Page 360 - American Stories, A History of the United States

Read the Document Abraham Lincoln, debate at 14.1
galesburg, Illinois (1858)

14.2

14.3

A risiNg stAr Abraham Lincoln, shown here in his first full-length portrait. Although Lincoln lost the contest for
the Senate seat in 1858, the Lincoln–Douglas debates established his reputation as a rising star of the Republican party.

effect, the race became two separate two-party contests: In the North, the real choice
was between Lincoln and Douglas; in the South, it was between Breckinridge and Bell.
The result was a stunning Republicans’ victory. By gaining the electoral votes of
all the free states, except those from three districts of New Jersey that voted for Doug-
las, Lincoln won a decisive majority over his combined opponents. In the North, his
54 percent of the popular vote annihilated Douglas. In the South, where Lincoln was
not even on the ballot, Breckinridge triumphed everywhere except in Virginia, Ken-
tucky, and Tennessee, which went for Bell. (See Map 14.3). The Republican strategy of
seeking power by winning decisively in the majority section had succeeded. Although
less than 40 percent of those who went to the polls throughout the nation voted for
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