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Lincoln-Douglas debates

Cultural  
  1. A series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in 1858, when both were campaigning for election to the United States Senate from Illinois. Much of the debating concerned slavery and its extension into territories such as Kansas. The debates transformed Lincoln into a national figure and led to his election to the presidency in 1860.


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In the previous weeks, the candidates had barnstormed across District 14 in their own version of the Lincoln-Douglas debates — but even more bitter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2024

Also sold at Saturday’s auction was a Lincoln-signed first edition of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, which fetched nearly $594,000.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 25, 2023

Consider the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, in which Lincoln, as the anti-slavery Republican candidate for an Illinois seat in the U.S.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 24, 2022

The third volume of Blumenthal’s monumental biography covers the Lincoln-Douglas debates and lays the groundwork for Lincoln’s ascent to power.

From New York Times ● Sep. 3, 2019

Sure, presidential debates are conducted in soundbites today and not the days-long oratory extravaganzas of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, but people manage to pay attention to the 24-month-long presidential campaigns from start to finish.

From Ebooks: Neither E, Nor Books by Cory Doctorow

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