During the antebellum and Civil War periods, social contract theory was used by all sides. Slaveholders used it to support states' rights and succession, Whig party moderates upheld the social contract as a symbol of continuity in government, and abolitionists found support in Locke's theories of natural rights.
Answer: During the antebellum and Civil War periods, social contract theory was used by all sides. Slaveholders used it to support states' rights and succession, Whig party moderates upheld the social contract as a symbol of continuity in government, and abolitionists found support in Locke's theories of natural rights.
