The Lincoln-Douglas Debates

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 August 2019

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Lincoln-Douglas debates — the historic series of seven debates which pitted Abraham Lincoln against Stephen Douglas as they vied for an Illinois Senate seat — began on August 21, 1858. In honor of that anniversary, this episode explores the clash of constitutional visions that characterized the debates between Lincoln and Douglas. Each man argued that he was the heir to the Founders’ legacy as enshrined by the Constitution, as they battled over slavery, popular sovereignty, the nature of rights, and the future of the union. Historians Sidney Blumenthal and Lucas Morel trace the constitutional visions and political rivalries of Lincoln and Douglas from the Kansas Nebraska Act to the Dred Scott decision, through the Civil War and the passage of the Constitution’s Reconstruction amendments. Jeffrey Rosen hosts. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome
0:07.7	to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:11.3	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress
0:16.2	to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:21.4	This episode of We the People celebrates the anniversary of the
0:24.3	start of the Lincoln-Douglas debates on August 21st 1858. That historic
0:30.5	series of seven debates in Illinois saw Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas vying for a Senate seat and debating crucial issues about the Constitution, its relationship to the Declaration of Independence and the future of America.
0:45.0	Joining us to discuss Lincoln's constitutional vision and the Lincoln-Douglas
0:49.4	debates are two of America's leading scholars of Abraham Lincoln.
0:54.1	Sydney Blumenthal is an author, journalist,
0:56.3	and a former senior advisor to President Bill Clinton.
0:59.6	He is a fellow at the Society of American Historians
1:02.6	and was previously Senior Fellow at NYU's Center on Law and Security.
1:07.2	Sid is the author of the five volume biography,
1:09.9	the political life of Abraham Lincoln,
1:12.3	and the third volume, all the Powers of the Earth,
1:15.2	which covers Lincoln's life from 1856 to 60, the period of the Lincoln Douglas debates,
1:20.4	will be released this September.
1:22.0	Sid, congrats on the third volume publication and it's wonderful to have you back on the show.
1:27.0	Thank you, Jeff. I'm delighted to be here.
1:30.0	And Lucas Morel is professor of politics and the head of the Politics Department at Washington and Lee University.
1:36.0	He is on the boards of the Abraham Lincoln Association and the Abraham Lincoln Institute.
	...

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