A House Divided: Lincoln vs. Douglas on Slavery I

Lead: One hundred and fifty years ago the Republic was facing its greatest crisis. This continuing series examines the American Civil War. It is "A House Divided."

Intro: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: They are perhaps the most famous debates in U.S. history. Seven encounters in the run up to the November, 1858 elections for Senator from Illinois. The protagonists, Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln, and the incumbent Democrat Senator Stephen A. Douglas, brought into bright, bold relief what was emerging as most compelling issue of the time, the future of chattel slavery in America.