Upper South

Definition

The Upper South refers to Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky - slave states that did not initially join Confederacy at start of Civil War but later joined due to various reasons including geographical location and economic factors.

Related terms

Lower South: These were seven original Confederate states which seceded before or shortly after Battle of Fort Sumter. They include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas.

Border States: These were slave states that didn't secede from Union during Civil War. They include Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri.

Compromise of 1850: This was a package of five separate bills passed by the U.S. Congress in September 1850 to defuse a political confrontation between slave and free states on status of territories acquired in Mexican–American War.