During the Civil War was the Union States the northern states or the southern states?

Question

I keep on getting confused about this. I always thought that the southern slave states were the confederates and the nothern free states were the Union. But this passage from my History book confused me:
"In April and May, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennesse seceded, bringing the number of Confederate states to eleven. The western counties of Virginia opposed slavery, so they seceded from Virginia and were admitted into the Union as West Virginia in 1863. The four remaining slaves states --- Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missour --- remained in the Union."

How do the four remaining states remain in the Union, I thought they were confederate?


Will someone clear this up for me?

ALSO it says that later on that:


"After the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, many African Americans enlisted. By the end of the war, they were 10 percent of the Union army."

So, that is saying that 10 percent of the Union army were African Americans, so it would only make sense that the Union Army is the northernmost states that are free states.

Thank you all that is what I thought. I just got a little confused by the text.

Answer 1

JC, Union states are northern and southern are confederate when thinking in general terms. However, President Lincoln had large numbers of federal troops in the four states you mentioned. He simply did not allow them to leave the Union with the other southern states. Imagine if Maryland and Deleware had left the Union, the City of Washington would have been deep in confederate territory. Lincoln couldn't allow this to happen. Though technically thought of as confederate, they remained in the Union. and yes, free blacks faught for the union north.

hope this helps.

Answer 2

If a state did not secede from the union, which were the northern states, it stayed in the union even if it was a slave state. The southern states that seceded were known as the Confederate States of America, or CSA.

That portion of Virginia you were talking about did just what your book says it did -- seceded from Virginia just as Virginia seceded from the union, forming their own state.

Just because a state was a slave state didn't make it a Conferderate state.

Answer 3

I'm reading an explanation of The Civil War, and the first 5 mentions of the word "Union" are all relating to The North. I was already about 90% sure "The Union" referred to The North. Your book is wrong. Technically, the South formed a "union", with a small "u" but, even that's confusing.

Answer 4

Union = North
Confederate = South

The states they are talking about were 'border' states and were not immediately North or South. They 'leaned' towards one side or the other, but were not a part of the Condederacy (South) meaning that they did not secede from the Union (the North)

Answer 5

Union states were the northern states; confederacy was the southern states. Typically it wasanything above the Mason-Dixon line was considered a southern/confederate state, but as you book pointed out, some states made their own choice for either side.

Answer 6

The North was still the United States the south was the Confederacy.

Actually blacks also fought for the South during the war. Especially in areas like New Orleans where blacks that owned slaves were afraid of losing their "property". There was even a plan inthe south to grant full freedom and equality to all slaves who would bear arms for the south, it was killed in the congress and probably caused the fall of the south.

Answer 7

You thought wrong. The four slave states remained with the Union. Slavery was not outlawed until late in the war.

Answer 8

The Union was the northern states (blue)
The Confederacy was the southern states (gray)

Answer 9

The Union states were the North!!!!!!!!!
Confederate states were the South!!!!!!!

Answer 10

I think that means that even though they were pro-slavery they didn't take the necessary legal steps to secede from the Union.

The anti slavery or northern states were the Union.
The pro slavery or southern states were the Confederacy.