of) pertinent laws and jurisprudence of the time. That is what the courts are for...
"North Dakota and South Dakota have finally settled their differences, and agreed to become one big Dakota" "IMPOSSIBLE! There's only one way the Dakotas could have settled their differences without fighting..."
Ironically, both Virginia and West Virginia eventually went opposite in politics. Virginia turned (somewhat) liberal while West Virginia turned very conservative.
Virginia as a whole is not liberal lol, it's basically northern Virginia the suburbs of Washington DC that are liberal that makes it look like Virginia is liberal.
@@matthewheald8964 back in 2016, brexiteer clowns were driving around the UK on an orange bus that said 350 million could be spent on the NHS (UK healthcare system) instead of sending that money to Brussels.
@@brandonnewman8135 Seriously. Wasn't even covered and I was in all AP classes. Makes me sad for the education system in this area, but even happier to support awesome channels like this one.🤗
As someone who grew up and still lives in West Virginia I have to answer this question alot. It really boiled down to the confederates asking our people to fight a war to keep their slaves. People who lived here were very poor people who didn't own slaves and were barely treated any better than slaves so they weren't keen on the idea on dying for some rich plantation owner in East Virginia. What is often debated as the first act in the Civil War was an abolitionist seasing the Harper's Ferry WV (Then Still Virginia) Armory to start a slave rebellion.
This video kind of glosses over WHY West Virginia refused to reunite with Virginia in 1866. Like how Virginia was technically not part of the Union at the time, but WV was. Or how being separate meant WV had its own senators instead of having to share them with Virginia
A piece of trivia. West Virginia is also referred to by many historians as "The most Southern Northern state, and most most Northern Southern state." 99% of my family on all sides are from West Virhinis. I was born in Virginia and was educated in Northern Virginia. This statement about WV was one that I heard in almost every history class I ever had in Virginia. I attended college in WV after I moved back there just before completing high school. Even in WV schools and college, I heard this statement about WV. WV was honestly the only state that was truly split by the populous being on both sides of the war. Another interesting fact is that the the 3 most western counties of the state of Maryland have initiated official proceedings to try and leave the state of Maryland and become a part of WV. Much like the situation with Oregon and Idaho.
No we haven’t. One deranged populist charlatan by the name of Jason Buckel proposed the idea without asking, well, anyone. He was pretty hilariously derided and forced to crawl back under his bridge with his tail between his legs.
how about a referendum on whether to join SW Penn? i mean, that would break up the Mason-Dixon Line, which has some historical appeal, but PA and WV are similar in culture
Yep. Really shows how unjust and untrustworthy of an institution the Supreme Court can be when it wants to not care about such hassles as integrity and even-handedness.
Pretty much proves why the south was justified in seceding. The US government was a hypocritical joke that favored the industrialized North at the expense of the agrarian South.
Given how people of each region are at this point, I think a lot of western modern Virginia (Appalachia area) could also be put into WV Those people far west there are more similar to WV than to NoVa, Richmond and Hampton Roads
As an American history buff and actually born in the Great State of Virginia, I cannot thank you enough for a answering a very good question I had never thought to ask. A move to the Great State of Kansas, learning a good deal of its rich history, was a distraction. Thanks!
@@barry2629 The distinction is in name alone. The commonwealths are just like any other state in their politics and laws, and there is no difference in their relationship to the nation as a whole. People point it out, because Virginians are sticklers about it. Given the opportunity, many a Virginian will sternly lecture you about how Virginia is a Commonwealth NOT a State. I think they just like being different.
"The vote passed, but mostly because those who opposed boycotted the vote." America doing its time-honored tradition way back 150 years ago and people still get surprised.
@@mathewkelly9968 Well, since most of those who boycotted the vote were likely either fighting in or supporting the other side in a civil war, it's not terribly surprising they didn't admit to the legitimacy of the government that organized the vote in question.
I absolutely love this channel. It poses really interesting questions and then succinctly answers them, leaving you informed and invariably amused with the animations. School systems, please take note.
Born and raised in southern WV, still live here. Was part of the Golden Horseshoe in 8th Grade for WV History. I love learning about my state and learned some things I didn't already know from this video! Thanks for the content!
It's kind of amazing to me to hear this US history story being told with a British accent, and furthermore in a way Americans can understand. It brings unexpected class to such an unclassy tale. Cheers!
Born and raised in WV. Your pronunciation of "Kanawha" made me giggle, I'll admit. Don't worry, no one here can agree on how its pronounced either, but I've never heard "Cun-oore-hah" before! Great video as always!
I’m from West Virginia and I wish so badly that we were named Kanawha instead because people still don’t understand that we are not a part of Virginia anymore.
As a West Virginian, the only thing we hear when traveling or meeting people from other parts of the country after we tell them where we are from. 1. "Oh West Virginia it's so beautiful there" 2. "Oh I have a cousin in Richmond, VA you live anywhere near there?"
@@grangermontag1824 The former. There was a movement in Georgia during the war to split from the Confederacy, with groups split on whether to rejoin the Union or strike out on their own and form an independent republic
I recently found out, I had an ancestor in the 1st Virginia cavalry. He was wounded in battle in 1863. After recovering from his wounds, he was discharged and sent home. He arrived home to find out his farm was now in West Virginia!
