Lincoln had one main operating principle that he stated in his address. Lincoln's main operating principle was to preserve the Union. Lincoln did not want the South to separate because it would only rise tensions between the two sides of the United States. Without completely separating the North and South, Lincoln cautiously address the nation as a whole, rather than splitting the two. Moreover, Lincoln explained in the Constitution that the South would not be able to separate completely. Therefore, Lincoln stated that the Union was not broken and still working as a whole nation.
