The Lincoln-Douglas Debates and Their Effect

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main body
Summary
Work Cited

Introduction

By the mid-1850s, Abraham Lincoln was already quite an experienced but almost unknown to the country politician. However, he has managed to gain popularity and become a Republican spokesman. His main opponent in the Democratic camp was a skilled federal politician Stephen Douglas. The document titled Political Debates Between Lincoln and Douglas, issued by the Burrow Brothers Company in 1894, is a full transcript of speeches of political leaders. It provides numerous insights into the history of slavery and the attempts to fight it. Lincoln and Douglas repeatedly publicly debated with each other, but the joint tour of these two politicians in seven Illinois cities during the congressional elections of 1858 gained all-American fame.

Main body

The 19th century’s major issue was slavery – the cornerstone of multiple debates and fights. Meanwhile, the other problem was the sovereignty of the United States. Both politicians reviewed these processes in their disputes; however, their opinions were not similar due to different political perspectives. Prior to discussing the script, it is vital to dwell on the view of the chosen figures. Abraham Lincoln was an anti-slavery proponent and joined the Republican party in 1856, where he became an influential leader. His standpoint on slavery was underpinned by moral principles and the idea that this phenomenon was an impediment to the agricultural economy of the South.

In the meantime, Stephen Douglas was a Democrat whose position on the issue of slavery was ambiguous. On the one hand, he drastically opposed the southern slaveholders and, after the attack on Fort Sumter, was a supporter of harsh measures against them. On the other hand, he achieved the famous compromise of 1850 with the slaveholders due to being married twice to women whose families enslaved people.

During the last round of debates in Alton, Illinois, the politicians had numerous contradictions while discussing the issue of slavery – as a result, Douglas won the election. The Democratic spokesman claimed that Lincoln had committed three errors that led him to failure. He attributed the first mistake to Lincoln’s division of free and enslaved states (Lincoln and Douglas 254). Meanwhile, the government could not endure such differentiation, and Douglas himself offered that states should determine their own sovereignty. The second Lincoln’s fault was disagreement with Dred Scott’s case and its decision that Congress could not prevent slavery. Stephen Douglas believed that the states could be out of this law and decide their freedom on their own.

The last major flaw was that Lincoln considered the Declaration of Independence to be the primary source of equal rights. However, Douglas was of the opinion that the document only applied to white men (Lincoln and Douglas 262). The Democratic representative firmly believed that African-Americans were never alluded to in the paper and claimed that many people from the Founding Fathers were enslavers. Hence, they could not make any decision regarding the halt of slavery.

Despite his victory in the 1858 election, he received less support in the following years and lost to Lincoln in 1860. The Southern Democratic states did not encourage their frontrunner due to his rejection of developing a pro-slavery movement. States’ rights were also argued: the Southern delegates desired that they could rule themselves, while Douglas opposed this idea. As a result, Stephen Douglas conceded at the election.

Even though Douglas claimed Lincoln to be radical in his attempts to abolish slavery in the Southern states, his opponent agreed with some of his statements. For example, both candidates promoted the idea that negros were never treated the same way as the whites. Therefore, they announced that equality was needed to ensure possession of lawful rights. In addition, the politicians wanted to re-establish the importance of the Declaration of Independence so that each person could be equal. They also agreed on the absolute insanity of starting a national war because of inequality. On the other hand, Lincoln claimed that their major difference was the view of slavery as a social institute (Lincoln and Douglas 264). The Democrats were sure that slavery was not immoral; thus, each state could decide its sovereignty, whereas the Republicans considered it morally wrong. Hence, the greatest distinction was the ethical view on this issue.

Abraham Lincoln’s position on the abolition of slavery was radical. He aimed to overthrow the existing order of slaveholders because it utterly contradicted his Republican views. His outlook on this point was conditioned by the widespread violence in the community he resided in. Having experienced and witnessed much injustice and inequality between different races, he decided to make a societal impact. Therefore, his perspective on providing equality seems drastic but efficient.

Summary

In summary, the Lincoln-Douglas debates were prominent in the history of the United States of America since the issue of slavery was put forward. Considering the globality of the problem, Lincoln and Douglas could concisely present their standpoint affected by their experience. The sources’ credibility is justified by the first-person statements and accounts. Thus, this may directly confirm or contradict the facts presented in the secondary sources.

Work Cited

Lincoln, Abraham, and Stephen A. Douglas. Political Debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in the Celebrated Campaign of 1858 in Illinois: Including the Preceding Speeches of Each at Chicago, Springfield, Etc., Also the Two Great Speeches of Abraham Lincoln in Ohio in 1859 (pp. 253-277). Burrows Bros. Co., 1894.

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The Lincoln-Douglas Debates and Their Effect

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