Lincoln argues that permitting a state to leave the Union whenever it rejects a lawful national decision would undermine the basis of constitutional government. In his view, secession replaces agreed political procedures with unilateral action, allowing one part of a country to withdraw from obligations accepted by the whole.

He connects this principle with anarchy because it offers no stable end point. If a minority may leave whenever it loses a political dispute, smaller minorities could claim the same right within the departing state. Government would then become increasingly fragmented, with no durable authority for resolving disagreement or enforcing collective decisions.

The statement does not mean that majority rule is unlimited. Lincoln also recognised constitutional restraints and minority rights. His argument is that disputes should be settled through elections, law and constitutional amendment rather than by dissolving the political system itself. The quote therefore presents secession as a threat to ordered self-government.