27 Facts About Stephen Douglas

1. Stephen Douglas is a significant character in the mash-up novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and appears in the film adaptation of that book.

2. Stephen Douglas disagreed with the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision that Congress had no ability to regulate slavery in the territories.

3. Stephen Douglas rejected the Republican assertions that slavery was condemned by a "higher law" and that the nation could not long survive as half slave and half free (Lincoln's position).

4. Stephen Douglas was struck by illness in May 1861 and was confined to his bed.

5. Stephen Douglas praised Lincoln's first inaugural address, describing it as "a peace offering rather than a war message" to the South.

6. Stephen Douglas joined a special committee of thirteen senators, led by John J Crittenden, which sought a legislative solution to the growing sectional tensions between the North and South.

7. Stephen Douglas rejected efforts to cooperate with Breckinridge, arguing that "any compromise with the secessionists would.

8. Stephen Douglas said, "this government was made by our fathers on the white basis.

9. In early 1856 Stephen Douglas inserted himself and the debate surrounding the Kansas-Nebraska Act into the Chicago mayoral election, where Douglas strongly backed pro-Nebraska Democrat Thomas Dyer.

10. Stephen Douglas had hoped that the Kansas–Nebraska Act would help ease sectional tensions, and he was surprised by the intensity of Northern backlash to his proposal and to Douglas himself.

11. Stephen Douglas envisioned a transcontinental country connected by railroads and waterways, with Illinois serving as the gateway to the West.

12. Stephen Douglas helped pass a bill granting rights-of-way to the Illinois Central Railroad, which would connect Chicago to Mobile, Alabama.

13. Stephen Douglas was re-elected to the House of Representatives in 1846, but the state legislature elected him to the United States Senate in early 1847.

14. Stephen Douglas was one of four Northern Democrats to vote against the Wilmot Proviso, which would have banned slavery from any land ceded by Mexico.

15. Stephen Douglas considered volunteering to serve in the war, but President Polk convinced him to remain in Congress, where he would serve as an advocate for Polk's policies.

16. In early 1841, Stephen Douglas accepted election to the Illinois Supreme Court.

17. Stephen Douglas joined a legislature that included five future senators, seven future congressmen, and one future president: Abraham Lincoln, who was at that time a member of the Whig Party.

18. Stephen Douglas helped arrange the first-ever state Democratic convention in late 1835, and the convention pledged to support Jackson's chosen successor, Martin Van Buren, in the 1836 presidential election.

19. Stephen Douglas quickly became disinterested in practicing law, choosing instead to focus on politics.

20. Stephen Douglas was admitted to the state bar in Illinois in March 1834.

21. Stephen Douglas was born Stephen Arnold Douglass in Brandon, Vermont, on April 23, 1813, to physician Stephen Arnold Douglass and his wife, Sarah Fisk.

22. Stephen Douglas was a candidate for president at the 1852 Democratic National Convention, but lost the nomination to Franklin Pierce.

23. Stephen Douglas was one of four Northern Democrats in the House to vote against the Wilmot Proviso, which would have banned slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico.

24. Stephen Douglas resigned from the Supreme Court of Illinois upon being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1843.

25. Stephen Douglas experienced early success in politics as a member of the Democratic Party, serving in the Illinois House of Representatives and various other positions.

26. Stephen Douglas was nicknamed the "Little Giant" because he was short in physical stature, but a forceful and dominant figure in politics.

27. Stephen Douglas was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1860 election, but he was defeated by Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln.