Virginia was already leading the way in abolishing slavery.
Exactly. And would have become the political, economic and cultural powerhouse of the Confederacy and would have become increasingly distant from the rest of the Confederacy. With the west of the state providing coal, the coast being a mix of miltary policing, tariff controls against Union ports (and the USA finding innovate ways to avoid this) and booming in industry in it's own rights by the 1920's you have a potential powderkeg; A coalminer and a slave labourer would find common ground against distant and irrelevant estate owners and the Richmond intellegista and government machine. Poor housing, low pay, few rights. You would have a viable Labour and emancipation movement similar to Europe.
If the Richmond intellegenista was liberal(it probably would be) though I think there would be a good chance it could lead a socialist movement making it less populist in nature. I could see Virginia electing a strong Social Democratic government.
