On August 21st, 1858, the Lincoln-Douglas debates began in Ottawa, Illinois. These landmark debates were some of the first examples of political events designed to garner media attention and publicity.
From August to October of 1858, Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Illinois, took on the incumbent Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas in a series of seven debates. Thousands of spectators and newspaper reporters from around the country watched as the two men battled over the primary issue facing the nation at the time: slavery and the battle over its extension into new territories. Learn more about the debates here.
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