One ongoing debate within Southern Nationalism is which states should be included in a Free Dixie. There are some states that are almost always included – namely the states of the Old Confederacy, but there are questions and concerns regarding other states. Maryland was considered a very Southern state even though it did not secede. Until around 1970, when the growth of the DC suburbs finally fully dominated the state, Maryland was very much included in the Upper South. Now, should Southern Nationalists seek to incorporate Maryland in a future Free Dixie, or do we cut our losses? Missouri is another questionable state, considered Southern in 1860 but it has since taken on a more Midwestern identity, especially outside of the southeastern portion of the state. Kentucky is normally included in a proposed Free Dixie, but I do know folks who would exclude it. Oklahoma is generally included as well, considering it was largely settled by Southerners, and the Indian tribes of the state typically sided with the Confederacy. But, Oklahoma also has its detractors and has been excluded in some Free Dixie maps. Finally, some would include Arizona and New Mexico, both claimed as historic Confederate territory and chiefly settled by Southerners, but this is a minority position, though one I am sympathetic towards.

Perhaps the most fascinating state within this debate is the status of West Virginia due to the unique history of the state. Originally, and many would argue, by right, a part of Virginia, West Virginia’s status as included in Dixie is contentious because Virginia did secede, but the counties of West Virginia rejected this and formed their own separate, unionist government. I will not rehash the history of the 1860s in this article, but I will say that the Confederacy was far more popular in what became West Virginia than the history of its creation as a separate state would suggest, especially in the southern part of the state. The Wheeling Convention was rigged from the start, loyalty to the Union was a requirement to attend, and the eventual creation of West Virginia is more of a product of Yankee interference and meddling than the popular will of the people. Still, as the debate stands in 2023, I have mapped out several positions regarding the status of West Virginia within the Southern Nationalist movement. My intention here is not to argue for one position over another, but rather to state each one.

1. Exclusion – West Virginia is excluded from a Free Dixie, they had their chance to join with their Southern brothers and sisters, and not only did they not answer the call, but they also betrayed Dixie and the rest of Virginia by siding with the Yankees.
2. Reunion –West Virginia is simply brought back into Virginia as a whole, and it becomes included within Virginia’s borders with its own regional quirks and detour of history, the former of which it shares with southwestern Virginia.
3. The Virginia-West Virginia Compromise – In this scenario, West Virginia is merged with Virginia once again, but with a twist. The unique history and culture of West Virginia is taken into account and the state is given a good deal of autonomy within Virginia politics, taking a page out of the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s history. A way this might look is for Virginia-West Virginia to elect a single governor and slate of national representatives to the national Southern government, but West Virginia is also provided its own state legislature and courts.
4. The State of West Virginia of Dixie – Here, the history of West Virginia is considered as being unique enough, and the two Virginias have been separate for long enough, that they cannot be brought back together, even as West Virginia is included in a Free Dixie. West Virginia is a Southern state, but one so different that is can no longer easily or pragmatically be united with the Commonwealth of Virginia. Thus, West Virginia is welcomed in a Free Dixie, but as its own sovereign state, like Texas or Alabama.
5. Partition – The current discourse around West Virginia in the mainstream media tends to view the state in largely monolithic terms: overwhelmingly White, strongly supports the 2nd Amendment, extremely poor, and intensely pro-Trump. And while that is true to some degree, it is also an absurd oversimplification. In reality, the state is divided between a southern half culturally connected to Dixie and a northern half culturally connected to the North, namely western Pennsylvania. The stereotypical “West Virginia” is based on the southern part of the state. Thus, Southern Nationalists accept this divide and partition the state along cultural lines. The southern portion of the state either becomes its own state or is folded into Virginia, while the northern section remains with the Union in some capacity.

West Virginia is a geographically beautiful state, and although I am a son of the Deep South, I do greatly admire Appalachian culture. I also like most of the West Virginians I’ve met. Ideally, modern West Virginia would still be part of Virginia, and we would all be free. But that was not to be, and as such a debate exists to the status of West Virginia in a Free Dixie among Southern Nationalists, the future of what West Virginia in a Free Dixie looks like will, God willing, become a vigorous debate within Free Dixie.

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