Question

What arguments did Abraham Lincoln use against the secession of the Southern states? Select all that apply.
(1 point)
Responses

Secession would need to be approved through popular sovereignty.
Secession would need to be approved through popular sovereignty.

The government was a union of people, not states.
The government was a union of people, not states.

The Southern states lacked the power to secede under the Constitution.
The Southern states lacked the power to secede under the Constitution.

Slavery was a system that would eventually bankrupt the Southern states.

Answer 1

Correct answers:
- The government was a union of people, not states.
- The Southern states lacked the power to secede under the Constitution.

Lincoln argued the Union was perpetual and created by the people (not a compact of sovereign states), so states had no constitutional right to unilaterally secede. He did not base his anti-secession case on popular‑sovereignty approval or on the claim that slavery would bankrupt the South.