The effects the 1858 Lincoln versus Douglas Debates On American Debate Strategies

At a time when face to face senatorial debates were not common, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas made history as they made their debate tour through Illinois. Although Lincoln was not elected in 1858, the debates of 1858 served as a milestone that lead to Lincoln’s presidency. Many debates today serve the same purpose in American politics. Now, debating is expected to occur not just at national elections but all the way down to even local contests during a secondary election.

The focus that has been put on the Lincoln-Douglas Debate is often form a historical point of view but there can and should be more emphasis put on the value of their rhetorical use. By having open discussion on the issues of the day, they created the possibility that candidates could attempt to persuade an audience. The arguments that were used were very practical and created a pragmatic approach to politics.

It is interesting to see how the arguments, audiences, and interaction among arguments are carried differently from debate to debate. The debates of Lincoln and Douglas show how different themes and appeals change over time in a election campaign. In 1858 people had strong apposing opinions on the civil rights of black men. As a country we are currently experiencing different opposing opinions on the civil rights of homosexual marriage.

The point of this is that many of the arguments that have been brought up in today’s discussion are based on the same rhetorical devices that were used during the Lincoln-Douglas debate.
Recently it has been reported by many news sources that Senator Hillary Clinton called for a Lincoln-Douglas style of debates against her rival, Senator Barack Obama. Clinton has made the comment that people love seeing debates and discussion, just as Lincoln and Douglas were able to draw a crowd during their debate.

The political strategy Clinton is using is similar to that of Lincoln’s. Lincoln wasn’t receiving the attention he needed and by calling a debate he was able to receive very positive attention from a much wider audience. If Clinton had called Obama to this style of debate earlier it may be that it would have created attention and as a result might have been a very different race thus far.

With Obama turning down the offer for a Lincoln-Douglas style of debate, Obama is doing something that may be a sign of weakness and is opening up the question whether debates are a good thing in the political system.