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 Stephen Douglas and the Democrats

 


 “Our Portrait Gallery—No. 2” and “Rail Lyrics—No. 2”
  Cartoonist:  Unknown
  Source:  The Rail Splitter (Chicago)
  Date:   July 1, 1860, p. 1

Click to see a large version of this cartoon...

Click to see a large version of this cartoon

Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
This Chicago Rail Splitter cartoon identifies the split in the Democratic Party as preventing Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois, nominee of the Northern Democratic faction, from reaching the White House. The corresponding poem discusses his life as a judge and his sponsorship of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. That law repealed the ban on slavery in the Western Territories above the line of 36°30´ established by the Missouri Compromise (1820-1821), the passage of which owed much to Speaker of the House Henry Clay. “Squatter Sovereignty” was a derisive term for “popular sovereignty,” an idea advocated by Douglas that called for the voters in the territories to determine whether to legalize slavery or not.

 

 

 

 
 

 

     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 

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