1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey y'all, I'm Eves and welcome to this 3 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:09,159 Speaker 1: stand History Class, a podcast that brings you a new 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:21,919 Speaker 1: tibet of history every day. Today is June. The day 5 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: was June eighty eight, lawyer and politician Abraham Lincoln began 6 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 1: his campaign for Illinois Senator was a speech now known 7 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: as the House Divided Speech. The Kansas Nebraska Act, passed 8 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: by US Congress in eighteen fifty four, effectively ended the 9 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: Missouri Compromise and let each territory decide whether they would 10 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: allow slavery on the basis of popular sovereignty. Senator Stephen A. 11 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: Douglas of Illinois drafted the Act, which ignited tensions and 12 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 1: violence over slavery. The Act split the Whig Party, since 13 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: all Northern Whigs had opposed the bill. In most Southern Whigs, 14 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: some Northern Democrats supported it. Most Southern Whigs went to 15 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: the Democratic Party, and the withdrawal of Northern Whigs led 16 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 1: to the formation of the Republican Party. When the Kansas 17 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: Nebraska Act was passed, Abraham Lincoln was working as a 18 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: lawyer and had previously been a member of the U 19 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: s House of Representatives. Lincoln was opposed to the Kansas 20 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: Nebraska Act, as he made clear in his Prioria speech 21 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: in October of eighteen fifty four. In it, he criticized 22 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: popular sovereignty and slavery. He said that the Act had 23 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:35,919 Speaker 1: a quote declared indifference, but a quote covert real zeal 24 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: for the spread of slavery. He said that he hated 25 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: this indifference quote because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. 26 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: I hate it because it deprives our republican example of 27 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: its just influence in the world. Lincoln opposed the expansion 28 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: of slavery, but he was not an abolitionist. He opposed 29 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: slavery on moral, legal, and economic grounds. So early on 30 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: he wasn't interested in joining the anti slavery Republican Party, 31 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: but in eighteen fifty six Lincoln joined the party. He 32 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: continued to oppose the expansion of slavery as an institution 33 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: that was at odds with the Declaration of Independence and 34 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: the idea that all men are created equal. When Stephen 35 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:19,919 Speaker 1: Douglas was up for reelection in the U. S. Senate 36 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty eight, the Republican Party nominated Lincoln to 37 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,959 Speaker 1: run against him. Lincoln began his campaign with a speech 38 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: in Springfield, Illinois, on June six. He said the following 39 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 1: in the speech, A house divided against itself cannot stand. 40 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and 41 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved. 42 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: I do not expect the house to fall. But I 43 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 1: do expect it will cease to be divided. It will 44 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: become all one thing or all the other. Lincoln went 45 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 1: on to say that people who opposed slavery would keep 46 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: it from spreading further, or people who supported slavery would 47 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: push it forward until it became law in all the states. 48 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: While Douglas believed that using popular sovereignty to decide on 49 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: slavery would prevent conflict, Lincoln believed that the eighteen fifty 50 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: seven Supreme Court decision and dread Scott versus Stanford guaranteed 51 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: the expansion of slavery. The speech gave Douglas a lot 52 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,519 Speaker 1: of fuel for his campaign. People feared that Lincoln was 53 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: prophesying a civil war. Lincoln and Douglas went on to 54 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: engage in a series of debates that were widely covered 55 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,239 Speaker 1: by the press and slavery was a major point of 56 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: discussion in these debates, but senators were elected by vote 57 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: of the state legislature, and the legislators chose to re 58 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: elect Douglas. Regardless, Lincoln got a lot of national attention 59 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: during his run. He won the Republican presidential nomination and 60 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: was elected president in November of eighteen sixty. The next month, 61 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: South Carolina became the first state to declare its secession 62 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: from the Union. I'm Eve Jeff Coote and hopefully you 63 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 64 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: And if you have any comments our suggestions, you can 65 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: send them to us via email where at this day 66 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:09,880 Speaker 1: at i heeart Media dot com. You can also hit 67 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: us up on social media where at t d h 68 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,280 Speaker 1: C podcast. Thanks so much for listening to the show 69 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:30,479 Speaker 1: and we'll see you tomorrow. For more podcasts from My 70 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 71 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.