I've been gone a while, but have been perusing the board over the past couple of days. It looks like there has been quite a bit of discussion about Lincoln...which is good, since he is an interesting and important figure. People can like him or dislike him all they want, but let's at least be accurate in our analysis and study of him.

The Mexican War quotation you provide is well-known among historians and does not provide any real evidence of Lincoln being inconsistent in his policies during the Civil War. His statements in 1848 do NOT talk about the legal right of secession from the Union or US Constitution, but the natural right of revolution. There is a BIG difference there that cannot be ignored. Lincoln could acknowledge a natural right of revolution (though he or others may still oppose the specific act of revolution) while rejecting a legal right of unilateral secession.

Southern secessionists did not believe nor argue that they were revolutionaries or conducting a revolution. Instead, they steadfastly claimed that they were carrying out a legal right that was consistent with the letter and spirit of the US Constitution. Revolution is illegal or extralegal.

And, as a final thought, no where in Lincoln's speech did he argue that revolution could not or should not be resisted. Obviously revolutions were (are) resisted to some degree. An inherent qualification for the legitimacy of revolution is success.