Politician

A New Generation in Politics.

During his long political career Stephen A. Douglas was deeply involved in every major issue to come before the nation. He is most famous as Abraham Lincoln's Democratic opponent for the Senate in 1858 and the presidency in 1860, but his time in Congress also had a lasting impact on the politics of the West. Douglas's career marked a changing of the guard in U.S. politics, from the era of compromisers and nationalist leaders such as Henry Clay and Daniel Webster to one dominated by men with sectional interests such as Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, and William Seward of New York.

Rising Democratic Star.

Douglas grew up in Vermont and upstate New York before moving to Illinois in 1833. Captivated by Andrew Jackson, he helped build the Democratic Party in that state and rose rapidly in...