1858 Debates
Stephen A. Douglas
(1813-1861)
Douglas was both the best-known Democrat in Illinois in 1858, and he was generally accepted as the front-runner for his party’s nomination for United States President in 1860. But first he had to get re-elected to the United States Senate. At only 5 feet, 4 inches tall, Douglas was known as The Little Giant because of his loud, booming voice.
Abraham Lincoln
(1809-1865)
Lincoln was not well known even in Illinois when the Republican Party nominated him to challenge Douglas in 1858. Once called, “A seventy-six-inch-long squirrel,” Lincoln towered over Douglas by a full 12 inches.
History of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates
United States Senators were not elected by popular vote at that time, but by state legislatures. As a result, Douglas and Lincoln both campaigned to give their party a majority in the Illinois General Assembly.
With a strong organization and more money, Douglas was able to draw large crowds whenever he appeared in public. Lincoln was forced to use Douglas’ crowds as a place to advertise his own rallies, usually speaking later in the day or the next day.
Tired of being dogged by Lincoln across the state, Douglas finally agreed to “share the same platform and divide our time.”
Seven debates were agreed to, one in each of the seven Congressional Districts in Illinois where the two had not previously given major speeches within a day of each other. They had previously spoken within a day of each other in Springfield and Chicago, which meant that those two Congressional Districts would not host one of the formal debates.
Locations
The locations of the debates were determined by which towns in each Congressional District had the best transportation connections.
- Ottawa – August 21
- Freeport – August 27
- Jonesboro – September 15
- Charleston – September 18
- Galesburg – October 7
- Quincy – October 13
- Alton – October 15
Ottawa
Freeport
Jonesboro
Charleston
Galesburg
Quincy
Alton
Format
- The first speaker was allowed one hour, the second speaker was allowed one and one-half hours, and then the first speaker was allowed a half hour “rejoinder.”
- Douglas spoke first at Ottawa, Jonesboro, Galesburg and Alton.
- Lincoln spoke first at Freeport, Charleston, and Quincy.
Stenography was used by newspapers in an attempt to get accurate texts of the debates. However, since newspapers were highly partisan at the time, Douglas’ speeches were edited to make them read better when printed in pro-Democratic papers, while Lincoln’s speeches were not. Republican-leaning newspapers edited Lincoln’s speeches and left Douglas’ in their raw form.
Legacy
National interest in the debates was aroused because of the nature of the topic and the prominence of Douglas as possible presidential nominee. Newspapers across the nation reprinted the debate texts as originally published in Chicago newspapers.
After the election Lincoln took his collection of newspaper texts of the debates and had them published in book form.
Lincoln gained national attention because of the debates, which led to his being the nominee of the Republican party for president in 1860.
Douglas-Lincoln Debates was how the debates were known for many years after the election.
Results of the 1858 election:
- Douglas was easily re-elected to the U.S. Senate because the Illinois General Assembly was controlled by his party.
- But Douglas’ stance on popular sovereignty caused a split in the Democrat Party so that there were three Democrats on the ballot for president in 1860.
- Lincoln was elected President in 1860 and states immediately began seceding from the Union, setting off the Civil War.