...The Senate Campaign of 1858 Introduction The Senate Campaign of 1858 was called the one of greatest Campaign of the century. In the summer of 1858, two candidates campaigned across the state of Illinois for a seat in the United States Senate. That belonged to Stephen Douglas from the Democratic Party. He was seeking reelection. His opponent was a lawyer from the newly established Republican Party. His name was Abraham Lincoln. Out of this great campaign birth the Lincoln-Douglas debates which was a series of formal political debates in 1858 between the two candidates, but also received national importance. The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a defining moment in American political history, affording Abraham Lincoln a major opportunity to create an image for himself on the wider public stage. Stephen Douglas was an established political figure and had distinguished himself in numerous congressional battles, while Lincoln was not known in this arena. Discussion In 1832, Lincoln decided to run for the Illinois State Legislature. Lincoln was to campaign for local improvements such as better roads and canals. However, a war with the Black Hawk Indians broke out before Lincoln’s campaign could get going, in response he joined the Army. After his...
Words: 3258 - Pages: 14
...the Republican Party and emerged as a nominee for president after a series of senate debates in 1858. His anti-slavery stance made him unfavorable to the Southerners and his nomination only enraged them even more. Following Lincoln’s election for president and with the national government finally in antislavery hands, the South proceeded to secede from the union. Lincoln’s decision to fight in what became the Civil War was not based on his feelings towards slavery, but his duty as President to preserve the union at all costs. Lincoln set an entire new course for the United States withholding the crucial goals of “union and freedom”. The spread of slavery to new territories and states was an ongoing battle that was only deepened by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The bill mandated popular sovereignty which was intended as a compromise to reduce tensions but it had the opposite effect. It contradicted the Missouri Compromise which had been holding the country together for over 30 years. Once passed by Congress it lead to what became known as Bleeding Kansas due to the increased violence between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers. This had a profound effect on Lincoln who was greatly offended by Douglas’s creation and passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He began speaking out at public meetings in his home state and in debates with Stephen Douglas during the Illinois Senate campaign of 1858. Lincoln had previously put his political aspirations aside, but this prompted...
Words: 343 - Pages: 2
...many in New Salem and his ability to read and write also made him very popular In 1831, he decided to run in the illinois state legislature election as an independent candidate When the Black Hawk War began, he decided to help and was made captain of his unit but his unit didn't accomplish anything major Upon his return , the election was ending and so he was unable to campaign and he lost Pursued law and passed the bar exam in 1836 Was appointed by Jackson was postmaster of New Salem because of his decision to avoid partisanship Did manual or, worked as a surveyor, and didn some basic legal tasks Elected to the state legislature in...
Words: 479 - Pages: 2
...Douglas against him in the first of many ways. The climax of this feud is ingrained in the election for a state senate seat 1858. This election drew a lot of public attention due to the publicized debates between the two men. These debates played a large role in influencing our modern day campaigning styles. In this political clash, Stephen Douglas would be triumphant, and had the political hand over Lincoln going into the presidential election two years later. Nevertheless, the state senate election and the debates held during it had somewhat of a stronghold over the presidential campaigns in 1860. Author Douglas R. Egerton writes “The Republican Platform was in circulation, of course, as was Lincoln’s publications of his 1858 debates with Douglas”. Many were made aware of the past between these two candidates because rivalry was something the defined politics in Illinois a few years back, and history had the chance of repeating itself. In a way, this was a dramatic story line that made the election at hand...
Words: 1202 - Pages: 5
...The American Civil War was Unavoidable The bloodiest time in history for America was during The American Civil War; a time when Americans fought against themselves for their own rights in which they believed they were entitled to. To many it would be considered shocking and absurd to say the Civil War was something that could have been avoided – and they’re right. The Civil War was an unavoidable and ultimately inevitable conflict that was essential to the evolution of our nation. The differences between the North and the South, economically, geographically, and politically, were major players on why the two divided halves of the America could not prosper together at that time; that and the fact that the previous attempts to compromise on slavery had reached an unavoidable end also made the Civil War an inevitable and undeniable conclusion to the problems brewing between the two sides. There was simply no further room for compromise. There were many differences between the North and the South. The most obvious of which is that the North was, for the most part, industrial; while the South on the other hand was economically dependent of the production of staple crops (primarily cotton). The production of cotton in the South with the advent of the cotton gin soared, causing an increase of labor required; this lead to an increased dependency on slave labor in the south. Slavery was something the North often looked down upon and also held little or no value to them. How could...
