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Summary: The Life Of Stephen A. Douglas

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Emma Williams Dr. Morris APUSH-4A 9 September 2015 The Life of Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (1813-1861) was a popular U.S. politician, leader of the Democratic Party, and well-known public speaker. “Heavyset and only five feet four inches tall, he was dubbed the “Little Giant” by his contemporaries” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Stephen received a basic education and was involved in both farm work and teaching. In the years to come he married Martha Martin, who then passed away after giving him two sons, leading him to remarry a woman named Adele Cutts. Throughout his life he contributed many things to American history like the Freeport Doctrine and the Kansas-Nebraska act, which both revolved around Stephen’s ideology of popular …show more content…

“If Stephen did not take it, the slaves would be sent to Africa, which they feared” (Bonner 50). Her father appointed Douglas property manager but with it came many difficulties. Because of this he hired a manager to operate the plantation in his place and used his 20 percent income to advance his political career. In the summer of 1847, Stephen and Martha made Chicago, IL their new home. Here they had two sons, Robert M. Douglas and Stephen Arnold Douglas, Jr. Martha died after the birth of their third child, a daughter, whom died as well just a few weeks later. On November 20, 1856, Douglas remarried to Adele Cutts who, with his permission, had his two sons baptized as Catholics. In 1858 Adele had a miscarriage, and the following year gave birth to a daughter who lived only a few …show more content…

The majority of American southerners at this time were for slavery, thus Douglas’ idea of popular sovereignty and his Freeport doctrine led to southern opposition of him becoming president. But Stephen Douglas was constantly attempting to avoid war at all costs and fought for sanctity of the Union. For example, “When slavery became a divisive political issue during the Mexican War, Douglas’s romantic nationalism faced a new challenge. Fearing that the issue might disrupt the Republic, he argued for the doctrine of popular sovereignty-the right of the people of a state or territory to decide the slavery question for themselves-as a Union-saving formula” (History.com). Furthermore, it can be concluded that, through various life experiences, Douglas forms unique beliefs about slavery and thus goes on to combine the issue with politics. This combination led to the instigation of many important historical proclamations that transformed American History into a modern

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