lincoln-douglas

The Context of 1858 Elections

  • The United States held Congressional elections every two years, with the next significant one in 1858.

  • Focus was particularly on the reelection bid of Stephen Douglas for the U.S. Senate from Illinois.

  • Illinois was divided on the issue of slavery:

    • Northern Illinois: Strongly anti-slavery; ties to the Northeast.

    • Southern Illinois: Had pro-slavery sympathies; ties to Kentucky.

Key Figures in the Election

  • Stephen Douglas: Incumbent Senator running for reelection.

  • Abraham Lincoln: Douglas's Republican challenger, a former one-term Whig congressman.

    • Gained attention for his opposition to President James K. Polk regarding the Mexican-American War.

    • Introduced the idea of a slave power conspiracy in America.

Lincoln's Views and Rhetoric

  • Lincoln articulated the idea that:

    "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

  • He believed that the government could not coexist as half slave and half free, predicting it would become either entirely one or the other.

  • The Dred Scott ruling heightened Republican fears of a nation converted to slave territory.

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates

  • Lincoln and Douglas participated in seven public debates, drawing large crowds (over 10,000 attendees).

  • The debates were widely reported thanks to new telegraph technology.

  • They addressed various issues, focusing prominently on the spread of slavery.

    • Douglas advocated for popular sovereignty, stating it empowered settlers to determine their own destiny.

Key Debate Points

  • Lincoln challenged Douglas with a pivotal question regarding Dred Scott:

    • How could popular sovereignty allow local opposition to slavery if the Supreme Court upheld slaveholder rights?

  • Douglas championed popular sovereignty but faced contradictions:

    • He argued that local sentiments against slavery would prevail over the Court’s ruling, yet he could not openly support pro-slavery policies in Illinois.

  • Meanwhile, Southern Democrats were moving towards a radical pro-slavery stance, believing that total expansion of slavery was necessary to avoid being marginalized.

Election Results and Aftermath

  • Ultimately, Douglas won the election due to Illinois voters choosing a Democratic majority in the state legislature which then elected him.

  • Lincoln, although he narrowly lost, emerged as a national figure and gained substantial recognition, setting the stage for his future political career.