USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In 1860 Douglas was one of four major candidates for the presidency, running on a Northern Democratic ticket, but he lost the election to his old rival, Abe Lincoln.

Detailed explanation-2: -Douglas staunchly supported U.S. territorial expansion and desired a transcontinental railroad, a free land/homestead policy, and the formal organization of U.S. territories. It was these desires that led to Douglas’s most famous piece of legislation: the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Detailed explanation-3: -He believed in America’s unique mission and manifest destiny, was a leading proponent of Texas annexation, demanded the acquisition of Oregon, and supported the war with Mexico. A man of great energy and persuasive power, standing only five feet four inches tall, Douglas became known as the Little Giant.

Detailed explanation-4: -He believed that only a state, through the voice of its inhabitants and their elected legislatures, had the right to decide to allow slavery within its borders. Out of this position grew Douglas’s idea of “popular sovereignty.”