An Epoch-Making Debate.
By Editor
This fall brings us to the fiftieth anniversary of the great debates that were held between Lincoln and Douglas in some six or seven towns in Illinois. These debates were epoch-makers. Lincoln stood for great principles. He had not had the advantage of training in the schools, but nevertheless he was a deep student and a great thinker, and was one of those few characters who have been successful in training themselves without the aid that the schools afford. These debates gave Lincoln his national reputation and resulted in his being nominated to the presidency two years later by the then very young Republican party. This was followed by the great Rebellion, and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, and the freedom of the slaves. When Lincoln was so earnestly and so masterfully advocating the principles of freedom that were set forth in his great speeches in these debates, little did he realize what was before him. One of the peculiar characteristics of his speeches was that they were not the same stereotyped matter given over and over again at these various cities, but each speech brought out the grand old principles of freedom in a new light and placed them in a strong individual setting of their own. In all of the literature of the English language, there is nothing to be found that is more masterful nor fundamental than these speeches made by Lincoln. Douglas was witty and very tactful in seeking to combat Lincoln, but Lincoln had the power of moral earnestness and of deep conviction of purpose that was altogether too much for the oratorical skill of any opponent.