LINCOLN 



3440 



LINCOLN 



divided. It will become all one thing or all the 

 other. Either the opponents of slavery will ar- 

 rest the further spread of it, and place it where 

 the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is 

 in the course of ultimate extinction ; or its advo- 

 cates will push it forward, till it shall become 

 alike lawful in all the states, old as well as new- 

 North as well as South." 



The Debates with Douglas. After a few 

 preliminary speeches Lincoln challenged Doug- 

 las to a series of seven joint debates. The 

 first was held at Ottawa, 111., on August 21, and 

 the last at Alton, on October 15. Lincoln in 

 debate could hit hard blows. His manner and 

 his mind were earnest, and when his shrill 

 voice trembled with conviction he won the 

 confidence of his hearers in a way that the 

 polished, suave Douglas never did. Horace 

 Greeley, who openly preferred Douglas to Lin- 

 coln, said that Lincoln became the foremost 

 convincer of his time. In the second debate, 

 at Freeport, Douglas was hard pressed, and 

 was driven to state that "slavery cannot exist 

 a day or an hour anywhere unless it is sup- 

 ported by local police regulations." Douglas 

 succeeded for the moment in reconciling the 

 Dred Scott decision and his own doctrine of 

 squatter sovereignty (which see), and won the 

 Senatorship, but he lost the favor of the South. 

 Douglas' victory had not the slightest effect 

 on his opponent, except possibly to increase 

 his ardor. In 1859 Lincoln made a number of 

 speeches in the Central West, and early in 1860 

 was invited to speak in New York and other 

 Eastern cities. 



The Cooper Union Speech. The joint de- 

 bates with Douglas had given Lincoln a na- 

 tional reputation. In the East there was great 

 curiosity to see and hear the man who dared 

 to oppose the "Little Giant." The Douglas 

 debates contained so complete a statement of 

 Republican doctrine that the more they were 

 read the more highly was Lincoln regarded. 

 On February 27, 1860, Lincoln spoke at Cooper 

 Union, before a vast crowd. The speech was 

 serious. It had none of the racy quality of a 

 stump speech, and it lacked anecdotes and 

 jests. Lincoln understood his opportunity, and 

 confined himself to a serious presentation of 

 the slavery problem. He especially denied 

 Douglas' views that "our fathers, when they 

 framed the government under which we live 

 understood this question [slavery] just as well 

 and even better than we do now," and by keen 

 historical analysis tore away the supports for 

 Douglas' statement that "the fathers made the 

 country and intended that it should be part- 



slave." Lincoln's words left a profound im- 

 pression, and at the same time gave the East 

 a more nearly adequate understanding of one 

 of the greatest men in history. 



Candidate for President. As early as 1858 

 there were occasional suggestions from Lin- 

 coln's friends that he should become a candi- 

 date for the Republican nomination in 1860. 

 Not until a year later, however, did Lincoln 



_JRep,Lincoln.MDem.,Breckinridge.^Dem.,Douglas. 

 Unconstitutional Union, Bel I CUNon- voting Territories 



ELECTION RESULTS, 1860 



make any open moves to this end. When the 

 Republican convention met at Chicago, in 

 May, 1860, the first choice of the delegates was 

 William H. Seward. Seward, however, had 

 made many opponents by his radical attitude 

 toward slavery, and Lincoln received the sup- 

 port of Indiana and Pennsylvania, two im- 

 portant doubtful states. On the third ballot 

 Lincoln was nominated. In the meantime the 

 Democratic party had split into two wings, 

 although the division did not become hopeless 

 until after the nomination of Lincoln. The 

 Democratic convention met at Charleston on 

 May 3, but adjourned without making a choice. 

 On May 6, John Bell of Tennessee and Edward 

 Everett of Massachusetts were nominated by 

 the Constitutional Union party (which see). 

 The Democrats met again at Baltimore in 

 June and nominated Douglas, but the South- 

 ern Democrats left the convention and later 

 nominated John C. Breckinridge for President. 

 Thus there were four tickets in the field. 

 The two Democratic candidates were men of 

 long experience and sound reputation in na- 

 tional politics. Lincoln, on the other hand, in 

 spite of the Douglas debates, the great speech 

 at Cooper Union and his long leadership in 

 Illinois politics, was not sufficiently tested to 

 suit many of the leaders of his party. Charles 

 Francis Adams, whom Lincoln appointed minis- 

 ter to Great Britain, said after Lincoln's death 



