Story highlights Clinton said Trump is dividing the United States and is a far cry from Lincoln

Clinton also looked inward, saying her words and actions have also at times fueled partisanship

Springfield, Illinois (CNN) Hillary Clinton, standing inside the same chamber that helped shape Abraham Lincoln into the father of the Republican Party, argued Wednesday that Donald Trump was perverting what his party once stood for.

Clinton, flanked by American flags and standing beneath a portrait of George Washington, said Trump is dividing the United States and is a far cry from Lincoln, who argued against slavery in the same chamber in 1858, famously telling the assembled lawmakers that "a house divided against itself cannot stand."

"This man is the nominee of the Party of Lincoln," Clinton said. "We're watching it become the Party of Trump. And that's not just a huge loss for our democracy -- it's a threat to it."

But Clinton also looked inward during her remarks, telling assembled guests that political divisions have caused fear and anxiety to fester and that she realizes she "cannot stand here and claim that my words and actions haven't sometimes fueled the partisanship that often stands in the way of our progress."

Clinton's argument throughout the speech -- delivered with the help of a teleprompter -- was that Trump is not only fueling divisions in the country but was doing so to power his campaign.

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