Abraham Lincoln's "House Divided" speech was directed towards the congressmen and President of the time, and its purpose was to show how America was hurting itself by continuing to fight over slavery.
As his speech initiated, Lincoln alluded to the Bible, a source that most people are very familiar with which provided logos for his argument: "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Because there were such opposing stands on slavery and it was causing a divide within the country, the people of America would have to choose a side in order to run their nation effectively. With this comes the either/ or concern: “Either the opponents of slavery, will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new North as well as South.” He purposes an ultimatum, that either the country as a whole advocates the institution of slavery and wishes to distributed it among the nation, or that they are unanimously against slavery and wish to abolish it in all areas of the country; he does not give the audience a choice to be in the middle on the topic as he urges them to come to a mindful conclusion rather than a hasty generalization.
Lincoln uses the decision of the Dred Scott case, the provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and how slavery began to strengthen his argument. He uses the Constitution to prove how these things should not have happened in the first place and questions why such decisions were made when, in retrospect, they were not following what the Constitution represented. As his speech continues, Lincoln proposes that he and the citizens of the United States must ensure that states are liberating themselves from slavery. He infers that those who campaign against abolition, such as Judge Douglas had, do not care about what it best for the people and the country, but rather the advancement of their own personal endeavors. Also, Lincoln brings up that fact that Douglas is very busy and it is not insured that he will work out the matter of slavery with him. Because of this. Lincoln is able to advance his placement in the campaign by pinpointing Douglas’s flaw and promising to work with the people by being a representative of the nation rather than advertising only his views on slavery. Altogether, Lincoln implies that he will be a rational leader that is open-minded to change and that will unite the nation under his term, as he continually says “we” throughout his speech rather than “you” (the audience), inferring that he will play an active role in reforming the nation.
As his speech initiated, Lincoln alluded to the Bible, a source that most people are very familiar with which provided logos for his argument: "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Because there were such opposing stands on slavery and it was causing a divide within the country, the people of America would have to choose a side in order to run their nation effectively. With this comes the either/ or concern: “Either the opponents of slavery, will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new North as well as South.” He purposes an ultimatum, that either the country as a whole advocates the institution of slavery and wishes to distributed it among the nation, or that they are unanimously against slavery and wish to abolish it in all areas of the country; he does not give the audience a choice to be in the middle on the topic as he urges them to come to a mindful conclusion rather than a hasty generalization.
Lincoln uses the decision of the Dred Scott case, the provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and how slavery began to strengthen his argument. He uses the Constitution to prove how these things should not have happened in the first place and questions why such decisions were made when, in retrospect, they were not following what the Constitution represented. As his speech continues, Lincoln proposes that he and the citizens of the United States must ensure that states are liberating themselves from slavery. He infers that those who campaign against abolition, such as Judge Douglas had, do not care about what it best for the people and the country, but rather the advancement of their own personal endeavors. Also, Lincoln brings up that fact that Douglas is very busy and it is not insured that he will work out the matter of slavery with him. Because of this. Lincoln is able to advance his placement in the campaign by pinpointing Douglas’s flaw and promising to work with the people by being a representative of the nation rather than advertising only his views on slavery. Altogether, Lincoln implies that he will be a rational leader that is open-minded to change and that will unite the nation under his term, as he continually says “we” throughout his speech rather than “you” (the audience), inferring that he will play an active role in reforming the nation.