The Pros And Cons Of The Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Abraham Lincoln, a self-made man, was the 16th President of the United States of America. He is regarded as one of America’s greatest presidents due to the things he accomplished during his presidency and his unique background. He has an amazing story of starting out with simply nothing and never stopping until he achieved the highest political office possible. “Lincoln 's distinctively human and humane personality and historical role as savior of the Union and emancipator of the slaves creates a legacy that endures” (Biography.com, 2016). Today Lincoln’s legacy is shown as popular culture through advertisement, specifically commercials. Oxford dictionaries define popular culture as a culture based on the tastes of ordinary people rather than an educated elite. Companies use Lincoln’s life and achievements as a selling point for their products. While many commercials can be found with Abe Lincoln as the leading character, two in particular stuck out the most to me. One being a Diet Mountain Dew commercial and the other being a GEICO commercial. Both do a great job of

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates were a series of seven debates between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln during the 1858 Illinois state election campaign (Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 2016). The debates were full of many disagreements between the two. “The Lincoln-Douglas debates occupy an honored place in American political folklore” (Gienapp, 63). The debates allowed both Lincoln and Douglas to clarify their opinions about the most significant issue of the campaign, slavery. Douglas’s views on slavery was of great interest to most of the nation, due to him being the author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the fact that was a well known political figure who very much so wanted to be president. Lincoln had no problem holding his own against Douglas, which in return got him national