the south had slavery and the north had ended slavery.
The Answer:
You’re gonna have to give a picture mate.
The Founding Fathers created the U.S. government to have numerous checks and balances as well as a VERY limited central (federal) government. They did this to prevent a relapse of the tyranny (hence “absolute power”) they dealt with under the British Empire. The American colonies were essentially meant to serve the mother nation (Britain), but the colonists braved the journey to America to establish a new, freer nation with religious freedom as its top priority.
To prove this quote is still relevant today, it’s not unknown that when humans acquire power, it’s very easy for them to abuse that power. Examples of this would be the oligarchies we see in Russia and China with a very small amount of people in power living in a lap of luxury while everyone else lives a subpar life.
The correct answer to this open question is the following.
I agree with Lincoln's view of the proper role of government in that the government should be of service to all the citizens. That is why in a modern democracy such as the one in the United States, it is the citizens the ones who have the right to vote and elect their President and their representatives. Then, these representatives have to create the laws and legislation that protects and benefits the citizens, never to benefit the particular agendas of powerful interest groups.
The citizens have to respect and obey laws and support the government's decisions if the government is doing a good job to promote the economy and the creation of jobs.