On this day in 1858, Abraham Lincoln, the newly-minted Republican candidate for the United States Senate, addressed the Illinois Republican convention in Springfield. His remarks included some of his more well-known words:
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other."
Although he lost the Senate seat to Stephen Douglas, he would become President of the United States only two years later, presiding over a house divided during most of his time in office. Today we honor Lincoln with the Illinois state flag.
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