How did fears of alienating the border states affect northern strategy during the war?

Question

us history

Answer 1

Actually, it might be better to speak more broadly about fears of LOSING the border states -- a bit broader problem that INCLUDES the danger of alienating them.
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Both '29 characters' and 'Eastern Cherokee (or whatever name he's using by now), very much misunderstand the Emancipation Proclamation.

Though concern with alienating the border states DELAYED his decision to issue one, this concern had NO effect on the actual CONTENT of the Proclamation. He declared free ALL slaves he had *Constitutional* authority to free. He did not "exempt" them from abolishing slavery -- indeed from December 1861 he repeatedly worked to convince them to emancipate their slaves, and even to provide federal funds to compensate them if they did so. (Though they rejected his early efforts, and so compensation, they eventually were convinced, while Lincoln was pushing for the 13th amendment, to emancipate their slaves).

There is this mistaken notion afoot that Lincoln could simply have done whatever he pleased about slaves is only he hadn't had to worry about keeping the support of the border (slave) states. In other words, supposedly he had the authority to free ALL slaves in the nation.

Well, under the Constitution that is nonsense -- the President had NO such power to interfere with the internal 'domestic institutions' of ANY state simply because he wanted to do good. It was ONLY as an exercise of his Constitutional "war powers" (doing whatever it takes to undermine the enemy) that he could do so in territory then in rebellion. Lincoln makes this quite clear in the Proclamation itself, and in his responses to others who asked him, at the time, whether he would expand its reach.

Keep in mind too that ANY such act BEYOND his constitutional authority would have incensed many throughout the North. But, more importantly, it would certainly have been quickly struck down by the Supreme Court under Taney (of Dred Scott fame), which had already decided against Lincoln in other matters concerning his conduct of the war (mainly on suspension of habeas corpus).

It is true, however, as noted above, that Lincoln's strategy involving the Proclamation was shaped by border state reactions. Actually, the very ISSUING of the Proclamation was partly prompted by his inability to convince them to accept his compensated emancipation plan. It appears that his hope was to succeed with such a program in the border states and THEN to convince the Confederate states to return and accept a similar arrangement - thereby ending the war AND slavery (and with a much lower military cost).
http://www.nationalreview.com/books/owens200403251139.asp>

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Some other specific ways Lincoln's war strategies were affected by concern about the border states (other than affecting his precise strategy and timing concerning emancipation efforts):

1) keeping Maryland in the Union (mainly EARLY in the war) - a mixture of firm & gentle tactics -

a) authorized the military to suspend habeas corpus in SOME areas of the state (specifically along the military line, NOT everywhere)

b) staged a great display of military force on Federal Hill in Baltimore

b) not insist on the 'right of transit

2) keeping Kentuky in -

a) forbad recruiting of army volunteers in the state, which obviously cost him in military strength (though, of course, offending them might caus additional recruits for the Confederacy, if not the loss of the state).

b) He would not prohibit thm from trading with the Confederacy. Of course, if resource-rich Kentucky did NOT trade with the Confederacy it would weaken the latter... so their was loss of a weapon/tool.

For more on Lincoln's border state policies (toward Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri), see this article by William Gienapp:
http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jala/13/gienapp.html

Answer 2

Read the Emancipation Proclamation, and notice where the slaves are freed; not in states fighting alongside the federal government. Tip-toeing around slavery was only one neccessity for keeping border states on the Union side. Sometimes military force was used to coerce decisions.

Answer 3

Here was the North's border states fears in action:

Lincoln suspended the "writ of habeas corpus," invaded the border states, and exempted the border states from abolishing slavery.
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