{"id":2451,"date":"2017-07-25T22:00:56","date_gmt":"2017-07-25T16:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mapsofworld.com\/answers\/?p=2451"},"modified":"2023-01-27T03:36:30","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T07:36:30","slug":"border-states-important-american-civil-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mapsofworld.com\/answers\/united-states\/border-states-important-american-civil-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Why were the border states important in the American Civil War?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 4.5\/5 - (10 votes) <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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In the years preceding the American Civil War, the divide between the highly industrialized North and the agrarian South continued to grow. The South depended highly on slave labor, and the liberal ideas of the North did not sit well with these states. Straddling the North and South states, were the Border States; Delaware<\/a>, Kentucky<\/a>, Maryland<\/a>, and Missouri<\/a>. West Virginia<\/a>, came to be considered another border state, as it separated from Virginia<\/a> during the course of the war.<\/p>\n

Apart from their unique geographic location, the Border States also retained a shared cultural identity. Slave ownership was legal in the Border States, and like the Southern states, the Border States did not support Abraham Lincoln in the presidential election of 1860. Like the North, however, the Border States remained committed to being part of the federal union. Gaining the support of the Border States was very critical for President Lincoln, and the North to win the Civil War.<\/p>\n

President Lincoln remained convinced that the Border States were the key to victory in the American Civil War. This weighed heavily on the defense strategy and the legislation drawn up by the federal government at the time. The President’s attempts to woo the loyalty of these Border States prevented the government from abolishing slavery in them, fueling Lincoln’s critics. Troops and precious war resources were spent in the effort to retain these Border States from falling to the Confederate Army. The fact that states like Missouri and Kentucky, despite remaining pro-Union, were deeply divided in their sentiments did not help. The Border States’ unshaken loyalty to the Union was a big boost to the morale and the resources mobilized by the northern states during the course of the American Civil War.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a closer look at the Border States \u2013<\/p>\n