History Of The Original Lincoln Douglas Debate — страница 4

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on the Dred Scott decision. He also talked about the importance of the existence of the Union and the only way to insure it was expansion. He argued about the importance of popular sovereignty and his views on slavery. Lincoln on the other hand argued continually on the Freeport Doctrine. He continually compared his position with that of Douglas on the admission of new states into the Union. Lincoln also dealt with the issue of Negro equality. Both men in the end put up a great effort to help their own campaigns for a seat in the Senate. While both Lincoln and Douglas had campaigned throughout the state Douglas in the end covered more ground and made more speeches. Lincoln gave sixty-three speeches as well as several short impromptu speeches. Douglas on the other hand made a

total of 130 speeches. On the day of elections, the final count of statewide votes stood Republicans 125,430, Democrats 121,609, and Buchanan Democrats 5,079. Then the legislature met on January 5 to choose a Senator. The vote was: Douglas 54 and Lincoln 41. Douglas had won. When White House asked Lincoln how he felt, he said, Well, it hurts too much to laugh, and I m too big to cry. However, his outlook would change. After all, the debates had turned out just as he expected. This was only the end of something just beginning. In the aftermath, Douglas was left with a debt of $80,000, which he would take to the grave. Lincoln on the other hand used much of his own money. Even though he did not win a seat in the Senate, he received recognition from other states for his debates. But

what was more important was that political figures from all over the country came to him for advice and counsel. Two years later, Lincoln was voted in office as the 14th President of the United States. Douglas suffered much more after the debates. Soon after, the stress of the debates set in and his health began to deteriorated for a short period of time. But he was soon back on his feet. Two years later, he lost in this race for the presidency. What caused this defeat in particular was the Freeport Doctrine. Because of it he lost all support in the South which in turn cost him the presidency. Lincoln in the end won the debates, not because he won on any one argument, and not because he later became a president, but because his arguments met the needs of his own time yet to the

ages as well. Certainly the debates revealed a richer meaning. They provided valuable lessons. The debaters themselves illustrated successful patterns of argument and refutation. They brought to attention all public concerns of the mid-nineteenth century. Yet, the debaters revealed the importance for common values, language, and appeals at the very time that sectional pressures were driving North and South further apart. Both candidates were masters at selecting effective arguments from all the possibilities, making the most of the arguments they picked. And yet they were aware of what they said because they did not want to incriminate themselves. The debates marked a turning point for the nation. Within three years it would undergo a bloody test of its ideals. Its subsequent

history would be a struggle to bring to fruition the decision reached on the field of battle. BIBLIOGRAPHY Angle, Paul, Created Equal? (The University of Chicago Press, 1958) Fehrenbacher, Don, Abraham Lincoln Speeches and Writings 1832-1858, (New York, Literary Classics of the United States, 1989) Heckman, Richard, Lincoln vs. Douglas, (Washington D.C., Public Affairs Press, 1967) Holzer, Harold, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, (New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1993) Jahannson, Robert, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, (New York, Oxford University Press, 1965) Sigelschiffer, Saul, The American Conscience the Drama of the Lincoln- Douglas Debates, (New York, Horizon Press, 1973) Zarefsky, David, Lincoln Douglas and Slavery, (University of Chicago, 1990)