In the 2012
debates between Obama and Romney each separate debate is going to be steamed
live on ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC. It will also be on local channels like CNN, Fox
news, and MSNBC among many others. Some of the main topics the debates will be
over are each candidates view on foreign policy, domestic policy and both put
into a town meeting set up. The locations they’re being held at are The
University Of Denver in Denver CO, Centre College in Danville KY, Hofstra
University in Hampstead NY, and Lynn University in Boca Raton Florida.
In history all parties of the presidential
election think that debates are one of the major things that sway the
undecided. Overall within the last 50 years the debates have only mattered in
the polls a handful of times. One of the biggest changes this year to the debates
is the power that Twitter and Facebook have over the candidates. This election
is revolving around Twitter and Facebook. In the 2008 Election Day over one
million tweets were posted. Now, the same number of Tweets are posted every six
seconds. On average Barack Obama Tweets about 4 times a day, Mitt Romney tweets
about 2 times a day, Newt Gingrich tweets about 3 times a day, and Ron Paul
tweets about 3 times a day.
- Katie
Ever
since I moved to Galesburg I always wondered what the big deal was. I wondered
why all of the houses were older as you got further downtown and why some of
the streets were brick instead of pavement.
I knew that my hometown had two colleges, but for some reason one was
more important than the other. As time went on I grew to know the history of my
hometown and why it was so important.
Galesburg was founded by George
Washington Gale and a group of abolitionists in 1937. Gale was Presbyterian minister from New York that had the dream of
establishing a manual labor college. The group from New York bought 17 acres of
land in Knox County and started to build log cabins along Log City Trail. Log
City Trail is now a road that I travel every day after school; who would have
known that my driving route was part of history? The log cabins that were built
were to be built outside of city limits though due to the founders wanting the
inside city limits to look proper and clean to new comers.
As time
went on and the group of abolitionists was finally settled, Gale established
his dream; Gale built his very own manual labor college. This college is now
Knox College, a four year, coeducational, private, liberal arts school. The
college was said to be named after Henry Knox. Knox College is also important
because it was the site of the 5th debate between Lincoln and
Douglas in 1958. The school built a stage outside the Old Main building, which
is still there today. The way the stage was built caused both candidates to
climb out the window because the door was unable to open. Lincoln came into the
debate well educated with the abolitionist surroundings of Galesburg; this
caused him to be a favorite at the debate.
My
hometown was even a stop in the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad
was a path in which slaves followed the North Star to their freedom. Galesburg,
one of many stops, helped keep these slaves safe. Citizens would hide them in
their houses from armed forces as well as keep them warm and fed.
I never thought that a little
town like Galesburg could have such a huge part in history. Without Galesburg
some of those slaves could have never made it north and the 5th
debate with Lincoln and Douglas could have had a different outcome.
- Tori
When settlers arrived in the Galesburg area in 1836 the value system they brought with them was very different from today’s. George Washington Gale and other settlers from were very strict with their beliefs, especially their views on right and wrong in society. So they set out to create there own perfect area isolated from the rest of the world.
One of the key values the Galesburg settlers had was their views on slavery. They were believed to be radical in their views to abolish slavery and the settlers went as far to say that God thought of it as a sin. So they made it illegal to own slaves or promote slavery in Galesburg. This long standing view helped Lincoln rise in popularity during and after his debate with Douglas, and might have eventually lead to the complete abolishment of slaves in the United States of America. Galesburg’s “radical” viewpoint has come to become the social norm in America.
Another key issue in the settlers minds was the consumption of alcohol. They wanted their perfect world to exist without alcohol involved. This viewpoint was more common in america and people were willing to abide by it. Galesburg became a dry settlement from the start because they viewed alcohol as a terrible substance that made men go crazy and beat women and children. Settlements like this lead the way to ideals such as the Prohibition in later years. Galesburg, like America, is no longer a dry city because of the introduction of the railroad.
The Railroad changed the ideals of the Galesburg locals, because of how quickly new people arrived and departed in the area now. The Railroad was unwanted by many in the local community because of the changes it would impose. The little perfect world that the Galesburg settlers had tried to create would forever be changed by the railroad coming to town. Galesburg though has prospered because of the railroad and has grown to a modern city because of it.
