What does 'A house divided against itself cannot stand' mean?

[Boats]

What does 'A house divided against itself cannot stand' mean?
RE: http://www.answers.com/Q/What_does_&...tand'_mean

(An abbreviated version of Lincoln's address)


"A house divided against itself cannot stand." 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. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new, North as well as South.

What Lincoln means is that slavery will inevitably be abolished spread through out the entire United States.


The source of the quote is the Bible, in Mark 3:25, which says, "And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand."

The quote occurs in Lincoln's "House Divided" speech during the Lincoln Douglas debates.

[Boats]

Why is the house of congress divided into standing committees?
RE: http://www.answers.com/Q/Why_is_the_...ing_committees

Short answer -

It would be impossible for congress to write bills, debate them and pass them if the whole process had to be undertaken one bill at a time. Hence standing committees are formed made up of a workable number of members, and each committee works on the bills that fall into its category and then presents a recommended bill to the full house. This is done in either the House or the Senate, and then the bill is sent to the other house. If the bill is amended, a conference committee smooths out the differences and presents a bill that both houses are willing to pass. Many committees are working simultaneously on different bills to save time for the full house.

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or;

A. One of the houses is the senate which allows each senate to be represented.
B. The other one is house of representatives that used population to gain voice.

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Two Houses of Congress - by Phyllis Naegeli
RE: http://www.edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension_34_28.html

1 When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they envisioned that the Legislative Branch would be the foundation of the government. There was a great deal of discussion and arguing over its structure. Eventually, the Great Compromise was reached dividing Congress into two houses - the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate was created to satisfy the demands of the smaller states for equal representation among the states. The House, with its membership based on population, was formed to satisfy the larger states who wanted equal representation for its citizens.

2 The Senate is the upper house of Congress and has one hundred members - two from each state. Senators serve six-year terms and must be thirty years old, have been a citizen of the United States for nine years, and must be a resident of the state where they were elected. Every two years, one-third of the Senate comes up for re-election. These rotating elections help to maintain stability in this more distinguished house of Congress.

3 The vice-president is the president of the Senate. As president of the Senate, the vice-president decides who will speak to the Senate and casts a deciding vote when a tie occurs. However, the vice-president is not a member of the Senate and does not participate in debates about bills. The true leadership in the Senate is held by the floor leaders. Each of the two political parties has a leader. The majority leader is appointed from the party holding the most seats in this house of Congress. He or she works with the minority leader to set the agenda for the Senate. In addition, each party also has whips who assist the leaders by informing other members of the Senate about upcoming bills and encouraging their party members on how to vote for particular bills.