LincolnDouglas Debates The Lincoln Douglas Debates were a

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

The Lincoln Douglas Debates were a series of 7 public discussions held in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas as they contested the Illinois Senate seat.

Locations, Dates and Attendance figures 1 st Debate: August 21, 1858 in Ottawa, Illinois - 10, 000 people 2 nd Debate: August 27, 1858 in Freeport, Illinois - 15, 000 people 3 rd Debate: September 15, 1858 in Jonesboro, Illinois - 1500 people 4 th Debate: September 18, 1858 in Charleston, Illinois - 12, 000 people 5 th Debate: October 7, 1858 in Galesburg, Illinois - 15, 000 people 6 th Debate: October 13, 1858 in Quincy, Illinois - 12, 000 people 7 th Debate: October 15, 1858 in Alton, Illinois - 5, 000 people

Topics 1 st Debate in Ottawa: Lincoln was referred to as a radical abolitionist and accused Douglas with trying to nationalize slavery 2 nd Debate in Freeport: Lincoln asked Douglas to reconcile his belief in Popular Sovereignty proposed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act with the Dred Scott decision. The response from Douglas became known as the Freeport Doctrine in which he 'sat on the fence' expressing both pro-slavery and anti-slavery positions - this stance infuriated Southern Democrats, members of his own party 3 rd Debate in Jonesboro: Douglas stated that Lincoln stood for racial equality but tempered his view playing to the audience if they were from slave holding states 4 th Debate in Charleston: Lincoln accused Douglas of being in a conspiracy with Chief Justice Roger Taney, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan to nationalize slavery 5 th Debate in Galesburg: Douglas took great pains to explain his opposition to the Lecompton Constitution, a pro-slavery document, that was written during the confrontations in Bleeding Kansas 6 th Debate in Quincy: Lincoln emphasized that slavery was morally wrong but emphasized that Republicans would only attack slavery where the Constitution allowed. Douglas again 'sat on the fence' on the issue of slavery 7 th Debate in Alton: Douglas attacked Lincoln's House Divided Speech delivered when he accepted nomination as the Republican Party's nomination as senator for Illinois. Lincoln's words were "A house divided against itself cannot stand" voicing a prophecy for a future American Civil War on the issue of slavery

1860 Presidential Election Nominee: Abraham Lincoln Party: Republican Home state: Illinois Running mate: Hannibal Hamlin Electoral vote: 180 States carried: 18 Popular vote: 1, 865, 908 Percentage: 39. 8% Nominee: John Bell Party: Constitutional Union Home state: Tennessee Running mate: Edward Everett Electoral vote: 39 States carried: 3 Popular vote: 590, 901 Percentage: 12. 6% Nominee: John C. Breckinridge Party: Southern Democratic Home state: Kentucky Running mate: Joseph Lane Electoral vote: 72 States carried: 11 Popular vote: 848, 019 Percentage: 18. 1% Nominee: Stephen A. Douglas Party: Northern Democratic Home state: Illinois Running mate: Herschel V. Johnson Electoral vote: 12 States carried: 1 Popular vote: 1, 380, 202 Percentage: 29. 5%

1860 Electoral College

Abraham Lincoln (1860 - 1865)