How Did The Lincoln-Douglas Debate

On June 16, 1858, the start of Illinois's greatest political contests took place, otherwise known as the race for the U.S. Senate between Democratic Douglas and Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln. That same night, Lincoln launched his campaign by saying that the United States could not survive for long with such a deep gulf between the North and South. He said either the opponents of slavery will stop the spread of it, or the advocates will push it forward until it is a law in all of the states. As the campaign progressed, Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of seven open-air debated to be held through Illinois on the issue of slavery in the territories. Douglas believed deeply in allowing the residents of a territory to vote for or against

By using past precedents Lincoln gave some serious weight to his arguments on the nature of the Republican’s stance on slavery and the federal government’s rights to limit slavery in the Territories. Since the opposing party’s argument was that the framers knew more about the issue of slavery and its expansion than they did now. Lincoln turned this argument for the use of the Republicans by explaining the voting records of the majority of the men who signed the Constitution. When the question of slavery in the Northwest Territory became an issue Lincoln sites the fact that of

Douglas could not support any ideas that Lincoln had said. Lincoln would present speeches that made him sound like a racist. Soon he plans to join the Republican party. He is very cautious when he joins. Fredrick and Lincoln had many views on anti-slavery but, many different too.

Stephen A. Douglas would soon find the terms of the Missouri Compromise very inconvenient. As an advocate for western expansion, he proposed to design a trans-continental railroad across the northern plains, with an eastern terminance in Chicago. In order for his proposal to succeed, Douglas felt that the territories through which the railroad passed would have to be formally organized which required the support of southern politicians. He was also a believer in popular sovereignty; arguing that the status of slavery in a territory should be decided by it’s residents rather than Congress. He would then design a bill to kill two birds with one stone, the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Douglas and John C. Calhoun. To being, Douglas was the brain child behind the development within the Compromise of 1850 of using popular sovereignty within the states to determine their stances of being free or slave states. As he belief was that slavery should only be decided by those individual within a state in a united front to choose what they want. Douglas attempted to pacify the South by allowing the Fugitive Slave Law, yet no matter what even with the agreement enacted it only helped to push the discomfort felt by both sides helping the push towards the Civil War. Whereas, the Southerner John C. Calhoun was very opposed of the very compromise as his viewpoint was that the institution of slavery was protected by the constitution itself, as within the document, the states retained their rights over any domestic institution like slavery.

While both Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas (a former Illinois judge) differed on the politics of slavery and understanding of freedom. Lincoln believed the black Americans deserved the same “natural rights” as the white Americans had at this time as said in the Declaration of Independence. Along with him thinking that he also, believed that slavery should be abolished altogether everywhere. On the other hand, Douglas felt that the negros shouldn’t have citizenship in any aspect of their live. Along with that the form of “government” also was only meant for white people. Pretty much Douglas didn’t believe that any black deserved anything more than being a slave.

"Douglas basically explained in the Freeport Doctrine his belief that the people in a new territory be able to decide whether or not they would allow slavery."(What Were the Results of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates?) The Freeport Doctrine was the subject Douglas spoke about. It made people uneasy."Lincoln argued that while he wanted to end the extension of slavery into US territories"(What Were the Results of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates?) It was important, and a historical debate time. As Lincoln spoke his famous quotes a nation cannot stand as a divided nation, and everyone had rights through the Declaration Of Independence.The problem also was extension to the different territories for slavery. The Debates were not to fix slavery, but to talk about what would make it better. What laws could change it, or stopping slavery from happening in many other

The author says that defenders and supporters of Lincoln can always back up his remarks with a redeeming quality. Lincoln admitted his feelings of racial equality; instead he always stated the feeling of white people. He didn’t always carefully construct his answers when speaking about his position of certain topics, although he tried. Lincoln wanted all questions about race removed from all discussion. His strategy to do so was to agree with the Democratic Party that there was no equality between blacks and whites. He used racism strategically to eliminate it. Lincoln did admit that he was in support of colonization because he truthfully believed that blacks and whites could not live together equally. To a man like Frederick Douglass, what Lincoln and the Republicans stood for was disjointed. And to me, while this may have all been a strategy for Lincoln, I feel it necessary to take Douglass’ side of the issue.

Lincoln, in any case, had two one of a kind focal points amid the civil arguments. To begin with, he was the underdog when contrasted with Douglas' national notoriety, making it less demanding for Lincoln to engage people in general's sensitivity. Second, his discourses and conclusions were

Abraham Lincoln was also careful not to alienate anyone by way of using harsh language. When he brought up the statements of his political opponent Stephen Douglas, he was careful not to impugn his character. For example, Douglas said he thought that the Declaration of Independence was applicable only to British citizens living at the time of its creation, which Lincoln said implied that the statements of the Declaration did not apply to Germans, French, or citizens of other countries. Lincoln prudently asserted in his argument that he did not think Douglas was trying to deprive rights from non-British citizens, only that his argument would lead to that outcome. By doing this, Lincoln is allowing Douglas supporters to gracefully change their mind by not implying that all of them are trying to take rights away from non-British families. Lincoln’s ability to focus the argument on the issue at stake rather than personally attacking his debater increased the efficacy of his rationalizations.

men are created equal. However, in one of the Lincoln’s debate with Frederick Douglas, Douglas

Douglas being a Democrat and Mr. Lincoln being a Republican, it was inevitable that they would have differing views on how to handle the issue of slavery. Slavery may have been a much deeper issue than those of the ones we have today, but popular sovereignty should still be the way that one sees to be the right choice to solve slavery. Many could say that both men were right in their own ways, however, one should be able to see that Mr. Douglas’s arguments were stronger and better proven to be

Lincoln's greatness can be seen from the very beginning of his presidency, even from the Great Debates

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates were one of the most significant events in American political history. It led to high tensions between the North and the South and it ended up being one of the main causes of the civil war. The Lincoln–Douglas Debates were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. Lincoln first challenged Douglas to the debates in 1858. It consisted of seven, three hour public debates in total. Both republican and democratic citizens from all over the country came to watch the fascinating discussion between the two. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas engaged in the prominent Lincoln-Douglas Debates during the election of 1860, for the public debates led to high controversy between Northerners and Southerners.

The Lincoln Douglas debates were a series of several debates that took place all over the state of Illinois. In these debates, two men argued in order to express their beliefs and standpoints on certain issues, primarily slavery, in an attempt to be elected into a seat in the U.S. Senate. The two men that participated in these debates were