Lincoln/Douglas debate

[LincolnMan]

Thomas: maybe "doomed" was too strong of a word. Historians generally agree that Douglas had pretty much nothing to gain by engaging in debates with Lincoln -and that Lincoln stood to gain much (which he did). It was Lincoln's view, from what I understand, that Dred Scott made arguments about the slavery question in the territories somewhat moot-because slaves could be taken anywhere by their masters (as "property")-and thus bring "slavery" there.