LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES (Part the First)

Stephen Douglas (1813-1861)

In which we give the background to the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858, and then we start in on our coverage of the debates.

Our book recommendation for this episode is Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America by Allen C. Guelzo.  

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln was known as a successful Illinois lawyer.  Two years later, he was elected president.  What carried this one-term congressman from obscurity to fame was the campaign he mounted for the United States Senate against the country’s most formidable politician.  As this brilliant narrative by the prize-winning Lincoln scholar Allen Guelzo dramatizes, Lincoln would emerge a predominant national figure, the leader of his party, and the man who would bear the burden of the national confrontation. 

Listen to Episode 18: LincolnDouglasDebatesPartFirst