Abraham Lincoln's Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Lincoln-Douglas Debates The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of political debates in the year 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln challenged Douglas in a campaign for one of Illinois' two United States Senate seats. Lincoln did lose the election, but arguably these debates are what led him to his presidency. There are three aspects of these debates that I would like to cover here and they are the causes, contents, and results.
Stephen A. Douglas was a member of Congress since 1843 and a nationally known spokesman for the Democratic party. He was seeking reelection to a third term in the U.S. Senate, and Lincoln was challenging him for the Senate seat as a Republican. Because of Douglas’s political stature, the …show more content…
Crittenden. Former Whigs comprised the biggest block of swing voters, and Crittenden's endorsement of Douglas rather than Lincoln, also a former Whig, reduced Lincoln's chances of winning. On election day, the Democrats won 40 seats in the state house of Representatives, and the Republicans won 35. In the state senate, Republicans held 11 seats, and Democrats held 14. Stephen A. Douglas was reelected by the legislature, 54-46, even though Abraham Lincoln won the popular vote with a percentage of 50.6%, or by 3,402 votes. However, the widespread media coverage of the debates greatly raised Lincoln's national profile, making him a viable candidate for nomination as the Republican candidate in the upcoming 1860 presidential election. He would go on to secure both the nomination and the presidency, beating Douglas (as the Northern Democratic candidate), among others, in the process. Lincoln also went on to be in contact with editors looking to publish the debate texts. George Parsons, the Ohio Republican committee chairman, got Lincoln in touch with Ohio's main political publisher, Follett and Foster, of Columbus. They published copies of the text, and titled the book, Political Debates Between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas in the Celebrated Campaign of 1858, in Illinois. Four printings were made, and the fourth sold 16,000 copies. The Lincoln–Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas was a member of Congress since 1843 and a nationally known spokesman for the Democratic party. He was seeking reelection to a third term in the U.S. Senate, and Lincoln was challenging him for the Senate seat as a Republican. Because of Douglas’s political stature, the …show more content…
Crittenden. Former Whigs comprised the biggest block of swing voters, and Crittenden's endorsement of Douglas rather than Lincoln, also a former Whig, reduced Lincoln's chances of winning. On election day, the Democrats won 40 seats in the state house of Representatives, and the Republicans won 35. In the state senate, Republicans held 11 seats, and Democrats held 14. Stephen A. Douglas was reelected by the legislature, 54-46, even though Abraham Lincoln won the popular vote with a percentage of 50.6%, or by 3,402 votes. However, the widespread media coverage of the debates greatly raised Lincoln's national profile, making him a viable candidate for nomination as the Republican candidate in the upcoming 1860 presidential election. He would go on to secure both the nomination and the presidency, beating Douglas (as the Northern Democratic candidate), among others, in the process. Lincoln also went on to be in contact with editors looking to publish the debate texts. George Parsons, the Ohio Republican committee chairman, got Lincoln in touch with Ohio's main political publisher, Follett and Foster, of Columbus. They published copies of the text, and titled the book, Political Debates Between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas in the Celebrated Campaign of 1858, in Illinois. Four printings were made, and the fourth sold 16,000 copies. The Lincoln–Douglas