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In order to properly answer this question, it's important to provide some background on Illinois, the Democrat & Republican parties along with some background information on the candidates.
It has always been clear the Abraham Lincoln was personally against slavery. His own words in speeches he made in the 1858 senatorial race with Stephan Douglas made that clear. From the view of political science the important question is what the two candidates would do as public office holders regarding the issue. In an election campaign, it often comes to a point where it seems a candidate "flip -flops" on an issue and newspapers and the opponents such a candidate will point this out. To be fair, many things said in a campaign are taken out of context and in other cases the offending candidate will simply retract the flip -flop statement and clarify his or her position on an issue.
The 1858 senatorial race in Illinois deserves close attention because the two major candidates are "stand - out " figures in US history. One, Stephan Douglas was the incumbent seeking re-election. Douglas had already made himself an important political force in the Nation by the roles he played in the Missouri Compromise and in the Kansas - Nebraska Act, among other national issues. The State of Illinois was an important one from a national political standpoint. It had a large population and contained the large city of Chicago. Political campaigns in this State required candidates to understand the "lay of the land" in a manner of speaking. And they needed to understand & give support to the party that had nominated them.
One point is clear about the State of Illinois, it was a State that valued itself as a "White State". Some years before the election of 1858, a poll was taken regarding the policies that voters had regarding Afro - Americans. In that poll 70% of Illinois voters would support a amendment to the Illinois State Constitution making it illegal for Afro Americans from living there. (It needs to be remembered that slavery was legal in the USA at the time)
The Republican Party was a newly created one when the Whig Party dissolved. In Illinois, it was a mixture of anti slavery politics and one that favored evangelical Christianity. The rallying cry of the Republicans in Illinois was "The Two Despotisms - Catholicism and Slavery". The Party was sure that each of the two mentioned items were a threat to democracy.
Candidates have to be practical. Lincoln's campaign catch phrase, he took from The Bible and specifically from Matthew 12:25. This is frequently left out of discussions about Lincoln. But, and it's a big but, the Republican Party was a ferociously Protestant. So quoting scripture as a means to gather support was sensible. During the campaign, Lincoln stated that as a senator, he would favor and promote policies that would prevent the expansion of slavery and reduce it where it already exisited.
Lincoln stated that supporting Douglas was affirming the nationalism of slavery. On more than one occasion, Lincoln implied that Douglas was part of a Slave Power conspiracy.
Research for decades have been done on Stephan Douglas because of the major impact this man had on American politics in the middle of the 19th century. Scholars from prominent universities, to this day, debate Douglas personal view of slavery. On the political position, not the personal one, Douglas stated in his campaign that he would remain and continue to keep his view of "popular sovereignty" on the slavery issue. This meant that the voters of a State or a territory should vote on whether they wanted a legal slavery policy or to vote to ban slavery.
So in 1858 it's clear that Lincoln, if elected would try to prevent slavery from spreading and help to abolish it where it already existed. Douglas remained in his position of "let the voters decide".
It should be noted that Douglas won a narrow victory. Whether each candidates' view on slavery was a deciding factor is not known.
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Why did Abraham Lincoln and Senator Douglas agree that the unconditional repeal of the Fugitive Slave Act would be harmful?
The subject of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act was a topic in the series of debates between Lincoln and Douglas. They saw the act as part of a hard fought debate that gave birth to the 1850 Missouri Compromise. Lincoln, was also sensitive about leaning to close to the Republican abolitionists . Each of them also saw slavery as an institution that history itself would dissolve. With that in mind, creating more controversy over the act would not help the nation as a whole.
Did Abraham Lincoln win the 1858 senatorial debates in Illinois against Senator Stephen A. Douglas?
No, at the end of all seven debates between the two men, Douglas beat Lincoln in the election to retain his Illinois senate seat. While it can be said that each man made important points, Senator Douglas had the edge having been the incumbent candidate.
Was manifest destiny the main topic of the lincoln douglas debates?
It was one topic, but certainly not the only one. First, it is worth noting that there were seven debates (and for modern students, accustomed to seeing candidates give one minute responses to questions, each candidate spoke for as long as an hour, before giving way to his opponent). As for Manifest Destiny, the belief that America had both the right and the duty to expand and take over more territory, this was indeed a point of contention between the candidates: Douglas generally supported the idea, while Lincoln generally did not. But most historians will tell you the main topic for the debates was the controversy over slavery-- especially whether the spread of slavery should be limited by the federal government, or whether the individual states should be allowed to make the decision to permit it or not.
Did the civil war end slavery?
Slavery ended with the ratification of the 13th amendment to the Constitution. The Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln which was a document that abolished slavery. Later Martin Luther King jr. ended segregation
How did Stephen Douglas believe the issue of slavery could be resolved?
The solution was, to divide Clay's plan into a series of measures that Congress could vote on separately
In the seven Lincoln Douglas debates the number one topic was?
The principal topic of the Lincoln-Douglas debates was slavery. Specifically, Lincoln thought that all the territories (the parts of the United States that were not yet States) should be free of slavery, and that eventually, the federal government should outlaw slavery everywhere in the U.S., while Douglas thought that each territory should decide for itself whether it wanted to allow slavery or not.
In the seven Lincoln-Douglas debates the number one topic?
