On this day in 1858, US Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln addressed the Illinois Republican Convention in Springfield.
As you remember from your US history class, the country was bitterly divided and there was talk of secession and even a war between the states. The primary issue was slavery but it was more complex than that.
Lincoln looked at the audience and said this:
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
It became one of his most profound messages and speeches. Two years later, he was elected president and the Civil War followed.
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