The debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were contagious. Thousands of people crowded together and created the kind of environment ideas need to grow. Lincoln and Douglas stirred politics and morals together into a unique, viable mixture. Their dispute over slavery spread and infected the nation. Within two years the Union was ailing. Within three years it was struggling to survive.        Preview now

Reader Review: êêêêêê "What a pleasure to read this modern reflection on the geography of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates. Studying the debates in school gave me their words. Reading Ms. Baldino's book gave me their audiences, their pieces of the world, and a sense of continuity. Those listeners are my friends and colleagues. They are my family. They are, in their connections to one another, also a part of me. As the photographs span the years from past to present, the ideas move right along with them. My concerns in this election year are their concerns of 150 years ago — truth, strength, kindness, good sense, family and community, plus wondering how to encourage our government to truly be "for the people." This book celebrates the past within the context of the present. History has seldom felt so personal or so inspiring." Chas Ridley