Setting the Stage for the Great Debate

In 1858, the Franklin House hotel in Alton served as Abraham Lincoln's debate headquarters and reception area during the final debate with Stephen A. Douglas. Great debates were staged for the public with carnival-like appeal, drawing people from across Illinois and nearby states to witness the last meeting between the two men. Farmers began arriving early in the morning, and by noon boats from St. Louis and trains from the North were reaching the city. Lincoln and Douglas both came to Alton from Quincy by steamboat early that morning. Mary Todd Lincoln arrived by train from Springfield to support her husband, accompanied by their eldest son Robert, a fourth corporal in the Springfield Cadets. Many newspapers published transcriptions of each debate, but the press was highly partisan and editors and transcribers often improved the speeches of their favored candidates. Located in the oldest stretch of the original town, the Franklin House was one of Alton's largest and finest hotels in the 1840s and 1850s.

Alton, Illinois · United States