In the summer and fall of 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas traveled across Illinois to argue a single question ahead of the senatorial election: Is human equality a permanent truth or ought it to be decided by majority vote? Their debates defined American politics on the eve of the Civil War, drawing thousands of spectators and circulating across the country via newspapers and pamphlets.
This Golden Thread Edition of The Lincoln-Douglas Debates presents the full text of all seven debates, side-by-side with the context necessary to understand the history of the slavery debate in America, and the people involved in perpetuating and ending the “peculiar institution.” Ben Judge curated extensive footnotes for this edition, along with contemporary newspaper commentary from across the nation, period cartoons, etchings, maps, charts, and a detailed timeline of slavery legislation in America—placing readers squarely in the world of 1858. Judge’s introduction along with Larry P. Arnn’s preface frame the political context and importance of the debates.
The debates helped Douglas win the 1858 senate election, and Lincoln to win the 1860 presidential election, and ultimately the North to win the Civil War. But the animating question of the debates—which vision of justice will prevail—remains a central discussion in American politics to this day.
The Golden Thread Edition of The Lincoln-Douglas Debates is the definitive, fully annotated edition for students, scholars, and any reader who wants to understand these debates and why they still matter.
