History of West Virginia
West Virginia was admitted as the 35th state in 1863.
West Virginia was part of Virginia until the area refused to endorse the
ordinance of secession in 1861. Charleston is the capital and the largest
city. Population: 1,820,000.
The American Revolution
During the American Revolution the area was invaded three times by British-led Native American forces. After the American conquest of the Northwest by an army (consisting mostly of western Virginians) under George Rogers Clark, the British and Native American threat to the area was virtually removed. Western Virginians overwhelmingly supported ratification of the U.S. Constitution; they wanted a strong federal government that would quell further conflict with the Native Americans and that would enrich commerce along the Ohio, a river of central importance to their economic life.