“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.”
- February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865
- American
- Politician, lawyer
- As the 16th President of the United States, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation and led the Civil War to maintain the unity of the nation.
Quote
“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.”
Explanation
In this quote, Abraham Lincoln is articulating his belief that the division within the United States, particularly over the issue of slavery, cannot continue indefinitely. He uses the metaphor of a divided house, suggesting that the Union, like a house, cannot remain in a state of conflict without eventually collapsing or being resolved. Lincoln emphasizes that while he does not anticipate the dissolution of the Union—meaning the secession of the Southern states—he does expect that the country will eventually have to make a clear choice between two paths: one where slavery continues, or one where it is abolished. This statement reflects Lincoln’s growing conviction that the nation could not continue to exist half slave and half free without either collapsing or undergoing a fundamental transformation.
Historically, this quote was made during a time of intense political polarization in the United States, leading up to the Civil War. Lincoln was responding to the deepening divide between the North and South, where the Southern states were increasingly asserting their right to maintain slavery, while the Northern states were moving toward its abolition. Lincoln’s belief was that the nation could not long endure in its current, divided state, and that the issue of slavery would have to be resolved one way or another. This was part of the broader debate over the nature of the Union, with Lincoln’s position being that the Union must be preserved and that the country must eventually come to terms with the moral and political question of slavery, as reflected in his Gettysburg Address and later, in his efforts to pass the 13th Amendment.
In modern times, this quote resonates in discussions of national unity and the incompatibility of deeply divided political or moral systems. It serves as a reminder that division over fundamental issues—whether racial, ideological, or economic—can only be sustained for so long before it forces a nation to confront its contradictions. This can be applied to contemporary struggles over issues like racial equality, immigration, and social justice, where societies are forced to decide whether they will continue to tolerate divisions or work toward reconciliation and a unified vision for the future. Lincoln’s words speak to the necessity of resolving deep divisions for the health and longevity of any democratic society, highlighting the inevitability of transformation in the face of irreconcilable differences.
