Abraham Lincoln — Caralayah Brown “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 alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new – North as well as South.” — June 16, 1858. Republican State Convention. Acceptance speech when chosen as candidate for U.S. Senate. This speech was a perfect example of Lincoln’s political outlook: if the country was divided on such a major issue as slavery, they...