Happy New years Eve History Matters! Thanks for helping making 2020 a more bearable year! You keep making history videos and I will keep watching them.
@@pyromike7237 What right? There is nothing in the Constitution that says anything about succession. Such a thing would have to be a constitutional amendment with most of the state's agreeing on it, as well as the senate, house, president, and Supreme court. But such a thing never happened with succession, South Carolina and the other Southern states were acting like whiny babies because a candidate they didn’t like was voted in as president and took an action that was never stated anywhere on the Constitution in the first place and didn’t go through any sort of legal process to be official in any capacity.
@@pyromike7237Nah. There is no right to succeed anywhere in the U.S constitution, and that is the type of thing that would need to be explicitly said. Also the Southern States threw a hissy fit after losing an election and over the vague possibly of Lincoln pushing for a unilateral abolition of slavery.
Just annex Canada.... they're essentially the 51st state anyway. Also PR doesn't want to be a state because they already get to be US citizens without the hassle that states have to go through.
This is quirky of me, but I love that you always correctly use the phrase "... raises the question...", as opposed to begs, which means something altogether different and inflames my inner asperger. 😉
This is a really good short explanation of these events! I was Born and Raised in Princeton, WV the history of this state doesn't often get accurately stated.
Important to remember that what became West Virginia was not originally part of Virginia, it was originally part of the British Indian Reserve, but it was captured and annexed by Virginia/America during the revolution, however the settlers who moved there were completely different from the Richmond aristocracy that ran the state (and held influence over much of the American South). The Richmond clique had more sway in Birmingham, Alabama than Wheeling, “Virginia”, the split may have happened even without the war
@@Egilhelmson yes, I should have clarified that what is now West Virginia’s “Eastern Panhandle” is an exception, as it was located east of the 1763 Proclamation Line.
I’d like to thank you for your great videos man I’ve been watching you all year and you never fail to enlighten my day all these wacky historical events seem so interesting on the ways you portray them great work I binged watched lots of your videos the night before my birthday lol
I feel like this channel would be very effective for use in schools. It answers common historical questions and teaches about historical events in a clear way. The language is very easy for students to understand, and the animations would probably be very engaging to them.
I love watching your videos, and I’m from West Virginia. So I got very excited to see a topic about my state. Great summary but I have to point out something. Kanawha is more pronounced as “kuh-NAW.” We have a county and a river named like this.
@@arisen7163 The correct pronunciation of a place is how the locals pronounce it. Being British doesn't mean he isn't saying it wrong. You can always tell an out-of-towner in the Kanawha valley if they say it with three syllables.
Getting the Virginia’s back together is like getting the band back together, everyone gets drunk and realizes why they hated each other in the first place. Happened with the Carolinas and the Dakotas back in the day.
Iirc a few years after the civil war a supreme court case was filed about debt to a contractor. The court ruled that the southern states were always a part of the union and never legally left, therefore the contractor remained unpaid. That being said, if that precedent is to be followed to conclusion, west Virginia could never had voted to secede from virginia as Virginia (having never legally left) would not be bound by confederate era events. In other words, Virginia would have to reunite without a vote at all, following supreme court precedent. Texas v white (1869) 2:50 And I guess less than a year later, the supreme court overturned their own precedent and acknowledged state secession contrary to the 1869 ruling.
I’m going to guess you’re not American based off of your name being not English so I just want to say I’m impressed on how much you know about a subject like this in American history.
@@adamkerman475 No gaurentee, but looks Korean. It's possible that he/she knows this much because they moved to the US and studied law or something. Maybe they found the civil war interesting
@@Darkblender5 It is Shawnee and it is not pronounced Cuh-gnaw. In its original form it is KUH-naw-HA, it has been morphed over the decades to Ka-naw-wha, just like it is spelled.
@@cadengrace5466 Then we've bastardized it, but either way, I've never actually heard anyone from around here pronounce it like that. I guess it's a Apple-atcha vs. App-a-lay-sha thing. ...And History Matters still pronounced it horribly.
I live in Kanawha County, in Kanawha City, two streets up from Kanawha Avenue, by the Kanawha River, and I'm sure they must have taught us in school that WV was originally going to be called Kanawha but I've forgotten that somewhere along the way.
@@farkbett699 Found it on a Reddit about the History Matters channel. CheezyRat1865 1 month ago Who is this James Bissonette person? (pls don't get mad at this question, im just new to the channel): Ryuga_42069 1 month ago He’s history matters first patreon.
_“The vote passed, but mostly because those who opposed boycotted the vote...”_
*Mission failed successfully*
It's amazing how often this happens in history
I feel like their idea didn't work how they wanted it to
Boycotts are the laziest form of protest
I never understand as to why people boycott the vote if they don't support the proposed idea. If anything, that just makes it more likely for the idea to pass.
this is gonna happen with the republicans who call fruad
I want a special shoutout to James Bisonette and Winston K. Wood for making 2020 bareable.