Words: 1809 - Pages: 8
...Abraham Lincoln: House Divided Will Not Stand Abraham Lincoln,16th President of the United States, made his famous "House Divided Speech" on June 16, 1858 at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. His speech was made for the United States senate in order to mark his nomination by the Republican Party. This speech is known for being such an important event in the history since it exposed clearly Lincoln's position on slavery and its future in the United States. It also predicted events that were to occur in the near future. This speech revolved around Lincoln's debates and his Democratic Party opponent, Stephen A. Douglas. This campaign was consumed by the nationwide debate over slavery and its possible expansion from its historical base in the South into the northern free states. Douglas was representing the pro-slavery Democratic Party, and he argued that slavery would continue to exist in the United States without threatening the existence and stability of the Union. In his view, each state should have the right to determine whether or not slavery should exist in that state. Therefore, the democratic progress would decide slavery's status in each state. Douglas believed that free states and slave states could coexist peacefully with each other. Lincoln was representing the abolitionist, anti-slavery Republican Party, and he argued that slave states and free states could not coexist with each other since the two sides, pro-slavery and anti-slavery...
Words: 478 - Pages: 2
...a resolute opponent of President Polk, fought the war against Mexico, summoning the president to declare in what place would have happened to the alleged violation of borders. He demanded the extension of rights of the Union against those particular States, abolitionists argued fiercely, calling for the abolition of slavery in the District (1849). He campaigned vigorously for candidates Whigs, presented himself unsuccessfully in the Senate (1849), and refused the governorship of Oregon. He made a brilliant campaign in 1855 and was presented by the State as candidate for vice-presidency of the republic, but not chosen. In 1858, Abraham Lincoln was carried to the Senate election against Stephen A. Douglas won. The debate focused mainly on the admission of Kansas into the Union as slave state or not slavery. The campaign was of utmost importance because Lincoln forced his competitor to speak out against the Dred Scott decision, which alienated some Democrats and then dividing this party, decided his defeat in the presidential election. For the Senate election, Abraham Lincoln had the majority (4000 votes) vote of the electors of the first degree, but the distribution of electoral districts secured eight-vote majority in which Douglas was re-elected. In 1859, he continued the fight against it in Ohio, and then visited Kansas, New York, and New England, where he was acclaimed. The Republican convention for choosing a presidential candidate platform adopted for the denial of the legality...
Words: 2384 - Pages: 10
...who had just been elected to local political office, spoke on matters of great national significance. He made allusions to a recent act of mob violence in Illinois, and also addressed the issue of slavery. Though Lincoln was talking to a smalltown audience of friends and neighbors, he seemed to have ambitions beyond Springfield and his position as a state representative. Lincoln's Address at Cooper Union In late February 1860 Abraham Lincoln took a series of trains from Springfield, Illinois to New York City. He had been invited to speak to a gathering of the Republican Party, a fairly new political party which was opposed to the spread of slavery. Lincoln had gained some fame while debating Stephen A. Douglas two years earlier in a Senate race in Illinois. But he was essentially unknown in the East. The speech he delivered at Cooper Union on February 27, 1860, would make him an overnight star, elevating him to the level of running for president. Lincoln's First Inaugural Address Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address was delivered under circumstances never seen before or since, as the country was literally coming...
Words: 952 - Pages: 4
...proslavery and antislavery forces in Kansas, which became a prelude to the national Civil War that erupted seven years later, and it gave birth to the Republican Party, whose principal plank was exclusion of slavery from the territories. In 1857, the Supreme Court issued its controversial decision Scott v. Sanford, declaring African Americans were not citizens and had no inherent rights. Abraham Lincoln felt African Americans were not equal to whites, but he believed that the American founders intended that all men were created with certain inalienable rights. He decided to challenge sitting U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas for his seat. In 1858 Senate campaign featured seven debates held in different cities across Illinois. Both candidates didn’t disappoint the public but the main issue was slavery. In 1860, political operatives in Illinois organized a campaign to support Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. Lincoln’s nomination was due in part to his views in slavery, his support for improving the national infrastructure, and the protective tariffs. By the end of the election he received 40 percent of the popular vote, but carried 180 of 303 electoral votes. Right before becoming president in his inauguration in March, 1861, seven Southern states had seceded from the Union. By April 12, 1861 the Civil War began. Lincoln responded to the crisis by distributing $2 million from the treasury for war material, and called for 75,000 volunteers into military service without a declaration of war;...
Words: 901 - Pages: 4
...in Illinois, a Whig Party leader, and a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, where he served from 1834 to 1846. Elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846, Lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks, tariffs, and railroads. Because he had originally agreed not to run for a second term in Congress, and because his opposition to the Mexican–American War was unpopular among Illinois voters, Lincoln returned to Springfield and resumed his successful law practice. Reentering politics in 1854, he became a leader in building the new Republican Party, which had a statewide majority in Illinois. In 1858, while taking part in a series of highly publicized debates with his opponent and rival, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln spoke out against the expansion of slavery, but lost the U.S. Senate race to Douglas. In 1860, Lincoln secured the Republican Party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state. With very little support in the slaveholding states of the South, he swept the North and was elected president in 1860. His victory prompted seven southern slave states to form the Confederate States of America before he moved into the White House - no compromise or reconciliation was found regarding slavery and secession....
