Lincoln-Douglas Debates

     In the election of 1858, Stephen A. Douglas needed to win the reelection to the Senate from Illinois. However, Douglas' opponent was former Whig, turned Republican, Congressman, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's stance through which he convinced voters was that though he had opposed the acceptance of Kansas under a proslavery constitution, he couldn't be depended upon to continue to oppose the growth of slavery. Lincoln also set himself up to be a man who advocated Antislavery and in his "A House Divided" speech in 1858, proclaimed that he thought there was a plot to nationalize slavery until it became accepted as the norm and that Douglas was a part of it, as he refused to state his position upon said matter.

     The consequent series of debates, Douglas retaliated by arguing that Lincoln was trying to ruin the U.S way of life by completely wiping out all uses of slavery. Lincoln's greatest weakness was when Douglas accused him of supporting complete racial equality between blacks and whites, to which he quickly denied, confirming his commitment to white supremacy.