Galesburg hasn’t become a major American city and it has faced some rough times in its history, but Galesburg is an amazing place to raise a family. The ideals set by early settlers, i believe, are still present in our minds today as we hold ourself to a higher standard than others and strive for a better life as they did. Galesburg has a rich history if you search for it and will continue to grow as a community for many years to come inviting new and rich history into the timeline of our great city.
- Sergio
The Lincoln-Douglas debates were in 1858 and were held for the position of Illinois senate seat. Lincoln had challenged Douglas to debate in each of the congressional districts. They each had already talked in Chicago and Springfield so they did joint showings in each of the remaining 7. The debates centered around the issue of slavery, and received nation wide attention. Before, Lincoln was not known very well while Douglas was a household name. However, Lincoln quickly gained popularity and soon was thought to of won the election.
These debates brought many viewers. In the Ottawa debate drew in 12,000 people. The freeport debate brought in 15,000 people, about 3 times as many as their population. Even though the weather was bad, everyone still wanted to attend the famous debates.
Lincoln and Douglas were extreme opposes, most notably on their viewpoint of slavery. Douglas believed that giving the federal government power over the decision of outlawing slavery or not would restrict the states rights. He also believed banning slavery would damage the union.
Lincoln was opposed to slavery. He did not believe in equality between the races ,but he held strong that it was immoral to own another fellow person. He repeated the phrase, "There is a physical difference between the two (races), which in my judgment will probably forever forbid their living together upon the equal footing of equality...", a few times, setting the theme for his debates.
this years debates will be a bit different. Obviously, these will also get national attention, even drawing in other countries seemingly. This year the main topic will be about the economy, with smaller parts focusing on health care and the role of government. These debates are the next big hurdle for Obama and Romney. They may change the race around so, Romney's team is nervous how it will turn out. The debates will be intense.
president Obama is more liberal on his views on the economy. He wishes to tax the top 5% of earners and then lower taxes for the rest. He also wants to put a cap on what a CEO can make. Obama's plan to help the economy is to raise the tax rate on almost every major federal tax. His goal is to expand the middle class.
Romney's plan to fix the economy includes reducing taxes, spending, regulation, and government programs. Trade, energy production, human capital, and labor flexibility will increase. Romney believes this plan will restore the economy through the principles of free enterprise, hard work, and innovation.
- Karisa
The
Lincoln-Douglas Debates were a series of seven debates in 1858 for the Illinois
senate seat. The debates were between
Stephan Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, and were held in Ottawa, Freeport,
Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy and Alton, Illinois. One of the most important issues of the
debates was slavery, a topic that was garnering significant attention
throughout the country at the time.
Because the debates were focusing on such an important topic, they
gained a lot of attention throughout the state and nationwide. Prior to the debates, Douglas was already
fairly well known, as opposed to Lincoln, who wasn’t. On the issue of slavery, Douglas took the
stance that banning slavery would damage the union. Lincoln, on the other hand, believed that
slavery was wrong, and that a country divided into slave states and free states
could not survive. Many people attended
the debates. Despite the weather,
thousands of people showed up, eager to hear what the candidates had to
say. At the Galesburg debate, somewhere
between fifteen and twenty thousand people were in attendance. Stephan Douglas won the Senate seat, but
Lincoln went on to win the Presidential election of 1860.
This year, the
presidential debates will be a huge deal, and be broadcasted across the
nation. The debates will take place this
October, in the cities of Denver, Colorado; Hempstead, New York; and Boca
Raton, Florida. The debates will be
focused on policy- both foreign and domestic.
For both candidates, this is their chance to sway the undecided voters
in their favor, be it towards Obama or Romney.
In some elections, the debates are not nearly as big a deal as they are
this year because the race is not nearly as close as it is this year. According to the polls, Obama is maintaining
a lead for the time being, but nothing is definitive yet. One of the biggest differences between this
year’s election and ones from years past is the influence of social media in
fundraising, spreading the news, and advertising for (or against) the candidates.
