Lincoln and Davis Inaugural Excerpts
Lincoln and Davis Inaugural Address
Lincoln and Davis Inaugural Address

What does Lincoln say to the South to try to calm their fears about his presidency?
What unpopular law is Lincoln talking about? How does he defend it? What change does he want to make to it?
Why does Lincoln think that secession from the Union is illegal?
What is Lincoln’s main argument against the idea of legal secession?

What hope does Davis express? What document (that we have studied!) does he reference to justify the South’s act of secession?
Compare Davis’s words to Lincoln’s in Excerpt 3. What difference does Davis have with Lincoln?
What future does Davis see for the Union and the Confederacy if they remain separate?
Lincoln called the South’s actions a “rebellion”. What argument does Davis make against that statement?
What guarantee is Lincoln giving the South? Why do you think Lincoln chose to
end his address this way?
What is the main idea of this excerpt? How does it compare to Lincoln’s words in Excerpts 1 and 5?