Speaking of political debates

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Life in the United States during the pre-Civil War era was one of turmoil. The clash over slavery was becoming more intense every day. Consider in 1857 the Dred Scott decision, holding that Scott was not a citizen and could not file suit in federal court. The U.S. Supreme Court also held that African Americans could never be citizens, and that Congress had no authority to exclude slavery from the nation.

During the heated campaign in 1858 for election to the U.S. Senate from the state of Illinois, the series of debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party candidate, and incumbent Sen. Stephen A. Douglas took place. Attendance was in the many thousands, sometimes with parades and music. They were a great event in American political history.

Here is a glimpse:

Ottawa, Aug. 21

Douglas went first, putting Lincoln on the defensive, immediately attacking Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech, where Lincoln stated: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Douglas also criticized Lincoln’s objections to the Dred Scott decision and proceeded to criticize Lincoln’s view that African Americans were equal to whites, arguing that the status of Blacks in America was a matter for states and territories to decide. Lincoln, in response, read to the audience a prior speech in which he proclaimed he had no desire to promote the political and social equality of Blacks and whites.

Douglas to the audience: “Suppose the doctrine of uniformity preached by Lincoln that is the States should all be free or all be slave had prevailed? What would have been the result? Of course the twelve slave holding States would have overruled the one free state and slavery would have been fastened by a constitutional provision on every inch of the American republic. Instead our Fathers wisely left it to each State to decide for itself.”

Douglas argued African Americans were inferior to whites. The status of Blacks was for the states and territories to decide. Lincoln expressed the view emphatically that Blacks and whites were equal.

Freeport, Aug. 27

Many Lincoln supporters were uneasy at the second debate, as Stephens seemed to put Lincoln off balance at Ottawa. Lincoln appeared too defensive and not aggressive enough. But after the first debate, he received helpful advice, such as: “Put a few ugly questions to Douglas, do not act defensive, don’t refer to your past speeches.”

Lincoln began by answering all the questions posed by Stephens at Ottawa. For example:

Question: I desire to know whether Lincoln today stands as he did in 1854 in favor of the unconditional repeal of the Fugitive Slave law.

Answer: I do not now nor ever did stand in favor of the unconditional repeal of the Fugitive Slave law.

Jonesboro, Sept. 15

Stephens began by again attacking Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech on the slavery issue, but Lincoln was more in the attack mode.

Stephens argued that the union should remain peacefully divided on the slavery issue. He again insisted the rights of Black people in America were matters of state concern and not defined by the Declaration of Independence as Lincoln had argued. Lincoln disagreed. He argued that Douglas radically redirected the situation of slavery from where the nation’s founders had placed it, in the course of ultimate extinction.

Charleston, Sept. 18

The central feature of this debate was Lincoln’s speaking on the topic of race equality. Stephens denied Lincoln’s accusation that he, Stephens, was in league with others to nationalize slavery.

Galesburg, Oct. 7

This debate was the largest in attendance thus far. Stephens intensely criticized Lincoln for his prior inconsistency — that “all men are created equal” according to the Declaration of Independence while declaring in the Charleston debate that there must be a superior and inferior race. Lincoln denied the attack, arguing slavery was an evil that should end.

Quincy, Oct. 13

The opponents continued arguing about slavery. Douglas stated he looked forward to when each state would mind its own business on the slavery issue, and the Union would be divided into free and slave states. Lincoln sarcastically thanked Douglas for finally acknowledging that slavery would last forever.

Alton, Oct. 15

Douglas reaffirmed that the promise of the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence applied only to white people, and the rights and privileges of Blacks should be determined only by their immediate communities. Lincoln rebutted vigorously, arguing Douglas’s view is lawless and monstrous.

In conclusion, Douglas won the election to represent Illinois in the United States Senate, but Abraham Lincoln emerged as a nationally known and respected public figure, laying the groundwork for his 1860 presidential campaign. The rest is history.

(Source: “The Lincoln Douglas Debates,” edited by Rodney O. Davis and Douglas L. Wilson, published by The Knox College Lincoln Studies Center, 2008.)

Paul Mark Sandler, trial attorney and author, can be reached at [email protected].