YES
I thought it was Winston Kayward.
I don’t know who those people are
Not sure I did anything but Thanks!
What about Kelly Moneymaker, the Pastry Section, Spinning Three Plates, Rashid Ali, Maggie Pawkatzky and Robert Wetsuit? 🤔
Everybody gangsta till they make a song about East Virginia.
You mean true Virginia
East West Virginia
Eastern West Virginia
Normie
@tatical kart West Virginia mountain mama, take me home country road ahhhh!!!
The timber industry was huge in Western Virginia. It was actually much more in tune with the more industrial north than the agrarian south. Western Virginia also had 2 of the most important rivers in America run through it. The Monongahela River runs right through Morgantown which connected all the way to Pittsburgh and the Ohio River ran from Pittsburgh, PA through Wheeling all the way to the Mississippi.
Yep they would have never sided with the godless trash of Virginia and the Carolinas.
that makes sense. some people scoff at “the mountain state” nickname, especially out west, but the landscape hardly lends itself to easy farming
@@winterwatson6811 this chick rolled her car off a mountain while I was there once who the fuck is scoffing lol
The real question is why western Virginia, which has much more in common with WV, Tennessee, and Kentucky than with the tidewater areas, is still part of Virginia today.
@@fnsmike taxes, property and zoning laws
“You were rebelling so shut up!”
For better or worse, best argument ever 😂😂😂
@David McConville It's amazing they didn't instantly realize the self-own.
Loved that part, and found myself forced to agree with wisdom of the ruling.
"Wait. If you seceded from us, then wouldn't that make YOUR argument against West Virginia hypocritical?"
"MOTHER FU-"
West Virginia: "hehe yeah boi"
bigger stick, diplomacy
@David McConville
I mean rebelling in itself is already illegal
The western most point of Virginia is further west than the whole of West Virginia.
Well northwestern Virginia didn’t sound as good
Depends on how you hold the map I guess.
US GOSH DANG MOUNTAINEERS WILL NEVER BE VIRGINIA! NEVER!!!!! OUR PEPPERONI ROLLS R DA BEST AND WE BIRTHED THE FIRST DUDE TO BREAK THE SOUND BARRRIER WE ARE THE BEST VIRGINIA, also, WE HAVE THE MOST PANHANDLES IN THE USA SO HAHAHAHAH
Sorry, whenever WV is talked about i go, umm, a teeny bit overboard on the patriotism, MONTANI SEMPER LIBERI
@@I_want_White_Cheddar_Popcorn its alright im from wv and we dont mind sometimes also yall got a nice motto Sic semper tyrannis
"you were rebelling now shut up". best thing I've ever heard
“The coming revolution was down the hall on the left" is better
I wish to use that on all southerners who wave the confederate flag
@@drewstaser9726 I laugh at all people who wave the American flag. A flag of imperialism and tyranny
@@youngking2503 US is like the opposite of tyranny
@@youngking2503 the USA's constitution is built on liberal principles. It's the literal opposite of tyranny. Waving the American flag is a support of western liberal democracies. You laughing at American's waving their flag is quite frankly ignorance on your part. Or you're a communist.
Unless the rules to the US Senate membership change, there's no incentive for any breakaway State to re-unify with their former States. The Virginias have 4 Senators; merge them both into a single State and then they'd just have 2.
Yes. The video answers 'how' but this is 'why'.
The Constitution says that the states shall always have an equal number of senators. Each state could have only one senator or each state could have fifty senators but the number always has to be equal. This is the only clause in the US Constitution that cannot be changed by future amendments.
@@markthomas6703 No, it can be changed by Amendment. You just repeal the part saying that it requires a unanimous vote. This has been a known "loophole" for a while.
Not that it would ever happen.
@@ZipplyZane "since it is mandated in the Constitution itself. (Article I, Section 3: “the Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state.”)
And then, to further reassure the small states that this guarantee could be trusted, the Framers put this into Article V, after laying the onerous requirements for amending the Constitution:
"Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate."
@@markthomas6703 But, again, that last part can itself be repealed, as it is not self-referential.
"Because you were rebelling, so shut up."
Is basically the answer to the question.
Definitely one of the most easy-to-understand SCOTUS decisions.
That's basically what the whole thing boils down to. The formation of West Virginia (at least how it was done) was technically illegal. But Virginia had just rebelled, fought a very bloody war, and lost. So no one was in the mood to hear Virginia's griping, and Virginia knew that they should just quit while they were behind, and they dropped the whole thing.
The formation of West Virginia was technically *legal*, but they really did interesting things with the technicalities to get it done. I mean they did have a technically state-wide referendum on the formation of West Virginia that all Virginians were invited to vote in, but if a large number of them refused to do so due to the tiny matter that they were in active rebellion against the authority that set up the referendum, well, that's hardly the fault of those who who set up the referendum, right?
I mean Virginia was hoping that the whole thing was "technically" illegal under (lack of) pertinent laws and jurisprudence of the time. That is what the courts are for...
@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 Nope, when you are killing US troops on the battlefield, you really can’t say much.
