Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a
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The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a defining moment in American political history, affording Abraham Lincoln a major opportunity to create an image for himself on the wider public stage. Stephen Douglas was an established political figure and had distinguished himself in numerous congressional battles, while Lincoln was the newcomer, a lawyer who had made his mark in the courtroom and who had served a stint in Congress as the only Whig representative from Illinois. The Illinois newspapers saw the significance of these encounters and played them up big in print. The fact that these debates were being held in different locales helped conserve the time of busy rural voters, gave both candidates larger audiences than they might have reached on their own, and made possible a true clash of arguments and ideas. Douglas had offered a compromise on slavery, and he and Lincoln would differ on issues of ratification, nullification, and slavery. Douglas helped create the Republican Party, while Lincoln would help define it. Their debate was the culmination of Douglas's political life and the true beginning of Lincoln's national political career. Though Douglas won the election, Lincoln emerged a victor in a different sense because he was now a national figure, leading to his successful campaign for the presidency soon after. Public interest was high in the senatorial campaign between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in 1858. The rules for these
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e states held the balance of power in the electoral college and in Congress" (Fehrenbacher 17). Illinois was one of the pivotal state in which Republican gains were necessary to capture the presidency in 1860, and Republican leaders knew they would have considerable influence on their party's choice of candidates and declaration of principles. One of the important reasons why Lincoln emerged as his party's candidate in 1860 and why this occurred in Illinois rather than elsewhere was because of the presence and renown of Stephen A. Douglas in the politics of the period (Fehrenbacher 17).
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS
Lincoln and Douglas had been on the opposite side of important issues in the past. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was a bill that would organize the Nebraska Territory, which included Kansas. Stephen A. Douglas was an ardent nationalist and chairman of the Committee on Territories. His concern was for the continued development of the West, and he wanted the eastern terminus for a transcontinental railroad to be in his home base of Chicago rather than in the rival St. Louis. To effect this, it was necessary to organize the lands west of Iowa and Missouri. There was also a political reason for the introduction of this bill in t
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2615
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)
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