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Why did Abraham Lincoln give a House Divided speech?
Why did Abraham Lincoln say a house divided against itself cannot stand?
Who gave the House Divided speech?
What does the Bible say about a house divided against itself?
Summary. Abraham Lincoln delivered the “House Divided” speech in Springfield, Illinois, on June 16, 1858 after the Republican State Convention nominated him to run for the Illinois...
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- HISTORY Vault: Abraham Lincoln
At a time when many white politicians wanted to compromise on slavery, Abraham Lincoln said that wasn't possible.
When Abraham Lincoln said “a house divided against itself cannot stand,” he wasn’t talking about the kind of political divisions common today. Americans may differ sharply on issues like immigration and abortion, but there is no single issue that geographically and economically divides the country in the same way that slavery did in the 1850s. Back then, the U.S. was so divided that many feared it would break out in civil war—a fear that Lincoln unwittingly stoked.
Lincoln’s now-famous “house divided” line, which is drawn from the Bible, was actually part of a campaign speech he delivered at the 1858 Illinois Republican State Convention. Lincoln, then a relatively unknown politician, had just won the nomination to run for U.S. Senate against one of the most important politicians in the country, Stephen A. Douglas.
Stephen A. Douglas
In general, Democrats then were the party of the slave-holding south and Republicans were the party of the free north that opposed slavery’s expansion. Yet Republicans weren’t too concerned about Lincoln’s race because they thought Senator Douglas, a Democrat, might be open to working with them against expanding slavery.
“Douglas had been seeking a middle ground between North and South, some way of comprising on the slavery issue,” says Eric Foner, a history professor at Columbia University who has written several books about slavery and the Civil War.
A definitive biography of the 16th U.S. president, the man who led the country during its bloodiest war and greatest crisis.
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- Becky Little
Summary: “A House Divided” Speech This guide relies upon Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832-1858 , published by The Library of America in 1989. Content Warning : The source material and this guide reference the enslavement of Black Americans and the associated racism and prejudice.
The House Divided Speech was an address given by senatorial candidate and future president of the United States Abraham Lincoln, on June 16, 1858, at what was then the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, after he had accepted the Illinois Republican Party 's nomination as that state's US senator. The nomination of Lincoln was the final item ...
Abraham Lincoln's House Divided Speech Plot Summary. Learn more about House Divided Speech with a detailed plot summary and plot diagram.
Abraham Lincoln gave his now iconic "House Divided" speech upon receiving the Illinois Republican Party's nomination for a seat in the United States Senate in 1858. In the race that ensued, Lincoln would face off against Democrat Stephen Douglas in a series of highly publicized debates about national issues, most importantly the institution of ...
The U.S. is going to have to decide to allow slavery everywhere, or nowhere—and the way things have been going, there's a real chance it'll be slavery everywhere. A free, easy-to-understand summary of House Divided Speech that covers all of the key plot points in the document.
