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Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln. Stephen Douglas. The Lincoln-Douglas (Illinois Senate) Debates, 1858. A House divided against itself, cannot stand. Lincoln – Douglas Debates: Background. In 1858, Lincoln challenged incumbent Douglas for his seat in the Senate.

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Abraham Lincoln

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  1. Abraham Lincoln Stephen Douglas

  2. The Lincoln-Douglas (Illinois Senate) Debates, 1858 A House divided against itself, cannot stand.

  3. Lincoln – Douglas Debates: Background In 1858, Lincoln challenged incumbent Douglas for his seat in the Senate. (Incumbent – the holder of an office or position) Abraham Lincoln (left) and Stephen Douglas (right)

  4. Lincoln – Douglas Debates • A series of 7 face-to-face debates held throughout Illinois. • Douglas & Lincoln gave 200 additional speeches to towns and cities across the state • Debates followed familiar themes – Douglas defended slavery while Lincoln opposed it Thousands gathered to watch - bands, parades & fireworks & scenes like this were common

  5. Lincoln – Douglas Debates Debates were as much about the men as it was about slavery. “The Little Giant” “Honest Abe” “He was gawky, unkempt, and unassuming. He traveled alone, a forlorn figure with a tattered carpetbag on his lap, lost in silent contemplation.” Refined, passionate speaker Traveled in high style in a private rail car, surrounded by advisers & his beautiful wife

  6. Resume – STEPHEN DOUGLAS • Crafted the Compromise of 1850 ●KS-NE Act ●Elected twice to HOR and 3 times in the Senate. • Married into wealth – wife inherited a Mississippi plantation

  7. Resume – ABRAHAM LINCOLN • Self-taught lawyer • Ran unsuccessfully twice for US Senate but served in HOR • Outspoken critic of the Mexican War • First Republican Party candidate – originally sided with the Whig Party, which dissolved in 1856

  8. Lincoln – Douglas Debates Stephen Douglas: • Lincoln was wrong for wanting to end slavery. • If Lincoln tried to end slavery, the U.S. could face a civil war. • Douglas believed that each territory should be able to decide on its’ own whether or not to allow slavery by using popular sovereignty.

  9. Lincoln – Douglas Debates Abraham Lincoln: • Lincoln believed that slavery was a “moral wrong" and should be kept out of new territories. • He did not believe in ending slavery where it already existed, but nevertheless believed that African Americans were guaranteed “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as stated in the DOI

  10. Lincoln’s Senatorial Campaign Speech LINCOLN (quoting the Bible): 'A house divided against itself cannot stand.' I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new -- North as well as South.“ ONE OF HIS MOST FAMOUS QUOTES!!!!

  11. Lincoln Gains the Advantage • Argued that it was the national government’s role to prevent the expansion of slavery • Douglas was conflicted re: popular sovereignty because the Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional to take away slaveholder’s property • When asked by Lincoln if he thought pop sov could overrule the Supreme Court, Douglas said: “The people have the lawful means to introduce it or exclude it as they please.”—Freeport Doctrine

  12. Freeport Doctrine (Freeport, IL Debate) • Freeport Doctrine • Could the people of a territory legally exclude slavery before achieving statehood? • Douglas replied that the people could exclude slavery by refusing to pass laws protecting slaveholders’ rights • Douglas replied that whatever the Supreme Court decided was not as important as the actions of the citizens. • If a territory refused to have slavery, no laws, no Supreme Court ruling, would force them to permit it. • This sentiment would be taken as betrayal to many southern Democrats and would come back to haunt Douglas in his bid to become President in the election of 1860.

  13. Lincoln – Douglas Debates - RESULTS • Douglas won the election by a slim margin – at that time, the state legislature chose their senators, not the people. • However, Lincoln became well known throughout the nation. • More than 30,000 copies of the transcripts of the debates were sold in the West and North. • Douglas failed in his presidential campaign to even get nominated, while Lincoln’s won the support of the new Republican Party (leftovers from the Whigs and Free Soil), and eventually won the presidency in 1860.

  14. John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry, 1859 • After the 1858 Congressional elections, Southerners began to feel threatened by growing Republican power • In late 1859, an act of violence greatly increased their fears • After John Brown’s raid, his execution became a rallying point for abolitionists. • When Southerners learned of Brown’s connection to abolitionists, their fears of a great northern conspiracy against them seemed to be confirmed.

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