Eloquent Boldness Should slavery be allowed in the United States? This question divided our nation into two separate entities in the late 1800’s and laid the foundation for an ethically compelling speech. On June 16,1858, Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, spoke out to over 1,000 Republican delegates in the Springfield, Illinois, state house for the Republican State Convention. At this gathering, Lincoln delivered an extremely courageous, “A House Divided,” speech. In this eloquent yet bold speech Lincoln uses evidence that appeals to emotion, evidence revealing credibility and evidence that appeals to reason in hopes of enc