The Lincoln-Douglas debates happened in Freeport, Illinois.
The Freeport Doctrine was articulated by Stephen A. Douglas at the second of the Lincoln-Douglas debates on August 27 , 1858 , in Freeport , Illinois . The Lincoln -- Douglas Debates ( also known as The Great Debates of 1858 ) were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln , the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois , and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas , the Democratic Party candidate . The debates in Freeport , Quincy and Alton drew especially large numbers of people from neighboring states , as the issue of slavery was of monumental importance to citizens across the nation .