LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES
Related historical timeline created with Timeliner (Nobles grad, Tom Snyder)
Facts that I gathered from The Reader's Companion to American History
-Debates Between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln
The Lincoln-Douglas debates took place in 1858 during the Illinois State
Senate elections. The debate took place between Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen A. Douglas . Douglas had been a member of congress since 1843 and was a nationally prominent spokesman for the Democratic party. The debate was actually part of a larger campaign since both candidates were planning on running for the presidency in the future, therefore it was nationally recognized.
The debate mainly discussed the issues of slavery. Lincoln believed that
slavery was morally wrong and accused Douglas of wanting to expand it to all free states and territories. He used the debates to strengthen his moral quality in the eyes of the people.
A major highlight of the debates was Lincoln's "House Divided" speech, which was given on June 16,1858 in Springfield Illinois: "A house divided against itself cannot stand". Douglas opened his campaign in Chicago on July 9, 1858. In mid-August, both candidates agreed to a series of debates in seven out of nine of the Illinois' congressional districts. Lincoln believed that the threat of slavery didn't come from the slave-holding south but from popular sovereignty in the west. In the end, Douglas was re-elected to the Senate in 1859.
links to graphics
Ashley Mihos
history teacher: Mr. Denning
Noble and Greenough School
graduation year: 2000