ABSTRACT
Throughout the early months of 1861 President Lincoln endeavored to keep the Upper South states of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky in the Union. While the Gulf South states had clearly withdrawn from the Union and presented a dire threat, President Lincoln concentrated his full attention for the moment on keeping other states from seceding and thus compounding the already troublesome dilemma. Such hopes were dashed when all of the Upper South states, except for Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri, announced their intentions to leave the Union, portending a dark future for Lincoln and the nation.