Because "Almost heaven Virginia" doesnt have the same ring to it
Add neither does "almost heaven, western Virginia"
Throw in any short moniker and you good again. "Almost heaven, sweet Virginia", "Almost heaven, my Virginia".
Almost heaven, my Kanawha.
Why is it not "North-Western Virginia"?
West "BY God" Virginia has always had a ring to it..... lol.
"North Dakota and South Dakota have finally settled their differences, and agreed to become one big Dakota"
"IMPOSSIBLE! There's only one way the Dakotas could have settled their differences without fighting..."
"FAIRY GOD PARENTS"
@@taptiotrevizo9415 This guy got it.
@@MonsieurDean
Care to explain the joke to us non-Americans?
@@Pikkabuu he's making a reference to a farily godparents episode
@@Pikkabuu Rather to people who didnt watch fairly odd parents as a kid. Its a reference to that cartoon where this was said in an episode.
Ironically, both Virginia and West Virginia eventually went opposite in politics. Virginia turned (somewhat) liberal while West Virginia turned very conservative.
Though, the Liberal elements of Virginia are bleeding into West Virginia. Fleeing from their own mistakes.
We're trying our damndest to stay RED for a while here in VA🤘
Virginia is Liberal?
@@Cristalack unfortunately majority is liberal
Virginia as a whole is not liberal lol, it's basically northern Virginia the suburbs of Washington DC that are liberal that makes it look like Virginia is liberal.
When is the James Bisonette episode going to drop? Might be the highest viewed one on the channel.
Could break the internet...
Who's James Bisonette??
@@MrCODEmaster00 You cannot be serious
@@MrCODEmaster00 that one patreon guy that’s at the top of the list every episode
And who might he be? Give us a clue.
Because we need to have a song for a game about Falling out.
it just works
Don’t ruin 69 likes
Except none of the things mentioned in that song exists predominantly in West Virginia
Your name is cool.
The fallout boys made a video game? I don't know, I am not a white girl from West Virginia
“YOUR LAWS SUCK”
Those little hand signs are the best part of these videos lol
That subtle Brexit reference at 1:07 made me look twice, brilliant! The animations and text really make these videos the best.
I missed it what happened?
holy smokes. I had to pause it stare at it for a couple of seconds until I saw the banner with almost the same words as the stupid bus lmaoo
@@matthewheald8964 back in 2016, brexiteer clowns were driving around the UK on an orange bus that said 350 million could be spent on the NHS (UK healthcare system) instead of sending that money to Brussels.
@@the0ne809what bus?
@@matthewheald8964 Google 2016 Brexit bus 350 million. You will see.
Lived in Virginia all my life. Never learned this. Thank you, History Matters, for filling in all the gaps left from a public education.❤️
Spinning three plates will defeat you and James bisonnete
Seriously? As you can imagine it's kind of a big deal in West Virginia and is covered prominently in West Virginia history.
@@brandonnewman8135 Seriously. Wasn't even covered and I was in all AP classes. Makes me sad for the education system in this area, but even happier to support awesome channels like this one.🤗
As a recent Virginia transplant ( all the way from North Carolina, BTW ) I had no idea this was a thing.
This is why I love this channel. LOL.
I was there a month and picked it up...
Pay attention
Seriously as a non-American growing up I ask this question to myself everyday and I finally have the answer, nice
Me too
As someone who grew up and still lives in West Virginia I have to answer this question alot. It really boiled down to the confederates asking our people to fight a war to keep their slaves. People who lived here were very poor people who didn't own slaves and were barely treated any better than slaves so they weren't keen on the idea on dying for some rich plantation owner in East Virginia. What is often debated as the first act in the Civil War was an abolitionist seasing the Harper's Ferry WV (Then Still Virginia) Armory to start a slave rebellion.
@@The2112Steve Indeed so my fellow West Virginian
Hello West Virginians, I’m from “east” Virginia
This video kind of glosses over WHY West Virginia refused to reunite with Virginia in 1866. Like how Virginia was technically not part of the Union at the time, but WV was. Or how being separate meant WV had its own senators instead of having to share them with Virginia
Dude, the way your rectangles glare at each other is some of the best content on here
A piece of trivia. West Virginia is also referred to by many historians as "The most Southern Northern state, and most most Northern Southern state." 99% of my family on all sides are from West Virhinis. I was born in Virginia and was educated in Northern Virginia. This statement about WV was one that I heard in almost every history class I ever had in Virginia. I attended college in WV after I moved back there just before completing high school. Even in WV schools and college, I heard this statement about WV. WV was honestly the only state that was truly split by the populous being on both sides of the war. Another interesting fact is that the the 3 most western counties of the state of Maryland have initiated official proceedings to try and leave the state of Maryland and become a part of WV. Much like the situation with Oregon and Idaho.
Some western Virginian counties were making noises that way after the election a few years ago.
No we haven’t. One deranged populist charlatan by the name of Jason Buckel proposed the idea without asking, well, anyone. He was pretty hilariously derided and forced to crawl back under his bridge with his tail between his legs.
The only state truly split between both sides in the war in the east, maybe. The population of Missouri was also heavily divided.
