The Also-Rans
Mark A. Lempke explores what losing presidential candidates can tell us about United States history. There's a lot more than elections here; we'll explore U.S. culture, religion, politics, and society along the way. Intended for politics nerds, history buffs, and all those who have suffered some kind of humiliating defeat.
The Also-Rans
Episode 6: The Railsplitter's Shadow
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Mark A. Lempke
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Season 1
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Episode 6
Just about everything we know about Stephen Douglas can be tied back to the man who defeated him for the presidency, Abraham Lincoln. No other also-ran is defined, in popular memory, by his opponent quite so much as he. With help from special guest Tim Connors, we will look at Douglas as a frontier stump-speaker, an advocate of American expansion, and finally, a staunch defender of the Union at the onset of civil war.