What was the name of the speech given by Abraham Lincoln when accepting the Republican nomination for the Illinois senate seat, emphasizing the division between slave and free states?

The speech given by Abraham Lincoln when accepting the Republican nomination for the Illinois senate seat is known as the House Divided Speech. In this address, delivered on June 16, 1858, Lincoln famously stated that "A house divided against itself cannot stand," which symbolized the deepening division in the United States over the issue of slavery. Lincoln was highlighting the fundamental conflict between free and slave states, asserting that the country could not endure permanently half slave and half free. This speech was significant not only for its immediate political context but also because it laid the groundwork for Lincoln’s later actions regarding slavery and the preservation of the Union during the Civil War.

The other speeches listed have different contexts and purposes: the Emancipation Speech focuses on the abolition of slavery, the Gettysburg Address commemorates a specific battle and emphasizes national unity, and the Second Inaugural Address reflects on the Civil War and the process of healing the nation. Each of these addresses serves a unique role in American history, but the House Divided Speech is specifically tied to Lincoln's battle against the spread of slavery and his political rise in the late 1850s.