What was going on the the United States in 1858 around the time of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate?

Question

What was going on the the country?
What was going on internationaly?
What was the politial climate?
How do the above impact what Lincoln says in is "House Divided" speech?

Answer 1

the debacle in bloody kansas

Answer 2

A good starting place for learning about international events in this year is found under "1858" in wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1858

Note the next to last bullet point in the "Events" section is a link to the Lincoln-Douglas debates for further details on that subject:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln-Douglas_Debates

There is also an entry for the "House Divided" speech:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%27s_House_Divided_Speech

Answer 3

i think Lincoln recognized that slavery was becoming outdated and was a drag on our international relations as other countries were moved away from the slave trade, like britain.

the republicans favored NOT allowing slavery to expand into new states, while democrats felt it was their business to choose.

it created such a dichotomy of thought that eventually led to the polarization of the states on the whole issue and then the civil war, since Pres. Lincoln wouldn't allow the nation to divide.

Answer 4

Slavery was going on.

You need to read about it (at length) in order to appreciate the history (here). Going on "yahoo answers" to answer school work is pretty low and lazy. You are truly cheating yourself.

Answer 5

Session from the union by the south......HEY, WAIT,... DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK!