"The Lincoln-Douglas Debates" of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas

While listening to political debate is not exactly everyone’s favorite form of entertainment, listening to these three-hour debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas is truly enlightening.  First off, they show the mindset of the country during the years leading up to the Civil War, revealing an 1850s perspective on certain issues 21^st century America would view differently.  Secondly, they show Lincoln’s brilliance and just why his name and words transcend the years physically separating us from him.

This is honest debate between two men of opposing views.  Douglas touts popular sovereignty as the right for each state or territory to decide for itself: slave or free.  Lincoln calls for the arrestment of slavery at borders it then knew, as he saw the spread of it – as the nation spread further west – a cancer upon the land.

The political minutiae can bog a listener down with various bills and people unfamiliar to those of us today; but the entirety of all seven debates draw a narrative as to why the nation broke into war.  Fascinating.  For the mind that thrives on the wisdom of history, this presentation is one not to miss.