Stephen Arnold Douglas

Douglas, Stephen Arnold (1813–61), U.S. politician, Democratic representative (1843–47) and senator (1847–61) from Illinois, affectionately known as the “Little Giant.” He is remembered for his debates with Abraham Lincoln in the Illinois senatorial campaign of 1858, which brought Lincoln to national attention. Involved in the issue of allowing slavery in the new states, he helped draft the Compromise of 1850, based on Squatter Sovereignty, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854). In 1860 he was the unsuccessful Democratic presidential candidate, but he later supported Lincoln and the Union.