The  Douglas-Lincoln  debates  fixed  the
slavery  problem  as  "  the  great  and  dur-
able question  of  the  age."  Lincoln  also
thought  that  the  destinies  of  the  nation
might  hang  upon  it.  In  referring  to
that  electioneering  duel  he  said:

"  Though  I  now  sink  out  of  view  and
shall  be  forgotten,  I  believe  I  have  made
some  marks  which  will  tell  for  the  cause
of  civil  liberty  long  after  I  am  gone."


68  Xtncolnics

"  Revolutionize  Through  the  Ballot-
Box."

Although  Lincoln  espoused  the  cause
of  freedom,  he  did  not  at  once  side  with
the  extremists,  and  he  was  incorrectly
ranked  in  1858  with  the  Abolitionists.
