Question

Step 1: Study this excerpt from the speech given by Lincoln.

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.

—Abraham Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858

Step 2: Respond to questions.

Analyze the excerpt from Lincoln’s speech by answering the following questions in one paragraph:

What is Lincoln’s point of view regarding the future of the country?
Which statement from the excerpt shows his point of view?
Explain how the selected quote shows Lincoln’s point of view.
What is an historical idea or event that supports Lincoln’s point of view?

Answer 1

What is Lincoln’s point of view regarding the future of the country?
Lincoln views the future of the country as a country undivided and free from slavery.

Which statement from the excerpt shows his point of view?
I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free.

Explain how the selected quote shows Lincoln’s point of view.
He predicts that the only way the country will 'endure' or survive is that everyone is free and there are no two opposing sides.

What is a historical idea or event that supports Lincoln’s point of view?
When the 13th Amendment of the Constitution was ratified, slavery was abolished and has stayed that way. Now, America still survives.