The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 were a series of debates for one of Illinois' two United States Senate seats between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln lost this election, but his debates launched him into national prominence which led to his election as the President of the United States in 1860. Lincoln and Douglas agreed upon debating in seven of the nine Congressional Districts in Illinois. Lincoln argued that if slavery was such an institution, why was it dividing them into two different "societies". Later defending this statement saying this country cannot go on half free half slaved. While Douglas argued that slavery was a institution that was "dying" due to the fact that it could not thrive in a cold climate and where soil is uninviting towards southern crops.
Although this was a very important topic in the debates between Lincoln and Douglas the topic on black rights highly differed from each other. Douglas thought that blacks should not be considered equals to whites but should remain slaves. Lincoln's outlook was completely different than Douglas's. Lincoln thought blacks should be equal in their way of living and be aloud to work for their own food. In the end the Illinois state legislators actually elected the senator not the general public. Therefore Lincoln failed to win the election but this launched him into a potential presidential candidate.
Although this was a very important topic in the debates between Lincoln and Douglas the topic on black rights highly differed from each other. Douglas thought that blacks should not be considered equals to whites but should remain slaves. Lincoln's outlook was completely different than Douglas's. Lincoln thought blacks should be equal in their way of living and be aloud to work for their own food. In the end the Illinois state legislators actually elected the senator not the general public. Therefore Lincoln failed to win the election but this launched him into a potential presidential candidate.