Well, obviously slavery is a major theme in this speech—it's basically the entire point of the speech. Slavery is, after all, why the "house" is "divided." The way Lincoln talks about it, though, is mostly quite calm and pragmatic, compared to speakers like Frederick Douglass.
Lincoln spends most of his speech explaining the current situation of slavery and the slavery debate in the U.S., and why the North is in danger of having to accept the institution in their midst. Despite the logical nature of his description, the future president is clearly giving slavery a big ol' thumbs down.
Questions About Slavery
- Why does Lincoln present the recent history of the slavery debate the way that he does? What is he trying to accomplish?
- Whose policy on slavery does Lincoln particularly call out in his speech, and why?
- Looking at the history of the 1850s leading up to the "House Divided" speech, is Lincoln's characterization of the situation of slavery in America accurate?
- What is it about recent developments in the slavery debate that makes Lincoln and others worry about the spread of slavery to the North? How has the situation evolved in antebellum period?
Chew on This
Lincoln stays away from emotional statements on slavery and morality, probably because he didn't know how that would fly with his audience.
It's interesting how both this speech and the outbreak of the Civil War are related to the question of states' rights to make decisions about slavery, coming from opposite sides of the conflict.