Who first said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand”?
Abraham Lincoln
Benjamin Franklin
Franklin Roosevelt
John Kennedy
In 1858, Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous “house divided” speech in Springfield, Illinois. In the speech, Lincoln eloquently paraphrased a passage from the New Testament: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Lincoln gave the speech while accepting the Illinois Republican Party’s nomination to run as that state’s U.S. senator against Stephen A. Douglas. Focusing on the peril posed by slavery, Lincoln warned of the dangers of disunion. Lincoln lost the close Senate race of 1858, but his speech garnered national attention and ultimately paved the way for his election to the presidency in 1860.
The correct answer is Abraham Lincoln.