In a new documentary about the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 titled “Right Makes Might,” produced by Madison McQueen Films and distributed by the faith and family-focused Exploration Films, viewers are challenged to ponder the philosophical questions surrounding Abraham Lincoln’s rise to political prominence.
The film — narrated by Dr. Allen Guelzo and featuring Drs. Lucas Morel of Washington & Lee University, Michael Burlingame of the University of Illinois Springfield, and Charles Kesler of Claremont McKenna College — provides expert analysis of one of the most important yet understated events in U.S. history. Had Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln not engaged in these debates, or had they gone just slightly differently, events central to our national trajectory would have never occurred or occurred through vastly different means.
A notable example is Douglas and Lincoln’s debate in Freeport, Illinois. As the professors note, this is the point in which Lincoln forced Douglas to publicly attempt to reconcile the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision with the doctrine of popular sovereignty.
Popular sovereignty, of which Douglas was a well-known advocate, held that residents of a new territory should determine if they would allow slavery through popular ascension. Douglas believed that confrontation between pro- and anti-slavery groups could be avoided if the people could decide this matter for themselves. Pro-slavery groups tended to favor this approach, but they also favored the Dred Scott decision, which held Congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery in new territories.
During the Freeport debate, Douglas indicated the
