Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from Illinois and the designer of the Kansas–Nebraska Act. He was a U.S. Representative, a U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee for President in the 1860 election, losing to Republican Abraham Lincoln. Douglas had previously defeated Lincoln in a Senate contest, noted for the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. He was nicknamed the "Little Giant" because he was short in physical stature, but a forceful and dominant figure in politics. More
Douglas was well known as a resourceful party leader, and an adroit, ready, skillful tactician in debate and passage of legislation. He was a champion of the Young America movement which sought to modernize politics and replace the agrarian and strict constructionist orthodoxies of the past. Douglas was a leading proponent of democracy, and believed in the principle of popular sovereignty: that the majority of citizens should decide contentious issues such as slavery and territorial expansion. As chairman of the Committee on Territories, Douglas dominated the Senate in the 1850s. He was largely responsible for the Compromise of 1850 that apparently settled slavery issues; however, in 1854 he reopened the slavery question with the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which opened some previously prohibited territories to slavery under popular sovereignty. Opposition to this led to the formation of the Republican Party.
Stephen A. Douglas timeline
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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. Read more
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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... Read more
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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,... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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.... Read more
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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... Read more
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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,... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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.... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more
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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... Read more