Previously published in hbk.: Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1990.

Although Abraham Lincoln deeply opposed the institution of slavery, he saw the Civil War at its onset as being Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln had only three meetings, but their exchanges profoundly influenced the course of slavery and the outcome of the Civil War.primarily about preserving the Union. Frederick Douglass, himself a former slave, by contrast saw the War's mission to be the total and permanent abolition of slavery. And yet, these giants of the nineteenth century, despite their different outlooks, found common ground, in large part through their three historic meetings. In elegant prose and with unusual insights, Paul and Stephen Kendrick chronicle the parallel lives of Douglass and Lincoln as a means of presenting a fresh, unique picture of two men who, in their differences, eventually challenged each other to greatness and altered the course of the nation.

Nominated in 1858 by the infant Republican party to oppose Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln challenged the incumbent Democratic senator from Illinois to a series of debates. This volume contains their masterful arguments as well as two speeches, one by each candidate. Paving the way for modern debates between political candidates, the Lincoln-Douglas debates were more than formal discussions between opponents. Lincoln lost the election; but the speeches brought him to national attention and helped propel him to the Presidency in 1860.

Slavery, Race, and Conquest in the Tropics challenges the way historians interpret the causes of the American Civil War. Using Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas's famed rivalry as a prism, Robert E. May shows that when Lincoln and fellow Republicans opposed slavery in the West, they did so partly from evidence that slaveholders, with Douglas's assistance, planned to follow up successes in Kansas by bringing Cuba, Mexico, and Central America into the Union as slave states. A skeptic about 'Manifest Destiny', Lincoln opposed the war with Mexico, condemned Americans invading Latin America, and warned that Douglas's 'popular sovereignty' doctrine would unleash US slaveholders throughout Latin America. This book internationalizes America's showdown over slavery, shedding new light on the Lincoln-Douglas rivalry and Lincoln's Civil War scheme to resettle freed slaves in the tropics.

Before the 1858 Illinois senatorial election, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas went head to head in seven three-hour-long debates. The main topic was slavery, with Lincoln arguing that slavery is immoral and unjust, and Douglas arguing for the state's right to continue practicing slavery. This pivotal point in U.S. history is captured in this innovative play to help readers understand its importance. Historical photographs illustrate this dramatization of true events. Stage directions, costume and prop notes, and character descriptions ensure a smooth performance. Readers of this play will gain a thorough understanding of this crucial moment in U.S. history.