Lincoln and Douglas hold their first debate in Ottawa, Illinois

Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas meet in the first of seven agreed political debates in Ottawa, Illinois.  The town's numbers double as 10,000 people arrive to hear the two candidates for the Senate nomination. 
Source Citation
Allen C. Guelzo, Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates that Defined America (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008), 93.
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Campaigns/Elections
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Ottawa, IL
Date
Abraham Lincoln, First Debate with Stephen Douglas, Ottawa, Illinois, August 21, 1858
Recollection by Henry Villard, Ottawa Debate, August 21, 1858
Recollection by J.K. Magic, Ottawa Debate, August 21, 1858
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, "All Aboard For Ottawa!," August 21, 1858
Chicago (IL) Times, "The Campaign-- Douglas Among the People," August 22, 1858
Abraham Lincoln to Joseph O. Cunningham, August 22, 1858
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, "Great Debate Between Lincoln and Douglas At Ottawa," August 23, 1858
New York Times, "Meeting of Douglas and Lincoln," August 23, 1858
Milwaukee (WI) Sentinel, "Lincoln and Douglas at Ottawa," August 24, 1858
Lyman Trumbull to Abraham Lincoln, August 24, 1858
Schuyler Colfax to Abraham Lincoln, August 25, 1858
B. Lewis to Abraham Lincoln, August 25, 1858
Joseph Medill to Abraham Lincoln, August 27, 1858
New York Evening Post, "Senatorial Canvass in Illinois," August 27, 1858
Recollection by Joseph Medill, Freeport Debate, August 27, 1858
Recollection by A.A. Terrell, Freeport, August 27, 1858
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, "Douglas and Lincoln," September 1, 1858
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, "Who Furnishes the Audiences?," September 23, 1858
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, “The Galesburg Debate,” October 9, 1858
Louisville (KY) Democrat, “From Abroad,” November 23, 1858
How to Cite This Page: "Lincoln and Douglas hold their first debate in Ottawa, Illinois," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/16635.