Recently I had the extreme pleasure of attending a lecture by Leonard Pitts Jr., whose nationally syndicated column often appears in The Spokesman-Review.

In his lecture, Pitts expressed immense concern for our nation. This year it has become apparent that the United States is deeply divided on fundamental political issues ranging from the war in Iraq to gay marriage. Pitts said some of his readers believe that this division could become so deep that it could physically divide the country into two or more nations.

It strikes me as interesting that so many Americans are worried about strong political divisions. After all, our nation has consistently experienced even greater political polarization throughout its history.

The struggle between conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans, is not new to American politics. Since our nation declared independence, party lines have run deep. During the presidency of George Washington and for many years afterward, the Democratic Republicans strongly opposed the Federalists, ideologically dividing early Americans.

The most divisive topic in U.S. history was undoubtedly slavery. From the creation of the nation in 1776 until the passage of the 13th Amendment banning slavery in 1865, this issue divided the country.

In 1856, the Senate was debating whether Kansas should be admitted to the Union as a slave state or a free state. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts argued passionately for freedom in Kansas, infuriating Rep. Preston Brooks of South Carolina. An enraged Brooks entered the Senate chambers, raised his cane, and beat Sumner nearly to death. The horrific spectacle was an early sign of the deep conflict over slavery.

The Civil War was the ultimate expression of the political division over slavery. Morality and politics had become so divisive that the South chose to secede, and both the North and South risked thousands of lives to defend their ideologies. America was never more divided.

As bleak as these divisions seem, divisive politics have never outweighed our nation’s quest for unity. Though the early politicians of the Democratic Republican and Federalist parties argued politics by day, they were still friends and countrymen who shaped the nation. Though slavery threatened to physically divide the country, the Union’s ideal of unity prevailed. More recently, the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, revealed the backbone of unity that binds our nation.

The United States will always be strongly divided on basic principles, but we will always strive to achieve the more perfect union mentioned in the preamble to the Constitution. Even as politics divide our people, we shall remain a nation of people united.