Lincoln’s Main Arguments:
Lincoln said that the national policy was to limit the spread of slavery, and mentioned the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which banned slavery from a large part of the modern-day Midwest, as an example of this policy.
Lincoln said Douglas ignored the basic humanity of blacks, and that slaves did have an equal right to liberty.
Lincoln said that Douglas' public indifference to slavery would result in the expansion of slavery because it would mold public sentiment to accept slavery.
Lincoln believed in colonization for African Americans, but also admitted it was impractical. Without colonization he said that it would be wrong for emancipated slaves to be treated as second-rate citizens.
Lincoln said that slavery expansion …show more content…
Douglas accused Lincoln of opposing the Dred Scott decision because it didn’t allow for African American’s rights.
Douglas said that the people of a territory could keep slavery out even though the Supreme Court said that the federal government had no authority to exclude slavery, simply by refusing to pass a slave code and other legislation needed to protect slavery. (Freeport Doctrine)
Douglas accused Lincoln of being an abolitionist.

Winner (explain):

The winner was technically Stephen Douglas, because he beat out Lincoln in the bid for Illinois senator, however Douglas became unpopular with his party (Democratic Party) because of a position he stated in the debates called the Freeport Doctrine. His party’s distrust caused some unpopularity for him later on and helped Lincoln secure a much higher government position: the Presidency. Therefore, overall Lincoln was the winner because although Douglas got elected, the debates helped push Lincoln to increased popularity and the Presidency two years later.

Historical Thinking Skills Used to Complete this Assignment (explain):
Comparison because in this assignment I compared Douglas's main arguments to that of Lincoln’s and then came to the conclusion of the true