What was the Freeport Doctrine and why was it created?

Freeport Doctrine, position stated by Democratic U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas that settlers in a U.S. territory could circumvent the U.S. Supreme ... read more

Freeport Doctrine: Freeport Doctrine, position taken by U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas during a debate with Abraham Lincoln that territories could circumvent a Supreme Court ruling that disallowed the banning of slavery by not enforcing slave owners’ rights. Learn more about the history and effects of the Freeport Doctrine. read more

Stephen Douglas created the “Freeport Doctrine” in 1858 as a way to weasel out of the explosive controversy over slavery in the territories. It failed. Bigly. The Supreme Court had held in the 1857 Dred Scott case that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the territories. read more

The Freeport Doctrine was articulated by Stephen A. Douglas at the second of the Lincoln-Douglas debates on August 27, 1858, in Freeport, Illinois. Former one-term U.S. Representative Abraham Lincoln was campaigning to take Douglas' U.S. Senate seat by strongly opposing all attempts to expand the geographic area in which slavery was practiced. read more

A: Quick Answer. The Freeport Doctrine was a famous oral reply by Stephen Douglas to Abraham Lincoln during their 1858 debates. read more