Debates of Lincoln and Douglas

Carefully recorded by reporters in 1858, the debates between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln resulted in a win by Douglas in his campaign for U.S. Senate. In contrast to Douglas's Popular Sovereignty stance, Lincoln stated that the country could not survive as half-slave and half-free states. The Lincoln-Douglas debates drew the attention of the entire nation and set the stage for Lincoln's successful 1860 race for the United States Presidency.