- Lila
Knox College was originally set up as a school for men to become preachers. People in Galesburg were against slavery and some were abolitionists, a couple people at Knox thought that slavery was a sin. Part of the Underground Railroad, even went through Galesburg, and was helped out by Knox. In later years, there was a famous slave story about a woman and her children had escaped to Galesburg. Her “owner” came looking but didn’t have papers stating that she was his property. He came back with fake papers to try and get her back. He got drunk with the sheriff and went after her. He got her kids but didn’t find her, thanks to the people of Knox. Lincoln found out about that they hated slavery and used this to his advantage over Douglas. Douglas believed that slavery and the ownership of slaves was up to the local area whether or not it was allowed. He wanted to expand our territory and didn’t care if slavery was brought with. At one point in the debate he said that he was from Kansas and that they contemplate slavery as a moral, social and political evil. He didn’t really say if he was for or against slavery. Lincoln’s response to what Douglas had said was, “he is blowing out the moral candles around us when he maintains anyone who wants slaves has a right to hold them.” It is said that just that little saying probably won him the debate at Knox and eventually followed with the other debates in Illinois for senator. He also used his saying sort of as a theme for his other speeches at the other debates. Also, he didn’t use it at first when he was trying to become president but eventually did.
- James
Galesburg
and Knox College was started by George Washington Gale and a group of people
from New York. They moved from New York to start a new life because they didn’t
like the big city life. The Saying was that if you didn’t like where you were
living you could just always move west and that’s exactly what they did. George
Washington Gale was a strict man and the reason he was a strict man was that he
was religious. Being as he was and the group that followed he set a number of
rules to be followed one was no alcohol because he believed that when men got
drunk they beat their wives and kids. The second one was the crusade against
slavery. George believed that slavery was against the teachings of Christ and
not a good moral standing. So believing this George along with several
anti-slavery advocates established the anti-slavery society. To take their
measures to extremes that set up an underground railroad in Galesburg. Slaves
would navigate with the North Star and end up winding in other local areas or Galesburg.
When slaves entered Galesburg they were hidden until they escape into the
union. Susan Richardson was an Underground Railroad helper and established the
first black church in Galesburg. Galesburg and Knox College Had a lot of
political and social events. The most Historical event that happened at Knox
was the debate between Lincoln and Douglas for a seat in the senate in 1858.
Galesburg made it a great place for the debate because it questioned whoever
took a stand on anti-slavery and morality. In the end Knox College stands as a
Historical Monument and an example in the United States for the anti-slavery
movement and the Underground Railroad, Knox College will
forever have its place in history.
- Seth
Galesburg was founded by a very strict religious man named
George Washington Gale. His religious beliefs and the beliefs of his like
minded men help decide the plans for Galesburg. George Washington Gale was
passionate about two fundamental principles that he shared with his team, 1. No
alcohol and 2. that slavery was morally and religiously wrong and ought to be
abolished. The abolition of slavery was the main driving point into the development
of this town and the development of Knox College. This ideology helped shape
the main principles of the town and college. Even into making it a part of the
underground-railroad. The college and the town as a whole helped majorly in the
freeing of slaves through means of hiding them once the got to the north. When slaves entered Galesburg they were
hidden until they escape into the union. Susan Richardson was an Underground
Railroad helper and established the first black church in Galesburg. These values
and dedication to the cause were crucial in the formation of the town. When
Knox College had Lincoln have his debate it put Galesburg on the map as a
society against the en-slavery of African Americans. Lincoln
was opposed to slavery. he held strong that it was immoral to own another
fellow person. These were the same values that George Washington Gale and his
advocates had held when they planned this city while they were in New York. And
it is the same values we hold today, the same values that mad this city and
subsequently the college. Knox College stands as a
Historical Monument and an example in the United States for the anti-slavery
movement and the Underground Railroad. The Stance on slavery put
Galesburg on the map. And ourpart in the underground railroad put us in
historical books.
