County of display: Madison County
Location of monument: US Hwy 67 at Market St. in a small park with its own parking lot, Alton
Marker Erected By: The Greater Alton Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Historical Society
Monument Erected by: The Citizens of Alton
Replica erected by: The Exchange Club of Alton
Marker Text:
The seventh and last debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in the 1858 U.S. Senatorial campaign was held at this site on October 15. Approximately five thousand people gathered in front of the old city hall to hear the two candidates. The debates received national attention, with Lincoln arguing against the extension of slavery into the western territories, and Douglas campaigning for States' Rights. The following November Douglas defeated Lincoln for the Senate seat, but two years later, Lincoln defeated Douglas in the race for the Presidency.
Text on stone on monument:
At this site on the 15th of October in 1858, on a temporary platform built in front of city hall, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas engaged in the seventh and final encounter of their famous series of debates.
At an early hour on that date, the spectators began to arrive. They came on foot, on horseback, by carriage, lumber wagon, steamer, and railroad. By noon they numbered six thousand.
At the hour of two Douglas opened the debate with a speech of one hour. His speech was flat and unsatisfactory, unredeemed by a single sparkle of with or patriotic elevation.
In his reply of one and one-half hours, Lincoln took the charges of Douglas and scattered them to the winds. His performance was deemed clear and logical, honest and candid.
Douglas' half hour rejoinder was in better spirit than his opening but the consensus of the day was that Lincoln had scored the victory.
Although Lincoln won the non-binding popular vote, Douglas was elected U.S. Senator by the state legislature in January 1859. Lincoln was elected President of the United States in November 1860.
City hall was destroyed by fire in 1923. The stone wall behind this plaza stands where the east wall of city hall stood.
The lifesize sculptures of Lincoln and Douglas, created by Jerry McKenna of Boerne, Texas under commission by the Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club, were dedicated on October 15, 1995