A Time of Intense Politics
(Political Cartoon Courtesy of Stern Collection, Library
of Congress)
The political environment in the 1850s was exceptionally tense because
of the debate over slavery. Lincoln represented a new party, the Republicans,
who believed in "free soil" for western territories, meaning
the containment of slavery within the South. Democrats were divided
over the question, but Douglas believed that westerners should decide
for themselves whether or not to allow slavery.