- Stephan
There
are many ways how this debate now happening in 2012 between Mitt Romney and
Barack Obama is different from the debates that occured between Lincoln and
Douglas. The Lincoln and Douglas debates were intense but definatly were
not even close to as bad as the Romney/Obama debates right now. There is
so much trash talking during this debate that there is not to much
comparison. The Abraham Lincoln and Stephan A. Douglas debates had
alotless stuff to focus on during there debates. For starters they were
not battling for the presidents office but nearly a seat in the senate.
Plus the fact that there debates were not televised and did not have half the
publicty as this current debate is having. There topics were mainly
focused on slavery due to Lincoln fearing that the next Dred Scott decision
would make Illinois a slave state. These topics dont have much to do with
these debates obviously which makes them so much different. The
Obama/Romney debates currently ongoing right now has many more current topics
that were not even brought up back in the Lincoln Douglas debates such as
illegal immagration. I guess you could in a way compare african american
slavery with illegal immigration because they have to deal with
minoritys. But like i said earlier Lincoln and Douglas did not do hardley
any of the trash talking that Romney and Obama. Its like every time you
turn on the T.V you see another commercial about how the other canidate is a
terrible choice to be our next president. It is just flat out dirty which
could be the reason im not a big fan of either canidate. If i was
watching the debates back then im sure i would be a Abraham Lincoln supporter
but i know Stephan A. Douglas had some good points he mad in his
speeches. So that would be interesting. This debate is just getting
dumb and im sure media has something to do with it. But all in all there
some some comparisons between the debates but there are also major differences.
- Nate
The Lincoln-Douglas debate
that took place at Knox College in 1858 was the fifth of seven debates between
the two for the Senate seat in Illinois.
The debates were conducted between Rock Island and St. Louis which was
politically the most divided and hard to identify areas in Illinois. The biggest topic for discussion in these
debates was each candidates take on slavery.
As we all know Lincoln wished to abolish slavery and set everyone free. He said in the debate “I belong to that class
who contemplate slavery as moral, social and political evil.” Galesburg at this time was also anti-slavery
since the founders of the town and Knox were from New York and northerners
found it unjust to keep any human as a slave.
Politically and socially Knox/ Galesburg completely backed up Lincoln
because they believed in the same things as he did. Also activists of Galesburg worked very hard
to promote Lincoln, they made many signs and posters supporting him for during
the debate. So when Lincoln came to
Galesburg he was able to express himself most comfortably knowing that a
majority of the people there would support him.
In this time Galesburg was a big part of the Underground Railroad and
worked to help slaves escape to freedom.
Which also shows the level of activism in Galesburg as they worked to
end slavery in their own quiet yet very effective way.
- Sami
The values of the early
founders were completely different then you would expect. They were
conservative and almost all were very religious. George Washington Gale the
original founder of Galesburg was a minister. They were a=originally from new
but wanted to move out west to have a place of their own. They were sick of the
city life and wanted to have a city that everyone shared the same values.
One value in particular was
the position on slavery. George Washington gale was against slavery entirely.
He believed it was a sin not to mention morally wrong. The founders even set up
an underground railroad in Galesburg. Many fugitives came through Galesburg
because you could almost always see the north star. There were also many slave
runaways because of how close we are to the Mississippi river. Many would work
on steamboat and try to escape. This is one reason Lincoln speech at the debate
at Knox was so moving because he related with the Galesburgians and their
beliefs on anti-slavery. It was also a main reason why the debates were held
her in the first place. Gale and his followers were also very against alcohol.
They connected alcohol with domestic abuse. Gale believed that when a man got
drunk, he would then be overcome with rage and beat his family.
The values affected the
founders in the fact it was a different kind of town. Almost everyone
shared
the same religion and moral code. If you believed in drinking alcohol, you
would have been looked down on by the founders of Galesburg. The people were
very set in their ways and couldn't be persuaded just because it was easier.
They fought the hard battle of slavery and most likely saved numerous lives
because of their underground railroad and their wanting to help.
- Emily
The Lincoln-Douglas debates the seven different debates
against Abraham Lincoln (Republican) and Stephen Douglas (Democrat) for the
Illinois Senate seat. The majority of the debates discussed slavery but
they were also fighting for a vote from the state legislature to become the
senator of Illinois. Although Douglas was the incumbent he had to win
against Abraham Lincoln who proved to be a tough opponent. There are nine
congressional districts in Illinois and the debates were going to be held in
seven of them. They would travel to the different districts and debate in
public in the different cities and then move on to the next one discussing
various topics but slavery being the main issue.
