Abraham
Lincoln
Stephen
Douglas
The Lincoln-Douglas (Illinois Senate)
Debates, 1858
A House divided against
itself, cannot stand.
Lincoln – Douglas
Debates: Background
In 1858, Lincoln
challenged incumbent
Douglas for his seat in
the Senate.
(Incumbent – the holder
of an office or position)
Abraham Lincoln (left) and
Stephen Douglas (right)
Lincoln – Douglas
Debates
• A series of 7 faceto-face debates held
throughout Illinois.
• Douglas & Lincoln
gave 200 additional
speeches to towns and
cities across the state
• Debates followed
familiar themes –
Douglas defended
slavery while Lincoln
opposed it
Thousands gathered to watch - bands, parades
& fireworks & scenes like this were common
Lincoln – Douglas Debates
Debates were as much about the men as it was about slavery.
“The Little Giant”
“Honest Abe”
“He was gawky, unkempt,
and unassuming. He
traveled alone, a forlorn
figure with a tattered
carpetbag on his lap, lost in
silent contemplation.”
Refined, passionate speaker
Traveled in high style in
a private rail car,
surrounded by advisers
& his beautiful wife
Resume – STEPHEN
DOUGLAS
• Crafted the
Compromise of 1850
●
KS-NE Act
Elected twice to HOR
and 3 times in the
Senate.
●
• Married into wealth –
wife inherited a
Mississippi plantation
Resume – ABRAHAM
LINCOLN
• Self-taught lawyer
• Ran unsuccessfully twice for
US Senate but served in HOR
• Outspoken critic of the
Mexican War
• First Republican Party
candidate – originally sided with
the Whig Party, which dissolved
in 1856
Lincoln – Douglas
Debates
Stephen Douglas:
• Lincoln was wrong for
wanting to end slavery.
• If Lincoln tried to end
slavery, the U.S. could
face a civil war.
• Douglas believed that
each territory should be
able to decide on its’
own whether or not to
allow slavery by using
popular sovereignty.
Lincoln – Douglas Debates
Abraham Lincoln:
• Lincoln believed that slavery was a
“moral wrong" and should be kept
out of new territories.
• He did not believe in ending
slavery where it already existed,
but nevertheless believed that African
Americans were guaranteed “life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”
as stated in the DOI
Lincoln’s Senatorial Campaign
Speech
LINCOLN (quoting the Bible):
'A house divided against itself cannot stand.'
I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half
free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the
house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. Either the
opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it
where the public mind shall rest in the belief it is in the course of
ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall
become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new -- North as well
as South.“
ONE OF HIS MOST FAMOUS QUOTES!!!!
Lincoln Gains the Advantage
• Argued that it was the national
government’s role to prevent the
expansion of slavery
• Douglas was conflicted re: popular
sovereignty because the Supreme
Court ruled it was unconstitutional to
take away slaveholder’s property
• When asked by Lincoln if he
thought pop sov could overrule the
Supreme Court, Douglas said:
“The people have the lawful means to
introduce it or exclude it as they please.”—
Freeport Doctrine
Freeport Doctrine (Freeport, IL Debate)
• Freeport Doctrine
• Could the people of a territory legally
exclude slavery before achieving statehood?
• Douglas replied that the people could exclude
slavery by refusing to pass laws protecting
slaveholders’ rights
•
•
•
Douglas replied that whatever the Supreme Court decided was not
as important as the actions of the citizens.
If a territory refused to have slavery, no laws, no Supreme Court
ruling, would force them to permit it.
This sentiment would be taken as betrayal to many southern
Democrats and would come back to haunt Douglas in his bid to
become President in the election of 1860.
Lincoln – Douglas Debates - RESULTS
• Douglas won the election by a slim margin – at that time,
the state legislature chose their senators, not the people.
• However, Lincoln became well known throughout the
nation.
• More than 30,000 copies of the transcripts of the debates
were sold in the West and North.
• Douglas failed in his presidential campaign to even get
nominated, while Lincoln’s won the support of the new
Republican Party (leftovers from the Whigs and Free Soil),
and eventually won the presidency in 1860.
John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry, 1859
•
After the 1858 Congressional elections,
Southerners began to feel threatened by
growing Republican power
•
In late 1859, an act of violence greatly
increased their fears
•
After John Brown’s raid, his execution
became a rallying point for abolitionists.
•
When Southerners learned of Brown’s
connection to abolitionists, their fears of
a great northern conspiracy against
them seemed to be confirmed.