The 1861 Wheeling Convention was a series of two meetings that ultimately repealed the Ordinance of Secession passed by Virginia, thus establishing the Restored government of Virginia, which ultimately authorized the counties that organized the convention to become West Virginia. The convention was held at what became known as West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling. The Restored Government was recognized by the Union, including President Lincoln, as the State of Virginia with its capital in Wheeling. In part motivated by early Union successes, including the Battle of Philippi Races, it was preceded by the Clarksburg Convention and led to the Constitutional Convention of West Virginia.
Read more about Wheeling Convention: First Wheeling Convention, Second Wheeling Convention, Archives
Famous quotes containing the words wheeling and/or convention:
“I saw, before I had well finished,
All suddenly mount
And scatter wheeling in great broken rings
Upon their clamorous wings.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“The metaphor of the king as the shepherd of his people goes back to ancient Egypt. Perhaps the use of this particular convention is due to the fact that, being stupid, affectionate, gregarious, and easily stampeded, the societies formed by sheep are most like human ones.”
—Northrop Frye (b. 1912)