Lincoln Series (The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858)

688 Pages·1908·33.51 MB·English

by  Edwin Erle Sparks (ed.)

ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Trom ;i photoKraph in the collection of the Illinois Historical Library. Kviilcnce seems to
show thai the negative was made at Charleston, Illinois, during the Campaign of 1858.
The Lincoln Series, Vol. I
COLLECTIONS
OF THE
ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL
b«v«bp«(««mWm«i
LIBRARY
VOLUME
III
LINCOLN
SERIES, VOL.
I
THE LINCOLN—DOUGLAS DEBATES
OF 1858
EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY
EDWIN ERLE ^.ARKS.
PH.D'.
PRESIDENT OF THE PENNSYLVAAWFWfff^OLLEGE; SOMETIME
PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
r^7 7"^
a^
5f
Published by the Trustees of the Ov^
ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL LIBRARY
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS
1908 V
Copyright 1908 By
The Illinois Statk Historical Library
Published August 1908
Composed and Printed By
The Universityof Chicago Press
Chicago, Illinois,U. S. A,
ILLINOIS
STATE HISTORICAL LIBRARY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
-
Edmund Janes James, Chairman
McKendree Hypes Chamberlin, Fice-President
George Nelson Black,^ Secretary
Mrs. Jessie Palmer Weber, Librarian
ADVISORY COMMISSION
Evarts Boutell Greene, Chairman
James Alton James
Edward Carleton Page
Charles Henry Rammelkamp
Edwin Erle Sparks^
Clarence Walworth Alvord
Special Editor ofPublications
' DECEASED
-RESIGNED MAY, I908
U0993

PREFACE
A new edition of the speeches made by Stephen A.
Douglas and Abraham Lincoln in the set debate during the
Illinois senatorial canvass of 1858 would seem a worthy and
appropriate part of the general commemoration of the
fiftieth anniversary of that event. \Vhile the campaign was
local in its inception, it became national in its significance
and in its results. The issues as brought out in the debate,
especially in the speech of Douglas at Freeport, widened,
if they did not open, the breach between him and the southern
Democrats, made a split in the convention of i860 a fore-
gone conclusion, and thereby paved the way for Repub-
lican success and the election of Abraham Lincoln to the
presidency. The debate also marked the high-tide of the
*'stump" method of campaigning; it furnishes, through
the unusual space given to it in newspaper reports, an
opportunity to study this unique phenomenon of frontier
life; while the increasing number of printing presses, the
extension of the mail routes, and consequent change in cam-
paign methods, lend to this canvass the melancholy interest
of a passing show. The speeches themselves are of a high
order of debate, and of unusual import; those of Douglas
set forth his untenable position and his impossible theory in
the clearest terms; those of Lincoln state the arguments of
the new Republican party as they had not been outlined
before and the combined effect of the whole is a survey of
;
the political aspect of the day not to be found elsewhere.
Many editions of the debates have been printed, begin-
ning with that of i860; a few have included speeches made
by each participant, both before and after the set debates;
PREFACE
vi
some have added explanatory footnotes; but none have
attempted to reproduce the local color from the press of the
day. In this edition an effort is made by newspaper extracts
and by reminiscences to give a picture of the crude though
virile setting in this contest of two men so evenly matched in
polemical power, yet so unlike in temperament and in physical
appearance. Only those speeches are here reprinted which
were delivered at the seven set meetings constituting in reality
the Great Debate. The gist of the prior speeches is woven
into the introduction.
The Columbus, Ohio,edition of i860 is followed in this text,
but the speeches as there reprinted have been compared with
—
the originals those of Lincoln with the files of the Chicago
Press and Tribune, and those of Douglas with the Chicago
—
Times and the changes which the Columbus edition made in
the official reports are here shown in the footnotes and there
;
has been also incorporated in the text the numerous inter-
ruptions of the speeches by the audiences. In the present
edition, the largest type indicates the editor's explanatory
comments the next largest shows quotations, the source being
;
indicated at the head and the smallest size of type denotes
;
quoted matter within a quotation.
The descriptions and comments reprinted from the
newspapers of the day are by no means exhaustive; fully
one-half the matter originally collected was rejected for
lack of space; but much of it was immaterial, being made
up of denunciation and attempts to belittle the other side,
predictions of victory, and general comment, which threw
no Hght on the events of the debate. The amount of reminis-
cential matter was reduced by the same test. Such illus-
trations were selected as lent themselves to illuminating the
subject-matter. In collecting the extracts and the illus-
trations, the editor has visited many places, has searched
PREFACE
vii
through scores of newspaper files, and has levied upon the
courtesy of librarians and friends, to mention whose names
would involve a list of impossible proportions. That the
edition may be of service to the student as well as to the
may
general reader; that it aid in bringing to their true
proportions these two great citizens of Illinois; and that it
may reflect some credit upon the General Assembly of Illinois
through whose beneficence it is made possible, is the hope
that sustains a labor of love.
Edwin Erle Sparks
The University of Chicago
March ii, igo8

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
Lincoln and Douglas
I. i
11. The Senatorial Ca^^lpaign of 1858 19
. .
The Challenge
III. 55
IV. Reporting the Debates 75
The Ottawa Debate
V. 85
Douglas' Opening at Ottawa, 86
Lincoln's Reply at Ottawa, 98
Douglas' Rejoinder at Ottawa, 117
VI. The Freeport Debate 147
Lincoln's Opening at Freeport, 148
Douglas' Reply at Freeport, 159
Lincoln's Rejoinder at Freeport, 181
VII. The Jonesboro Debate 213
Douglas' Opening at Jonesboro, 214
Lincoln's Reply at Jonesboro, 229
Douglas' Rejoinder at Jonesboro, 249
VIII. The Charleston Debate 267
Lincoln's Opening at Charleston, 267
Douglas' Reply at Charleston, 281
Lincoln's Rejoinder at Charleston, 303
IX. The Galesburg Debate 303
Douglas' Opening at Galesburg, 329
Lincoln's Reply at Galesburg, 333
Douglas' Rejoinder at Galesburg, 346
X. The Quincy Debate 365
Lincoln's Opening at Quincy, 395
Douglas' Reply at Quincy, 407
Lincoln's Rejoinder at Quincy, 427
ix