The Lincoln-Douglas Debates

ASU HST 200 (Historical Themes) Troubled Times: the Tumultuous 1850s The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (Key Notes and Summary) Key Notes - Illinois Senate contest of 1858: Democrat Stephen Douglas vs Republican Abraham Lincoln - Background: Kansas unrest and the Dred Scott ruling - Seven arguments between Douglas and Lincoln that were extensively reported in the press - Douglas portrayed Republicans as miscegenation advocates and abolitionists. - Lincoln, aware of the slavery issue: "A house divided against itself cannot stand" - Lincoln highlighted the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Dred Scott verdict as attempts to nationalize slavery. - Lincoln questioned Douglas on whether popular sovereignty was replaced by the Dred Scott judgment. - Douglas defended popular sovereignty with the Freeport Doctrine, which infuriated Southern Democrats. - Lincoln received widespread notice after the Illinois legislature selected him for the Senate. - Lincoln recognized the inherent racism of slavery but still thought it was wrong. - The Freeport Doctrine hurt the Democratic Party even though Douglas won the Senate campaign. – A factor in Douglas's defeat in the ensuing presidential contest. Summary Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln's 1858 Illinois Senate contest took place in the context of increased anti-slavery sentiment, which was exemplified by the Dred Scott decision and turmoil in Kansas. Newspapers extensively reported on their seven debates, which demonstrated Lincoln's ascent to fame as he countered Douglas's popular sovereignty position, which Lincoln said would nationalize slavery. Lincoln's quote, "A house divided against itself cannot stand," struck a chord because it highlighted how intractable slavery is. Although Douglas was elected to the Senate, his Freeport Doctrine caused division among Southern Democrats and undermined the Democratic Party, which ultimately led to his defeat in the next presidential contest. Lincoln's unwavering resistance to the expansion of slavery brought him national attention and helped pave the way for his eventual election as US president. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates Notes The agitation surrounding the Dred Scott ruling and the unrest in Kansas served as the backdrop for the 1858 Illinois Senate race between Democratic nominee Stephen Douglas and Republican contender Abraham Lincoln. Huge audiences gathered to witness Lincoln and Douglas discuss the fundamental problem of slavery and its spread seven times. Their speeches were printed in newspapers around the country. Lincoln was not well recognized prior to the debates, although Douglas was already well known across the country. He had the chance to become more well-known among both northerners and southerners thanks to his appearances. Douglas presented the Republican Party as an abolitionist movement with the goal of promoting miscegenation, or the mingling of races via marriage or other sexual relationships. Douglas stated that there was a serious threat to the Constitution from the "Black Republicans." In fact, Douglas argued the Republicans sought to undermine the legacy of the founders because Lincoln said the country could not exist if the slave state–free state separation persisted. "A house divided against itself cannot stand," stated Abraham Lincoln. This government, in my opinion, cannot continue to be half-free and half-slave. Though I do not anticipate the house falling or the Union being dissolved, I do anticipate it no longer being split. It will either turn into one thing or the other. In Lincoln's view, the Dred Scott ruling and the Kansas-Nebraska Act represented attempts to nationalize slavery, making it lawful from New England to the Midwest and beyond. "Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction: or its advocates will push forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the States—old as well as new, North as well as South." Lincoln insisted throughout the debates that Douglas clarify whether or not he thought the Dred Scott case ruling from the Supreme Court in 1857 superseded the majority's ability to stop the spread of slavery under the theory of popular sovereignty. During the second debate in Freeport, Illinois, Douglas addressed Lincoln. "It matters not what way the Supreme Court may hereafter decide as to the abstract question whether slavery may or may not go into a territory under the Constitution, the people have the lawful means to introduce it or exclude it as they please," Douglas adamantly upheld popular sovereignty in what became known as the Freeport Doctrine. This enraged southerners who supported slavery and caused a major rift in the Democratic Party. Douglas did, however, benefit from the doctrine in Illinois, where the majority of voters were against the spread of slavery. Lincoln was chosen for the senate by the Illinois assembly over Douglas, but Lincoln gained national attention as a result of the discussions. Lincoln acknowledged the intrinsic racism in slavery, but he maintained that slavery was immoral. He forewarned that the popular sovereignty doctrine of Douglas and the Democrats would nationalize slavery. Despite Douglas's victory against Lincoln in the senate race, the Freeport Doctrine undermined the political backing Douglas need from the Southern Democrats. This weakened the Democratic Party's position as a major national force and contributed to his loss in the subsequent presidential race.