Question

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

Secession would need to be approved through popular sovereignty.

The government was a union of people, not states.

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 choices: 1, 2, and 3.

- Lincoln argued the Union was created by the people (not a compact of sovereign states), so secession could not be claimed as a unilateral state right.
- He held that the Constitution did not give states the power to secede (only amendment or revolution could lawfully dissolve the Union).
- This implies that any break-up would require the consent of the people (popular sovereignty) rather than unilateral state action.

He did not argue that slavery would eventually bankrupt the Southern states.