During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the 20 free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the Confederacy. Although the Union states included the Western states of California, Oregon, and (after 1864) Nevada, as well as states of the Midwest, the Union has...
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During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the 20 free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the Confederacy. Although the Union states included the Western states of California, Oregon, and (after 1864) Nevada, as well as states of the Midwest, the Union has often been referred to as "the North", both then and now.
Legally, the term originated in the Perpetual Union of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. Also, then and now, in the public dialogue of the United States, new states have been "admitted to the Union", and the President's annual address to Congress and to the people has been referred to as the "State of the Union address". Even before the war started, the phrase "preserve the Union" was commonplace and a "union of states" had been used to refer to the entire United...
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