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
    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/node/16635.