Answer
- Tensions between the North and South over slavery
The speech was made before the Civil War, which began in 1861; it captures the rising tension over slavery between the North and the South. Choices A and D are incorrect because Lincoln is not talking about an actual house. Instead, he is talking about a nation divided over slavery by using the metaphor of a house. Choice C is incorrect because the speech was given in 1858, before the secession of South Carolina and the dissolution of the Union in 1861.
Read the following passage and answer the question below.
Excerpt from Abraham Lincoln’s “House Divided” Speech
“A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, had 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. 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 lawful in all the States, old as well as new – North as well as South.”
When President Lincoln used the phrase “a house divided,” what was he most likely referring to?
- Political conflicts in the White House
- Tensions between North and South over slavery
- Dissolution of the Union
- Ideological differences in his family
GED Test Online Prep Course
If you want to be fully prepared, Mometrix offers an online GED prep course designed to give you everything you need to succeed!
Here’s what you’ll find in the GED course:
Everyone learns differently, so we’ve tailored the GED online prep course to ensure every learner has what they need to prepare for the GED exam.
Click below to check it out!
