In his speech, Lincoln is addressing a Union that is on the verge of separation, with Northerners and Southerners in opposing camps. He takes a neutral stand and is careful to not take sides, declaring "I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." He reassures the South that as the new president he does not have the power to interfere with states’ rights. In addition to constitutional evidence, he adds that even if he could, he is unwilling to do so. This point emphasizes his statement to the South that he will respect their rights. He also specifically promises the following to Southerners:
. . .the property, peace, and security of no section are to be in anywise endangered by the now incoming Administration.
. . .all the protection which, consistently with the Constitution and the laws, can be given will be cheerfully given to all the States when lawfully demanded, for whatever cause—as cheerfully to one section as to another.
Lincoln reminds Southerners of his presidential oath and his duties as toward the Union:
You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect, and defend it."
This statement is part of his logical argument that the responsibility for a civil war, if there is one, will lie with the South:
In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war.
However, Lincoln uses a conciliatory tone and an appeal to emotion in the latter part of the speech, in which he specifically addresses Southerners who support secession or are undecided.
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
In his letter to James T. Hale, Lincoln also discusses secession of the Southern states from the Union. However, the tone and structure of his letter are significantly different from that of his inaugural speech. Compared to the careful language in his speech, Lincoln is more candid in his opinion. In his speech, Lincoln sets aside his opinions about Southerners because his aim is to keep the Union together. The letter makes it clear that Lincoln considers Southerners his political opponents.
In his letter to fellow-Republican Hale, Lincoln expresses his views about Southerners more directly. He says, "and they can never have a more shallow pretext for breaking up the government, or extorting a compromise, than now.” He also considers Southerners to be unreasonable and emphasizes the need not to succumb to their demands:
We have just carried an election on principles fairly stated to the people. Now we are told in advance, the government shall be broken up, unless we surrender to those we have beaten, before we take the offices. In this they are either attempting to play upon us, or they are in dead earnest. Either way, if we surrender, it is the end of us, and of the government.
Lincoln also tells Hale that Southerners are self-seeking and will continue to threaten the Union with more demands:
A year will not pass till we shall have to take Cuba as a condition upon which they will stay in the Union.
While Lincoln is more openly critical about Southerners in the letter to Hale, he doesn't resort to name-calling. Instead he maintains a tactful tone, but one that is less careful and calculating than that of his speech to the nation.
