Kyle Harrison
to-read
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858
- Author
- Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas
- Published
- 1858
- Recommended
- Once
Why it’s on the list: The seven 1858 Illinois Senate debates in full — three hours a side, no moderator, and the clearest surviving record of how the slavery question was actually argued in public.
Where I saw it: Shown as a nineteenth-century leather-bound spine in the shelf photo @romanhelmetguy posted on X, December 16, 2025, illustrating his rule that “half the books you read must be from before WW2.” https://x.com/romanhelmetguy/status/2000775031949824123
Note on the record: Held in 1858; first collected in print as Political Debates Between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas in 1860. Page count varies by edition, so none is recorded here.
Connections
- Abraham Lincoln — one of the two debaters.
- Stephen A. Douglas — the other.
- Language of Discourse — the portfolio idea this sits closest to.