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Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician from Illinois and the designer of the Kansas–Nebraska Act. He was a member of the House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1860 election, losing to Republican Abraham Lincoln. Douglas had previously defeated Lincoln in a Senate contest, noted for the famous Lincoln–Douglas debates of 1858. He was nicknamed the "Little Giant" because he was short in physical stature, but a forceful and dominant figure in politics. (His height is given in various sources as being in the range of 5 feet (1.5 m) to 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m); five feet four is reported most often.)[1][2][3]
Douglas was well known as a resourceful party leader, and an adroit, ready, skillful tactician in debate and passage of legislation. He was a champion of the Young America movement which sought to modernize politics and replace the agrarian and strict constructionist orthodoxies of the past. Douglas was a leading proponent of democracy, and believed in the principle of popular sovereignty: that the majority of citizens should decide contentious issues such as slavery and territorial expansion. As chairman of the Committee on Territories, Douglas dominated the Senate from 1850 to 1859. He was largely responsible for the Compromise of 1850 that apparently settled slavery issues; however, in 1854 he reopened the slavery question with the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which opened some previously prohibited territories to slavery under popular sovereignty. Opposition to this led to the formation of the Republican Party.
Douglas initially endorsed the Dred Scott decision of 1857. But during the 1858 Senate campaign, he argued its effect could be negated by popular sovereignty. He also opposed the efforts of President James Buchanan and his Southern allies to enact a Federal slave code and impose the Lecompton Constitution on Kansas.
In 1860, the conflict over slavery led to the split in the Democratic Party in the 1860 Convention. Hardline pro-slavery Southerners rejected Douglas, and nominated their own candidate, Vice President John C. Breckinridge, while the Northern Democrats nominated Douglas. Douglas deeply believed in democracy, arguing the will of the people should always be decisive.[4] When civil war came in April 1861, he rallied his supporters to the Union cause with all his energies, but he died of typhoid fever a few weeks later.
Douglas was well known as a resourceful party leader, and an adroit, ready, skillful tactician in debate and passage of legislation. He was a champion of the Young America movement which sought to modernize politics and replace the agrarian and strict constructionist orthodoxies of the past. Douglas was a leading proponent of democracy, and believed in the principle of popular sovereignty: that the majority of citizens should decide contentious issues such as slavery and territorial expansion. As chairman of the Committee on Territories, Douglas dominated the Senate from 1850 to 1859. He was largely responsible for the Compromise of 1850 that apparently settled slavery issues; however, in 1854 he reopened the slavery question with the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which opened some previously prohibited territories to slavery under popular sovereignty. Opposition to this led to the formation of the Republican Party.
Douglas initially endorsed the Dred Scott decision of 1857. But during the 1858 Senate campaign, he argued its effect could be negated by popular sovereignty. He also opposed the efforts of President James Buchanan and his Southern allies to enact a Federal slave code and impose the Lecompton Constitution on Kansas.
In 1860, the conflict over slavery led to the split in the Democratic Party in the 1860 Convention. Hardline pro-slavery Southerners rejected Douglas, and nominated their own candidate, Vice President John C. Breckinridge, while the Northern Democrats nominated Douglas. Douglas deeply believed in democracy, arguing the will of the people should always be decisive.[4] When civil war came in April 1861, he rallied his supporters to the Union cause with all his energies, but he died of typhoid fever a few weeks later.
Stephen A. Douglas - Wikipedia
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Stephen A Douglas: Most influential person
This is a short clip on why Steven A Douglas is one of the most influential people in history
Thank you my friend Maj Marty Hogan for letting us know that April 23 is the anniversary of the birth of American politician Stephen Arnold Douglas who was the designer of the Kansas–Nebraska Act\
In an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed in 1820 admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. In 1854, the Missouri Compromise was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act which also sought to maintain the balance between slave and free states.
