becomes destructive of these ends,it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,and to institute new Government."11 And the South never did appeal to the right of revolution,but instead their appeal was to something else -namely,a right to secession that the people had by virtue of the status of the individual states within the Union.In the minds of the Southern people,the legitimacy of secession rested upon the Southern argument for state rights.12 Lincoln denies that his election will deprive any citizen of his rights, and he even ensures that ample evidence exists to the contrary.He points to his previous speeches for this evidence,reiterating in his First Inaugural Address in March 1861,"I have no purpose,directly or indirectly,to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists.I believe I have no lawful right to do so and I have no inclination to do so."13 Lincoln points out that he has no intention of harming slavery where it already exists,because the Constitution does not grant the federal government the legal authority to do so.Where slavery exists now,so shall it remain untouched by Congress.That does not mean,however,that the federal government lacks the power to stop the spread of slavery to those areas where it is not already in place. In fact,Lincoln readily admits that he will do everything he constitutionally can to keep slavery out of those places.Everyone who voted in the election of 1860 was fully aware of this stance,and yet the Southern people still saw danger in Lincoln's election because they correctly understood that the survival of slavery was wholly dependent upon its growth.If slavery did not spread to the territories,the slave states would soon be outnumbered in Congress as the free-state representation continued to grow.Without the necessary number of pro-slavery votes,the North was assured the passage of any and all anti-slavery legislation that the Constitution would allow,including a Constitutional Amendment.Congress could theoretically abolish slavery if the slave states were unable to prevent the passage of an amendment. Therefore,in the minds of Southerners,the very survival of slavery was at stake,and this was the immediate threat the South witnessed with the election of Lincoln to the presidency. Because the purpose of majority rule is to protect and secure the rights of the people,the South rejected the results of the 1860 election when they viewed that their supposed right to own slaves was being threatened. In other words,they understood the election as an exploitation of the minority.Therefore,they felt fully justified in rejecting majority rule, but they did not think at any point that they were rejecting the principle of that rule.The 1860 election was a perversion of majority rule because it did not fulfill its purpose.Therefore,it was just and good for thebecomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government." 11 And the South never did appeal to the right of revolution, but instead their appeal was to something else — namely, a right to secession that the people had by virtue of the status of the individual states within the Union. In the minds of the Southern people, the legitimacy of secession rested upon the Southern argument for state rights. 12 Lincoln denies that his election will deprive any citizen of his rights, and he even ensures that ample evidence exists to the contrary. He points to his previous speeches for this evidence, reiterating in his First Inaugural Address in March 1861, "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so and I have no inclination to do so." 13 Lincoln points out that he has no intention of harming slavery where it already exists, because the Constitution does not grant the federal government the legal authority to do so. Where slavery exists now, so shall it remain untouched by Congress. That does not mean, however, that the federal government lacks the power to stop the spread of slavery to those areas where it is not already in place. In fact, Lincoln readily admits that he will do everything he constitutionally can to keep slavery out of those places. Everyone who voted in the election of 1860 was fully aware of this stance, and yet the Southern people still saw danger in Lincoln's election because they correctly understood that the survival of slavery was wholly dependent upon its growth. If slavery did not spread to the territories, the slave states would soon be outnumbered in Congress as the free-state representation continued to grow. Without the necessary number of pro-slavery votes, the North was assured the passage of any and all anti-slavery legislation that the Constitution would allow, including a Constitutional Amendment. Congress could theoretically abolish slavery if the slave states were unable to prevent the passage of an amendment. Therefore, in the minds of Southerners, the very survival of slavery was at stake, and this was the immediate threat the South witnessed with the election of Lincoln to the presidency. Because the purpose of majority rule is to protect and secure the rights of the people, the South rejected the results of the 1860 election when they viewed that their supposed right to own slaves was being threatened. In other words, they understood the election as an exploitation of the minority. Therefore, they felt fully justified in rejecting majority rule, but they did not think at any point that they were rejecting the principle of that rule. The 1860 election was a perversion of majority rule because it did not fulfill its purpose. Therefore, it was just and good for the