8                 The Maryland Constitution of 1864.            [354

neous with the larger struggle that was rending our nation
to its very foundations.

Proximity to the city of Washington caused a very close
surveillance of the state on the part of the Federal au-
thorities, leading at times to direct interference in state
and local affairs by them, as the loyalty of Maryland was
in many ways very necessary to the safety of the National
Government. One can well realize this by pausing to think
of the consequences to the Union of having its capital en-
tirely within the bounds of a hostile territory—a thing
practically impossible, unless unbroken military success is
presupposed, and even then a matter of great difficulty.

On the part of Maryland, the very fact of being a slave
state naturally bound her more closely to the South,
although at the beginning of the secession agitation during
the latter part of Buchanan's administration probably the
larger part of the people were in favor of standing by the
Union. On the other hand, a majority were strongly op-
posed to coercing the South, and after the outbreak of
hostilities, this opposition to the war ended in quite a
change of sentiment in many cases, so that it is doubtful
if the state would have finally remained in the Union, had
it not been for the firm restraining hand of the Federal
military authorities.¹ After all, it is practically impossible
to reach absolute certainty in this matter, and it will always
remain a mooted point, and largely a subject for con-
jecture.

The half-hearted Union men, if we may call them such,
as well as those heartily sympathizing with the South, con-
sistently fought all the measures necessary for carrying the
war to a successful termination, such as drafting, negro
emancipation and enlistments, martial law, and military
supervision of elections and other distinctly state functions.

On November 6, 1861, the Union party succeeded in

¹ The Southern sympathizers claimed this in 1864. See Debates
ii, 825 (references merely to "Debates" and "Proceedings" refer
to those of the "State Convention of 1864").