The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858
Lincoln Vs. Douglas
The Political Battle of 1858
By the late 1850s, the United States was bitterly divided over the issue of slavery’s expansion into new territories. The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, championed by Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas, repealed the Missouri Compromise (1820) and allowed settlers in new territories to decide for themselves whether to permit slavery—a concept known as popular sovereignty.
The law ignited violent conflict in Kansas and deepened national tensions, giving rise to the Republican Party, which opposed slavery’s expansion. Among the new party’s rising leaders was Abraham Lincoln, a former Illinois congressman and lawyer, who would challenge Douglas for his U.S. Senate seat in 1858.
This challenge became significant as it included seven debates, held across Illinois, and became the most famous political debates in American history to that point. The issues they discussed—slavery, federal power, states' rights, and the future of the Union—helped shape Lincoln’s political philosophy and set the stage for his presidential election in 1860.
They were held Between August 21 and October 15, 1858 in:
- Ottawa (August 21)
- Freeport (August 27)
- Jonesboro (September 15)
- Charleston (September 18)
- Galesburg (October 7)
- Quincy (October 13)
- Alton (October 15)
As you can see, all seven events took place between August 21 and October 15. Although the election was an Illinois state election, these debates drew the attention of the entire nation. In 1858, the US was divided on the issues of slavery and states' rights. And this series of debates rose to the top of American attention at the time making Douglas and Lincoln very well known.
This was because the issues being debated in Illinois were the same issues faced by politicians throughout the country. At the time, Newspapers made it possible for the nation to follow the debates and subsequently increased Lincoln's national notoriety.
The Key Issues
The central topic of the debates was slavery’s expansion, but the discussions also touched on the Constitution, democracy, race, and the Union’s survival. Lincoln’s main position was simple. Slavery Must Not Expand. Lincoln, though not an abolitionist, was firmly against the spread of slavery into new territories.
He famously stated:
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free."
– Abraham Lincoln, June 16, 1858
His other arguments included:
- Slavery was a moral and political evil that threatened the nation’s unity.
- The Founding Fathers intended for slavery to eventually disappear, and allowing it to spread would betray their vision.
- The Dred Scott decision (1857), which ruled that African Americans could not be U.S. citizens, was wrong and dangerous.
- Popular sovereignty would allow slavery to spread unchecked into new states and territories.
On the other side, Douglas’ main position was around Popular Sovereignty & State Rights. His other arguments included:
- The Union could survive with both free and slave states existing side by side.
- The Dred Scott ruling should be accepted, but territories could effectively exclude slavery by refusing to pass local laws supporting it
The Crucial Turning Point In The Debates - The Freeport Doctrine
At the Freeport Debate (August 27, 1858), Lincoln pressed Douglas on whether a territory could legally prohibit slavery despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857).
Douglas responded with what became known as the Freeport Doctrine, stating that territories could exclude slavery by simply refusing to pass laws protecting it—even though the Supreme Court had ruled that slavery was legal in all territories. This position angered Southern Democrats, who saw it as a betrayal of their pro-slavery cause. The rift weakened Douglas politically, contributing to his loss in the 1860 presidential election, when the Democratic Party split into Northern and Southern factions. These statements also gives context to the reason for South Carolina's immediate succession with the election and the beginning of the Civil War at Fort Sumter.
But now, let's talk about the outcomes of these 7 debates
The Debates Aftermath
Although Lincoln lost the 1858 Senate election to Douglas (because Illinois state legislators, not voters, elected senators at the time), the debates catapulted him onto the national stage.
Douglas won re-election but alienated Southern Democrats, who later opposed him in the 1860 presidential race. But, Lincoln’s eloquence and moral stance against slavery gained him national recognition, positioning him as a leading Republican candidate for president.The election of Lincoln, viewed as a threat to slavery, led Southern states to secede, triggering the Civil War in 1861. This allowed for him to bring this fight for freedom to the national stage and also deliver one of the most important speeches following the Battle of Gettysburg!
To this day, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates remain among the most influential political debates in U.S. history, shaping the nation’s discourse on slavery, democracy, and the Constitution that has shaped our current American values.
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