Debates

Before engaging in the debates with Senator Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln was relatively unknown in the political world and was just beginning his career in politics. Abraham Lincoln's reputation was just starting to grow, and his life was about to make a drastic change. The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 were a turning point in Abraham Lincoln's political career.

After being nominated to the Illinois legislature, Lincoln gave his famous "House Divided" speech which caused much grief between the North and the South.

A short while after he was nominated, Lincoln challenged Stephen A. Douglas to a series of debates. Douglas quickly accepted, and named seven sites in Illinois for these debates. Lincoln could have proved his stand against slavery in a Senate debate, but the debates with Douglas received a lot of national recognition.

The first of the seven joint debates took place in Ottawa, Illinois. Lincoln spoke in a totally contrasting style than Douglas. Douglas was offensive and wanted to make his point known. Although the audience was amused, his Republican Party was not. They wanted Lincoln to be more aggressive in the next debate. Lincoln had never been applauded and didn't know what to make of it. He now knew that there were people on his side.

At the second debate at Freeport, Lincoln, he pledged that it was Congress' right and duty to terminate slavery in all the United States. Lincoln forced Douglas to repeat his conviction that slavery could be kept out of territories by a vote of the people with the Freeport Doctrine, a position that infuriated Southern Democrats and was to compromise Douglas's aspirations for the presidency"

The next debate was at Jonesboro, IL. The majority of the people were for slavery, not against it. This debate proved disappointing for Lincoln and his followers.

At Charleston, Lincoln tried to break away from any radicalism. He didn't want to be labeled as an abolitionist. In this particular debate, Lincoln showed his support of the Fugitive Slave Law. He said that slavery was protected by the Constitution. The main concern of this debate, as well as the rest of the debates was whether or not the government should ban slavery in the United States, or do the citizens have the democratic right to end slavery.

The fifth debate was held at Galesburg. This debate helped Lincoln regain his confidence. He attacked all of Douglas' points firmly. He replied to the Kansas problem with inspiration and determination. He wanted