Stephen A. Douglas to Abraham Lincoln, 24 July 18581
Chicago, July 24, 1858.Hon. A. Lincoln:—Dear Sir:—Your note of this date, in which you inquire if it would be agreeable to me to make an arrangement
to divide the time and address the same audiences during the present canvass, was handed me by Mr. Judd.2 Recent events have interposed difficulties in the way of such an arrangement.
I went to Springfield last week for the purpose of conferring with the Democratic State Central Committee upon the mode of conducting the canvass, and with them, and under
their advice, made a list of appointments covering the entire period until late in
October. The people of the several localities have been notified of the times3 and places of the meetings. Those4 appointments have all been made for Democratic meetings, and arrangements have been
made by which the Democratic candidates for Congress, for the Legislature, and other offices will be present and address the people. It is evident, therefore,
that these various candidates, in connection with myself, will occupy the whole time
of the day and evening, and leave no opportunity for other speeches.5
Besides, there is another consideration which should be kept in mind. It has been
suggested recently that an arrangement had been made to bring out a third candidate
for the United States Senate, who, with yourself, should canvass the State in opposition to me, with no other
purpose than to insure my defeat, by dividing the Democratic party for your benefit.
If I should make this arrangement with you, it is more than probable that this other
candidate, who has a common object with you, would desire to become a party to it,
and claim the right to speak from the same stand; so that he and you in concert might
be able to take the opening and closing speech in every case.6
I cannot refrain from expressing my surprise, if it was your original intention to
invite such an arrangement, that you should have waited until after I had made my
appointments, inasmuch as we were both here in Chicago together for several days after
my arrival, and again at Bloomington, Atlanta, Lincoln and Springfield, where it was well known I went for the purpose of consulting with
the State Central Committe, and agreeing upon the plan of the7 campaign.8
While, under these circumstances, I do not feel at liberty to make any arrangements
which would deprive the Democratic candidates for Congress, State officers, and the
Legislature from participating in the discussion at the various meetings designated
by the Democratic State Central Committee, I will, in order to accommodate you as
far as it is in my power to do so, take the responsibility of making an arrangement
with you for a discussion between us at one prominent point in each Congressional
District in the State, except9 the second and sixth districts, where we have both spoken, and in each of which cases
you had the concluding speech.10 If agreeable to you I will indicate the following places as those most suitable
in the several Congressional Districts at which we should speak, to wit: Freeport, Ottawa, Galesburg, Quincy, Alton, Jonesboro and Charleston. I will confer with you at the earliest convenient opportunity in regard to the
mode of conducting the debate,11 the times of meeting at the several places, subject to the condition, that where
appointments have already been made by the Democratic State Central Committee at any
of those places, I must insist upon you12 meeting me at the times specified.13
Very respectfully,Your most obd’t[obedient] servant,S. A. Douglas.
1This printed transcription appears on page 73 of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates Scrapbook. The original letter in Stephen A. Douglas’s handwriting is also extant. Except for minor changes in style and punctuation,
this transcription reflects the original version. Principal variations in wording
which appear in this version are noted in footnotes.
2In June 1858, the Illinois Republican Convention nominated Abraham Lincoln to challenge Douglas for the U.S. Senate. 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 Illinois 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 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, “House 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.
5Douglas’s immediate reaction to Lincoln’s invitation was to decline. As he told Joseph O. Glover, he had everything to lose and very little to gain from such an arrangement. Judd,
who carried Douglas’s letter to Lincoln, described Douglas’s excuses as a “clear dodge.”
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 1:484.
6Douglas makes a veiled reference to the recent split of the Democratic Party into
pro-James Buchanan and pro-Douglas factions. The split occurred after Douglas, in December 1857, spoke
out against the Lecompton Constitution and criticized President Buchanan for supporting it. See Bleeding Kansas.
This accusation of Douglas that Lincoln had found a Buchanan/National Democratic candidate
and would insist on his inclusion in the proposed debates was pure fiction. A rumor
of the possibility of the candidacy of Sidney Breese did appear in several Republican newspapers, but Lincoln had no connection to the
idea. Lincoln denied the accusation in his response to Douglas. Understandably, Douglas was actively trying
to avoid being labeled a coward, as the Republican Chicago Daily Press and Tribune seemed primed to do. In its July 26 edition, the Press noted that such debates between political opponents, “is the usual, almost universal
western style of conducting a political campaign, and it has been justly held that
the candidate who refused to speak in that way had no better reason than cowardice
for declining the challenge.”
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 1:445, 484; Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 21 July 1858, 1:7; Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (IL), 26 July 1858, 1:1; 4 August 1858, 2:5.
8The Democratic Chicago Times echoed Douglas’s sentiment, asking why Lincoln had not challenged Douglas earlier.
The Daily Illinois State Journal published the response of the Chicago Daily Press and Tribune which described this letter as a “long-winded, pettifogging reply” and noted that,
“Lincoln’s challenge was given as soon after Douglas returned home as good taste would
justify, and more than a quarter of a year before the campaign will be closed, which
is long enough in all conscience for anybody.”
Lincoln offered his reasoning in his response to this letter, noting that he made the proposal as soon as he “resolved to make
it,” and that he had waited respectfully for a challenge from Douglas. He wrote, “It
may have been well known to you that you went to Springfield for the purpose of agreeing
on the plan of campaign; but it was not so known to me–”
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 1:484; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 4 August 1858, 4:5.
10By the second and sixth districts, Douglas was referring to Chicago and Springfield,
where the two had already effectively debated, with Douglas speaking at Chicago on
July 9 and Lincoln answering on July 10, and with Douglas speaking at Springfield
on July 17 and Lincoln answering the same day. Lincoln did not believe this statement
of Douglas’s to be fair, concluding that it was Douglas who had full advantage during the Springfield and Chicago speeches
and rebuttals.
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 1:467-72, 473-74; 484, 553.
13Lincoln accepted Douglas's terms on July 29, and on July 30, Douglas offered Lincoln
the following schedule, which Lincoln accepted: Ottawa on August 21, Freeport on August 27, Jonesboro on
September 15, Charleston on September 18, Galesburg on October 7, Quincy on October
13, and Alton on October 15. The Lincoln-supporting Chicago Daily Press and Tribune responded to the schedule by writing, “The little dodger shirks, and backs out, except
at half a dozen places which he himself selects!” The paper also claimed Douglas to
be afraid of “Long Abe,” which was why “he refuses to meet his antagonist, save in
a few places, far apart, where the gatherings will be too large and too noisy to listen
to argument or see the damage he is sure to sustain in a political encounter with
the long Kentuckian.” A disappointed Daily Illinois State Journal had hoped for a wider canvass for the candidates to debate each other, but concluded
that Douglas’s proposed meetings would be “better than nothing.”
Michael Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 1:484; Chicago Daily Press and Tribune (IL), 28 July 1858, 1:1; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 29 July 1858, 2:2.
Printed Transcription, 1 page(s), Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).