On January 6, 2009, BBC Audio, an imprint of BBC Audiobooks America, will present the newly commissioned recording of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858, starring actors David Strathairn as Abraham Lincoln and Richard Dreyfuss as Stephen Douglas.
This unprecedented project marks the first time the full unabridged version of all seven debates has been recorded for audio, and it brings to life the history-changing political battles to mark the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth (2009) and the 150th anniversary of these epic oratories (2008).
About the decision to re-create these seminal debates, Jeff Golick, Editorial Manager of BBC Audiobooks America, says, "Our role as publishers is to inform and entertain. One way to do that is to take something of tremendous historical value and make it new for today's audience. The BBC has a long tradition of producing high-quality radio productions; this is one we think will stand alongside those landmark recordings."
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates previewed issues that Lincoln would face in the 1860 presidential campaign and throughout his term in office. These seven legendary match-ups during the 1858 Illinois senatorial race were held at different sites throughout the state, one in each of the Congressional Districts.
Douglas, a Democrat, was the incumbent Senator who had chaired the Senate Committee on Territories and was a proponent of Popular Sovereignty, wherein each territory or state decided the slavery issue locally.
Lincoln was a relative unknown at the beginning of the debates. In contrast to Douglas' stance, Lincoln stated that the United States could not survive as half-slave and half-free states.
The Lincoln-Douglas debates drew the attention of the entire nation and brought into focus the deep divide in America over the spread of the "peculiar institution of slavery." In the end, Douglas won the Senate seat on a technicality, but Lincoln was transformed into a national political star by his passionate and eloquent stances regarding equality in America. He would later beat Douglas in the 1860 race for the U.S. Presidency.
RICHARD DREYFUSS A renowned Academy Award®-Winning actor, Dreyfuss' 40-year film career includes American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Mr. Holland's Opus and many more.
DAVID STRATHAIRN Nominated for an Academy Award® for his 2005 performance as famed CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck, Strathairn is known for memorable performances in stage and screen roles.
Introduction by ALLEN C. GUELZO, Henry R. Luce III Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College and author of Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America.
LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES Unabridged
Publication date: January 6, 2009
14 CDs—978-1-60283-402-6—$39.95
Digital Download—978-1-60283-403-3—$29.95
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