Stephen A. Douglas Events

1813 Apr 23 Stephen A. Douglas Is Born
U.S. congressman, senator, and presidential candidate Stephen A. Douglas was born in Brandon, Vermont, on April 23, 1813. Short in stature but influential in Congress, Douglas was nickna...
1832 Douglas Enrolls at Canandaigua Academy
Douglas moved to a farm near Clifton Springs, New York and studied at Canandaigua Academy in 1832-33 (where he was honored posthumously in 1996 as a "Graduate of Distinction".) He then mo...
1833 Douglas Moves to Illinois at the Age of 20
"I have become a Western man, have imbibed Western feelings principles and interests and have selected Illinois as the favorite place of my adoption." —Stephen A. Douglas
1834 Douglas Serves as Morgan County State's Attorney
Lincoln's arch-rival Stephen A. Douglas became Morgan County prosecuting attorney in 1835, and William Jennings Bryan, an Illinois College graduate, practiced law in Jacksonville from 188...
1836 Dec Douglas Becomes a Member of the Illinois State Legislature
Born Stephen Arnold Douglass in Brandon, Vermont,[3] Douglas dropped the second "s" from his name some years later[4]. He came to Illinois in 1833, was an itinerant teacher, studied law, ...
1843 Douglas is Elected to Congress
In Congress, though one of the youngest members, he at once sprang into prominence by his clever defense of Jackson during the consideration by the House of a bill remitting the fine impo...
1846 Douglas Joins the U.S. Senate
After three years in the House of Representatives, Douglas was eager to move on to the Senate. By 1846, his base in the Illinois state legislature was strong enough to secure his election...
1847 Mar Douglas Marries Martha
Once in Washington, however, Douglas's mood shifted. In the House of Representatives, he struck up a friendship with a colleague, Congressman David S. Reid of North Carolina. Reid introdu...
1850 Jan 29 Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas Draft Compromise
Congress convened on December 3, 1849. On January 29, 1850, Whig Senator Henry Clay gave a speech which called for compromise on the issues dividing the Union. However, Clay's specific pr...
1850 Sep 9
to 1850 Sep 20
 Douglas and Clay Draft the Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of bills aimed at resolving the territorial and slavery controversies arising from the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). There were five laws which bal...
1852 Douglas Attempts to Run for Presidency
By 1852, Douglas felt politically strong enough to attempt a run for the presidency. He was backed by "Young America," a movement that supported a strong nationalistic policy and called f...
1853 Jan 19 Martha Douglas Dies
The failure of the 1852 Douglas presidential campaign was quickly followed by a more deeply wrenching personal tragedy. When Martha Douglas gave birth to a daughter in early 1853, her hea...
1854 Jan 4 Nebraska Bill Introduced to Senate
The bill was reported to the main body of the Senate on January 4, 1854. The bill had been significantly modified by Douglas, who had also authored the New Mexico and Utah territorial act...
1854 Jan 23 Kansas-Nebraska Act Debated in Senate
On January 23, a revised bill was introduced in the Senate. In addition to the changes regarding repeal of the Missouri Compromise, Nebraska was now divided into two territories, Kansas a...
1854 Mar 3
to 1854 Mar 4
 Stephen Douglas Makes A Five And A Half Hour Speech in Support of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
The debate in the Senate concluded on March 4, 1854 when Stephen Douglas, beginning near midnight on March 3, made a five and a half hour speech. The final vote in favor of passage was 37...
1856 Douglas Attempts Democractic Party Nomination for a Second Time
The 1856 Democratic National Convention, held at Smith & Nixon's Hall in Cincinnati was the first national party nominating convention to be held outside the original thirteen states. Cal...
1856 Nov Douglas Marries Adele Cutts
Stephen Douglas and Adele Cutts were married in Washington in November 1856. Adele immediately took over the management of the Senator's household, accepted the two Douglas boys as her ow...
1857 Douglas Founds Baptist Seminary - The University of Chicago
A deeply religious man, but one also dedicated to the enterprise of higher education, Stephen Douglas founded a Baptist Seminary in Chicago which was called the University of Chicago in 1...
1858 Aug 21 Lincoln Loses First of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates on Slavery
August 21, 1858, was the day that Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas met in Ottawa, Illinois, in the first of the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates. Ottawa is a town in north-central Ill...
1858 Aug 27 Freeport Doctrine Is Focal Point in Douglas' Argument at the Second Lincoln-Douglas Debate
At Freeport Lincoln challenged Douglas to reconcile popular sovereignty with the Dred Scott decision. Douglas replied that settlers could circumvent the decision by not establishing the l...
1858 Sep 15 Third Lincoln-Douglas Debate at Slave State Borders
MR. DOUGLAS’ SPEECH. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I appear before you today in pursuance of a previous notice, and have made arrangements with Mr. Lincoln to divide time, and discuss with him...
1858 Sep 18 Fourth Lincoln-Douglas Debate at Coles County Fairgrounds
Fourth Joint Debate at Charleston Mr. Lincoln’s Speech (September 18, 1858) LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: It will be very difficult for an audience so large as this to hear distinc...
1858 Oct 7 Douglas Seeks to Prove that Lincoln was an Abolitionist at the Fifth Lincoln-Douglas Debate
At Galesburg Douglas sought again to prove that Lincoln was an abolitionist with the following quotes from Lincoln: “I should like to know, if taking this old Declaration of Independen...
1858 Oct 13 Lincoln Declares Slavery a Moral Wrong in the Sixth Lincoln-Douglas Debate
It was, wrote Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer of the Quincy Debate between U.S. Senate candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, “the nastiest of the campaign.” Lincoln advisors ...
1858 Oct 15 The Slave Debate Comes to a Head at the Seventh and Final Lincoln-Douglas Debate
SENATOR DOUGLAS’ SPEECH. Long and loud bursts of applause greeted Senator Douglas when he appeared on the stand. As he was about to commence speaking, he was interrupted by Dr. Hope, o...
1860 Nov 6 Abraham Lincoln Elected 16th President of the United States
Lincoln was chosen as the Republican candidate for the 1860 election for several reasons. His expressed views on slavery were seen as more moderate than those of rivals William H. Seward ...
1861 Jun 3 Douglas Dies from Typhoid Fever
Douglas died in Chicago from typhoid fever on June 3, 1861. He was buried on the shore of Lake Michigan. The site was afterwards bought by the state, and an imposing monument with a statu...