The Lincoln-Douglas Debates: Major Causes Of The Civil War

The Lincoln Douglas debates were a series of several debates that took place all over the state of Illinois. In these debates, two men argued in order to express their beliefs and standpoints on certain issues, primarily slavery, in an attempt to be elected into a seat in the U.S. Senate. The two men that participated in these debates were

In sequence with these events, Abraham Lincoln returned to politics in 1854 because of the success of Douglas’ Kansas-Nebraska act, and he quickly became the voice of the newly formed Republican Party. Shortly after he accepted the nomination from his party he said, “A housed divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.” This quote is very important because Americans became aware that they would soon have to choose either to favor or oppose slavery, there was no middle ground. In Abraham Lincoln’s eyes, freedom meant the opposition to slavery. Unfortunately for the Republican party, Lincoln lost the election of 1858 and Douglas was reelected, but Lincoln would soon be back.

There has been much debate as to whether the Civil War could have been avoided or not. The Evansville Daily Journal argues that the Civil War was inevitable, but Alexander Stephens disagrees and proposes that the war could have been avoided. Stephen’s argument is superior to the Evansville Daily Journal one because it objectively talks about the recent changes in the United States, explains the different views between the North and South, and tries to convince people that a war is not necessary.

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

The Democratic Party split in 1860 over the slavery issue. The Democrats from the Northern states were against slavery or at least the expansion of slavery in the new territories while the Democrats from the Southern states wanted to preserve slavery in their states and were for extending it in the new territories. On April 23, 1860, the Democrats met in Charleston, South Carolina with the goals of finalizing their platform and nominating a presidential candidate. In the North the Democratic candidate was the moderate Stephen Douglas. Voters in the South chose John Breckenridge, a defender of "Southern rights". The Southern Democrats hated Douglas, although he was not completely opposed to slavery in the West, he wanted to limit the institution 's use in the territories, by initiating popular sovereignty. A key play by Lincoln in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates in 1858 helped the Southerners realize this. Because the Democrats were split between different candidates and the Republican Party was united behind Abraham Lincoln, they won more electoral votes. Therefore, Lincoln became president.

The Civil War was the war that divided the young American nation into two opposing sides. One side being the North, also called the Union, and the second side being the South, also called the Confederacy. The root cause of why the South seceded from the Union has been debated and argued since the beginning of the war in 1861. Most people argue that the argument, between the North and the South, over slavery was the main reason why the South left the Union. However, the issue has to be more complex than just the issue with slavery. The root cause of the of the South secession from the Union was a combination of the South’s aggravation and fear over their dependence on the North for their economic prosperity and their dependence on slavery for a highly profitable economy.

Today, one main subject still debated by historians is the primary cause of the Civil War. Most people will argue that the indisputable reason for the War was centered on slavery. While slavery definitely played a significant role in the Civil War, it was not the only cause of the war. The essential cause of the Civil War consisted of an ongoing political battle between the States’ Rights versus the Federal Rights. Due to the political battle, other probable reasons for the Civil War began to develop such as slavery and the differences in the Northern and Southern economies.

On June 16, 1858, the start of Illinois's greatest political contests took place, otherwise known as the race for the U.S. Senate between Democratic Douglas and Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln. That same night, Lincoln launched his campaign by saying that the United States could not survive for long with such a deep gulf between the North and South. He said either the opponents of slavery will stop the spread of it, or the advocates will push it forward until it is a law in all of the states. As the campaign progressed, Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of seven open-air debated to be held through Illinois on the issue of slavery in the territories. Douglas believed deeply in allowing the residents of a territory to vote for or against

When Lincoln was running for the Senate seat in Illinois. He had to participate in series of debates called the Lincoln Douglas debates, which made both Lincoln and Douglas famous around the nation. Both, Lincoln and Douglas, traveled around the state discussing major issues such as slave. During the debate, Lincoln stated, “I desire no concealment of my opinions in regard to the institution of slavery. I look upon it as a great evil… A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.” (Doc. 4) His beliefs brought him into the national stoplight. His beliefs made him be favored by northerners while southerners did not favor him because they believed he was threat to slavery. This furthered divided the North and the

First we see the causes of the debates. Both Lincoln and Douglas were running for a place in the United States Senate

The debates between Lincoln and Douglas were conducted over several months at seven different locations throughout the state of Illinois and they attracted large crowds at every location and, eventually, drew interest from newspapers throughout the country. Although there were a variety of issues discussed during these debates, the primary issue revolved around the issue of

The causes of the Lincoln-Douglas debates was in the year of 1846, Stephen A. Douglas was first elected to the United States Senate. Douglas was looking for reelection for a third term. During the time that he was in the Senate, the issue of slavery was raised several times, mainly with the respect of the Compromise of 1850. When Douglas was a chairman of the committee on territories, Douglas did not agree for an approach to slavery called popular sovereignty, giving the local territories to choose slavery. In 1854, Stephen A. Douglas was successful with the passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act. Abraham Lincoln was just like Douglas, he was also elected to Congress in 1846. Lincoln served one two-year term in the House of Representatives.

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

In 1858 he carried out his campaign to be elected as Senator for Illinois. During this period, he held a series of debates against his opponent Stephen A. Douglas. His speeches came in for criticism because he was against slavery and its expansion across the U. S. Unfortunately, the slave-holding states of the South totally disagree with the abolition of the slavery. As a result, he lost this election.

Before watching the debate, read through this section twice. The first time will give you the gist of what is presented, while the second time will allow you to see if you can actually do as it instructs.