Most Famous Political Debates In American History

The debates are generally considered one of the most famous political contests in American History. They tackle the issue of the survival of the union and the institution of slavery. Though they were both running for a seat in the Senate, the debates ended up being very important in deciding the future President, which was Lincoln who won the election in 1860. When Lincoln and Douglas debated on the slavery extension issue in 1858, they were addressing the problem that had divided the nation into two. It’s like they turned into two hostile camps and that threatened the continued existence of the Union. Their contest,had consequences far beyond deciding who would win the senatorial seat at stake. When Lincoln had received the Republican
Although he kept his seat in the Senate, by scarcely defeating Lincoln when the state legislature voted 54 to 46 in his favor. Douglas’s reputation as a national leader of the Democratic Party was severely diminished. Lincoln, on the other hand, had lost the election but won praise as an expressive spokesman for the Republican cause. In 1860 the Lincoln-Douglas debates were printed as a book and used as an important campaign document in the presidential contest that year. Which once again put Republican Lincoln against the Democrat Douglas. This time, however, Douglas was running as the candidate for a divided party and finished a very distant second in the popular vote to the victorious Lincoln. In the long run the debates were favorable to Lincoln and fatal to Douglas. Lincoln gained national status from his performance and became a serious contender in the presidential election. Douglas, however, having argued during the debates that slavery in the territories could be prohibited by local motivation. It helped to split the party and thus virtually destroying his fervent Presidential