Question

read this quotation from lincoln, and then answer the question. what was lincoln saying about the government? a house divided against itself cannot stand. i believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. —abraham lincoln, 1858 it could not continue to be divided by slavery. it needed to make slavery legal in every state. it would never stop being divided by slavery.

Explanation:

Lincoln's quote "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free" implies that the nation couldn't remain divided over slavery. The first option "It could not continue to be divided by slavery" matches this meaning. The second option is incorrect as Lincoln was against expanding slavery, not making it legal everywhere. The third option is wrong because the quote emphasizes the impossibility of enduring division, not that it would never stop being divided (the focus is on the unsustainability of the divided state, not the idea that division would persist forever in a different sense).

Answer:

A. It could not continue to be divided by slavery