Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Abraham Lincoln

Stephen Douglas

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates were a set of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in 1858 during the Illinois state election campaign.  Historians believe the seven debates to be some of the most important in our political history. These debates were significant to the issue of North-South sectionalism because the issues involved the conflict over slavery. There was Douglas’ “popular sovereignty” position, in which states/territories could decide for themselves whether or not slavery would be permitted. Lincoln believed slavery was morally wrong and should be abolished.  Lincoln said that either slavery would become extinct or the U.S. would, because the issue was dividing the our country.  Lincoln accused Douglas of trying to extend slavery into free states/territories by using "popular sovereignty" to influence voters. Douglas argued that “popular sovereignty” was fair in that he believed decisions should be made at the local level to reflect the people’s wishes.  Douglas denied Lincoln’s accusations and said most territories would choose to be free of slavery anyway because of economic and geographic reasons. These two men both opposed slavery, but believed that the way it should and would be abolished was either enforced by the government, from Lincoln's point, or enforced by the will and morality of the people, from Douglas' point. 

These debates created sectional tension by the people rallying behind whoever they supported, either Lincoln or Douglas. Southerners were angered by Douglas' viewpoint that local police regulations were what managed slavery. Many Northerners agreed with the two men's views, but were not quite ready for the government to take such a prominent role on the issue of slavery. Douglas won the election.