{"product_id":"lincoln-and-douglas-the-debates-that-defined-america-9780743273213","title":"Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America","description":"\u003ch2\u003eLincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom two-time Lincoln Prize winner Allen C. Guelzo comes this definitive account of the 1858 Senate debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas—the political confrontation that transformed Lincoln from an Illinois lawyer into a national figure and set the stage for the Civil War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Campaign That Changed American History\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the summer and fall of 1858, Abraham Lincoln mounted an unprecedented challenge against Stephen A. Douglas, the country's most formidable politician, for the United States Senate seat. Though Lincoln lost the election, these debates elevated him from regional obscurity to national prominence, establishing him as the leader of the Republican Party and positioning him for the presidency two years later.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGuelzo's narrative brings alive the seven face-to-face debates and the broader campaign that defined the central conflict of American democracy: Does democracy exist to satisfy majority desires, or to achieve a just and moral public order? This question, debated in 1858, led directly to the Civil War and remains relevant to American political discourse today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAward-Winning Scholarship\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAllen C. Guelzo, Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College, has won the prestigious Lincoln Prize twice—for \u003ci\u003eAbraham Lincoln: Redeemer President\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America\u003c\/i\u003e. His work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eJournal of American History\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat This Book Covers\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis historical biography examines the 1858 Illinois Senate race in comprehensive detail, analyzing how Lincoln came close to toppling the \"Little Giant\" Douglas. The book explores the political strategies, rhetorical brilliance, and fundamental disagreements over slavery that characterized these encounters. Guelzo demonstrates how the debates engaged the core question of democracy's purpose and underscores their centrality in America's greatest conflict.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePublished by Simon \u0026amp; Schuster as part of their Lincoln Library collection, this paperback edition provides essential reading for understanding antebellum American politics, the Republican Party's formation, and the ideological divisions that would tear the nation apart.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuelzo, Allen C.:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eAllen C. Guelzo\u003c\/b\u003e is the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era at \u003cbr\u003eGettysburg College, where he also directs the Civil War Era Studies Program and \u003cbr\u003eThe Gettysburg Semester. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eAbraham Lincoln: Redeemer \u003cbr\u003ePresident\u003c\/i\u003e (1999) and Lincoln's \u003ci\u003eEmancipation Proclamation: The End of \u003cbr\u003eSlavery in America\u003c\/i\u003e (2004), both of which won the Lincoln Prize. He has \u003cbr\u003ewritten essays and reviews for \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street \u003cbr\u003eJournal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eJournal of American History\u003c\/i\u003e, and many other \u003cbr\u003epublications.","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50680723865874,"sku":"9780743273213","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_206ef026-f567-49fc-84c4-10a53aa877a5.jpg?v=1734924366","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/lincoln-and-douglas-the-debates-that-defined-america-9780743273213","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}