I hope both of those proceedings go through and they successfully leave Maryland and Oregon👍🏾
how about a referendum on whether to join SW Penn?
i mean, that would break up the Mason-Dixon Line, which has some historical appeal, but PA and WV are similar in culture
Oh...I read it wrong
😂
Yep. Me too
Lmao me too🙂
indeed
Same here
“You were rebelling, so shut up”
Best quote ever
Not gonna lie i chuckled at that one
Atun-Shei fans gonna love it
Yep. Really shows how unjust and untrustworthy of an institution the Supreme Court can be when it wants to not care about such hassles as integrity and even-handedness.
Dont like the courts get a law degree n try it urself
Pretty much proves why the south was justified in seceding. The US government was a hypocritical joke that favored the industrialized North at the expense of the agrarian South.
Dont forget about the Appalachian Mountains, geography DOES effect humans as well.
*Affect, amigo, affect.
It causes people from WV to inbreed?
European Superpowers in Africa and Middle East: I'm going to pretend I didn't see that.
Given how people of each region are at this point, I think a lot of western modern Virginia (Appalachia area) could also be put into WV
Those people far west there are more similar to WV than to NoVa, Richmond and Hampton Roads
@@Ash-zm1vx norva is completely different than 90% of the state.
I’m Virginia born and raised and loved this video! Thanks for bringing your characteristic grace and levity to another touchy topic!
Hi Virginia
1:40
"Spoiler alert: the Union won the war."
You jerk! I still haven't gotten to that part of the movie.
Germany loses the great war
@@drewstaser9726 Germany loses ww2 too , but as they say , third time the charm
@tatical kart nah, just EU 😆
Spoiler Alert: The hero dies shortly after.
@tatical kart Yes , for fun sarcifice of lives is required
Happy New Year to History Matters! Thank you for all work and helping get everyone through this ridiculous year
@DurianHP yep yep
Spinning three plates will defeat you
@DurianHP3 years is 36 months multiply 36x20 you get 720$ thats 170$ more than what GW charges Aussies for a 8 i ch action figure
I cannot explain how hard “well, no” made me laugh. I love this channel so much
As an American history buff and actually born in the Great State of Virginia, I cannot thank you enough for a answering a very good question I had never thought to ask. A move to the Great State of Kansas, learning a good deal of its rich history, was a distraction. Thanks!
Even tho I'm a WEST Virginian, at least I know Virginia is a COMMONWEALTH, not a state.
@@SMichaelDeHartthen riddle me this; why is it called the fifty states and not the 46 states and 4 commonwealths?
@barry2629 if you know there are 4 commonwealths in this country then you riddled your own riddle
@@jessetorres9502riddleception
@@barry2629 The distinction is in name alone. The commonwealths are just like any other state in their politics and laws, and there is no difference in their relationship to the nation as a whole.
People point it out, because Virginians are sticklers about it. Given the opportunity, many a Virginian will sternly lecture you about how Virginia is a Commonwealth NOT a State. I think they just like being different.
1:07 The subtle Brexit reference actually got me hahahaha
It was legendary
Yes! That was hilarious. But not subtle at all.
One of the funniest things I've seen this year.
Yeah. I noticed it as well.
"The vote passed, but mostly because those who opposed boycotted the vote."
America doing its time-honored tradition way back 150 years ago and people still get surprised.
As someone from a country where voting is compulsory that always cracks me up
Flawed as America might be almost everything you use on a daily basis was invented by an American so credit where credits due 🇺🇸
@@Sandlin22 Not really. A lot of it was invented by the British.
@@mathewkelly9968 Well, since most of those who boycotted the vote were likely either fighting in or supporting the other side in a civil war, it's not terribly surprising they didn't admit to the legitimacy of the government that organized the vote in question.
@@Sandlin22 that's not true at all lol
0:40 lol can you image if they really named it "Best Virginia" just to give a middle finger to Virginia.
@Luís Andrade no shit sherlock
@Luís Andrade they rebelled, so they were oficially worst virginia
They should have been best Virginia
@@cfv7461
But Virginia also rebelled. So West Virginia rebelled against the rebels.
There's a New Mexico, wonder if this makes Mexico feel old?
I love the pro gamer move of West Virginia
"oh, you're seceding from the Union? Don't mind us, we're seceding from your secession back into the Union"
"We are never ever ever, getting back together"
-West Virginia
Why they separated?
Because West Virginia liked their sisters too much. But Virginia thought only first cousins were kosher.
y'allwould stop being one of the poorest states in the nation if yall did ,go dig out that Coal you Yankee
Speaking as a Virginian it's for the best. West Virginia is at the bottom of almost everything. Don't need the burden of having to fix it.
And like most dysfunctional couples after a breakup they still live relatively close to one another. 🙄🤷🏻♂️
@@DannyBoi3316*Spiderman meme pointing at eachother*
Virginia: "We want our two counties back"
The US Government: "Losers don't get to demand things."
My how things have changed since then.
Native Americans: "Hold my beer"
You gotta love how they essentially just told Richmond to stop being a crybaby.
Vae Victis!
