Write a report summarizing the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

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The Lincoln-Douglas Debate
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates are an essential part of American beliefs and political history. The debates were caused by the senatorial campaigns of 1858 between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was nominated as the Republican candidate while Stephen A. Douglas was chosen as the Democrat candidate. In the fall of 1858, for four months, these two politicians campaigned actively throughout Illinois. They also contested openly in seven towns and by the time November 2nd had reached, the citizens of Illinois had become very informed of the central issues represented by each candidate.
The two contestants discussed the effectiveness of the Dred Scott resolution, the power of states in controlling slavery in their territories, and the growth of slavery (Matthews 165). Regarding the Dred Scot deliberation, the United States Supreme Court declared that because a slave was non-human, he/she could not litigate for his/her right to freedom. Indeed, Douglas and Lincoln differed on the matter of the increase of slavery. While Lincoln disputed the expansion of slavery, Douglas supported the sovereignty of the people’s rule that allowed each state government to define its regulations and procedures.
On the 21st of August 1858 in Ottawa, 12,000 people from Illinois appeared for the first debate. Henry Willard, a reporter from New York, commented, “Until now the unbiased mind sensed immediately that, while there was on the one side a competent dialectician and disputant contending a wrong and weak cause, there was on the other a meticulously sincere and ingenuous man, motivated by sensible principles in agreement with the true spirit of American establishments” (Mahin 5).

As a result of this, supporters of Lincoln and Douglas left the contest inspired.
The second debate was held on the 27th of August 1858 in Freeport, Illinois. In this discussion, Lincoln probed Douglas, “Can the citizens of an American state, in any legitimate manner, against the desire of any American, eliminate slavery from its boundaries before the creation of a State Constitution?” (Matthews 165). Douglas fired back saying it was the people’s decision to permit or prohibit slavery from their states. This contention was founded on Douglas’s conviction that popular sovereignty corresponded with the Dred Scott decision. Douglas’s response came to be known as the “Freeport Doctrine.” (Matthew 165) During this debate period, his answer caused a great argument throughout America.
The next debate was carried out on the 15th of September in the southern Illinois town of Jonesboro, and nearly 2,000 people (mainly Democrats) attended the event. Here, Douglas alleged Lincoln for contriving with Lymann Trumball (a Democrat that defended Lincoln’s cause) to immobilize both parties (Matthews 195). Aware of the low probability of winning approval among these supporters of slavery, Lincoln intelligently declined to answer and instead decided to interrogate Douglas’s “Freeport Doctrine.”
The fourth debate happened on the 18th of 1858 in Charlestown. This was where Douglas was met at the Illinois Central Railroad station by a long procession of followers. A two-mile parade of supporters greeted Lincoln. Lincoln’s march was headed by the Bowling Green Band from Indiana (Matthews 195). The two contenders debated on Exchange Park outside Charlestown before a crowd of 15,000 people that was devotedly swaying placards and flags in support of their preferred nominee.
The fifth debate took place on the 7th of October 1858 in Galesburg drawing the biggest crowd of Lincoln supporters. Both politicians addressed the people from a platform that was constructed at the end of Knox College campus (Mahin 5). Interestingly, Douglas seemed exhausted by the campaigns while Lincoln remained increasingly revitalized.
The following debate was conducted on the 13th of October 1858 at Quincy. During this deliberation, Lincoln plainly spoke of slavery as “a moral, a social, and a political wrong,” although he did not propose to end slavery in the states that practiced it (Lincoln and Terrence 63). Instead, he intended to reverse the rate of growth. This pronouncement marked the beginning of a significant milestone in the debates.
The discussions concluded on the 15th of October 1858 in Alton where multitudes congregated to listen to the final arguments organized by the nominees. Lincoln ended his contention saying, “I have said, and I reiterate it here, that if there be a man amongst us who does not think that the establishment of slavery is immoral in any one of the standpoints of which I have spoken, he is illogical and ought not to be with us. Has anything ever endangered the existence of this Union save and except this very institution of slavery? That is the real issue. That is the problem that will endure in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two ideologies of right and wrong throughout the world” (Lincoln and Terrence 83).
The elections were carried out on the 2nd of November 1858 where Lincoln became more famous than Douglas. He garnered 4,085 more votes than Douglass. Nonetheless, Douglas proved to be more popular among the Illinois legislature (voting for Senator), attaining 54 votes compared to Lincoln’s 46 votes (Mahin 5). Subsequently, Lincoln lost the election to Douglas. It is important to note that until the approval of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, the states legislatures elected senators without attention to the popular vote. Lincoln reacted to his defeat by saying, “I am too mature to weep about it, but it aches too terribly bad to snicker!”
Even though Lincoln was defeated, he rose from the 1858 senatorial campaign as valued countryman and a distinguished debater. His upfront, candid mannerisms left a good impression on many Americans. His name began to spread well across Illinois. However, Lincoln was unconscious of the growing veneration that people had for him. He could not have expected to be considered as one of the most renowned leaders of America.

Works Cited
Lincoln, Abraham, and Terence Ball. Abraham Lincoln: Political Writings and Speeches. Cambridge UP, 2013.
Mahin, Dean B. The Blessed Place of Freedom: Europeans in Civil War America. Brassey’s, 2002.
Matthews, Gary R. More American Than Southern: Kentucky, Slavery, and the War for an American Ideology, 1828-1861. University of Tennessee, 2014.