Lincoln Douglas Debates

Lincoln Douglas Debates

A Closer Look

Abraham Lincoln- Republican

• Argued against the Dred Scott decision, saying there was no constitutional support for slavery.

• Said slavery should not be extended into the western territories.

• Concerned that the nation no longer be divided on the topic of slavery.

Multiple Choice

What political party was Lincoln a part of?

• Democratic

• Republican

Multiple Choice

Which state best describes Lincoln's position on the slavery issue in the 1850s?

• he refused to discuss slavery in his speeches and avoided taking a position

• he was a committed abolitionist and campaigned to end slavery in the United States

• he personally opposed slavery but favored popular sovereignty in the western territories

• he opposed the spread of slavery but was willing to tolerate it where it already existed

Stephen Douglas- Democrat

• Argued for popular sovereignty.

• Said that the people can lawfully introduce or reject slavery.

• Saw that the state divisions over slavery was a strength of popular government.

Multiple Choice

What party did Stephen Douglas belong to?

• Democratic

• Republican

Multiple Choice

True or False: Abraham Lincoln believed that states should be able to decide whether to allow slavery

• True

• False

Excerpt from “A House Divided” Speech by Abraham Lincoln:

“A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.” 

“A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.” 

• 1. Lincoln is using “house” as a metaphor.  What does “house” represent?

• 2. What do the two parts of the house represent?

• 3. According to Lincoln, what is dividing the house?

• 4. What is Abraham Lincoln trying to say in this speech?

Multiple Choice

Who supported (liked) the Dred Scott decision?

• Pro Slavery Forces

• Anti Slavery Forces

• Neither Group

Why did Pro Slavery forces support this?

• Slaves were considered property under the Constitution, and can be taken to any state or territory by their owner.

Multiple Choice

Who supported Stephen Douglas in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates?

• Pro Slavery Forces

• Anti Slavery Forces

• Neither group

Why did neither group support Stephen Douglas?

• Pro slavery people wanted protection to own slaves.

  
  

• Anti slavery people wanted to prevent expansion of slavery.

  
  

Multiple Choice

Who supported Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates?

• Pro Slavery Forces

• Anti Slavery Forces

• Neither group

Why did Anti Slavery Forces support Abraham Lincoln?

• Lincoln wanted to prevent slavery from moving into the territories.

  
  

Multiple Choice

Who supported the hanging of John Brown?

• Pro Slavery Forces

• Anti Slavery Forces

• Neither Group

Why would Pro Slavery forces support the hanging of John Brown?

• Pro slavery people saw the raid on Harpers Ferry as an act of rebellion against the institution of slavery.

  
  

Fast forward 2 years after the 1858 Illinois election for State Senator.

It is 1860, and the election for the U.S. President is drawing near.

The Election of 1860: Breckinridge and Douglas

By 1860, the differences that divided North from South were so severe that the nation was ready to split apart.

The Democratic Party was deeply divided. Southern Democrats wanted the party to guarantee, or promise, the right to expand slavery into the territories. The party’s convention refused to do this. The delegates from the South walked out. They chose their own candidate, John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. The remaining Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas. Douglas continued to support popular sovereignty.

Multiple Choice

Douglas and Breckinridge were apart of the same political party. What was it?

• Democratic Party

• Republican Party

• Constitutional Union Party

Multiple Choice

What was Douglas's platform?

• He promised to expand slavery to the western territories. Also supported popular sovereignty

• He did not promise to expand slavery to the western territories. Also supported popular sovereignty.

• He wanted to avoid the issue of slavery. Supported the Union and the Constitution.

• He wanted to stop the expansion of slavery to the territories. Didn't intend to end slavery in the South.

Multiple Choice

What was Breckinridge's platform?

• He promised to expand slavery to the western territories. Also supported popular sovereignty

• He did not promise to expand slavery to the western territories. Also supported popular sovereignty.

• He wanted to avoid the issue of slavery. Supported the Union and the Constitution.

• He wanted to stop the expansion of slavery to the territories. Didn't intend to end slavery in the South.

Multiple Choice

Who supported Douglas?

• The Northern Democrats

• The Southern Democrats

• The Abolitionists

• The Whigs

Multiple Choice

Who supported Breckinridge?

• The Northern Democrats

• The Southern Democrats

• The Abolitionists

• The Whigs

The Election of 1860: Bell

Another party, the Constitutional Union Party, had formed. This party was made up of former Whigs, Know-Nothings, and Southern Democrats who supported the Union. The Constitutional Union Party had a simple platform. It supported the Union and the Constitution. The party tried to simply avoid the issue of slavery. It nominated John Bell of Tennessee.

Multiple Choice

What political party was Bell apart of?

• Democratic Party

• Republican Party

• Constitutional Union Party

Multiple Choice

What was Bell's platform?

• He promised to expand slavery to the western territories. Also supported popular sovereignty

• He did not promise to expand slavery to the western territories. Also supported popular sovereignty.

• He wanted to avoid the issue of slavery. Supported the Union and the Constitution.

• He wanted to stop the expansion of slavery to the territories. Didn't intend to end slavery in the South.

Multiple Select

Who supported Bell?

• Southern Democrats

• Know Nothings

• The Abolitionists

• The Whigs

The Election of 1860: Lincoln

The Republican Party’s nominee was Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was the only candidate who was clearly against slavery. However, Lincoln said he did not intend to end slavery in the South. Lincoln said that he only wanted to stop the further expansion of slavery into the territories. Many of his supporters were abolitionists, free-soilers, and Republicans.

Multiple Choice

What political party was Lincoln apart of?

• Democratic Party

• Republican Party

• Constitutional Union Party

Multiple Choice

What was Lincoln's platform?

• He promised to expand slavery to the western territories. Also supported popular sovereignty

• He did not promise to expand slavery to the western territories. Also supported popular sovereignty.

• He wanted to avoid the issue of slavery. Supported the Union and the Constitution.

• He wanted to stop the expansion of slavery to the territories. Didn't intend to end slavery in the South.

Multiple Select

Who supported Lincoln?

• Republicans

• Northern Democrats

• The Abolitionists

• Free-Soilers

The race showed how deeply divided the nation was along regional lines. There were actually two different campaigns going on at the same time. In the North, the election was between Douglas and Lincoln. In the South, it was between Breckinridge and Bell. The Republicans did not campaign in the South at all. Lincoln’s name was not even on the ballot in 10 states. Only Douglas ran a national campaign.

1. Why do you think the Republicans did not campaign (try to get votes) in the South?

The results were firmly divided by region. Lincoln’s Republican Party won the North and the two free states on the West Coast. Bell’s Constitutional Union Party won in the non-cotton-growing Southern states: Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Breckinridge won the South. The only exception was Maryland. This non-cotton-growing slave state voted for Breckinridge. Douglas won nearly 30 percent of the popular vote. However, his support was spread thinly over a wide area, and he only carried Missouri. Lincoln won only about 40 percent of the popular vote. He did not win a single state in the South. However, the 17 states that Lincoln won gave him 59 percent of the electoral votes and victory in the election.

2. How did Lincoln win the 1860 election?  

Before the election, some Southern leaders had threatened that their states would secede, or leave the Union, if Lincoln were elected. Even before Lincoln was sworn in as president, seven states seceded from the Union. In December 1860, South Carolina was first to secede. The Civil War was about to begin.

3. According to the graph, how many states in total seceded from the Union?