First+Inaugural+Address

Lincoln tries to convince Southern states to rejoin the Union **See Also:** Lincoln's Speeches
 * South is convinced that North and Lincoln and the Republicans will rip away their slaves at the soonest possible point
 * Trying to rid the south of the memory of the John Brown raid.
 * Says they cannot separate physically
 * Economically dependent
 * Still going to have to deal with each other, so there needs to be a better/ new way of interaction
 * If they form their own country, it is going to be even more difficult than if they were one nation together
 * Union is older than the constitution
 * Secession is not okay, because the union was bound together- there is no de-union
 * Secession is in no ones best interest
 * No reason to rush towards this, nothing will happen in the near future- no intentions or legal authority towards slaves
 * North will not attack south, but they will defend themselves if south attacks *
 * If there was a civil war, it would be the South's fault
 * Lincoln's worried about the states that haven't yet seceded but are thinking about leaving it.
 * Didn't want to seem dictatorial
 * "Better angels of our nature" - when everyone begins thinking straight
 * There's more that binds us than divides us