Stephen Douglas Argumentative Analysis

First, Abraham Lincoln wasn’t a fan of slavery. He thought that slavery should be abolished. According to document 5 it says “Abraham Lincoln, who had declared “Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free…”. Lincoln also thought that it should be “Free Speech, Free Homes, and Free Territory”. He thought that blacks should have the right to talk in public and blacks should own their own homes and property. Lincoln wanted all blacks to be free and didn't want racism.

Every single moment that takes place in history arguably leaves an effect that lasts much longer than just the initial outcome. The Lincoln Douglas Debates are by far one of the truest examples of this happening. The seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas that took place in 1858 had extreme importance in Illinois that created effects that decided the presidential election of 1860.

Abraham Lincoln, is a Kentucky made legitimate counsel and past Whig agent to Congress, he at first amplified national stature in the midst of his campaign against Stephen Douglas of Illinois for a U.S. Senate seat in 1858. The senatorial fight highlighted a shocking methodology of open encounters on the misuse issue, known as the Lincoln-Douglas reviews, in which Lincoln fought against the spread of subjection, while Douglas kept up that each area should have the point of preference to pick whether for no good reason to be free or

“Lincoln vehemently opposed the expansion of slavery into new western territories and served as one of the most influential advocates of ‘free soil’” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Although Lincoln stayed neutral on the topic of the abolitionist movement during his campaign, he was against the expansion of slavery. Because of this, the South saw him as a threat and seven southern states seceded from the Union.

He defends the South’s position on slavery which is a deeply grounded belief. Abraham Lincoln describes this situation as a disagreement on the definition of liberty in his “Address at Sanitary Fair, Baltimore” (1864). He explains that liberty may mean “for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men” (Forner 287). It is easy to see how this disagreement was heading in a catastrophic direction as the South continued to fight for the whole reason they came to America in the first place. The Confederates were willing to fight to death to defend their definition of freedom because the North winning the war equated to the very same thing in their minds; the end of their lives.

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates were one of the most significant events in American political history. It led to high tensions between the North and the South and it ended up being one of the main causes of the civil war. The Lincoln–Douglas Debates were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. Lincoln first challenged Douglas to the debates in 1858. It consisted of seven, three hour public debates in total. Both republican and democratic citizens from all over the country came to watch the fascinating discussion between the two. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas engaged in the prominent Lincoln-Douglas Debates during the election of 1860, for the public debates led to high controversy between Northerners and Southerners.

He wondered how someone who hated slavery could promise to protect it in all southern states. He wondered how someone who insisted that blacks were human could support racism. Why would he want to follow Lincoln?

What formidable challenges did Lincoln face in the election of 1864? How and why did Lincoln manage to win the 1864

The factors that allowed Abraham Lincoln to capture the election of 1860 with only 39% of the popular vote was the fact that he was able to win every state in the North except for New Jersey. The other candidates were not able to gather the large amount that Lincoln did. Breckinridge for example was only to win some states in the north which were North Carolina, Arkansas, Delaware, and Maryland. In the south he was able to win Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Another candidate, Bell was only able to win Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.

Enter the presidential election of 1860, which brought these tribulations to a clash with dramatic cost. The Democratic Party divided into three groups along their provincial lines, with each person vying for control of the party and each holding dissimilar ideas about how to deal with servitude in the West. Their candidates consisted of John C. Breckinride, John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas; their efforts would be rubbish, however, as Abraham Lincoln would be triumphant for the Republican Party. Lincoln stood on the grounds that the West should be completely liberated of slavery entirely; which apparently was sufficient as he won the election with less than forty percent of the popular vote. On a side note about the election, fifty-nine percent of the

Victory was won in the Electoral College for Lincoln. This election firmly established the Republicans who held presidency for 60 of the next 100 years. He helped form the new Republican Party, drawing on remnants of the old Whig, Free Soil, Liberty and Democratic parties.

During the late 1800’s there were turbulent times between the Northern and Southern States in America, one the vastest areas that was constantly being quarreled against one another is the usage of slavery. As slavery was the principal component within the Southern States, it provided the basis for many of the cash crops that were spread throughout. Whereas, many within the Northern States were firmly against the usage of slave and wanted to end this practice once and for all. This continuous incompatibility between slave states in the South and the free states in the North eventually ended up colliding into a Civil War. There were many aspects that led to this collision, such as; when America expanded into the western terrain after the Mexican-American

Lincoln won all of the electoral college votes in the north, except New Jersey split their electoral college votes between him and Dougla. Lincoln also won the electoral college votes for California and Oregon. John Cabell Breckinridge lost with almost all of the electoral college votes in the south, as well as winning Delaware and Maryland. Breckinridge got 72 electoral college votes and 847,953 popular votes. Even though Stephen Arnold Douglas got 1,380,202 popular votes, he only won Missouri’s nine electoral college votes and three of New Jersey’s seven electoral college votes. John Bell got half the amount of votes Douglas got with only 590,901 popular votes, but won over three times as many electoral college votes with 39 from the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and

Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery was the belief that the expansion of it to Free states and new territories should be ceased and that it eventually be abolished completely throughout the country. He believed simply that

an abolitionist. Stephan A. Douglas, one of the other runners for the presidency said in a speech about Lincoln "... Mr. Lincoln invites, by his proposition, a war of sections, a war between Illinois and Kentucky, a war between the free States and the slave states, a war between the North and South" (Stampp, 80) Douglas believed Lincoln would cause war if he was elected because of his position in slavery. Lincoln, was elected president, but didn 't receive much popularvotes.