June 16, 1858 – Lincoln Delivers His “House Divided” Speech

On this day in history, delegates met in Springfield, Illinois for the Republican State Convention. They chose Abraham Lincoln as their candidate for the U.S. Senate, to run against the Democrat Stephen A. Douglas. That same night, at 8 p.m., Lincoln delivered an address to his colleagues.

Abraham Lincoln in Urbana, Illinois, April 25, 1858 by Samuel G. Alschuler

His theme was “a house divided against itself cannot stand,” a phrase from the Gospels familiar to Lincoln’s audience. [“Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.’” Matthew 12:22-28, Luke 11:17–22 and also Mark 3:23–27, New King James Version (NKJV)]

Lincoln’s friends considered the speech as too radical for the occasion and advised Lincoln against delivering it. But Lincoln reportedly told his law partner, William H. Herndon:

The proposition is indisputably true … and I will deliver it as written. I want to use some universally known figure, expressed in simple language as universally known, that it may strike home to the minds of men in order to rouse them to the peril of the times. I would rather be defeated with this expression in the speech and it held up and discussed before the people than to be victorious without it.” (as recalled by Herndon and reported in multiple sources including Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln, Don and Virginia Fehrenbacher, eds.)

Herndon later reflected, “Through logic inductively seen,” he said, “Lincoln as a statesman, and political philosopher, announced an eternal truth — not only as broad as America, but covers the world.”

Lincoln began the speech stating the proposition at the outset:

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention.

If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.

We are now far into the fifth year, since a policy was initiated, with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation.

Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only, not ceased, but has constantly augmented.

In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed.

“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.

You can read the entirety of the speech here.

Lincoln and Douglas