On the recordJuly 4, 1861
The States have their status in the Union, and they have no other legal status.
Source
gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
In his first message to Congress at the start of the Civil War, Lincoln asserted the fundamental legal relationship of states to the federal Union.
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More from Abraham Lincoln
Mar 4, 1865
Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish.
Apr 11, 1865
I believe that it is not only possible, but in fact easier, to do this without deciding or even considering whether these States have ever been out of the Union, than with it.
Mar 17, 1865
I have always thought that all men should be free; but if any should be slaves, it should be first those who desire it for themselves, and secondly those who desire it for others.
Mar 26, 1865
Second. That the flag, when raised, be saluted by one hundred guns from Fort Sumter and by a national salute from every fort and rebel battery that fired upon Fort Sumter.
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