abraham lincoln in a speech to the illinois republican state convention on june 16th, 1858. three years later, president lincoln was the commander in chief in the war that killed more americans than any other. our civil war. our house has been divided since then over issues like women s right to vote, civil rights, the vietnam war, the iraq war but through all of that, our house has never been divided against itself to the point that the new york times and the new yorker are running headlines saying is a civil war ahead? are we really facing a second civil war over articles written by the most distinguished journalists and thinkers and tonight we ll begin a series on this program called a house divided to offer a range of thoughtful and educated guesses in response to the question is a civil war ahead?