Words: 709 - Pages: 3
...Abraham Lincoln: the Great American Hero Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest heroes of America. His story from growing up with barely anything, to becoming the most powerful and dedicated man in office is one that will be told for years. He is an inspiration for people to achieve their goal and dreams just like he did through perseverance and dedication to his people. Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin County, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. His parents, Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, had two other children; Sarah, who was older than Abraham, and Thomas, a younger brother who died in infancy. After Abraham’s mother passed, when he was ten years old, he was devastated and alienated himself from his father, resenting the work and pressure put on him at such a young age. (biography.com) His father then moved them to Indiana where he was remarried to Sara Bush Johnston. As she lived there, nurturing and showing him more love than his mother or father ever did, she encouraged Abraham to learn to read, making a fast bond between the two of them. However, since they lived fairly secluded on a farm in Illinois, Abraham would walk for miles to obtain a book hoping to gain as much knowledge as possible. He also worked on the farm or split rails for neighbors and kept a store in Illinois to help out his family. At the age of twenty-two Lincoln left on his own, after his father insisted on moving the family multiple times. He was six foot, four inches tall and made his living...
Words: 1259 - Pages: 6
...American Civil War History Paper The American Civil War (1861–1865) was a civil war between the United States (the "Union") and the Southern slave states of the newly-formed Confederate States of America under Jefferson Davis. The Union included all of the free states and the five slaveholding border states and was led by Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party, which opposed the expansion of slavery into territories owned by the United States. Republican victory in the presidential election of 1860 led seven Southern states to declare their secession from the Union even before Lincoln took office.[1] The Union rejected secession, regarding it as rebellion. Hostilities began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Lincoln responded by calling for a large volunteer army, then four more Southern states declared their secession. In the war's first year, the Union assumed control of the border states and established a naval blockade as both sides massed armies and resources. In 1862, battles such as Shiloh and Antietam caused massive casualties unprecedented in U.S. military history. In September 1862, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation made ending slavery in the South a war goal, which complicated the Confederacy's manpower shortages. In the East, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee won a series of victories over Union armies, but Lee's reverse at Gettysburg in early...
Words: 6578 - Pages: 27
...Slavery to Freedom – African American History Nimra Jilani Los Angles Harbor College History 012 Professor KJ Hitt April 28th 2012 [pic] Slavery to Freedom – African American History The first African American arrived in the North America as servants and worked under contract from sixteenth to nineteenth century. They were brought from Africa by European Traders. In the past they were known by many names such as Negroes, Blacks and Coloureds. The term Nigger was also used for the African Americans mostly in south. More than half of the population of the African American lived in the Southern States of the America. Slavery first began in the late 16th century When African Americans were brought to American Colonies, they were bought by white masters and they had to work on tobacco and cotton farms in the South. They were not paid anything for all their hard work and living conditions were terrible for them. Slave work was very difficult. Most African American women cooked, cleaned the house and raised the children of their white owners, where as the men were trained to become carpenter or masons but most of them remained to be farmers. Most of the African Americans lived in the South where the percentage of the slavery was at its extreme. The racism towards the African Americans was at its extreme. A very famous historian Karl Marx stated In Wage Labor and Capital, Written twelve years before the civil war that: “What is a negro slave...
Words: 1847 - Pages: 8
...Howard states that with the Internet, advertising, and news media, dirty laundry grabs the public’s attention and creates a segmented society. This creates an ineffective and difficult transfer of power in our political system. To reinforce his argument, the author uses a compilation of George Washington’s views from “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation,” which is 110 observations made by the first American president. These observations point to operating daily with more candor and contain confrontation. In Henry Howard’s article in American Legion magazine, “A Case for Civility,” has a caption that says, “Today’s partisan rancor is nothing new. However, it is getting worse, as seen on the campaign trail, talk shows and Internet. How do we bury the hatch?” Mr. Howard’s article states that in spite of many successful examples of historical cooperation, that incivility is nothing new; there is more negatively charged polarization in American than in years past. Through talk shows, newscasts and Internet the various groups and individuals...
Words: 1212 - Pages: 5
...left open to popular sovereignty. Douglas pushed for the bill and won, therefore the Missouri Compromise was repealed and the North was in an uproar. 2. Birth of the Republican Party- Made up of former Free Soilers, Conscience Whigs, and “Anti-Nebraska” Democrats. Presented themselves as the party of freedom though they were not abolitionist, but they believed that slavery be kept out of the territories. The Republican Party appealed too many to voters who not only disagreed with slavery but also wanted to keep slavery out of their states. 3. Stephan A. Douglas- Known as the “Little Giant,” he was the most prominent spokesman of the Young American movement. He held a series of state offices before being elected for the United States Senate at the age of 29. Douglas wanted to get on with the development of the nation; to build railroads, acquire new territory, and expand trade. This made him suggest and push for the Kansas-Nebraska Act. 4. Popular Sovereignty- Also known as “squatter sovereignty,” the doctrine that says the people of a new territory, under the Constitution, have the right to decide the status of slavery. Congress officials liked it because it let them escape from making the decisions themselves. 5. Thirty-Six------Thirty-One- the area the Mexican Cession consisted of, some wanted it to allow slavery and others wanted slavery to spread no...
Words: 6381 - Pages: 26
