te. As to
the respective merits of the contestants, it would be idle to expect
an agreement among contemporary partisans. But a careful reading
of the discussion a quarter of a century after it was held will
convince the impartial that in principle, in candor, in the enduring
force of logic, Mr. Lincoln had the advantage. It is due to fairness
to add that probably not another man in the country, with the
disabilities surrounding his position, could have maintained himself
so ably, so fearlessly, so effectively, as Douglas.

BUCHANAN'S OPPOSITION TO DOUGLAS.

Douglas was aided in his canvass by the undisguised opposition of
the administration. The hostility of President Buchanan and his
Southern supporters was the best possible proof to the people of
Illinois that Douglas was representing a doctrine which was not
relished by the pro-slavery party. The courage with which he fought
the administration gave an air of heroism to his canvass and prestige
to his position. It secured to him thousands of votes that would
otherwise have gone to Mr. Lincoln. For every vote which the
administration was able to withhold from Douglas, it added five to
his supporters. The result of the contest was, that, while Douglas
was enabled to secure a majority of eight in the Legislature in
consequence of an apportionment that was favorable to his side,
Mr. Lincoln received a plurality of four thousand in the popular
vote. In a certain sense, therefore, each had won a victory, and
each had incurred defeat. But the victory of Douglas and the means
by which it was won proved to be his destruction in the wider field
of his ambition. Mr. Lincoln's victory and defeat combined in the
end to promote his political fortunes, and to open to him the
illustrious career which followed.

This debate was not a mere incident in American politics. It marked
an era. Its influence and effect were co-extensive with the
Republic. It introduced a new and distinct phase in the controversy
that was engrossing all minds. The position of Douglas separated
him from the Southern Democracy, and this, of itself, was a fact
of great significance. The South saw that the ablest leader of
the Northern Democracy had been compelled, in order to save himself
at home, to abjure the very doctrine on which the safety of slave
institutions depended. The propositions enunciated by Douglas in
answer to the questions of Mr. Li