The Life and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE. Presidential Campaign Of 1856.?Douglas At Springfield In 1857.? Lincoln's Reply.?The Gbbat Debate.?Eloquent Defence Of The Doctbines Of The Republican Paktt.?Result Of The Contest. The pressure of the slavery contest at last fully organized the Republican party,...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE. Presidential Campaign Of 1856.?Douglas At Springfield In 1857.? Lincoln's Reply.?The Gbbat Debate.?Eloquent Defence Of The Doctbines Of The Republican Paktt.?Result Of The Contest. The pressure of the slavery contest at last fully organized the Republican party, which held its first convention for the nomination of President and Vice-President at Philadelphia, on June 17, 1856. John C. Fremont was nominated for President, and William L. Dayton for Vice-President. Mr. Lincoln's name was prominent before the convention for the latter office, and on the informal ballot he stood next to Mr. Dayton, receiving 110 votes. Mr. Lincoln's name headed the Republican electoral ticket in Illinois, and he took an active part in the canvass, but the Democrats carried the State, though only by a plurality vote. Meanwhile, Senator Douglas embraced every opportunity to keep himself and his doctrines before the people, but whichever way he turned, he found his vigilant antagonist constantly in his front. For twenty years the two had been so invariably opposed to each other in politics, that whenever Mr. Douglas made a speech, the people instinctively anticipated a reply from Mr. Lincoln; and there was a special Providence in thus opposing to the wily, deceptive sophistries of the former the clear, incisive common sense of the latter, which the multitude could not avoid comprehending. Early in June, 1857, Senator Douglas made his famous speech in Springfield, which was universally accepted as a declaration that he meant to sustain all the acts of the Lecomp- ton Convention, even though a pro-slavery corwtitutionshouffl be formed, the responsibility for the adoption tf which he meant to fasten upon the Republican party, since it was anticipated that ...