The debates in modern time are obviously two candidates of
opposing teams going back and forth to each other. Although, the hopefuls
do not travel to as many places they still have to travel in order to verbally
duke it out with their opponent. The debates now do not involve slavery
obviously, but a majority of them are talking about foreign and domestic
policies because that is such a broad topic that the candidate can defend
themselves easily. The debates are held inside and some are even in the
form of a “town hall meeting” which is a question/answer session with the
candidates.
This election is very different compared to most because the
power of the social media. It is now a matter of who is the “top dog” in
the social media world, because if you are active with Twitter and Facebook it
is more likely that voters will pay attention. During the debates, voters
will be watching --- yes. Most important these voters will be tweeting
and creating statuses about the candidates, their answers and how they respond
to criticism. It is not normal that the debates effect the election, but
in this run for the presidency whoever wins the social networkers votes will
have a huge bump in the polls.
- Dani
Galesburg was founded by a minister from New York by the
name of George Washington Gale. He
pushed for a manual labor college which became Knox College. Log City was a name used for where people
lived outside of the towns boundaries while more updated homes were built in
the town. People did not want any log
cabins in town. The values of the early founders of Knox and Galesburg were
based off of their beliefs that were deeply influenced by their religion as
presbyterians.
Knox was
a college where the community of teachers and students worked closely together
and were dedicated to the values of independent thought, personal integrity,
and community responsibility. The
community was so serious about education that college classes continued on
Christmas day. A Lincoln-Douglas debate was held at Knox, being the fifth and
most famous of the debates. The first
president of Knox, Hiram Huntington Kellog, opposed discrimination against
women. Knox was one of the first colleges open to both African-Americans and
women. It's clear that the early founders of Knox believed in equality and a
right to education for anyone.
Founders
of Galesburg opposed slavery and formed an anti-slavery society. They also put a stop to the underground
railroad. Throughout Knox County there were strong advocates for and against
slavery. Galesburg welcomed Blacks from
the way beginning. Gale and two other founders were indicted in 1843 for
harboring slaves, but charges were eventually dropped. Even though Galesburg was very open, blacks
still experienced some prejudice. On another note, presbyterian was the
religion of majority of the people living in Galesburg. All in all, the values of the early founders
of Knox and Galesburg had a lot to do with equality amongst men and women, white
or not, and how important eduation is.
- Allison
The big main value and goal that Galesburg had was for the
town to be modernized. They wanted to model the houses like the ones in
New York. This meant they didn’t want any log cabins and that they wanted all
the houses to have siding. Galesburg’s founder was George W. Gale. Education
was also a big part of what they wanted Galesburg to be. They originally
planned the town mainly around Knox College. Knox College campus buildings were
a short distance from the central business district. The town was originally 6
blocks north and south and 7 blocks east and west. Also there was Log
City. Log City was a temporary encampment for people who had log cabins
or until suitable frame residences could be erected in the town. The town
was very much anti slavery. Not only did residents believe that slavery
was wrong, but many were willing to put themselves on the line by breaking the
laws. The role of anti slavery also influenced the role of the
underground railroad in Galesburg. The anti slavery environment that
Galesburg formed also had somewhat of an impact on the Lincoln Douglas debate
held at Knox College. It gave Lincoln his edge that would help his
campaign take off and that would help him win the presidency.
- Erin
Galesburg even from its earliest
roots was a very prosperous and well maintained town and has had strong,
well-nourished roots. From its early
days Galesburg was not your average Western town. They thought that the teachings
of Christ were that slavery was a sin and that it should not be permitted. The people that were involved in the planning
Galesburg and Knox College had a major role in what the morals and what the
mission goal of the town was going to be.
They wanted to be classy upscale type of town and not a log home kind of
town. Your house had to be sided or else you could not build a house in
Galesburg.
