Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858

Description

Professor Lucas E. Morel details the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in the 1858 campaign for an Illinois seat in the United States Senate. Morel looks at the discussion of slavery in these debates.

To listen to this lecture, scroll to the Tuesday, June 22nd, 9:00 am-10:30 am session; and select the corresponding RealAudio link to the left.

Older versions of this lecture, from newer to older, can be found here and here.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates: What do they mean 150 years later?

Description

"With the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln Douglas Debates this year, it is important to review the debates for a Senate campaign in one state that reached national attention and gave Abraham Lincoln national recognition. This workshop will examine how debates between candidates have changed from thorough, thoughtful, and civilized debates to the negative, critical, and personal-attack debates of the present. Educators will focus on the art of the debate and how to present to their students a debate forum using the Lincoln-Douglas Debates as a guide for persuasion, information, and presentation."

Contact name
Manning, Carol
Sponsoring Organization
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Target Audience
Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade
Start Date
Cost
None
Course Credit
"CPDUs/CEUs: 5 CPDU"
Duration
One day

Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858

Image
Annotation

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 website covers precisely what it sounds as if it would—the famed debates between senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.

Navigation is simple, divided into sections by primary source type. Debate Text from Nicolay and Hay< includes "transcriptions" of the debates recreated by two of Lincoln's secretaries circa 1894, as well as debate-related publications by the same two individuals. The transcriptions are based on Lincoln's own writings and newspaper accounts of the debates. Debate Text from Newspapers provides links to newspaper versions of the debate. The website notes that newspapers were affiliated with a political party, and that it can be intriguing to compare Democratic and Republican accounts of the same speech. Debate Commentary from Newspapers is similar to the newspaper debate text section except that it covers period observations on the debates rather than the words spoken.

Additional sections contain video commentary on the debates, maps, relevant images, and two lesson plans. Note that the lesson plans do not specify appropriate grade levels.