Accordingly, after talking with the central committee in Chicago, he challenged Douglas to fifty official debates around the state. Though Douglas had nothing to gain, he accepted the challenge because he was too competitive to back away. But he stipulated that they meet only seven times—in the convention towns of each Congressional district—and that he have four openings and rebuttals to Lincoln’s three. While the terms favored Douglas, as the Republican press acidly observed, Lincoln agreed to the plan and the Great Debates were on.
The Great Debates.
