Lincoln’s speech presented an interesting contrast to Davis’s. The main idea of Lincoln’s speech was to prevent the dissolution of the Union. He made it clear that the US Constitution made no provision for the act of secession. For this reason, he saw the Confederate act of secession as illegal and revolutionary. It follows from these views that no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union; that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void, and that acts of violence, within any State or States, against the authority of the United States are insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to circumstances.

Lincoln objected to the secession of the Southern states. He also believed it was his duty to honor the Constitution and hold the nation together. In this manner, Lincoln and Davis’s speeches opposed one another.