The Lincoln-Douglas Debates: The Lincoln Studies Center Edition

In the past, editions of the Lincoln-Douglas debates have been based on the conflicting "verbatim" accounts that appeared in various partisan newspapers of the day--especially those from two Chicago papers which Lincoln included in his scrapbook. While this edition, published in honor of the 150th anniversary of the actual events, uses as its basis those same texts the editors hope to provide a more accurate representation of the debates than previously offered. Treating the available material to a critical editorial approach, they attempt to reconcile some of the inconsistencies by comparing versions favorable to each speaker and using historical evidence such as knowledge of Lincoln's speech patterns to supplement and clarify the accounts. Included along with the serious political discourse are some of the more colorful aspects of the original newspaper reports such as heckling from the crowd, partisan bickering, blatant accusations, and debating tricks. Students and history buffs will find the textual annotations and glossary helpful in their research. Davis and Wilson are co-directors of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)