Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Political Debates between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas...

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"The Most Important Series of American Political Debates"

Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Political Debates between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, in the Celebrated Campaign of 1858, in Illinois; Including the Preceding Speeches of Each, at Chicago, Springfield, etc.; also, the Two Great Speeches of Mr. Lincoln in Ohio, in 1859, as Carefully Prepared by the Reporters of Each Party, and Published at the Times of their Delivery. Columbus: Follett, Foster and Company, 1860.

First edition. Octavo. iv, 268 pages. Meets all of Howes three points for first issue of the first edition: no rule above publisher's imprint on copyright page, no ads, and the number "2" at the bottom of page 17.

Original light brown embossed cloth over boards. Gilt lettering to spine. Boards slightly bowed. Moderate foxing throughout, particularly to the endpapers and the pages adjacent to them. Hinges are not cracked or split, but there is a small area of paper loss at rear hinge, measuring approximately three-eights of an inch in length. Inked name of contemporary owner to front free endpaper. An outstanding clean and tight copy in very good condition.

During the debate tour, Lincoln, in a letter, writes quite explicitly on the issue of slavery: "I have made it equally plain that I think the negro is included in the word 'men' used in the Declaration of Independence. I believe the declara[tion] that 'all men are created equal' is the great fundamental principle upon which our free institutions rest..." (Basler). Wright Howes sums up the published debates as "[h]istorically the most important series of American political debates."

Roy Basler, The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, III, 327. Howes, L338. Sabin, 41156.