Course Hero. "House Divided Speech Study Guide." Course Hero. 24 June 2019. Web. 16 July 2019. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/House-Divided-Speech/>.
In text
(Course Hero)
APA
Bibliography
Course Hero. (2019, June 24). House Divided Speech Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved July 16, 2019, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/House-Divided-Speech/
In text
(Course Hero, 2019)
Chicago
Bibliography
Course Hero. "House Divided Speech Study Guide." June 24, 2019. Accessed July 16, 2019. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/House-Divided-Speech/.
Footnote
Course Hero, "House Divided Speech Study Guide," June 24, 2019, accessed July 16, 2019, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/House-Divided-Speech/.
Overview
Author
Abraham Lincoln
Year Delivered
1858
Type
Primary Source
Genre
History, Speech
At a Glance
In 1858, the Illinois Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) as its candidate for the U.S. Senate in a race against the incumbent, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas (1813–61).
In accepting the nomination, Lincoln delivered his historic "House Divided" Speech, named for a phrase he uses at the beginning to describe a country split over the issue of slavery.
Lincoln predicts that the country will eventually become all slave or all free.
In the speech, Lincoln charges Douglas and other Democrats with being part of a conspiracy to install slavery in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska as well as in the free states of the North.
Lincoln cites the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which was authored by Douglas, and the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision (1857) as key parts of this conspiracy.
Douglas won the election, but this speech and Lincoln's performance in a subsequent series of debates with Douglas helped propel him to national prominence. He became the Republican candidate for president in 1860—an election he won.
Summary
This study guide for Abraham Lincoln's House Divided Speech offers summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Explore Course Hero's library of literature materials, including documents and Q&A pairs.
Have study documents to share about House Divided Speech?