Asked by Chuck Bass

“I look forward to a time when each State shall be allowed to do as it pleases. If it chooses to keep slavery forever, it is not my business, but its own; if it chooses to abolish slavery, it is its own business—not mine.”

The speaker’s opponent countered this position by arguing that .

abolition violated states’ rights

popular sovereignty ignored the moral question of slavery

gradual emancipation was better than abolition

popular sovereignty was unconstitutional because it violated slaveholders’ right to their property

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
popular sovereignty ignored the moral question of slavery

Explanation: Opponents (notably Abraham Lincoln in his debates with Stephen Douglas) argued that leaving slavery "to do as it pleases" avoided the fundamental moral issue — slavery was a national moral wrong that could not simply be treated as a local policy choice.