Allies not antagonists

The great debaters Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas are a misunderstood duo. Lincoln and Douglas ended as allies against the greatest threat—slavery—that our country has ever faced. When Douglas realized he was going to lose the 1860 election, he stopped campaigning for himself and went South to persuade the slave states to accept Lincoln as president. After that effort failed, and the newly formed Confederate States of America bombed Fort Sumter, Douglas met with Lincoln to discuss raising an army.

Not only did Douglas accept his loss, he spent the final days of his campaign barnstorming the country to build support for his opponent’s impending victory, setting aside his long-held desire for the presidency for the higher principle of national unity.

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“Beautifully conceived and deeply researched, it is also a sheer pleasure to read.”—Professor John Stuaffer, Harvard University

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