History Of The Original Lincoln Essay -- essays research papers fc

In 1858, there was a great struggle within the state of Illinois for a seat in the Senate. The well know Stephen A. Douglas, the favored candidate, was excepted to win. Abraham Lincoln was not a well known candidate. In a struggle for the possible position, Lincoln proposed that he and Douglas organize a series of debates, so that both men might â€Å"divide time, and address the same audiences during the same canvass.† Douglas accepted, and he feared that he had â€Å"everything to lose from a joint appearance, and yet to decline the challenge would have seemed unmanly in the West of the mid nineteenth century.† Douglas then purposed dates and places; Lincoln complained that Douglas would have four opening and closings speeches whereas he would have only three, he wrote â€Å"I accede, and thus close the arrangement.† The first of seven debates was on Saturday, August 21, 1858 at Ottawa, which started an important part of the history of the United States of Amer ica, the Lincoln-Douglas debates.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Ottawa debate set the format for the remaining six debates. Lincoln and Douglas agreed that the first speaker would speak for an hour, the second speaker for an hour and a half, and the first speaker again for half an hour. On August 21, excitement was in the air. The town’s population of over 7,000 doubled overnight. At 2:30 p.m. Douglas began speaking and the battle was on! The Little Giant, Douglas, displayed the art that marked him as the master â€Å"stump-speaker† of his day. He first criticized Lincoln’s background and political history. He talked about Black inferiority, and the social as well as political dangers of freeing Blacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The highlight of his speech was the surprising argument he threw at Lincoln in the form of the Springfield Resolutions of 1854. Douglas quoted the radical â€Å"Codding† and declared that Lincoln joined with abolitionists Giddings, Chase, Fred Douglass, and â€Å"Parson† Lovejoy had constructed this platform for the new Black Republican Party of Illinois. Douglas became so engrossed in the speech he had to be reminded of his time limit. When Lincoln replied, he had no choice but to defend himself against the accusations. As Lincoln continued to debate, he displayed his ability as a rough-and-tumble debater, which had caused Douglas to say that he would have his hands full with Old Abe. He refute... ...ssures 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)