Where Lincoln and Davis stood on rights secession?

Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, the respective presidents of the United States and the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, held contrasting positions on the doctrine of state secession, which played a pivotal role in the outbreak of the conflict.

Abraham Lincoln:

- Opposed Secession: Lincoln firmly opposed the idea of state secession, arguing that the United States was a perpetual union and that no state had the right to unilaterally withdraw from the nation. He believed that secession would lead to the destruction of the Union and would threaten the survival of the nation.

- Union Preservation: Lincoln's primary goal was to preserve the unity of the United States. He maintained that the Union was "older than any of the states" and that it could not be dissolved by the actions of a single state.

Jefferson Davis:

- Advocate of Secession: Davis was a proponent of state secession and believed that states had the right to secede from the Union. He argued that states were sovereign entities that had joined the Union voluntarily and could choose to leave it when their interests were no longer served.

- Confederate Independence: Davis supported the formation of the Confederate States of America as a new nation separate from the United States. He believed that the Confederate states had a right to self-determination and should not be forced to remain part of a union that no longer represented their values and interests.

In essence, Lincoln viewed state secession as an illegal act that threatened the integrity of the nation, while Davis saw it as a legitimate exercise of states' rights and the pursuit of self-determination. These opposing perspectives on secession formed a fundamental divide between the North and the South, ultimately leading to the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861.