1. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln
Debate of 1858
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2. Background
Stephen A. Douglas was a Democrat incumbent in the
election for a seat in the U.S. Senate, since he had earlier
been elected a senator in the year 1948.
Abraham Lincoln was relatively unknown, despite serving a
single term in the United States House of representatives
from 1847 to 1849.
United States constitution, as originally drafted, provided
for the election of United States Senators by the state
legislatures, rather than the general electorate.
Douglas and Lincoln were conducting campaigns for the
election of state representatives.
Elected representatives would later support their respective
candidates for the senator’s seat.
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3. Features of the debate
On slavery, Lincoln made a call for Republicans to unite
against what he expressed as a slave power conspiracy in his
speech, “House Divided”.
He portrayed Douglas as the chief conspirator who aimed
at extending slavery throughout the territories and the
states of the Union.
Douglas defended his struggle to keep slavery out of Kansas
by citing the “great principle of self-government”, on which
his political beliefs were based.
He held beliefs that people of each state and territory had a
right to decide for themselves the domestic institutions
that they wanted, including slavery.
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4. Features of the debate
The Missouri Compromise, enacted in 1820, kept featuring
in the Douglas and Lincoln debate.
Was a series of laws that limited slavery in parts of the
Louisiana Purchase.
Stated that slavery could not be permitted in the lines
north of the southern border of Missouri.
Douglas had led Senators from the south in repealing the
section of the Missouri Compromise that had limited the
spread of slavery.
The action had given the residents of Kansas and Nebraska
popular sovereignty.
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5. Features of the debate
Lincoln had argued that the Declaration of
Independence and its Equality clause meant that all
people in America were equal regardless of race
Need of eliminating the slavery of African Americans.
Douglas had argued that Lincoln’s appeals on the
Equality clause were misplaced as the signers of the
Independence Declaration never meant to include
blacks in the Equality clause.
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6. Features of the debate
Douglas believed that freeing the slaves could lead to a
civil war.
He had warned Lincoln to stop campaigning for the
abolishment of slavery.
Douglas emphasized that the people in every state and
territory had the right to choose for themselves their
domestic institutions, including slavery.
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7. Features of the debate
The Lecompton constitution, drawn up in 1857 by the
proslavery Kansas state to admit the territory into the
United States as a slave state, was another focus of the
debate.
Douglas’ opposition to the constitution made him
popular with some Republicans in Illinois.
The situation disappointed Lincoln, as he did not want
Douglas to influence the Republican Party.
The development further influenced Lincoln to
challenge Douglas for the United States senate seat.
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8. Fallout from the Debate
Resulted in divisions between the states over the
slavery question, which was the main subject of debate
in Illinois.
Democrats, led by Douglas, were viewed by
Republicans as being responsible for the spread of
slavery across the United States.
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