Douglas and Lincoln Debate the

Douglas and Lincoln Debate The Douglas-Lincoln debates were a series of political confrontations that marked the middle of the 19th century in America. One of the most important issues under discussion was slavery which was addressed by most politicians of the time. The format chosen for the confrontation was a seven debate system which allowed both candidates to confront their arguments and create an opinion to the electorate.

However, taking into consideration the first debate between the two on August 21, 1858 in Ottawa, Illinois, it can be said that Douglas, through the force of his arguments won the first encounter. There were several issues that were addressed by the two candidates; however, they were closely connected with the issue of slavery and the rights for blacks and whites in the American states.

The discussions on the subject were of high interest for all those involved taking into account the fact that Douglas had been the politician to introduce the Kansas Nebraska Act, a piece of legislation that allowed states to vote on whether they accepted slavery or not on their territory. Douglas was politically against slavery, he was the proponent of a state freedom and the voicing of the people; Lincoln, on the other hand, was completely against the issue, refusing to consider the spread of the "peculiar institution" west.

The first debate allowed Douglas, the first to speak, an hour to present its argument, followed by Lincoln, with Douglas finishing the round. However, the debate represented an opportunity for Lincoln to respond to Douglas's arguments; nonetheless, the latter can be considered the winner. First and foremost, Douglas discusses the resolutions of the Republican Party and Lincoln's adherence to them. He tries to attack his adversary's political attitude in terms of coherence and allegiance to the precepts set out in the Republican Convention.

In this sense, he places in discussion the issue of the Dred Scott decision which was an important and controversial act in the history of slavery in America. However, Douglas points out that "We are told by Lincoln that he is utterly opposed to the Dred Scott decision" because it denies a black person his rights stated in the Constitution.

However, the issue of human rights used as an argument by Lincoln to support the idea of giving rights to free slaves was not very popular among the people of Illinois, despite the fact that the state had abolished slavery through the constitution. Although it was a revolutionary step for that time, it was basically annulled by the Black codes voted afterwards which denied the right of black people to have a normal life.

Moreover, Lincoln's counterargument to this issue was based on the idea that "there is no reason in the world why the Negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" without offering a more substantial reason, while Douglas depicted a rather more profound argument against the rights of Black people, by pointing out that there is no citizen that would like its state to be, at one point, invaded by free slave.

Therefore, while Lincoln gave a rather general statement concerning the matter, Lincoln offered an image common people can relate to and therefore agree upon. Thus, Lincoln's use of the human rights issue was unsuccessful in this context. Secondly, Douglas raised the issue of the states free to decide on their own whether they accepted slavery or not. Douglas, points out the fact that states have according to the constitution the right and power to decide on their own for the rights given to the black people.

Referring to Illinois, he concludes that slaves "belong to an inferior race, and must always occupy an inferior position," thus "I hold that Illinois had a right to abolish and prohibit slavery as she did" and therefore "we must leave each and every other State to decide for itself the same question." In his counter argument however, Lincoln failed to address specifically this issue, and tried to consider more the issue of popular sovereignty.

Indeed, by pointing out the way in which the Republican interpreted the Dred Scott decision, which "allows the people of a Territory to have slavery if they want to, but does not allow them not to have it if they do not want it," he addressed the issue of the rights of the black people.

Despite the fact that he agreed on the physical differences existing between the whites and the blacks which would probably not allow the latter to lead a peaceful life in mixed societies, he does support the essential duty of.