Complex sentence: In April 1861 a Virginia state convention voted to secede and join the Confederacy; however, there was much opposition to this action from the western counties of the state, which were economically tied closer to western Pennsylvania and Ohio than to eastern Virginia.
Split into simpler sentences: In April 1861 a Virginia state convention voted to secede and join the Confederacy. However, there was much opposition to this action from the western counties of the state, which were economically tied closer to western Pennsylvania and Ohio than to eastern Virginia.