Lincoln Douglas debates and their historical significance

Lincoln-Douglas debates came out of the senatorial campaign of 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln and Douglas debated issues such as the growth of slavery, the power of states to have power over slavery within their own boundaries, and whether or not the Dred Scott decision (the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that a slave was not a human being and therefore was not permitted to sue for his freedom) was a shrewd decision. Lincoln, of course, was against slavery and opposed the growth of slavery to other states in the Union, but Douglas believed in popular sovereignty (the power of each state to be able to determine its own laws and policies). The debates also discussed Democratic and Republican party politics as well as the future of the United States, however, the debates were obviously focusing on one issue alone: slavery.

Lincoln believed that the Union was divided on the topic of slavery, which it was; slavery was allowed in some places and not allowed in others. "Slavery was a legal institution in fourteen states in the Union. It was a repulsive system, but it was also powerful" (Guelzo 10). Lincoln thought that either the Union needed to allow slavery everywhere in the Union -- or nowhere in the Union. Douglas, however, did not agree with Lincoln on this subject. Douglas brought up the fact that the country had been divided for seventy years already and asked Lincoln why after so many years it could not stay the same. Because of the great size of the United States, Douglas believed that what might be right for area of the country may not be right for another area. For example, because the South had cotton, slaves were more necessary than in the North where cotton plantations did not exist.

The Dred Scott decision was also emphasized during the debates. Lincoln opposed the Dred Scott decision as it took away the rights for blacks to enjoy citizenship. Douglas was wholly against black citizenship, however, claiming that the government was made by white people and for white people, and therefore it did not include blacks as citizens. Douglas did not believe that blacks were equal to whites, but he also didn't necessarily believe that because of that fact they should be slaves. Rather, he believed that it was up to every state to decide what the rights should be. He didn't want to set forth laws about this, but rather, he wanted every state to decide for itself.

One of Lincoln's better points was that slavery had not served to bring the states of the Union together, but rather, slavery had served to put a wedge between the states of the Union. When considering why the Union had existed in a half-free / half-slave state for so long, Lincoln commented that the men who created the government thought that slavery was only a temporary thing. He thought that when people realized that slavery would not and could not be everlasting, it would simply stop. He thought that slavery should just be left alone in the South until it dwindled away on its own, which he believed would eventually happen.