Answer:
The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of public speeches between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in the 1858 election campaign for the Senate.
Lincoln was the candidate for the Republican Party, which had only been founded four years earlier, and Douglas was again in the Democratic Party. The election campaign lasted from July to November 1858, and both candidates covered several thousand kilometers within Illinois.
The main topic of debate was slavery, especially in the context of the Supreme Court judgment in the Dred Scott case. As a strong supporter of the principle of "people's sovereignty," Douglas claimed that he did not care about resolving the issue of slavery, as long as it reflected the real will of society. Because of this attitude, he conflicted with his party and was portrayed as being insensitive to the moral aspect of slavery. Lincoln, in turn, argued that slavery was a moral evil, while admitting that the Constitution defended this institution. Ashe opposed its expansion, he was depicted as an abolitionist. However, the future president denied such statements, ensuring that he never advocated racial equality. His plan was to extinguish slavery by prohibiting its extension. Ultimately, Douglas won the election; however, Lincoln was also a beneficiary of the debates because they secured him the presidential nomination of Republicans before the 1860 election.
