Who was Stephan Douglas?

Answer 1

Stephen A. Douglas was a prominent American politician and lawyer in the mid-19th century, best known for his role as a U.S. Senator from Illinois and for his debates with Abraham Lincoln during the 1858 Senate campaign. He was a key proponent of the doctrine of popular sovereignty, which allowed territories to decide for themselves whether to permit slavery. Douglas played a significant role in the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which exacerbated sectional tensions leading up to the Civil War. His political career ended after the election of Lincoln, and he died shortly after the war began in 1861.