He didn't say that in a debate, but in the Gettysburg Address. It is probably one of the greatest speeches any president has given.
Abraham Lincoln
The quote "a house divided against itself cannot stand," attributed to Abraham Lincoln, means that a group or organization cannot endure if it is internally conflicted or divided. It emphasizes the importance of unity and cooperation for stability and strength. In a broader context, it suggests that societal divisions can lead to downfall or failure, underscoring the need for solidarity in pursuit of common goals.
Abraham Lincoln's 1858 warning that "a house divided against itself cannot stand" referred to the deepening sectional differences in the United States, particularly over the issues of slavery and its expansion into new territories. He argued that the nation could not endure permanently half slave and half free; it would eventually have to become all one thing or all the other. This statement highlighted the growing tensions between the Northern states, which were increasingly anti-slavery, and the Southern states, which defended the institution of slavery.
He was making a reference to the 12 states that left the union. Hence "a house divided" and he meant that if it stayed that way the nation couldn't stay a nation.
Lincoln did not believe in slavery, and when he was elected president in 1860, 7 states had left the Union. This was the beginning of the division of the United States. So one event was his election. The start of the Civil War in 1861 is another. This almost officially divided the USA into two teams or sides.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln President said a house divided against itself cannot stand.
During the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858, Lincoln used the "House divided against itself" statement as a reference to the issue of slavery. Lincoln was saying in effect that as long as the nation was fighting over the slavery issue, it would cause great harm to itself.
The original quote is from the Gospel of St. Mark: "If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand." It was borrowed by Abraham Lincoln.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand"
Abraham Lincoln was debating Stephen Douglas who was a great orator and known for his ability to compromise. Lincoln was trying to say that sometimes you can't compromise. His words were, "A house divided against itself can not stand." The public wasn't ready to listen to Lincoln and Douglas won the debates.
Abraham Lincoln
One of Abraham Lincoln's most famous speeches is his second inaugural address. Another was, of course, the Gettysburg Address. An earlier speech of note is his House Divided against itself cannot stand.
Abraham Lincoln was able to unite a nation that was deeply divided when he took over.
When Abraham Lincoln said that a house divided against itself could not stand, he was referring to the issue of slavery. He did not believe the US government could endure operating with one half allowing slavery and the other not.
No. But Lincoln gained national notice from their debates, and in those debates got Douglas staked out to positions regarding slavery that helped Douglas win the Senate seat in 1858, but helped Lincoln win the presidency in 1860, when he again ran against Douglas. So Lincoln lost the battle, but won the war. Lincoln's "House Divided" speech from the 1858 debates is a classic of American history. Lincoln did not have speech writers either. He spoke from the heart, and very eloquently. We haven't had politicians with the guts to do that, or, for that matter, who HAVE principles they believe in that much (beyond "vote for me!"), in a very long, sad time.
No, he wasn't, ha didn't even want to fight, he didn't think about black freedom, but the nation was divided, as he said a nation divided against itself, cannot satnd