The Year was 1858

Catbert

_The Lincoln–Douglas debates were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. Until the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides that senators shall be elected by the people of their states, was ratified in 1913, senators were elected by their respective state legislatures, so Lincoln and Douglas were trying to win the votes of the Illinois General Assembly for their respective parties.

The debates were designed to generate publicity—the first examples of what later would be called media events. For Lincoln, they were an opportunity to raise both his national profile and the burgeoning Republican Party, while Douglas sought to defend his record—especially his leading role in the doctrine of popular sovereignty and its incarnation in the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854. The candidates spoke in each of Illinois's nine congressional districts. Both candidates had already spoken in Springfield and Chicago within a day of each other, so they decided that their joint appearances would be held in the remaining seven districts. Each debate lasted about three hours; one candidate spoke for 60 minutes, followed by a 90-minute response and a final 30-minute rejoinder by the first candidate. The candidates alternated speaking first. As the incumbent, Douglas spoke first in four of the debates. They were held outdoors, weather permitting, from about 2 to 5 p.m. There were fields full of listeners.

The debates focused on slavery, specifically whether it would be allowed in the new states to be formed from the territory acquired through the Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican Cession.[1] Douglas, as the Democratic candidate, held that the decision should be made by the residents of the new states themselves rather than by the federal government (popular sovereignty). Lincoln argued against the expansion of slavery, yet stressed that he was not advocating its abolition where it already existed.[2]

Never in American history had there been newspaper coverage of such intensity. Both candidates felt they were talking to the whole nation.[3] New technology was readily available: railroads, the telegraph, and Pitman shorthand, at the time called phonography. The state's largest newspapers, from Chicago, sent phonographers (stenographers) to report complete texts of each debate; thanks to the new railroads, the debates were not hard to reach from Chicago. Halfway through each debate, runners were handed the stenographers' notes. They raced for the next train to Chicago, handing them to riding stenographers who during the journey converted the shorthand back into words, producing a transcript ready for the Chicago typesetter and for the telegrapher, who sent it to the rest of the country (east of the Rockies) as soon as it arrived.[3] The next train brought the conclusion. The papers published the speeches in full, sometimes within hours of their delivery. Some newspapers helped their own candidate with minor corrections, reports on the audience's positive reaction, or tendentious headlines ("New and Powerful Argument by Mr. Lincoln—Douglas Tells the Same Old Story").[4] The newswire of the Associated Press sent messages simultaneously to multiple points, so newspapers all across the country (east of the Rocky Mountains) printed them, and the debates quickly became national events. They were republished as pamphlets.[5][6]

The debates took place between August and October 1858. Newspapers reported 12,000 in attendance at Ottawa,[7] 16,000 to 18,000 in Galesburg,[4] 15,000 in Freeport,[8] 12,000 in Quincy, and at the last one, in Alton, 5,000 to 10,000.[6] The debates near Illinois's borders (Freeport, Quincy, and Alton) drew large numbers of people from neighboring states.[9][full citation needed][10] A number travelled within Illinois to follow the debates.[7]

Douglas was re-elected by the Illinois General Assembly, 54–46.[11] But the publicity made Lincoln a national figure and laid the groundwork for his 1860 presidential campaign.

As part of that endeavor, Lincoln edited the texts of all the debates and had them published in a book.[12] It sold well and helped him receive the Republican Party's nomination for president at the 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago._ (from wikipedia)

P0CKETCHANGE

Nothing like a nice coin paired with the historical context of its time. Here’s my 1858-O as well:

The_Dinosaur_Man

A variety with the year flipped upside down and stuffed in the back.

ricko

That is a nice coin and an excellent historical treatise of the times. Thank you for pointing out the relationship between coins and history.... Coins are bookmarks in history. Cheers, RickO

winesteven

jughead1893

kaz

thanks for the history lesson, and beautiful coin, too! my humble example above

Smudge

Good post. Coins with a history lesson.

coinsarefun

Beautiful @Catbert ! While I don’t have one I do have 2 Stephen Douglas tokens. One is a copper restrike that I’ve had for years and the other is something I picked up a while back but, not sure what it is….lol

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Paradisefound

Something to learn everyday 🤗 thank you @Catbert for the informative post!