The United States in the late 1850’s and early 1860’s was marked with political unrest and a nation divided on one specific topic: slavery. During this time, Congress passed several resolutions in an attempt to pacify both the North and the South. In his speech “A House Divided,” Lincoln refers specifically to the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, which would allow the residents of those states to decide whether they would be a free state or a slave state. This bill, like many others of its kind, ultimately failed. In 1861 the nation would see the consequences of divided politics in the form of a civil war. Politicians Abraham Lincoln and Alexander Stephens would both give speeches, “A House Divided” and “Corner Stone Speech,” respectively, that would address the problems of slavery and states’ rights. These pieces are unique because they mark the beginning of a period in which speeches are widely distributed as American literature.
Lincoln’s speech, delivered three years before the Civil War, was meant to target the American population, explaining that the North and the South must put their differences aside to preserve the nation.In “A House Divided,” he utilizes logos to appeal to the logic and rationality of his audience. For example, while Lincoln remarks that the nation must choose to either be entirely free or allow slavery everywhere, the logic in his argument indicates the entire nation cannot revert back to slavery and that it would be far simpler for the South to abandon slavery. Motivated to keep the nation united, he implores anyone who doubts the effectiveness of his policy to “carefully contemplate that now almost complete legal combination… compounded of the Nebraska Doctrine, and the Dred Scott decision” (732). The two contradictory documents showcase the unsuccessful attempts to implement two radically different policies across one nation. Continue reading Lincoln and Stephens: A Nation Divided