The principal topic of the Lincoln-Douglas debates was slavery. Specifically, Lincoln thought that all the territories (the parts of the United States that were not yet States) should be free of slavery, and that eventually, the federal government should outlaw slavery everywhere in the U.S., while Douglas thought that each territory should decide for itself whether it wanted to allow slavery or not.
How did Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas differ in their views on slavery?
Abraham Lincoln said that slavery could exist in the United States if it did not spread. That means that the states that had slaves could keep them, but any new state added to the union could not have slavery. Stephan A Douglas believed that slavery was wrong and that it should be abolished from all states now and in the future. Bottom Line: Lincoln= current slave holding states have slaves. All new states have no slaves. Douglas= no slaves what so ever.
Who was accused in Lincoln Douglas debates?
Douglas was accused by Lincoln. Lincoln argued in his House Divided Speech that Douglas was part of a conspiracy to nationalize slavery. Lincoln said that ending the Missouri Compromise ban on slavery in Kansas and Nebraska was the first step in this direction, and that the Dred Scott decision was another step in the direction of spreading slavery into Northern territories. Lincoln expressed the fear that the next Dred Scott decision would make Illinois a slave state. It should be noted that the two men held no personal animosity towards each other.
Why did Abraham Lincoln challenge Stephen Douglas to debate in the elecion of 1858?
Neither Lincoln nor Douglas supported slavery. The difference was that Lincoln and the Republican Party was dedicated to have slavery in the US abolished. Douglas believed that the people in each state should decide the slavery issue. His policy was called popular sovereignty.
What were the causes of the Lincoln Douglas debates?
The Illinois seat was open in the US Senate and Lincoln (Republican) And Douglas (Democrat) were running against each other for said seat.Both Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were campaigning for one of the two United States Senator seats from Illinois in 1858.They participated in a total of seven debates across the state.Issues in the debates ranged from states' rights to the spread of slavery into the expanding territories.
Why was slavery discussed in the Lincoln-Douglas debates?
Yes. The Supreme Court had declared that slavery was legal in every state of the Union. Stephen Douglas said that the people of each new state should vote whether it should be a slave-state or free soil, and pass local legislation in line with their verdict. The people of Illinois agreed with this idea, and Douglas got the senatorial seat over Lincoln.
Who were the candidates in the 1860 presidential election and what policies did each candidate for?
The candidates in the 1860 presidential election were Abraham Lincoln who was a republican and John C. Breckinridge who was a Southern Democratic. John Bell and Stephen Douglas were also candidates. Both Lincoln and Douglas wanted to end slavery.
What did Stephen A Douglas think about slavery?
Stephen Douglas supported popular sovereignity, also called squatter sovereignity, which stated that each territory had the right to determine if they would accept slavery or not.
What are three events that occured between 1857 and 1859 that facilitated southern secession?
The Dred Scott verdict of 1857, which ruled that slavery was legal in every state of the Union. The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, in which Stephen Douglas successfully argued that the people of each state could outlaw slavery if they wished. (Douglas won his senate seat over Lincoln). The John Brown raid, which convinced the South that Abolitionists were trying to encourage an armed uprising of slaves.
Abraham Lincoln favored popular soveringty?
Lincoln became famous for arguing against popular sovereignty.
What was Stephen A. Douglas' view of slavery?
Stephen Douglas was born on April 23, 1813 in Brandon Vermont. Yes, he did support slavery. Douglas'political battles with Abraham Lincoln in both 1858 and again in 1860. In 1858 Douglas sought reelection as senator. He represented the Democratic Party in the election, while his opponent, Lincoln, was the Republican Party's candidate. Lincoln argued that the U.S. could not survive with 1/2 of the nation allowing slavery and other 1/2 opposing this institution. Lincoln contended that African Americans were human beings and that they deserved their freedom, but he never claimed that blacks were as intelligent as or should have equal rights to whites. Douglas championed sovereignty and accused Lincoln of believing African Americans were equal to whites. He even suggested that Lincoln supported whites and blacks marrying and having children with each other. By inspiring fear in Illinois voters and mischaracterizing Lincoln's views. Douglas retained his seat. Douglas and Lincoln met again on the political battlefield in the presidential election of 1860. In this election, Lincoln represented the Republican Party, while Douglas represent the Northern democratic Party. By the late 1850s the Democratic Party was in disarray over slavery. Northern members opposed slavery's explansion, while Southern members believed that slavery should exist across the U.S. Douglas refused to endorse the Southerners' views and the Democratic Party split in two. Lincoln won the election against the other 3 candidates. Many Northern voters agreed with him that African Americans deserved their freedom, but that blacks were not equal to whites. Many of these people also agreed with Lincoln that the federal gov't could not end slavery where it already existed, but that it could prohibit slavery in new territories and states. In 1860, the North enjoyed a population of approx., 23 million people to the South's nine million. Douglas provided the only real opposition to Lincoln in the North, but most Northern voters preferred Lincoln's views than Douglas' platform. With a wide advantage in population totals the North controlled the Electoral College, giving Lincoln the victory in the election. In Ohio, Lincoln finished first, with more than 231,000 votes to Douglas' 187,000. Forgot to add this re Stephen Douglas: Douglas was gracious in defeat. He remained in the U.S. Senate and attempted to find a peaceful solution to the tensions between the North and the South. Following the Battle of Fort Sumter in April 1861, Douglas back Lincoln and his efforts to return the South to the U.S. through military force. Douglas died on June 3, 1861.
