Which sentence in the excerpt best supports the idea that a government has an obligation to provide certain things to its citize
ns? excerpt from message to the congress in special session, july 4, 1861 by abraham lincoln president lincoln gave this speech to congress to gain support and funding for the civil war after southern states had withdrawn from the union. this is essentially a people's contest. on the side of the union, it is a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form, and substance of government, whose leading object is, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life. i am most happy to believe that the plain people understand and appreciate this. it is worthy of note, that while in this, the government's hour of trial, large numbers of those in the army and navy, who have been favored with the offices, have resigned, and proved false to the hand which had pampered them, not one common soldier, or common sailor is known to have deserted his flag. great honor is due to those officers who remain true, despite the example of their treacherous associates; but the greatest honor, and most important fact of all, is the unanimous firmness of the common soldiers, and common sailors. to the last man, so far as known, they have successfully resisted the traitorous efforts of those, whose commands, but an hour before, they obeyed as absolute law. this is the patriotic instinct of the plain people. they understand, without an argument, that destroying the government, which was made by washington, means no good to them. our popular government has often been called an experiment. two points in it, our people have already settled—the successful establishing, and the successful administering of it. one still remains—its successful maintenance against a formidable [internal] attempt to overthrow it. it is now for them to demonstrate to the world, that those
