"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided." — Abraham Lincoln, House Divided Speech, June 1858
Lincoln's central claim in this speech was that:
- Acheck_circle
The slavery question would ultimately be resolved by becoming uniform across the nation
- B
The federal government should immediately abolish slavery in the South
- C
Secession was a legitimate constitutional remedy for sectional disputes
- D
Popular sovereignty would peacefully settle the territorial slavery question
Explanation
Lincoln argued the nation could not indefinitely sustain its sectional division; slavery would either be put on the path to extinction or extended nationwide—a direct attack on Douglas's popular sovereignty.