APUSH Unit 8 MILs
Brother's Blood and Border Blood The remaining Border States of the United States were very crucial for both the North and the South, as they could secede at any moment and join the South, thus putting Washington, DC in danger. The Border States have not yet seceded, but they could at any time. If they did, Washing DC (the North's capital) would be completely surrounded my seceded states and could easily be attacked. Lincoln had to act fast to keep these Border States in the North, so he used "dubious" legal methods such as sending troops to Virginia and Missouri to secure these areas. Lincoln assured the Border States that he was only trying to save the union and not free the slaves, as all the border states were slave states. The Balance of Forces