Did Abraham Lincoln support the secession of southern states from union?

Abraham Lincoln did not support the secession of Southern states from the union. He believed that the United States was a single, indivisible nation and that secession was illegal and unconstitutional. Lincoln also believed that the preservation of the Union was essential to the survival of the United States as a free and democratic nation.

Lincoln's views on secession were shaped by his experience as a member of the House of Representatives from Illinois from 1847 to 1849. During his time in Congress, Lincoln opposed the Compromise of 1850, which admitted California as a free state but also strengthened the fugitive slave law. Lincoln believed that the Compromise was a moral wrong and that it would lead to the spread of slavery into new territories.

Lincoln's views on secession were further hardened by the rise of the Republican Party in the 1850s. The Republican Party was founded on the principle of opposing the expansion of slavery into new territories. Lincoln became the Republican nominee for president in 1860, and he won the election on a platform that pledged to preserve the Union and to prevent the expansion of slavery.

After Lincoln took office, he faced the immediate challenge of the secession of 11 Southern states. Lincoln refused to recognize the legitimacy of secession, and he vowed to use the full force of the federal government to preserve the Union. Lincoln's determination to preserve the Union led to the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861.

The Civil War was a bloody and destructive conflict, but it ended in 1865 with the defeat of the Confederacy and the preservation of the Union. Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War earned him the reputation as one of the greatest presidents in American history.