1858 The "House Divided" Speech

"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. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become lawful in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as South."

-- Abraham Lincoln, House Divided speech (June 16, 1858)

In the furor following the Dred Scott decision, Lincoln threw his hat back in the political ring with this speech, running for the Senate against Stephen Douglas. You could say that Lincoln lost the battle but won the war, losing in his bid for the Senate seat but winning the White House two years later.

I thought, for kicks, that I would also include the original speech from Jesus.

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The Natural World

Photo by Patrick Neumann

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