Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln did not support slavery. He was part of a new party, the Republicans. Lincoln's house divided speech was based on a passage in the bible, Matthew 12:25. "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself cannot stand."
When Lincoln debate Douglas it was the law against the land.
Douglas was expressing what a large amount of Americans believed, was what the U.S Supreme court had said during the Dred Scott decision.
The campaign between them during the summer of 1858 was to capture the attention of the entire nation. In July, Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of debates. Douglas accepted the challenge, agreeing to seven three-hour debates in the small Illinois towns.
When Lincoln debate Douglas it was the law against the land.
Douglas was expressing what a large amount of Americans believed, was what the U.S Supreme court had said during the Dred Scott decision.
The campaign between them during the summer of 1858 was to capture the attention of the entire nation. In July, Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of debates. Douglas accepted the challenge, agreeing to seven three-hour debates in the small Illinois towns.
The Seven Great Debates
- Washington Square, Ottawa, Illinois
- Freeport, Illinois
Over 15,000 people attended the original debate in Freeport, then a town of 5,000. Freeport Doctrine, which was the result of the debate, states people had the right to choose whether or not to exclude slavery from their limits. - Union County Fairgrounds, Jonesboro, Illinois
Union County Fairgrounds is today part of Shawnee National Forest's Lincoln Park) Union County is south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The debate subject split families into Confederate & Union factions. Over 50 cemeteries throughout Union County tell of many who lost their lives in the War Between the States - Coles County Fairgrounds, Charleston, Illinois
This was area was very familiar to Lincoln. Lincoln's father had lived and died here. Lincoln's stepmother & many relatives & friends lived here too. Lincoln had a thriving law practice in the community. A majority of the townspeople had come from Kentucky and Tennessee, moving north to avoid competition with slave labor. Most were poor and believed they had no chance to win out in the competition with slave labor. - Old Main, Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois The east side on East South St. between Cedar and South Cherry Streets was the site of the original debate. This location has the only currently remain structure from the original debates.
- Washington Park, Quincy, Illinois
- Broadway & Market Streets, Alton, Illinois
Newspapers around the country began to print transcripts and comment on the debates between Lincoln and Douglas. These articles from the Chicago Tribune highlight what the public thought of the debates and the two men involved. After the debates ended and Douglas took his place in the Senate, Lincoln began to emerge as a possible Republican nominee for the presidency. Ironically, Lincoln and Douglas ran against one another again in 1860, but this time Lincoln won. Stephen Douglas’s party, the Democrats, continued to divide and splinter throughout the election. The doctrine of popular sovereignty, so adamantly defended by Stephen Douglas in the 1858 debates, began to show its faults as civil war raged in “Bleeding Kansas.” Overall, the ideas introduced by Lincoln in 1858 created an outline for Union doctrine during the Civil War. The idea that all men are created equal, white and black, took hold in Yankee hearts and carried Lincoln loyalists through his election and the four bitter years of war.