The Lincon-Douglas Debates Sesquicentennial Celebration
Beginning of the end
Beginning of the end
When Boggess was growing up, she was a fan of Lincoln. While she recognizes that Lincoln had many flaws, he was still the one who issued the
Emancipation Proclamation. “Lincoln was my big savior when I was young,” Boggess said. “I belong to the Lincoln-Douglas Society in Freeport. When the
mayor commissioned people to be on the Lincoln-Douglas Sesquicentennial committee, me being an African American, I was one of the ones commissioned.
I was really honored to be on it, but not honored in that way.”
Back in 1958, Boggess was a young adult when Freeport, Illinois celebrated the centennial anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. “There was not
one person of color in the parade or involved in the whole thing,” Boggess recalled. She was determined that it wouldn’t happen again.
“I would be able to change what I saw in 1958 that it was just a White thing,” Boggess emphasized. “I knew I had to do that. So we had lots of battles. I made
them make a commission statement that the celebration would be inclusive. They were going to use everything except Taylor Park, which is across the bridge
and across the tracks. I started vying to have this function in Taylor Park since fall 2007. And it was spring 2008 before holding a function in Taylor Park was
approved.”
Taylor Park is the home of a statue created by W. T. Rowley called “Lincoln The Debater.” Now due to Boggess’ efforts, Taylor Park was going to be the
home of the last event commemorating the Lincoln-Douglas debates. On September 1, Flavors of Lincoln's Freeport Food and Music Festival will be held in
Taylor Park, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. It will feature a variety of ethnic foods. It will also have an array of cultural performances including a Native American dance by
Madison’s very own Art Shegonee. And a celebration of the Lincoln-Douglas debates wouldn’t be complete without a visit from Abe Lincoln and Stephen
Douglas.
It should be an event that would make Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, the escaped slaves who came on the underground railroad through Freeport
and all of the other abolitionists who shaped America’s future proud.
For more information about the Lincoln-Douglas Sesquicentennial Celebration in Freeport, visit www. m45.com/lincolndouglas/index.htm. Freeport is located 62
miles southwest of Madison on U.S. Hwy 20 west of Rockford, Ill.
Emancipation Proclamation. “Lincoln was my big savior when I was young,” Boggess said. “I belong to the Lincoln-Douglas Society in Freeport. When the
mayor commissioned people to be on the Lincoln-Douglas Sesquicentennial committee, me being an African American, I was one of the ones commissioned.
I was really honored to be on it, but not honored in that way.”
Back in 1958, Boggess was a young adult when Freeport, Illinois celebrated the centennial anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. “There was not
one person of color in the parade or involved in the whole thing,” Boggess recalled. She was determined that it wouldn’t happen again.
“I would be able to change what I saw in 1958 that it was just a White thing,” Boggess emphasized. “I knew I had to do that. So we had lots of battles. I made
them make a commission statement that the celebration would be inclusive. They were going to use everything except Taylor Park, which is across the bridge
and across the tracks. I started vying to have this function in Taylor Park since fall 2007. And it was spring 2008 before holding a function in Taylor Park was
approved.”
Taylor Park is the home of a statue created by W. T. Rowley called “Lincoln The Debater.” Now due to Boggess’ efforts, Taylor Park was going to be the
home of the last event commemorating the Lincoln-Douglas debates. On September 1, Flavors of Lincoln's Freeport Food and Music Festival will be held in
Taylor Park, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. It will feature a variety of ethnic foods. It will also have an array of cultural performances including a Native American dance by
Madison’s very own Art Shegonee. And a celebration of the Lincoln-Douglas debates wouldn’t be complete without a visit from Abe Lincoln and Stephen
Douglas.
It should be an event that would make Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, the escaped slaves who came on the underground railroad through Freeport
and all of the other abolitionists who shaped America’s future proud.
For more information about the Lincoln-Douglas Sesquicentennial Celebration in Freeport, visit www. m45.com/lincolndouglas/index.htm. Freeport is located 62
miles southwest of Madison on U.S. Hwy 20 west of Rockford, Ill.
By Jonathan Gramling
They were the debates heard around the world. The year was 1858 and the southern and northern states of the
United States seemed on a collision course over the question of slavery. The Democratic Party was the party in
power, maintaining a fragile coalition of pro-slavery Southerners and Northern farmers. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of
1854, which opened the door to the spread of slavery to the Western states, had been authored by U.S. Sen.
Stephen Douglas from Illinois.
In 1858, Douglas was up for reelection in Illinois, challenged by newcomer Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln and
Douglas agreed to a series of seven debates held throughout the state. All of the debates focused on slavery. The
debate in Freeport, Ill. sealed the fates of both candidates. Douglas articulated the ‘Freeport Doctrine,’ which he
thought would appease his southern and northern constituencies. It enraged the Southerners and set fire to the
abolitionist cause. The Democrats won the Illinois legislature that year and Douglas won reelection to the U.S.
Senate. Lincoln attracted the attention of the Republican Party that made him their presidential candidate in 1860.
Douglas was the Democratic nominee in 1860, but this time lost to Lincoln because Douglas had lost his southern
base back in 1858. Lincoln was elected president, the Civil War began and the rest, as they say, is history.
Joyce Boggess, the owner of the Early Childhood Education Center on Madison’s south side, hails from
Freeport. Her people go back a ways in Freeport history. “The area near Taylor Park has become the ‘South Madison’
of Freeport,” Boggess said. “It’s actually on the east side near the railroad tracks on which the majority of Blacks
came up on from the South to work on the railroad. They lived along that area. My mother’s dad came to Freeport in
1916 as a strikebreaker when the Illinois Central railroad workers were on strike. Most of the Blacks came during that
time. He went back during the Great Depression. My mother came to Freeport for the first time when she was 12
years old.”
They were the debates heard around the world. The year was 1858 and the southern and northern states of the
United States seemed on a collision course over the question of slavery. The Democratic Party was the party in
power, maintaining a fragile coalition of pro-slavery Southerners and Northern farmers. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of
1854, which opened the door to the spread of slavery to the Western states, had been authored by U.S. Sen.
Stephen Douglas from Illinois.
In 1858, Douglas was up for reelection in Illinois, challenged by newcomer Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln and
Douglas agreed to a series of seven debates held throughout the state. All of the debates focused on slavery. The
debate in Freeport, Ill. sealed the fates of both candidates. Douglas articulated the ‘Freeport Doctrine,’ which he
thought would appease his southern and northern constituencies. It enraged the Southerners and set fire to the
abolitionist cause. The Democrats won the Illinois legislature that year and Douglas won reelection to the U.S.
Senate. Lincoln attracted the attention of the Republican Party that made him their presidential candidate in 1860.
Douglas was the Democratic nominee in 1860, but this time lost to Lincoln because Douglas had lost his southern
base back in 1858. Lincoln was elected president, the Civil War began and the rest, as they say, is history.
Joyce Boggess, the owner of the Early Childhood Education Center on Madison’s south side, hails from
Freeport. Her people go back a ways in Freeport history. “The area near Taylor Park has become the ‘South Madison’
of Freeport,” Boggess said. “It’s actually on the east side near the railroad tracks on which the majority of Blacks
came up on from the South to work on the railroad. They lived along that area. My mother’s dad came to Freeport in
1916 as a strikebreaker when the Illinois Central railroad workers were on strike. Most of the Blacks came during that
time. He went back during the Great Depression. My mother came to Freeport for the first time when she was 12
years old.”