Stephen Douglas

Stephen A.. Douglas was born on April 23, 1813 in Brandon, Vermont. He was an American politician and creator of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He was a Democratic Party candidate in the 1860 presidential election and he was also a member of the US House of Representatives. Douglas lost in the 1860 presidential election to Abraham Lincoln. Douglas was a supporter of popular sovereignty. Popular sovereignty is when the majority of a certain region decide on issues like expansion and slavery. He was mostly responsible for the Compromise of 1850 that settled slavery issues. In 1854 he addressed the slavery question with the Kansas- Nebraska Act which opened some prohibited territories to slavery under popular sovereignty. Opposition to this act led to the formation of the Republican Party . Douglas initially endorsed the Deed Scott decision of 1857, however he thought it went against popular sovereignty. He also was against the efforts of President James Bucahanon and his Southern allies to enact a slave code. Conflict over slavery drew a line in the Democratic Party. When the Civil War happened, Douglas gathered his supporters to the Union cause, but he died of typhoid fever a few weeks later. Douglas is seen as a passionate and persuasive leader in the 1800's.

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Featured_Bio_Douglas_Stephen.htm

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-A-Douglas