On September 18, 1858, Springfield attorney and former U.S. Congressman Abraham Lincoln debated U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the Coles County Fairgrounds during that year's senatorial campaign. The Charleston debate was the fourth of seven debates held between Lincoln and Douglas from August to October. A reported 12,000 to 15,000 people attended, with many spectators traveling to Charleston by train and wagon from Indiana. The campaign centered on slavery in the federal territories and whether it should be extended into the territories and new slave states created. Lincoln, the Republican candidate, opposed the extension of slavery, while Douglas, the Democratic incumbent, defended popular sovereignty, holding that residents of the territories should decide the issue for themselves. During the Charleston debate, Lincoln denied Douglas' charge that he favored social and political equality for African-Americans. He opposed slavery but also took the position that whites should maintain "a superior position," a statement that has qualified his legacy as the great emancipator. Lincoln won the popular vote but lost the election because Democrats controlled the Illinois Senate and state legislatures then elected United States Senators. Although Douglas was reelected, the debates helped position Lincoln to win the presidency two years later.