Attached are four paragraphs that first appeared on the pages of The Chicago Tribune and were written by a reporter named of Horace White at the conclusion of Lincoln – Douglas debates of 1858. The journalist did a fine job in describing the excitement at the debates and the spirit of the participating candidates.
“Douglas ended in a whirlwind of applause…and Lincoln began to speak in a slow and rather awkward way. He had a thin tenor, or rather falsetto voice, almost as high pitched as a boatswain’s whistle”.
The debates resulted in a close election that returned Douglas to the U.S. Senate and Lincoln to his law practice, but historians agree that during the course of that contest he had found his voice.