George Washington Gale played a major
role in all aspects of the planning of the town, for instance he helped slaves
have a safe journey through Illinois and make it to the North and out of
Slavery. Your morals and your religious beliefs of the people of Galesburg
thought that slavery was wrong and it will not be permitted. Knox
College is rich in history of helping people become better and more
educated. The founders had their beliefs
that slavery was wrong and it was led by George Washington Carver and Reverend
Samuel Wright. They actively supported
the Underground Railroad and thought it was an amazing thing to support.
These values that these people
brought to Galesburg and Knox brought a new light to this world. The small things that they did and their
focus to detail made a domino effect for big things to happen to this little
town. They wanted to keep a different
tone for the town and didn’t want it to fall into the trap of being low class
with no future down the road.
- Paul
Galesburg
was founded by George Washington Gale, who was a Presbyterian minister from New
York State. When originally planning Galesburg, Gale wanted to build a manual
labor college, which is now Knox College. Gales’ religious background affected
the values of the early founders of Galesburg.
The
original founders of Galesburg and Knox College were mainly Presbyterians and
Congregationalists. Being religious, the original founders of Galesburg and
Knox were anti-slavery social reformers. They did not believe slavery was
right, and that changed the values of both Knox and Galesburg. The values of
the original Galesburg made it home to the first anti-slavery society in
Illinois and became a stop on the Underground Railroad. The people of Galesburg
were willing to help African Americans achieve freedom; even know the dangers
and risk involved. It was a rare thing when an entire city was against slavery
and wanted to help abolish it. When slaves entered Galesburg, they were hidden
by various people until they could escape into the union. There were many
prominent anti-slavery figures that lived and helped out in Galesburg.
Another
value that the original founders of Galesburg had was not drinking alcohol.
Gale believed that when men would drink, they would beat their wives and kids.
Gale thought this was against God’s teachings, so he did not allow alcohol in
Galesburg. The original people of Galesburg would have been in support of
temperance movement because of their values.
The
values of the original Galesburg also affected how people voted in elections.
People would vote for a candidate who had similar moral values as them. When
one of the Lincoln- Douglas debates
happened at Knox College, Lincoln showed that he also wanted to abolish slavery
just like the people of Galesburg. This helped people vote for Lincoln in the
election.
The
values of the original founders of Galesburg and Knox affected live in many
ways. Galesburg’s anti-slavery and no alcohol views separated it from many
cities at that time.
- Jordan
The trip we took as a class was
located at Galesburg’s own Knox College. We learned all about the history of
the college and Galesburg itself.
Galesburg was
founded by George W. Gale, a minister of the gospel from New York State who
dreamed of establishing a manual labor college. A committee from New York
purchased 17 acres in Knox County in 1835, and the first 25 settlers arrived in
1836. They built cabins in Log City near current Lake Storey, just north of
Galesburg. Galesburg was home to the first anti-slavery society in state of
Illinois founded in 1837, and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Railroads
play a key role in Galesburg, the first railroad came to Galesburg in 1854.
Gale set out for
the prairies of Illinois to establish an educational institution that would be
known as Knox Manual Labor College. The college, which was chartered by the
Illinois legislature on February 15, 1837, has always been a private,
independent college. The college consisted of the four streets that originally
made up the city; North, South, Academy and Seymour streets. Knox was among the first institutions open to
people of color and women. The first commencement was June 1846, and in 1857
the name was altered to Knox College. The plan to bring the college to the prairie
was deliberate and well-thought out. In New York, George Washington Gale sought
settlers of a like mind and moral purpose. He began publicizing his project in
1834 with a "Circular and Plan", which set out the intention to
procure land with the money from subscribers, or people that were to follow
him; purchase a large tract of land in the West, and then sell land back to the
followers. Knox was one of the main reasons that Galesburg was founded.
- Lexi
The Lincoln–Douglas Debates of 1858 were
a series of seven debates between the Republican candidate, Abraham
Lincoln, and the Democratic party candidate, Senator Stephen Douglas.
Douglas and
Lincoln were trying to win control over the Illinois legislature. Slavery was the main issue / theme in all
seven debates.
The debates were held at
seven parts of Illinois. Both candidates had about 30 minutes to speak on each.
