Explain, in your own words, what lincoln meant when he said: "a house divided against itself 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."

What he is saying is that if all of the states dont work together as a union in a sense that they wont be strong enough to fight off other countries and things like that. It may not fall altogether but it will be divided and will not be strong, and with that it is going to be one or the other, there is no in between. I hope this helps you :)