Since early March 1862, Abraham Lincoln had lobbied the
remaining loyal border states to embrace a plan of gradual
compensated emancipation. His efforts had met with steadfast
refusal by slaveholders there determined to hold on to their
human property and believing their loyalty did nothing but
strengthen their claim to their slaves. If anything, the loyal
slaveholders in the Border States in July 1862 were angry with
President Lincoln for not doing more to help them reclaim their
slaves that had found sanctuary with Union forces, and for
signing bills to prevent the army from returning slaves in March
and emancipating slaves in the District of Columbia in April. On
July 12, 1862, Lincoln made one more attempt to convince the
loyal slave states to embrace his plan for gradual compensated
emancipation. Meeting with their congressional representatives
that day, Lincoln made several arguments to try to convince
these congressmen of his position. First, he claimed that his
plan was the best way to end quickly the