Lincoln vs. Douglas: The Debates
Over Slavery in Illinois
Created by: Jade Hayslip
Grade: 8
Teacher: Ms. Breiner
What was life like back then?
• Life in 1850’s was divided by the northern
U.S. and the southern U.S.
• In the North, people had metal and wood
textiles and about a 20 million people
• In the South, agriculture and farming was done
by slaves on plantations. Approximately 4
million people lived here.
• The North
• Because of the Industrial
Revolution, railroads and
factories were huge.
• Factories were in horrible
conditions; nonetheless,
it greatly improved the
economy.
• Trains were just invented
and provided a new and
faster way of
transportation of people
and goods.
• The South
• Southerners didn’t have
as much knowledge of
industry as the North, so
they relied on farming.
• The climate and soil
were perfect for planting
crops, mainly tobacco
and cotton.
• Since agriculture was
hard work, people had
slaves to do the work for
them.
Political Life
• Back then, the United
States also had two
main parties: the
Democrats and the
Whigs.
• Democrats were
mostly supportive with
farming and slavery.
• Whigs supported antislavery. However, when
asked this questioned, no
one wanted to answer and
risk their political career.
The party disappeared
completely after the Civil
War.
• The Republican party
formed as the new antislavery party when the
Whigs didn’t respond. It
is now one of the most
famous parties today.
The Social Life
• Ordinary people in the 1850’s lived in
isolated log cabins or crowded cities.
• For income, men either worked in different
kinds of factories or farmed.
• Women either worked in sewing factories or
stayed home to look after the children and
tend to the house.
Economics in the 1850’s
• Dollar bills were larger back than and were
produced by different banking companies.
• Coins were made of usually gold and silver.
• Even if it was foreign coins, people still
weighted them for their value.
Abraham
Lincoln
• Lincoln was part of
the new Republican
party.
• However, Radical
Republicans also
attacked him.
• They wanted harsher
treatment on the
people of the South,
but Lincoln didn’t
agree with that.
Stephen A.
Douglas
• Douglas was a
Democrat Senator for
Illinois.
• Before the debates,
Douglas designed the
Kansas-Nebraska act
(it was passed) in
1854.
• The act said that states
had a right to choose
whether or not to
legalize slavery or not.
The Debates of 1858: Part 1
• In 1858, both Lincoln
and Douglas ran for
Senator.
• Both agreed to have
seven debates in seven
different cities
throughout Illinois.
• This event would, no
matter what, turn
around the U.S.
government for both
better and worse.
• Each debate gained
great media coverage,
making sure anybody
knew what was
happening.
The Debates of 1858: Part 2
• In every debate, the main idea was slavery
and how it should be handled in thenmodern society.
• Douglas often claimed Lincoln wanted to
over-power laws about slavery because they
hold no equal rights for blacks.
• Lincoln countered back by arguing for
humane equality, but not social.
The Debates of 1858: Part 3
• Probably the most famous debate was the one at
Freeport, the one in which Douglas recited the infamous
“Freeport Doctrine”.
• Lincoln asked an important question at Freeport, one
that asked Douglas to decided between sovereignty of
the people or the Dred Scott case in the U.S. Supreme
Court.
• Douglas responded by saying despite the Supreme Court
ruling, slavery could be chosen by the people whether it
is legal or not in different states, which greatly outcasted Douglas in the South because he technically
supported anti-slavery by going with popular
sovereignty.
The Theme: Debate
• Lincoln was was arguing his point about slavery to
Douglas in these debates and Douglas was arguing
his point; therefore, the two were engaged in a
debate, particularly about slavery.
• Debate is easily proven in this PowerPoint due to
the fact that Lincoln and Douglas pointing out two
different sides to one idea. That is the definition
of debate, which is a political aspect.
• Since the topic is a debate, it is directly related to
the theme. It is almost impossible to prove it is a
debate when it already is.
The Theme: Diplomacy
• The definition of diplomacy: the conduct of
government officials of negotiations and
other relations between nations.
• Stephen A. Douglas was still technically
Senator of Illinois, so he was a government
official discussing negotiations about
slavery to someone who’s in the running to
become a government official.
The Civil War
• After Lincoln lost the senate seat, the debates still
made him famous, which helped him win presidency
by 485,706 votes against Douglas.
• After many southern states seceded from the Union,
the Civil War began.
• The war lasted 4 years, sadly, almost all of Lincoln’s
time in office.
• It ended when Gen. Lee surrendered to Gen. Grant in
1865.
• Unfortunately, John Wilkes Booth shot and killed
Lincoln while he was attending a play.
• Booth and his co-conspirators were later captured,
tried, found guilty, and hung.
Racial Equality
• Although the law declared slaves free, voting was still
restricted by many racists by threats and law
restrictions.
• It wasn’t until the 1960’s, almost 100 years later, that
racial equality was reached.
• Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech
was spoken during the Washington March on August
28, 1963, declaring equality of races.
• The Civil Rights Act, created by John F. Kennedy and
passed by Lyndon Johnson, made it a law that no
segregation could happen and could be punishable
by law.
The End
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