Today in Wheeling History: October 11--A troop of mostly German "Wide Awakes," a Republican marching club dedicated to preserving the Union and opposing the expansion of slavery, paraded their support for Abraham Lincoln in the north end of Wheeling (1860).
The German immigrants in Wheeling leading up to and during the American Civil War were divided between those who arrived before 1848 and were more prosperous, and the poorer, more radical immigrants who came after the failed 1848 revolutions in Europe. The pre-1848 Germans tended to support the Democratic Party and the interests of the slaveholding elite in Virginia. The post-1848 Germans were more sympathetic to the Republicans and the anti-slavery cause. This division within the German community mirrored the larger divide in Wheeling between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions. During the war, the Germans helped make Wheeling a pro-Union stronghold, contributing to the creation of West Virginia. But they also clashed at times with Union authorities over issues of liberty and fair treatment. The divisions among Wheeling's Germans exemplify the complex ethnic politics in border regions during the Civil War era. (https://tinyurl.com/bdej5wa5)
The German immigrants in Wheeling leading up to and during the American Civil War were divided between those who arrived before 1848 and were more prosperous, and the poorer, more radical immigrants who came after the failed 1848 revolutions in Europe. The pre-1848 Germans tended to support the Democratic Party and the interests of the slaveholding elite in Virginia. The post-1848 Germans were more sympathetic to the Republicans and the anti-slavery cause. This division within the German community mirrored the larger divide in Wheeling between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions. During the war, the Germans helped make Wheeling a pro-Union stronghold, contributing to the creation of West Virginia. But they also clashed at times with Union authorities over issues of liberty and fair treatment. The divisions among Wheeling's Germans exemplify the complex ethnic politics in border regions during the Civil War era. (https://tinyurl.com/bdej5wa5)
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