Читать книгу American Civil War For Dummies - Keith D. Dickson - Страница 42

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln, a Whig, ran against incumbent Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas. The two held a series of debates around the state arguing popular sovereignty versus limiting slavery in the territories, the basic idea expressed in the Wilmot Proviso. Lincoln faced an uphill battle against one of the most dynamic and important political leaders in America. Lincoln used the debate to smoke Douglas out on the issue of Supreme Court guarantees for slavery existing in the territories. Douglas clung to popular sovereignty and won the election, but lost the support of the South, which had been relying on the Supreme Court to guarantee slavery’s extension. Douglas’s denial of that position eventually brought an end to his presidential ambitions. Essentially, Lincoln sacrificed his chance to be a senator to cripple the sectional balance the Democratic Party relied on for survival.