The Issue of Slavery 1858 Lincoln Douglas Debates

Two years after Fr?monts defeat, Abraham Lincoln won his partys nomination to the U.S. Senate. This put him head to head in a race with the powerful senator Stephen A. Douglas, one of Lincolns rivals from his days in the Illinois state capital, who was running for a third term as a Democrat. There followed a series of seven debates between Lincoln and Douglas in towns across Illinois over the next seventy days. Several factors helped to attract national attention to the campaign battles. First, Douglas, one of the key figures behind the Compromise of 1850, enjoyed a reputation as the Little Giant of the Democratic Party and its best stump speaker. Second, the national debate over slavery was reaching a boiling point. During the four years leading up to these historic debates, Americans had witnessed some incredibly violent and explosive events that were sharply dividing the nation. Responding to the fervor, journalists accompanied the candidates, writing articles detailing the debates and offering editorial commentary that was unprecedented in American political history. The whole country watched the debates unfold.