Question

adapted from lincoln the great by william w. mcclellan. when the young daniel webster observed george washingtons death in 1799 as the loss of the nations great political cement, he was moved to add the following haunting image: already see, in my imagination, the time when the banner of civil war shall be unfurled, and when americans shall be made to flow at each other by american brethren. for anyone who lived through the sectional politics of the 1850s, such foreboding thoughts did not seem out of place. similar premonitions ran through the signal events of early american political history. lincoln firmly took his stand in defense of the transcendent ideal of the union as the sine qua non for the success of the american experiment in republican government. indeed, as the conflict wore on, he spoke more and more frequently not just of the union but of the nation. when he did speak of the union, he presented it not as a means to an end but as an end in itself, something worthy of sacrifice in its own right. lincoln well understood that the future of constitutional liberty and the most worthy social reforms depended in a fundamental way upon a strong and cohesive nation. select the correct answer. which is the best inference about lincolns interpretation of his primary presidential duty? a. to preserve the countrys founding principle of a nation of states b. to follow washingtons directive to be political cement for the nation c. to sacrifice constitutional liberty for the good of the nation d. to create a new form of republican government for the union states

Explanation:

Lincoln believed in the transcendence of the Union and its importance for the success of American republican government. He saw the Union as an end in itself, worthy of sacrifice. Preserving the nation as a cohesive whole was crucial for the fulfillment of constitutional liberty and social reforms. Option A aligns with his view of maintaining the nation - a nation of states working together as a single entity.

Answer:

A. to preserve the country's founding principle of a nation of states