Alva Review-Courier -

As we have seen, President Abraham Lincoln and Congress conspired to make Nevada a state just days before the 1864 presidential election, although Nevada did not have enough residents to qualify for statehood.

Nevertheless, the new state seated two U.S. senators, one member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and chose three members of the 1864 Electoral College – all supportive of Lincoln and his policies.

This was not, however, the first time that Lincoln and his political allies had broken the rules to admit a new pro-Lincoln state. In 1863 they created West Virginia and gave it three U.S. House members to go along with two senators and five electoral votes.

The rule they broke in 1863 was the provision in the U.S. Constitution that allows for the creation of new states by breaking away from existing ones. In 1820, for example, Maine had legally separated from Massachusetts.

West Virginia, of course, broke away from Virginia. In order for this action to be legal, the original state (Virginia) had to approve. Prior to 1863, however, Virginia had seceded from the Union and become part of the Confederate States of America.

Virginia leaders did not approve of the creation of West Virginia. Lincoln decided to proceed anyway – even though he always argued that secession was illegal. This meant, of course, that he considered Virginia to be still part of the United States.

It also meant that West Virginia could not be created without (1) getting Virginia’s approval or (2) violating the U.S. Constitution. Lincoln and Congress chose the latter route, and West Virginia became a state in June 1863.

After the Civil War was over, Virginia sued to get West Virginia back. Not surprisingly, the Republican-controlled U.S. Supreme Court refused. What is surprising, however, is that it was only a 6-3 decision. Three justices (including two Lincoln appointees) voted that West Virginia had been illegally created.

And, by the way, in the meantime West Virginia voters in 1864 gave their electoral votes to Lincoln – just like those in Nevada did!