As a historian specializing in American political history, I can provide you with an overview of the "House Divided" speech.

The "House Divided" speech is one of the most famous addresses by Abraham Lincoln, delivered on June 16, 1858, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. The speech is particularly noted for its opening line, which has become one of the most quoted phrases in American political history: "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Lincoln used this metaphor to illustrate the growing rift between the Northern and Southern states over the issue of slavery.

Lincoln's speech was part of his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois, which he was running against the incumbent Senator Stephen A. Douglas. The central theme of the speech was the assertion that the United States could not continue to exist permanently as a nation half-slave and half-free. He argued that the founding fathers had intended for slavery to be abolished, and that any attempt to spread it further was a direct violation of their vision.

The speech was significant because it set the tone for the national debate on slavery that would lead to the Civil War. It also marked Lincoln's emergence as a leading figure in the Republican Party and a candidate for the presidency, which he would eventually win in 1860.

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The House Divided Speech was an address given by Abraham Lincoln, later President of the United States, 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. ... A house divided against itself cannot stand.read more >>