A phrase from a speech given by Abraham Lincoln during his acceptance of Republican nomination for United States Senator from Illinois in June 1858. He was referring to how a nation divided on slavery - half slave states and half free states - could not last.
congrats on reading the definition of A house divided against itself cannot stand. now let's actually learn it.
Kansas-Nebraska Act: An 1854 law that allowed settlers in new territories to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery. This led to violent conflict and further divided the nation on the issue of slavery.
Bleeding Kansas: A series of violent confrontations in Kansas from 1854 to 1861 between anti-slavery "Free-Staters" and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, further illustrating Lincoln's point about a house divided.
Dred Scott Decision: A controversial Supreme Court ruling in 1857 that stated slaves were property, not citizens, and could be taken into any territory and held there in slavery even if that territory prohibited slavery.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand" also found in: