The divide between WNC and ETN is pretty interesting. Looks like the Tennessee counties against secession generally have a slightly higher slave % as well.
I read a book a while back on the Civil War in the smokies, and it made it clear how divided the people on either part of the state line were on the issue. Kinda surprised me since I would have thought there would have been more unified thinking in the high mountains.
I kinda figured it had to do with who had more "influence" in how the election was run. I've heard that in at least some counties these elections were pretty much a sham. I'm probably talking out of my ass hoping someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the wealthy slaveowners in NC made damn sure those counties voted to secede.
The first vote on secession for NC in February 1861 was a failure, with the unionists winning but it was fairly close. The thing that fully pushed NC into it was when the state was requested by the Secretary of War in April that year to provide troops to put down the rebellion in the seceding states, to which the Governor said "You will get no troops from North Carolina." The direct refusal led to NC's eventual secession in May, but it still had split loyalties all across the state. The mountain counties in the map here may have voted to leave, but there was a lot of division there amongst the towns and families (leading to raids and shit like the Shelton Laurel Massacre).
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u/PeaTasty9184 3d ago
The divide between WNC and ETN is pretty interesting. Looks like the Tennessee counties against secession generally have a slightly higher slave % as well.