Abraham Lincoln to Stephen A. Douglas, 31 July 18581
Springfield, July 31. 1858.Hon: S. A. Douglas:Dear SirYours of yesterday, naming places, times, and terms, for joint discussions between us,
was received this morning–2 Although, by the terms, as you propose, you take four openings and closes to my three, I accede, and thus close the arrangement–3 I direct this to you at Hillsboro; and shall try to have both your letter and this, appear in the Journal and Register of Monday morning–4
Your Obt Servt[Obedient Servant]A. Lincoln–<Page 2>
2In June 1858, the Illinois Republican Convention nominated Abraham Lincoln to challenge Stephen A. Douglas for the U.S. Senate. Lincoln wrote Douglas on July 24, 1858, inviting him to participate in a series
of debates. With this invitation, Lincoln set the stage for what would become one
of the most famous local political contests in U.S. history and a precursor to the
1860 presidential election. Prior to the seven debates between Lincoln and Douglas, Lincoln had already made sixty-three speeches in 1858,
and Douglas claimed to have made one-hundred and thirty. Douglas, the incumbent, was
more widely known than Lincoln and had the numeric advantage of the Democrats in the General Assembly, which selected U.S. senators in those days. He also represented a divided party
and faced a growing population in northern Illinois that was hostile to slavery. Lincoln, on the other hand, had the advantage of a united
Republican party, a growing antipathy toward slavery in the state, and a reputation for integrity. Nevertheless, his views on racial issues were unpopular,
as was his stand on the Mexican War. The debates would highlight the fundamental differences in the men’s characters
and focus on the main issues of the day, the expansion of slavery and racial equality.
While the immediate effect of the debates was the re-election of Douglas, the long-term
results were the opposite. Lincoln was catapulted to national prominence, allowing
him to run for president in 1860, and Douglas’s campaign against Lincoln diminished
his chances of future success. See 1860 Republican National Convention
Douglas replied to Lincoln’s invitation on the same day, July 24, agreeing to the debates as long
as they were held at times and locations chosen by Douglas. He supplied Lincoln with that information on July 30. See 1858 Federal Election; Lincoln-Douglas Debates.
David M. Potter and Don E. Fehrenbacher, The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861 (New York: Harper & Row, 1976), 332-33; Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 1:458, 486-87, 556-57; Allen
C. Guelzo, “Houses Divided: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Political Landscape of 1858,”
The Journal of American History 94 (September 2007), 392; George Fort Milton, "Lincoln-Douglas Debates," Dictionary of American History, rev. ed. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1976), 4:155-56; Stephen A. Douglas to Abraham Lincoln; Abraham Lincoln to Stephen A. Douglas; Abraham Lincoln to Stephen A. Douglas.
3The debates followed a format of one candidate speaking for an hour, followed by a
one and a half hour response by the other candidate, and finally a half hour rebuttal
by the first speaker. Douglas and Lincoln would alternate who spoke first, with Douglas
speaking first at the odd numbered debates and Lincoln at the even. Douglas planned
to lead off the first of seven debates, thus giving himself the advantage. Lincoln
concluded the second, fourth, and sixth debates, while Douglas concluded the first,
third, fifth, and seventh debates.
Paul M. Angle, ed., The Complete Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 (Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press, 1991), 285-402.
4Douglas’s July 30 letter and this one appeared in the August 2 edition of
Republican Daily Illinois State Journal and the Democratic Daily Illinois State Register.
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 2 August 1858, 2:2; Daily Illinois State Register (Springfield), 2 August 1858, 2:1.
Autograph Letter Signed, 2 page(s), Lincoln Collection, Chicago Historical Society (Chicago, IL).