Rest in peace Stephen Arnold Douglas
Background from thefamouspeople.com/profiles/stephen-douglas-4152.php
"Nick Name: Little Giant
Also Known As: Stephen A. Douglas
Famous As: The Designer of The Kansas–Nebraska Act
Nationality: American
Political Ideology: Democratic Party
Birth: April 23, 1813 in Brandon, Vermont.
Father: Stephen Arnold Douglass
Mother: Sarah Fisk
Siblings: Sarah
Spouse/Ex-Spouse: Martha Denny Martin, Rose Adele Cutts
Children: Ellen, Jr., Rnold Douglas, Robert Martin Douglas, Stephen A
Died: at age 48 on June 3, 1861 at Chicago, Illinois
Stephen Douglas was a US Senator known for the ‘Freeport Doctrine’. He was popularly known as ‘Little Giant’, because he was short in physique but was an eminent, political figure in the 19th century. He was actively involved in the ‘Young America Movement’ that wanted to supplant the dogmas and the tenets of the past with a young and a more effective political system. He also ran for President opposite, Abraham Lincoln, who was a Republican candidate, but failed to make it. As a party leader, he was known to have been extremely quick-witted and skillful, with great control over his oratory skills. He was dexterous in terms of political issues and worked towards popularizing the principle of ‘popular sovereignty’. His long and fruitful career also involved him working for the US Senate, where he was responsible for settling slavery-related issues and also endorsed the ‘Dred Scott’ decision. Apart from his political career, the ‘Lincoln-Douglas Debates’ that he held time-and-again with his long-time rival, Abraham Lincoln, became some of the most famous in history and came to be known as the ‘debates that defined America’.
Childhood & Early Life
• Stephen Arnold Douglas was born on April 23, 1813 to Sarah Fisk and Arnold Douglass, in Brandon, Vermont.
• When he was a teenager, he made cabinets, but the appeal of law and political studies got him to quit this craft.
• In 1833, he shifted to Ohio and then Winchester, Illinois, where he studied for legal studies, while simultaneously working as a teacher.
• He passed his bar examinations in 1834 and established his own practice in Jacksonville.
Career
• In 1836, he was elected into the Illinois House of Representatives, which marked the beginning of his political career. In the next few years, he became a leader of the Illinois Democrats.
• In 1841, at the age of 27, he was appointed as an associate justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. He resigned from this position after he was elected as a US Representative, two years later.
• He was elected as a US Senator in 1846 and the next year, he became a member of the House of Representatives.
• In the sectional crisis of 1850, he became one of the strongest supporters of ‘compromise’. However the ‘compromise’ bill was defeated.
• By 1852, he was considered one of the Democrats’ national leaders. It was in this year he contended for the ‘Democratic presidential nomination’, but was ‘passed over’ for Franklin Pierce.
• He was re-elected to the Senate in 1853, during which time he ardently advocated the railroad expansion. He was responsible to formulate the ‘land grant system’ to fund the Illinois Central track.
• He sent up a radical cataclysm with the ‘Kansas-Nebraska Act’ in 1854. During this time, he also supported the prohibition of slavery through the ‘Missouri Compromise’ and also beseeched the highly ostracized belief of ‘popular sovereignty’.
• During this period, Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln verbally attacked him in three public speeches pertaining to the issues of anti-slavery. This became one of the many debates that went on to be later known as the ‘Lincoln-Douglas’ debates.
• In 1856, Douglas became a candidate for the ‘Presidential nomination’ and a highly popular candidate at the convention. His ‘popular sovereignty’ principle that slavery should be controlled by states individually appealed to a very small mass of society.
• However, with the declaration of the ‘Dred Scott decision’, Douglas’ party was denied ‘popular sovereignty’ and was denied the rights to abolish slavery in certain parts of the country.
• He faced a dilemma. If he rejected ‘Dred Scott’, he would lose votes for his presidency and if he accepted it, he would lose whatever support he already had.
• In 1858, he decided to run for the US Senate and so did the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln. The two decided to make appearances together and would debate, which came to be collectively known as the ‘Lincoln-Douglas Debates’. In the legislative elections that year, the Democrats won by a narrow margin.