@Harry Flashman tell that to the Trumpists now
"On the basis of... 'you were rebelling, so shut up.'" LOL
I absolutely love this channel.
It poses really interesting questions and then succinctly answers them, leaving you informed and invariably amused with the animations.
School systems, please take note.
♬ Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
Kanawha, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads ♩ ♪
"Ummm. No. Doesn't work"
Left Virginia
😂😂😂
Fallout 76?
I think it works pretty well, tbh.
I think it’s works, you just gotta extend the A at the end like “KanawhaAA”
"No way. Why should I change? He's the one who sucks."
-West Virginia
"You know you can just go by Kanawha?"
@@MirzaAhmed89 honestly why they went with west virginia was dumb, best virginia is clearly the superior choice.
@@speedy01247 As a Best Virginian myself, I wholeheartedly support this.
Hello there
אז אני לא הישראלי היחידי שצופה ב- History Matters
If virginia had James Bisonette I am sure they would be able to reunite
I thought it was visonette
If they did they never have split in the first place, why leave james' state?
No it's Kelly Money Maker.
SPINNING TWO PLATES
Yes
Born and raised in southern WV, still live here. Was part of the Golden Horseshoe in 8th Grade for WV History. I love learning about my state and learned some things I didn't already know from this video! Thanks for the content!
I was going to do my winter vacation homework rn but this seems more important.
Wise decision weeb
Woah. You get homework on vacation?? Doesnt seem like a vacation
@@jesusjimenez3766 Only during the summer vacation I have no homework. So it sounds completely normal to me.
@@Stallander do you live in the states?
@@jesusjimenez3766 No I live in The Netherlands
"You where rebelling, so shut up" frankly, it is quite the fair argument .
If that countie was in fact taken from them after the war and with troop intimidation not really!
@@CbsOmegaOmniX pro slavery peoples have as much rights to complain as they wanted Black peoples to have.
@@CbsOmegaOmniXThey were rebellious slavers. Their opinions don't matter.
1:07 A wagon with a big red sign calling for separation from a larger union? I wonder that that could possibly be a reference to?
Virgexit means Virgexit!
He gets full marks for that reference!
It's kind of amazing to me to hear this US history story being told with a British accent, and furthermore in a way Americans can understand. It brings unexpected class to such an unclassy tale. Cheers!
Yes, I even like the fact that my Home Security system speaks in English. Lol.
Yeah y’all real proud of civilization Africa right fkin monsters
As a foreigner in Asia, British is worse than American. They're the opposite of classy.
James Bizonette was a West Virginians Millionaire
Was?
Short answer: You can’t put toothpaste back in the tube.
I bet I could
Not with that attitude
You could if you are brave enough
It’s not impossible
It got in there once, and anything you can do once, you can do _again_
Born and raised in WV. Your pronunciation of "Kanawha" made me giggle, I'll admit. Don't worry, no one here can agree on how its pronounced either, but I've never heard "Cun-oore-hah" before! Great video as always!
Hearing anyone try to pronounce "Monongahela" if funny too. Our state has some weird names
@@wizardpepe7039 Is it something like Mon-on-gay-la?
@@theshlauf According to google it's Mo-noun-gee-ha-la. I don't live there but I doubt most people pronounce it that way
@@wizardpepe7039 Mo-non-ga-HE-la River (live within sight of). Not to be confused with Monongalia (Mon-on-GAY-lee-ah) County.
As an occasional visitor to WV, am I at least close if I pronounce it "Kun-WAH"?
As someone in Wheeling, I feel incredibly impacted by the fact that my city was mentioned.
Go Wheeling 😂🎉
Hasn't happened since Chris on Northern Exposure.
That cart about giving the US $350 a week was so smooth, I love it xD
I love the legal terminalogy: "you were rebelling so shut up"
I’m from West Virginia and I wish so badly that we were named Kanawha instead because people still don’t understand that we are not a part of Virginia anymore.
Could be worse, there are people in this country who don't know that New Mexico is not part of Mexico (it isn't, right? :-):-):-) )
You get what you deserve 😎😂
Silence, soon-to-be-reunited Virginian!
"Oh, you're from West Virginia? I have family in Richmond!"
Every. Single. Time.
@@StarTheKid16 Or my brother is stationed in Norfolk, LOL.
As a West Virginian, the only thing we hear when traveling or meeting people from other parts of the country after we tell them where we are from.
1. "Oh West Virginia it's so beautiful there"
2. "Oh I have a cousin in Richmond, VA you live anywhere near there?"
3. Where’s the beach?
I lived in one of the bonus two counties of WV (Berkeley (and Jefferson)) for 3 years and had never heard about this history. Great episode as usual!
Did you own any slaves?
Could you do a video on Montenegro? It's my homeland and a lot of people don't know much about its history. Thank you.
That’d be really interesting!
Yes! It is a country with rich history that does get overlooked.
Hehe Montenegro
I am from Montengro.Odakle si brate moj?
Negrolol mountanegro
SC: Bro, this is my second time. What level of secession are _you_ on?
