Many of her citizens, of course, fought upon
the Southern side, as was the case in all these debatable Border States,
where friends and even families divided against each other, and each man
placed himself according to his own convictions. It may seem, therefore,
in view of this individual independence of action, that the ordinance of
secession was a formality which would not have greatly affected
practical conditions; and many critics of Mr. Lincoln at the time could
not appreciate the value of his "border-state policy," and thought that
he was making sacrifices and paying prices wholly against wisdom, and
out of proportion to anything that could be gained thereby. But he
understood the situation and comparative values correctly. Loyalty to
the State governed multitudes; preference of the State over the United
States cost the nation vast numbers of would-be Unionists in the
seceding States, and in fact made secession possible; and the same
feeling, erroneous though it was from the Unionist point of view, yet
saved for the Unionist party very great numbers in these doubtful States
which never in fact seceded. Mr. Davis appreciated this just as much as
Mr. Lincoln did; both were shrewd men, and were wasting no foolish
efforts when they strove so hard to carry or to prevent formal state
action. They appreciated very well that success in passing an ordinance
would gain for the South throngs of adherents whose allegiance was, by
their peculiar political creed, due to the winner in this local contest.
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