The Reaction to the Dred Scott Decision | Oswald | Voces Novae: Chapman University Historical Review
The Reaction to the Dred Scott Decision | Oswald | Voces Novae: Chapman University Historical Review
Much to the Democrats' chagrin, the Republican Party effectively used the Dred Scott decision to bolster their anti-slavery efforts, and no Republican politician benefited from the decision more than Abraham Lincoln. In his 1858 campaign for Illinois Senator, Lincoln engaged in an impassioned debate with his competitor, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, as they continually responded to each other's attacks in a series of speeches and seven debates, which would come to be known as the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Lincoln often condemned the Dred Scott decision in his speeches and attacked Douglas, naming him as a part of the slave power conspiracy, while Douglas declared Lincoln to be an abolitionist who wanted blacks to be equal to whites and have the same freedoms as they did.
Much to the Democrats' chagrin, the Republican Party effectively used the Dred Scott decision to bolster their anti-slavery efforts, and no Republican politician benefited from the decision more than Abraham Lincoln. In his 1858 campaign for Illinois Senator, Lincoln engaged in an impassioned debate with his competitor, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, as they continually responded to each other's attacks in a series of speeches and seven debates, which would come to be known as the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Lincoln often condemned the Dred Scott decision in his speeches and attacked Douglas, naming him as a part of the slave power conspiracy, while Douglas declared Lincoln to be an abolitionist who wanted blacks to be equal to whites and have the same freedoms as they did.
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