Question

on which issue did lincoln and davis most strongly disagree?

whether the south had seceded for a reason
whether the south had the right to secede
whether slavery would continue to exist in the south
whether the north and the south would go to war

Explanation:

Analyze the core constitutional disagreement

Using the Secession Legality and Secession Justification knowledge points

• Abraham Lincoln maintained that the Union was perpetual and that secession was constitutionally illegal and void.
• Jefferson Davis argued in his inaugural address that states possessed a sovereign right to secede when their interests were threatened.

Evaluate the alternative options

Using the Jefferson Davis Inaugural Address knowledge point

• Both recognized that the South had specific reasons for their actions (disagreeing on the validity, but not that reasons existed).
• Lincoln explicitly stated in his First Inaugural Address that he had no intention or lawful right to interfere with slavery where it already existed in the South.
• Neither leader initially desired war, both hoping the other side would back down without armed conflict.

Answer:

• whether the South had seceded for a reason
• whether the South had the right to secede (Correct answer)
• whether slavery would continue to exist in the South
• whether the North and the South would go to war