Stephen A. Douglas

the long version

An advocate of the Union and a believer in manifest destiny, Stephen A. Douglas – called “the Little Giant” because he was short and stocky but had great speech skills – was on the Supreme Court, the House of Representatives, and the Senate. He sought to ease tension between the North and the South on the issue of slavery through popular sovereignty, and lost the presidency to Lincoln. He died of typhoid while working to gain support for the Union.