Welcome to our Digital Classroom devoted to the subject of the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858. This contest between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas broke many of the political precedents of the day and helped redefine the struggle over slavery and the nation's future. Please feel free to use any of the following resources and to offer feedback or suggestions at hdivided@dickinson.edu

Research Engine: House Divided



The House Divided Project offers direct access to hundreds of primary sources, images, and lots of reference material related to the Lincoln-Douglas Debates --a true research engine!

 3D Map Room



This section offers a virtual field trip of the debates in Google Earth, examples of historic sites connected to Lincoln in 3D and a "zoomable" map of Springfield.

 Exhibits



In 2008, the House Divided Project created a special exhibit on the 1858 debates with the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History.
Videos: Historians on the 1858 Campaign



Historians such as Matthew Pinsker discuss aspects of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and 1858 contest in short video interviews.

 Web Guides



This section offers both a select guide to web resources relevant to Lincoln and the 1858 contest as well as a series of bookmarks for full-text nineteenth-century sources now available online.

 Further Reading



This section provides links to special online reading resources such as word clouds of the debates, lesson plans, an excerpt from Lincoln's own scrapbook of the debates and an online essay that provides direct links to resources in the House Divided research engine.