At  Jonesboro,  in  the  lower  part  of  "  Egypt,"  where  their
third  debate  was  held,  Douglas  reiterated  his  often-refuted
charges  of  ultraism  against  Lincoln,  which  the  latter  just  as
coolly  and  convincingly  disposed  of,  as  if  there  had  been  no
unscrupulous  pertinacity  in  making  false  accusations  against
him.  After  bringing  home  the  sin  of  reopening  agitation,  to
the  door  of  Douglas,  he  proceeded  to  show  as  extravagant
radicalism  in  the  recorded  professions  of  the  Democracy  as  of
any  persons  acting  with  the  Republican  party.  He  then
completely  riddled  the  "  unfriendly  legislation"  theory  of
Douglas,  exhibiting  its  utter  inconsistency  with  fidelity  to  his
Constitutional  oaths,  so  long  as  he  indorsed  the  validity  of  the
political  dogmas  of  Judge  Taney,  in  his  Dred  Scott  opinion.
In  the  fourth  debate,  at  Charleston,  the  attempts  of  Doug-
las to  make  capital  out  of  the  Mexican  War  question  were
appropriately  disposed  of.  Here,  also,  Douglas  was  convicted,
on  conclusive  testimony,  of  having  stricken  out  of  the  Toombs'
Kansas  Bill  a  clause  requiring  the  Constitution  that  should
be  formed  under  its  provisions,  to  be  submitted  to  the  people.
LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  181

This  had  an  important  bearing  on   one   objection  upon  -which
Douglas  based  his  Anti-Lecompton  rebellion.
The  fifth  joint  discussion  was  held  at  Galesburg,  the  sixth
at  Quincy,  and  the  last  at  Alton.  The  main  topics  and
methods  of  these  debates,  as  of  the  rest,  did  not  substantially
differ  from   those  of  the  speeches  at  Chicago  and  Springfield.
