HST 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Freeport Doctrine, Southern Democrats, Upland South
Document Summary
Lincoln-douglas debates (1858)- abraham lincoln, a trial lawyer and former member of illinois legislature, challenged stephen douglas for the senate seat of illinois. Republican candidate was unknown compared to the "little giant," the champion of popular sovereignty. Lincoln was not an abolitionist, but against the expansion of slavery (moral issue). Lincoln delivered the "house-divided" speech that won him fame. Douglas tried to portray him as the radical southerners viewed him as. In several campaign debates, lincoln shared the platform with douglas. Douglas" seeming indifference to slavery as a moral issue. Douglas to reconcile popular sovereignty with the dred scott decision, forcing him to take a stance. In douglas" response, the freeport doctrine, he states that slavery cannot exist in a community if local citizens don"t pass laws maintaining it, basically saying you can get rid of slavery if you want. This angered southern democrats who thought he didn"t go far enough in supporting the implications of dred scott.
