Final answer:
The rhetorical device used by Abraham Lincoln in the statement “A house divided against itself cannot stand” is an analogy. He compares the divided nation on the issue of slavery to a structurally unsound house, emphasizing the unsustainable nature of such division.
Step-by-step explanation:
The rhetorical device used in the quote “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” by Abraham Lincoln is an analogy. Lincoln compares a nation divided by slavery to a house that is divided, suggesting that just as a divided house cannot stand, a nation divided into slave states and free states cannot endure. This analogy is powerful in its simplicity and evokes a clear image of instability and eventual collapse, which Lincoln predicts for a nation split over the contentious issue of slavery.
Lincoln's speech was delivered during the Illinois Senate race against Stephen Douglas in 1858, amidst rising tensions between the North and South over slavery. His words underscore the severe sectional divide and the potential for conflict, hinting at the possibility of civil war, which indeed erupted a few years later. This statement reflects Lincoln's belief that the country must ultimately embrace either freedom or slavery, but it cannot continue half slave and half free.