Final answer:
Yes, I agree with Lincoln that the nation could not endure half slave and half free as this fundamental division led to the Civil War which resolved the issue by abolishing slavery and reaffirming the Union.
Step-by-step explanation:
I do agree with Abraham Lincoln's view that the country could not endure permanently half slave and half free. Lincoln's famous "A house divided against itself cannot stand" quote captures the intrinsic problem that a divided nation faces. During the time leading up to the Civil War, the United States was fractured with the Northern states generally opposing slavery and the Southern states supporting it. This division led to a profound national conflict about the moral, economic, and political ramifications of slavery, which ultimately resulted in the Civil War.The Dred Scott decision and the Kansas-Nebraska Act were seen by Lincoln and many others as steps toward the nationalization of slavery, which intensified sectional tensions. The conflict over whether the nation would continue to have a mixture of slave and free states or move toward one uniform policy regarding slavery was at the heart of the pre-war tensions. Lincoln believed that the extension and ultimate perpetuation of slavery were inimical to freedom and the principles upon which the nation was founded.In conclusion, history has shown that Lincoln's concerns were valid. The Civil War demonstrated that a nation half slave and half free was unsustainable, leading to a bloody conflict whose resolution ultimately resulted in the abolition of slavery and the reaffirmation of the Union.