VA : My secession movement has a secession movement
Sec-ception
@@floydlooney6837
Nioce
Georgian nationalists: “I’m on a level of rebellion you couldn’t even comprehend”
@@Lapran3
Because Georgia almost left the Confederacy? Or are talking about the country of Georgia?
@@grangermontag1824 The former. There was a movement in Georgia during the war to split from the Confederacy, with groups split on whether to rejoin the Union or strike out on their own and form an independent republic
I love Lincoln adding a star to the American flag like he’s in an elementary school classroom.
America: Leaves British Empire
America: Has Civil War
Britain: “That’s my boy.”
USA leaves British empire
Virginia leaves USA
West Virginia leaves Virginia
...
To be continued?
Now all US needs to do is start colonizing again. A few islands isn't imperial enough for me.
@@siyacer I say we colonize Colombia and RE-colonize Africa along the equator and seize all the coffee for ourselves!
A seperated couple just doesn't get back together after several years apart
West Germany and East Germany: Bruh
North and South Korea agree whole heartedly with that
North and South Koreas: nod approvingly
@Corps the case of vietnam is more like one person breaking into the other person's home and refusing to move out
India and Pakistan agree.
I love how the characters hold up signs to talk its so funny
I recently found out, I had an ancestor in the 1st Virginia cavalry. He was wounded in battle in 1863. After recovering from his wounds, he was discharged and sent home. He arrived home to find out his farm was now in West Virginia!
true for a lot of people who served in the virginia military
Happy New years Eve History Matters! Thanks for helping making 2020 a more bearable year! You keep making history videos and I will keep watching them.
Confederates in 1865, "You took all my things!"
US Government, "You were rebelling, so shut up."
Still true today without confederacy or rebelling
And also their rights. >:c
@@pyromike7237 What right? There is nothing in the Constitution that says anything about succession. Such a thing would have to be a constitutional amendment with most of the state's agreeing on it, as well as the senate, house, president, and Supreme court. But such a thing never happened with succession, South Carolina and the other Southern states were acting like whiny babies because a candidate they didn’t like was voted in as president and took an action that was never stated anywhere on the Constitution in the first place and didn’t go through any sort of legal process to be official in any capacity.
@@pyromike7237Nah.
There is no right to succeed anywhere in the U.S constitution, and that is the type of thing that would need to be explicitly said.
Also the Southern States threw a hissy fit after losing an election and over the vague possibly of Lincoln pushing for a unilateral abolition of slavery.
@graceneilitz7661 you're so right I can't believe I unironically used to think like this 😭🙏
We need West Virginia to exist so we have a nice round number of 50 states. Who would take us seriously with only 49?
Just give Puerto Rico statehood.
Nobody takes the US seriously. Not since 2016
Just annex Canada.... they're essentially the 51st state anyway.
Also PR doesn't want to be a state because they already get to be US citizens without the hassle that states have to go through.
@@chaosXP3RT 1993*
@@chaosXP3RT All those immigrants trying to get in do.
This is quirky of me, but I love that you always correctly use the phrase "... raises the question...", as opposed to begs, which means something altogether different and inflames my inner asperger. 😉
This is a really good short explanation of these events! I was Born and Raised in Princeton, WV the history of this state doesn't often get accurately stated.
Hey, you got a pretty cool tunnel.
cause virginia was acting the mickey
The "we give the United states $350 a week, lets buy some slaves instead" was brilliant
Did it turn out then that that was a lie?
In a “bus” no less!
This answers a question that I've been asking for many years thank you so much for this video
Important to remember that what became West Virginia was not originally part of Virginia, it was originally part of the British Indian Reserve, but it was captured and annexed by Virginia/America during the revolution, however the settlers who moved there were completely different from the Richmond aristocracy that ran the state (and held influence over much of the American South). The Richmond clique had more sway in Birmingham, Alabama than Wheeling, “Virginia”, the split may have happened even without the war
Fun fact: before Kanawha/West Virginia, they tried it at least twice. Look up "Vandalia" and "Westsylvania"
Berkeley Springs, Virginia (now West VA) was the max extent of George Washington’s estates, so at least part of WV was Virginia, even back then.
@@Egilhelmson yes, I should have clarified that what is now West Virginia’s “Eastern Panhandle” is an exception, as it was located east of the 1763 Proclamation Line.
2:36 There's no coming back after this.
I’d like to thank you for your great videos man I’ve been watching you all year and you never fail to enlighten my day all these wacky historical events seem so interesting on the ways you portray them great work I binged watched lots of your videos the night before my birthday lol
Your voice just brings a smile to my face. 😁 Especially when I remember how you animate, and the little jokes you put in.
I thought the title said, “ Why didn’t the Virgins reunite?” I was like wtf?
“We’re they, like, a band or something?”
@@PaulMcElligott Gangsters!!
Because Virginity is cool 😎
I feel like this channel would be very effective for use in schools. It answers common historical questions and teaches about historical events in a clear way. The language is very easy for students to understand, and the animations would probably be very engaging to them.
Totally. But schools are notorious for banning anything that would legitimately encourage children to learn.
