GALESBURG ( 25News Now ) - On Oct. 7, 1858, Abraham Lincoln was running against Stephen Douglas for United States Senate, and thousands of people gathered at Knox College in Galesburg to watch them debate for hours.

The Galesburg debate was the fifth in a series of seven that would make their mark on American History. These debates provided a model that evolved into the events we see today, from city council races to the White House.

“Lincoln had actually challenged Judge Douglas to debate publicly, because Lincoln realized very early in the campaign that if he couldn’t pin Douglas down on some of the points he was trying to make he was probably going to end up losing,” said Ian Hunt, the chief of acquisitions and special projects at the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Sprin

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