Question

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

A. Secession would need to be approved through popular sovereignty
B. The government was a union of people, not states.
C. The Southern states lacked the power to secede under the Constitution
D. Slavery was a system that would eventually bankrupt the Southern states

Answer 1

The arguments that Abraham Lincoln used against the secession of the Southern states include:

B. The government was a union of people, not states.
C. The Southern states lacked the power to secede under the Constitution.

While Lincoln did express views against slavery and believed it was a moral and economic issue, the specific argument that "slavery was a system that would eventually bankrupt the Southern states" is not one he emphasized in the context of secession. A and D do not accurately reflect Lincoln's primary arguments against secession.