Douglas had chaired the Senate Committee on Territories and he also helped
enact the Compromise of 1850. Lincoln
said that the United States could not survive as half-free states &
half-slave country.
These important debates drew the attention to
the whole nation. Lincoln lost and Douglas succeeded. In 1960, Lincoln did gain
back victory for the presidential election.
This
year’s, 2012 debates, will be over foreign and domestic policy, which will be
held at the Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. The moderator will ask a
question and both candidates will have 2 minutes to respond to the questions.
Also, the debates will be over just Domestic
policy, held in Denver, Colorado at the University of Denver. Again, they will
both have two minutes to respond to each question.
Another one will be held at Lynn University in
Boca Raton, Florida. In all of them, the participants will be President Obama,
Mitt Romney, Vice President Joe Biden, and Congressman Paul Ryan.
The difference between the Lincoln-Douglas
debates and the Obama-Romney debates is that the main topic in the Lincoln
debates was slavery and the main topic in the 2012 debates is Foreign &
domestic policy.
Also, Douglas and Lincoln had 30 minutes to
speak on each topic but Romney and Barack Obama will only have about 2 minutes
to talk on each.
Another thing that is different between the
debates is that now our country has internet and television, which can get more
people to vote for either candidate.
- Anye
The social and political values of Galesburg played a
huge impact on the theme of Abraham Lincoln’s speech at Know College. The people inhabiting Galesburg during the
time of the speech were highly religious and certainly against the idea of
slavery. Slavery was a very
controversial topic at the time and most places politicians had to tip-toe
around the subject so they were not criticized too harshly. Throughout the course of the Lincoln-Douglas
debate, Lincoln stayed strong on his view against slavery and used it to his
advantage over Douglas.
The level of activism towards abolitionism that was
exemplified in Galesburg was astronomical.
Galesburg was founded on the belief that every man should be treated
equally and that no man could claim ownership over another man. During the 1800’s, Galesburg was a part of
the Underground Railroad which was an escape route for African-American
slaves. Also, many stories exist about
Galesburg citizens finding slaves and refusing to give them back to their
owners when confronted over the matter.
Galesburg took the most radical view possible against the idea of
slavery.
Galesburg’s activism played a major role in the
Lincoln-Douglas debates. At the time of
Lincoln’s presidential campaign, there were no televisions to publicize the
events, which gave Lincoln more comfort ability while speaking to the
audience. Like I mentioned earlier, this
allowed Lincoln to speak boldly against slavery and use it against his
pro-slavery opponent. Also, one of the
major forms of ‘media’ was given by word of mouth, so if the people of
Galesburg were spreading biased opinions to other cities supporting Lincoln, it
could not have hurt his campaign.
All in all, Galesburg proved to be remarkably influential
during the Lincoln-Douglas debates and the election of Abraham Lincoln ended up
being one of the wisest decisions America has ever made.
- RileyTwenty thousand people and more sat and stood hearing Lincoln and Douglas speak while a raw northwest wind tore flags and banners to rags. For three hours the two debaters spoke to people who buttoned their coats tighter and listened. The Galesburg meeting was the high-water mark of the debates. Sixty-six million people watched it on television in 60 alone. Historians would capitalize the “d” in debate and place the word “Great” in front of it. Half of the voters said the televised series of four debates shaped how they cast their ballot. Six percent said they voted specifically according to their impression of the debates. There were now about tens of millions who tuned in not only to listen but watch them as well. So instead of allowing their candidate to be abused by the new medium, campaign managers and party leaders sought ways to exploit it. Presidential debates would never be the same again. By the time the 21st century rolled around they bore about the same resemblance. The elections were longer. In elections now they time the candidates. In most debates they can talk for up to 15 minutes. Most of the debates are televised. People don’t have to stand out in the cold. More people can watch it when it’s on TV. Not everybody has the gas or money to travel to where the debate is located. It influences the voters more. They have moderators that lead the discussions. This helps so you don’t have a bunch of arguments. Also they pick out their topics. Back then they could discuss anything they want. This is good because then you really don’t have the time to be mean to your opponent. Also so they don’t just go rambling on about something. The debates got better when they were televised.
- Lindsay
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