@@lalehiandeity1649 yea they want to”educate” not learn or bring interest into knowledge
I love watching your videos, and I’m from West Virginia. So I got very excited to see a topic about my state. Great summary but I have to point out something. Kanawha is more pronounced as “kuh-NAW.” We have a county and a river named like this.
Ya but he's British so they say things differently
From a canal of the same name mapped out by George Washington?
@@arisen7163 The correct pronunciation of a place is how the locals pronounce it. Being British doesn't mean he isn't saying it wrong. You can always tell an out-of-towner in the Kanawha valley if they say it with three syllables.
My West Virginia born and raised wife laughed at me the first time I said "Kan-now-hah." Never could quite say it to suit her.
Perfect vid. Succinct, fun graphics, and you end up with the essential points. Well done!
Getting the Virginia’s back together is like getting the band back together, everyone gets drunk and realizes why they hated each other in the first place. Happened with the Carolinas and the Dakotas back in the day.
I need videos on this.
Iirc a few years after the civil war a supreme court case was filed about debt to a contractor. The court ruled that the southern states were always a part of the union and never legally left, therefore the contractor remained unpaid. That being said, if that precedent is to be followed to conclusion, west Virginia could never had voted to secede from virginia as Virginia (having never legally left) would not be bound by confederate era events. In other words, Virginia would have to reunite without a vote at all, following supreme court precedent.
Texas v white (1869)
2:50
And I guess less than a year later, the supreme court overturned their own precedent and acknowledged state secession contrary to the 1869 ruling.
I’m going to guess you’re not American based off of your name being not English so I just want to say I’m impressed on how much you know about a subject like this in American history.
@@adamkerman475 No gaurentee, but looks Korean. It's possible that he/she knows this much because they moved to the US and studied law or something. Maybe they found the civil war interesting
As a British person I appreciate the brexit bus reference at 1:09
I love these short histories. They are brilliant
Because they realized that West Virginia is almost Heaven.
Which kinda is an insult to heaven
Life is old there, older than the trees
@Joseph Norm With a lot of people addicted to opiates. I’ll never move back.
sky: exists
"heaven": not
Because it's next to Kentucky, which is Heaven. ;-)
2:00 *That joke ... But a smile on my face*
“The debate ended when John Denver adjusted his glasses and the room fell silent”
Good stuff, like always. Thanks for the video
2:39 Can't really argue against that.
As a West Virginian, that pronunciation of "Kanawha" will haunt my dreams.
Same
So how is it pronounced? Can-ah-wah?
@@db3536 It's a Native American word, not really pronounced how it looks. It's Cuh-gnaw.
@@Darkblender5 It is Shawnee and it is not pronounced Cuh-gnaw. In its original form it is KUH-naw-HA, it has been morphed over the decades to Ka-naw-wha, just like it is spelled.
@@cadengrace5466 Then we've bastardized it, but either way, I've never actually heard anyone from around here pronounce it like that. I guess it's a Apple-atcha vs. App-a-lay-sha thing.
...And History Matters still pronounced it horribly.
I accidentally read the title as “why didn’t the virgins get back together” lol
Me too lol
Because they decided absintance only.
I thought it said why didn't the vaginas get back together
@@rowengarcia3852 Because they decided monogamy and heterosexualism was their preference
fun fact, Virginia got its name in honor of queen Elizabeth the first of England, who was in fact, a virgin.
I live in Kanawha County, in Kanawha City, two streets up from Kanawha Avenue, by the Kanawha River, and I'm sure they must have taught us in school that WV was originally going to be called Kanawha but I've forgotten that somewhere along the way.
Finally got curious enough to find out why James Bissonette gets mentioned so much in these comments. That's pretty damned funny right there.
Mind telling me why?
@@farkbett699 Found it on a Reddit about the History Matters channel.
CheezyRat1865
1 month ago
Who is this James Bissonette person? (pls don't get mad at this question, im just new to the channel):
Ryuga_42069 1 month ago
He’s history matters first patreon.
@@farkbett699 He was found on the Patreon list of a couple of channels so the meme is that he's actually funding the entire world.
"You rebelled so shut up" the perfect answer to any Lost Cause
Wow I just visited last week West Virginia and then suddenly there is a video about it
TH-cam algorithms mi hijo.
1:10 may be the best background Gabon your entire channel
Can you imagine a world where the song goes: "Kanawha, mountain mama, take me home, country roads..."
they changed the name because they recognized so much of their population was illiterate so they wanted something recognizable
Because they forgot to get the economic assistance of James Bissonnette.
“How secedy should we be?” Best referendum question ever
Thank you so much for uploading this video. It is helping me get through the pandemic!
This might be the first time he actually put the stars on the US flag lol
I'm okay with the usual "stars, yo", but this was good too.
You forget all the Southern States he kept from falling off.
"Yes, Santa, there are two Virginias."
We need to ask James Byzonette to fund a referendum to reunite Virginias
He was the one whom backed Piedmont or whatever to divide it in the first place
West Virginia dislikes Virginia, and really likes being West Virginia. So that would never pass.
Where the hell will country roads take us in that case?
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and his name is James.
I love your channel keep up the great stuff!!!!