Every political season brings a cascade of talk about the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, with commentators on television, and even some candidates, invoking them as the high point of political discourse.Everybody seems to believe those seven debates in Illinois in 1858 were awesome. But what's the reality?
First of all, they weren't even debates in the way we think of a debate. They were more like dueling speeches, and long speeches at that.
And the content was pretty rough. Most TV networks today would shy away from broadcasting the crude race-baiting and racial slurs that were tossed about in front of cheering audiences in towns across Illinois in the summer and fall of 1858.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates are important, of course, They were a milestone in American history, and they certainly elevated Abraham Lincoln and put him on the road to becoming a national figure.
Reading a few basic facts about how Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln did battle will demonstrate that what you've heard about the Lincoln-Douglas Debates is not necessarily accurate.
Read the full article: Seven Facts About the Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Illustration: Depiction of a Lincoln-Douglas Debate/Getty Images
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