Read the excerpt:

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



Why was the idea expressed by Abraham Lincoln in this speech significant?

A.
People at that time were still trying to compromise on the issue of slavery.
B.
It was the first time Abraham Lincoln spoke about slavery.
C.
The speech began Abraham Lincoln's run for the presidency.
D.
It was the first time someone expressed the idea that the Union could dissolve.