Congress would not allow West Virginia to become a state until it had a plan for ending slavery within its borders. Western Virginians had very different opinions: some wanted to keep it, some wanted to end it slowly, and some wanted immediate freedom.

The U.S. Senate debated the issue. After other ideas failed, Senator Waitman T. Willey of Morgantown proposed a compromise known as the Willey Amendment. His plan said that enslaved people under the age of 21 on July 4, 1863, would become free when they reached that age (21). It would free anyone over 21 while keeping anyone under that age enslaved. During this debate, John Carlile--who had helped start the entire movement--forever turned against West Virginia statehood because the voters had not agreed to the Willey plan.

Congress accepted the compromise deal and passed the statehood bill, sending it to Lincoln to approve or veto.