The year began with the nation's capital absorbed by the growing feud between President James Buchanan (Class of 1809) and Senator Stephen A. Douglas over Kansas policy. The question, as always, involved how to handle the contentious issue of slavery. This rupture within the Democratic Party helped create the conditions for the nation's first popular senate campaign which occurred in Illinois, between Douglas, the incumbent, and a Republican opponent named Abraham Lincoln.
The Year in Review: 1858
How to Cite This Page: "The Year in Review: 1858," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/almanac/1858.