In that same month the Democrats held a convention at Cincinnati. Every effort was made to nominate Stephen A. Douglas for President. But he was beaten in his own party, on account of the action which he had taken in the repeal of the Missouri Compromise.
James Buchanan was nominated in his stead, and, in November, was elected.
And so the conflict went on.
In the year 1858 there was another series of joint debates between
Lincoln and Douglas. Both were candidates for the United States Senate.
Their speeches were among the most remarkable ever delivered in any
country.
Lincoln spoke for liberty and justice. Douglas's speeches were full of fire and patriotism. He hoped to be elected President in 1860. In the end, it was generally acknowledged that Lincoln had made the best arguments. But Douglas was re-elected to the Senate.
* * * * *
XIV.—PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
In 1860 there were four candidates for the presidency.
The great Democratic Party was divided into two branches. One branch nominated Stephen A. Douglas. The other branch, which included the larger number of the slave-owners of the South, nominated John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky.
The remnant of the old Whig Party, now called the "Union Party," nominated John Bell, of Tennessee.