The Unknown “Lincoln-Douglass” Debate

A few years before he was sworn in as President of the United States, an Illinois Senate candidate named Abraham Lincoln went up against Democrat Stephen A. Douglas in a series of seven debates. These neatly laid out the arguments of the day, ones that wouldn’t be resolved until the end of the Civil War, if then. Historian Harold Holzer imagines a different debate—one between Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, based on correspondence and writings. He’s joined by Tony Award–nominated actors Norm Lewis and Stephen Lang.