Crisis of the House Divided

Lincoln famously said that a "House divided against itself cannot stand." This statement provides the inspiration for the title, "Crisis of the House Divided", by Harry V. Jaffa. The book explores the Lincoln - Douglas debates not merely in the context of North/South, but also within the context of the fundamental meaning of liberty.

Harry V. Jaffa notes that "the issue between Douglas and Lincoln was in substance, and very nearly in form, identical with the issue between Socrates and Thrasymachus...Lincoln held that democracy depended on a standard of right and wrong independent of mere opinion." While Douglas believed in popular sovereignty. Pointing this out, Jaffa would come to the attention of ideologues, especially conservatives who believed in the defense of minority rights based on human equality and natural rights.

Lincoln's idea of equality was not one that leveled all people to the lowest common denominator, but one of opportunity that allowed all Americans to take advantage of the opportunities available. The same ideology that called for freeing the slave would also call for the defense of liberty in the face of liberal activism. Liberal activism was (and is) an activism out to destroy an individual's right to the benefits of his own labor in the name of the state and a rather Gallic notion egalitarianism.

"Crisis of the House Divided" ultimately sharpened the ideological line between right and left and helped conservatives to understand that the right side of the line was the right place to be.