• In 1860, Douglas was chosen as a candidate for presidency but due to the split between Southern and Northern Democrats, the tension in the party increased, which led to Abraham Lincoln’s eventual success. Douglas placed second in the popular voting but placed last in electoral votes.
• Towards the end of his life, he got back into the Senate and gave his full support to the Lincoln government. At the new president’s bid, he went on an undertaking to the Midwest and the Border states to awaken the spirit of Unionism.
Personal Life & Legacy
• In 1847, he married Martha Martin, with whom he had two sons; Robert M. Douglas and Stephen Arnold Douglas, Jr. During the birth of the couple’s third child, Martha passed away and so did the baby girl, the latter dying weeks after her birth.
• In 1856, he married Adele Cutts, with whom he had a daughter, but who also survived only for a few weeks. She also suffered a miscarriage which weakened her immunity.
• He passed away in Chicago after suffering from typhoid fever. He is interred on the shore of Lake Michigan. After his death, a monument and a tomb were erected in his memory, in 1883.
• The place of his birth was venerated as a Museum and Visitor Center and number of counties in Nevada, Washington and Kansas (to name a few) were named after him.
• His character and life has been the subject of a number of films including, ‘Young Mr. Lincoln’, ‘Abe Lincoln in Illinois’ and the film ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’.
Trivia
• This famous American politician courted Mary Todd, who later became the wife of his arch rival and presidential opponent, Abraham Lincoln."
Stephen Arnold Douglas: Most influential person
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkesQygQ9fc
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi LTC (Join to see) LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Jeff S. CPT Jack Durish MSgt Robert C Aldi SFC Stephen King MSgt Danny Hope SGT Gregory Lawritson Cpl Craig Marton SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan
In an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed in 1820 admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. In 1854, the Missouri Compromise was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act which also sought to maintain the balance between slave and free states.
Rest in peace Stephen Arnold Douglas
Background from thefamouspeople.com/profiles/stephen-douglas-4152.php
"Nick Name: Little Giant
Also Known As: Stephen A. Douglas
Famous As: The Designer of The Kansas–Nebraska Act
Nationality: American
Political Ideology: Democratic Party
Birth: April 23, 1813 in Brandon, Vermont.
Father: Stephen Arnold Douglass
Mother: Sarah Fisk
Siblings: Sarah
Spouse/Ex-Spouse: Martha Denny Martin, Rose Adele Cutts
Children: Ellen, Jr., Rnold Douglas, Robert Martin Douglas, Stephen A
Died: at age 48 on June 3, 1861 at Chicago, Illinois
Stephen Douglas was a US Senator known for the ‘Freeport Doctrine’. He was popularly known as ‘Little Giant’, because he was short in physique but was an eminent, political figure in the 19th century. He was actively involved in the ‘Young America Movement’ that wanted to supplant the dogmas and the tenets of the past with a young and a more effective political system. He also ran for President opposite, Abraham Lincoln, who was a Republican candidate, but failed to make it. As a party leader, he was known to have been extremely quick-witted and skillful, with great control over his oratory skills. He was dexterous in terms of political issues and worked towards popularizing the principle of ‘popular sovereignty’. His long and fruitful career also involved him working for the US Senate, where he was responsible for settling slavery-related issues and also endorsed the ‘Dred Scott’ decision. Apart from his political career, the ‘Lincoln-Douglas Debates’ that he held time-and-again with his long-time rival, Abraham Lincoln, became some of the most famous in history and came to be known as the ‘debates that defined America’.
Childhood & Early Life
• Stephen Arnold Douglas was born on April 23, 1813 to Sarah Fisk and Arnold Douglass, in Brandon, Vermont.
• When he was a teenager, he made cabinets, but the appeal of law and political studies got him to quit this craft.
• In 1833, he shifted to Ohio and then Winchester, Illinois, where he studied for legal studies, while simultaneously working as a teacher.
