e friends to whom he had
communicated the contents of his speech in advance of its delivery,
that he was treading on dangerous ground, that he would be
misinterpreted as a disunionist, and that he might fatally damage the
Republican party by making its existence synonymous with a destruction
of the Government."

The opening speech of Senator Douglas at Chicago a few days later--
sounding the keynote of his campaign--was in the main an arraignment
of his opponent for an attempt to precipitate an internecine
conflict, and array in deadly hostility the North against the South.
He said:

"In other words, Mr. Lincoln advocates boldly and clearly a war of
sections, a war of the North against the South, of the free
States against the slave States--a war of extermination--to be
continued relentlessly until the one or the other shall be subdued,
and all the States shall either become free or become slave."

The two speeches, followed by others of like tenor, aroused public
interest in the State as it had never been before. The desire
to hear the candidates from the same platform became general. The
proposal for a joint debate came from Mr. Lincoln on July 24 and
was soon thereafter accepted. Seven joint meetings were agreed
upon, the first to be at Ottawa, August 21, and the last at Alton,
October 15. The meetings were held in the open, and at each place
immense crowds were in attendance. The friends of Mr. Lincoln
largely preponderated in the northern portion of the State, those of
Douglas in the southern, while in the centre the partisans of
the respective candidates were apparently equal in numbers. The
interest never flagged for a moment from the beginning to the close.
The debate was upon a high plane; each candidate enthusiastically
applauded by his friends, and respectfully heard by his opponents.
The speakers were men of dignified presence, their bearing such as
to challenge respect in any assemblage. There was nothing of
the "grotesque" about the one, nothing of the "political juggler" about
the other. Both were deeply impressed with the gravity of the
questions at issue, and of what might prove their far-reaching
consequence to the country.

Kindly reference by each speaker to the other characterized the
debates from the beginning. "My friend Lincoln," and "My friend
the Judge," were expressions of constant occurrence during the
debate. While each mercilessly attacked the political utterances of
the ot