Lincoln Douglas Debates

[RJNorton]

Gene, I have thought that Douglas was mainly arguing that the people living in the territories should have the right to vote on whether or not slavery would be legal in their territory. And Lincoln argued that the federal government - Congress - should have the power to decide the slavery question in those areas. So, in my view, Douglas' position was actually more democratic than Lincoln's.

Does this explanation seem too simplistic or does it get to the crux of their arguments?