A common criticism of the proclamation is that it exempted the loyal slave states—the very states where the US government was in a position to enforce its will. But the loyal slave states were not exempt from the provision opening the Union army to the enlistment of Black soldiers. On the contrary, in 1863 the War Department began aggressively recruiting slaves in Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri—states supposedly exempt from the proclamation. Moreover, the government promised slave recruits freedom in return for military service, a promise that affected only the Border States.
