IntheinauguraladdressIbrieflypointedoutthetotalinadequacyofdisunionasaremedyforthedifferencesbetweenthepeopleofthetwosections。IdidsoinlanguagewhichIcannotimprove，andwhich，therefore，Ibegtorepeat：
\"Onesectionofourcountrybelievesslaveryisrightandoughttobeextended，whiletheotherbelievesitiswrongandoughtnottobeextended。Thisistheonlysubstantialdispute。Thefugitive—slaveclauseoftheConstitutionandthelawsforthesuppressionoftheforeignslavetradeareeachaswellenforced，perhaps，asanylawcaneverbeinacommunitywherethemoralSenseofthepeopleimperfectlysupportsthelawitself。Thegreatbodyofthepeopleabidebythedrylegalobligationinbothcases，andafewbreakoverineach。This，Ithink，cannotbeperfectlycured，anditwouldbeworseinbothcasesaftertheseparationofthesectionsthanbefore。
Theforeignslavetrade，nowimperfectlysuppressed，wouldbeultimatelyrevivedwithoutrestrictioninonesection，whilefugitiveslaves，nowonlypartiallysurrendered，wouldnotbesurrenderedatallbytheother。
\"Physicallyspeaking，wecannotseparate。Wecannotremoveourrespectivesectionsfromeachothernorbuildanimpassablewallbetweenthem。Ahusbandandwifemaybedivorcedandgooutofthepresenceandbeyondthereachofeachother，butthedifferentpartsofourcountrycannotdothis。Theycannotbutremainfacetoface，andintercourse，eitheramicableorhostile，mustcontinuebetweenthem。Isitpossible，then，tomakethatintercoursemoreadvantageousormoresatisfactoryafterseparationthanbefore？Canaliensmaketreatieseasierthanfriendscanmakelaws？Cantreatiesbemorefaithfullyenforcedbetweenaliensthanlawscanamongfriends？Supposeyougotowar，youcannotfightalways；andwhen，aftermuchlossonbothsidesandnogainoneither，youceasefighting，theidenticaloldquestions，astotermsofintercourse，areagainuponyou。\"
Thereisnoline，straightorcrooked，suitableforanationalboundaryuponwhichtodivide。Tracethrough，fromeasttowest，uponthelinebetweenthefreeandslavecountry，andweshallfindalittlemorethanonethirdofitslengtharerivers，easytobecrossed，andpopulated，orsoontobepopulated，thicklyuponbothsides；whilenearlyallitsremaininglengtharemerelysurveyors’