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Lincoln, Douglas, and Slavery

In the Crucible of Public Debate

Winner of the Speech Communication’s Winans-Wichelns Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address.
 
Zarefsky examines the dynamics of the seven 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates, placing them in historical context and explaining the complicated issue of slavery in the territories, their focal point. He elucidates the candidates’ arguments, analyzes their rhetorical strategies, and shows how public sentiment is transformed.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. The Issues and the Men
2. The Senatorial Campaign
3. The Conspiracy Argument
4. The Legal Argument
5. The Historical Argument
6. The Moral Argument
7. The Aftermath of the Debates
8. The Debates and Public Argument
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Awards

Speech Communication Association: James A. Winans-Herbert A. Wichelns Award
Won

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