The Debates that Defined America
With the country in a recession, property values plummeting, a series of political debates captured the attention of the entire U.S. The year was 1858. The seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in the Illinois senatorial contest focussed on the issue of slavery--Douglas arguing for states' rights and Lincoln calling slavery a moral issue. Douglas won re-election--Lincoln won national prominence.
The format of the Lincoln/ Douglas debates was used in the 1960 Kennedy/Nixon debates-- in an abbreviated version. Read the story of these great debates of 1858 in Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates that Defined America. These debates raised important questions about the purpose of democracy--"the will of the majority or achievement of a moral public order"? Questions we are still trying to answer.