Existing comment:
There is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence -- the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
I hold that he is as much entitled to these as the white man.
Speech at Ottawa, Illinois, August 2, 1858
From the first of seven debates between Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, Lincoln took a firm stand on the evils of slavery and argued against its extension into the territories. This well-publicized debate attracted more than 10,000 people, an enormous crowd for the time. |