• He passed his bar examinations in 1834 and established his own practice in Jacksonville.
Career
• In 1836, he was elected into the Illinois House of Representatives, which marked the beginning of his political career. In the next few years, he became a leader of the Illinois Democrats.
• In 1841, at the age of 27, he was appointed as an associate justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. He resigned from this position after he was elected as a US Representative, two years later.
• He was elected as a US Senator in 1846 and the next year, he became a member of the House of Representatives.
• In the sectional crisis of 1850, he became one of the strongest supporters of ‘compromise’. However the ‘compromise’ bill was defeated.
• By 1852, he was considered one of the Democrats’ national leaders. It was in this year he contended for the ‘Democratic presidential nomination’, but was ‘passed over’ for Franklin Pierce.
• He was re-elected to the Senate in 1853, during which time he ardently advocated the railroad expansion. He was responsible to formulate the ‘land grant system’ to fund the Illinois Central track.
• He sent up a radical cataclysm with the ‘Kansas-Nebraska Act’ in 1854. During this time, he also supported the prohibition of slavery through the ‘Missouri Compromise’ and also beseeched the highly ostracized belief of ‘popular sovereignty’.
• During this period, Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln verbally attacked him in three public speeches pertaining to the issues of anti-slavery. This became one of the many debates that went on to be later known as the ‘Lincoln-Douglas’ debates.
• In 1856, Douglas became a candidate for the ‘Presidential nomination’ and a highly popular candidate at the convention. His ‘popular sovereignty’ principle that slavery should be controlled by states individually appealed to a very small mass of society.
• However, with the declaration of the ‘Dred Scott decision’, Douglas’ party was denied ‘popular sovereignty’ and was denied the rights to abolish slavery in certain parts of the country.
• He faced a dilemma. If he rejected ‘Dred Scott’, he would lose votes for his presidency and if he accepted it, he would lose whatever support he already had.
• In 1858, he decided to run for the US Senate and so did the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln. The two decided to make appearances together and would debate, which came to be collectively known as the ‘Lincoln-Douglas Debates’. In the legislative elections that year, the Democrats won by a narrow margin.
• In 1860, Douglas was chosen as a candidate for presidency but due to the split between Southern and Northern Democrats, the tension in the party increased, which led to Abraham Lincoln’s eventual success. Douglas placed second in the popular voting but placed last in electoral votes.
• Towards the end of his life, he got back into the Senate and gave his full support to the Lincoln government. At the new president’s bid, he went on an undertaking to the Midwest and the Border states to awaken the spirit of Unionism.
Personal Life & Legacy
• In 1847, he married Martha Martin, with whom he had two sons; Robert M. Douglas and Stephen Arnold Douglas, Jr. During the birth of the couple’s third child, Martha passed away and so did the baby girl, the latter dying weeks after her birth.
• In 1856, he married Adele Cutts, with whom he had a daughter, but who also survived only for a few weeks. She also suffered a miscarriage which weakened her immunity.
• He passed away in Chicago after suffering from typhoid fever. He is interred on the shore of Lake Michigan. After his death, a monument and a tomb were erected in his memory, in 1883.
• The place of his birth was venerated as a Museum and Visitor Center and number of counties in Nevada, Washington and Kansas (to name a few) were named after him.
• His character and life has been the subject of a number of films including, ‘Young Mr. Lincoln’, ‘Abe Lincoln in Illinois’ and the film ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’.
Trivia
• This famous American politician courted Mary Todd, who later became the wife of his arch rival and presidential opponent, Abraham Lincoln."
Stephen Arnold Douglas: Most influential person
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkesQygQ9fc
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi LTC (Join to see) LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Jeff S. CPT Jack Durish MSgt Robert C Aldi SFC Stephen King MSgt Danny Hope SGT Gregory Lawritson Cpl Craig Marton SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan
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Interesting figure. He really tried to walk the center line a lot and I think finally came to the conclusion that slavery was inherently evil.
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