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 debates developed gradually. It first appeared that the joint discussion between the two candidates would take place on an informal basis. The debates developed out of a campaign strategy whereby Lincoln would be booked into the same towns as Douglas either the same night or the following night to rebut what Douglas might say. Lincoln challenged Douglas to a debate format whereby the two candidates would address the same audience from the same platform, and Douglas reluctantly agreed, a...