Step 1: Study these excerpts from speeches given by Lincoln and Douglas: 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.

—Abraham Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858
You can also view the entire speech, from the National Park Service.

I believe that the Union can only be preserved by maintaining inviolate the Constitution of the United States as our fathers have made it. That Constitution guarantees to the people of every State the right to have slavery or not have it…each State being left free to decide for itself. The framers of that Constitution…well understood that each one of the thirteen States had distinct and separate interests, and required distinct and separate local laws and local institutions.

—Stephen A. Douglas, Springfield, Illinois, June 17, 1858
You can also view the entire speech, from Bartleby. com.

Step 2: Respond to Questions.
Analyze the excerpt from Lincoln’s speech by answering the following questions in one paragraph:

What is Lincoln’s point of view regarding the future of the country?
Which statement from the excerpt shows his point of view?
Explain how the selected quote shows Lincoln’s point of view.
What is an historical idea or event that supports Lincoln’s point of view?

Analyze the excerpt from Douglas’s speech by answering the following questions in one paragraph:

What is Douglas’s point of view regarding the Constitution?
Which statement from the excerpt shows his point of view?
Explain how the selected quote shows Douglas’s point of view.
What is an historical idea or event that supports Douglas’s point of view?