Stephen Douglas and Popular Sovereignty

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the political history and views of Stephen Douglas, among the leading politicians in the nation in the 1850s. The paper points out that, aspiring to the presidency, Douglas had to confront the question of the legality of slavery in the territories. Responding to this issue, Douglas advocated popular sovereignty, letting the voters in each territory decide the question. The paper states that, while the concept seemed simple, the doctrine collapsed in the face of myriad complications, and as it collapsed, Douglas and his presidential hopes faded. The paper concludes that popular sovereignty was theoretically a sound means of allowing territorial populations to organize themselves as either slave or free, but it failed as a political idea because it could not satisfy the demands of the various factions in the dire years leading to the Civil War.

From the Paper:

"The second blow to Douglas came with the submission of the first state constitution ostensibly reflecting popular sovereignty. A constitutional convention at Lecompton, Kansas, wrote a constitution that was put before Kansas voters. The voters were given an alternative: to vote for a constitution which permitted current residents of Kansas to keep slaves they had brought into the territory, or to vote for a provision which opened the state to unlimited importation to slaves. Voters could not for a state constitution which prohibited slavery. Anti-slavery voters boycotted this referendum, so that the constitution sent to Washington allowed the free importation of slaves into Kansas."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Fehrenbacher, Don. Prelude to Greatness: Lincoln in the 1850's (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1962).
• McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom (New York, New York: Oxford University War, 1988).
• Nichols, Roy. The Stakes of Power, 1845-1877 (New York, New York: Hill & Wang, 1961).
• Potter, David M. The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861 (New York, New York: Harper & Row, 1976).

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