Lincoln Douglas Style Debate The Great Debaters
History of Debating Things to know
Forensics the art of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners. Forensics - Debate
Origin Latin forensic "public, related to a forum". Forum began in Latin meaning "market by the forum Forensics
The Roman forum was a public place in the center of the city where people gathered to learn, do business and settle legal matters Likened to our news Roman Forum
In Roman times, a criminal charge meant presenting the case before a group of public individuals in the forum. (think today s court case) Both the person accused of the crime and the accuser would give speeches based on their side of the story. Forensic Science
The individual with the best argument and delivery would determine the outcome of the case. This origin is the source of the two modern usages of the word forensic as a form of legal evidence and as a category of public presentation. Forensic Science
Forensic science would simply mean as the application of the study of science to the law of the land. Application of scientific evidence to debate in a court of law Forensic Science defined
Informal debate has no defined rules Formal debate has specific rules Difference between debates
Types of formal debates Political debates Legal debates Competitive debates
Rules Regulations to govern debate Order in which each side speaks Time allotment Format includes:
Proposition a statement of the issue to be debated Resolution a statement of your position on the issue Affirmative yes Yes, we want to see change -Argues Resolved Statement Negative no No, that resolve statement is wrong-argues status quo Premise something that must be true in order for you to make your point; there are three types of premises: facts, policies, and values Argument a reason to support your side of the debate Evidence facts that help prove you are right Case the sum total of arguments per side of the debate Brief an outline of the affirmative and negative cases Terms To Know
Constructive the speech at the start of a debate during which the affirmative and negative sides build their case Cross-Examination the time during a debate when one side is questioned by the opposing side Refute to provide evidence that shows your opponent is wrong Rebuttal providing evidence that further shows you are right after your opponent has attempted to show you were wrong Fallacy anything you can prove is not true Format the rules and procedures that govern a debate
A Lincoln-Douglas debate is one of the most popular types of debates in high school debate competitions. It gets its name from the Lincoln- Douglas Debates of 1858. These were a series of debates between Abraham Lincoln (Republican) and Stephen Douglas (Democrat) as they fought each other over a seat to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate.
The debates between Stephan Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were held during the 1858 campaign for a US Senate seat from Illinois. The debates were held at 7 sites throughout Illinois, one in each of the 7 Congressional Districts Lincoln Douglas Debates
Douglas, a Democrat, was the incumbent Senator, having been elected in 1847. He had chaired the Senate Committee on Territories. He helped enact the Compromise of 1850. Douglas then was a proponent of Popular Sovereignty, and was responsible for the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The legislation led to the violence in Kansas, hence the name "Bleeding Kansas" Stephan A.Douglas
Abraham Lincoln Lincoln was a relative unknown at the beginning of the debates. In contrast to Douglas' Popular Sovereignty stance, Lincoln stated that the US could not survive as half-slave and half-free states. The Lincoln- Douglas debates drew the attention of the entire nation.
Although Lincoln would lose the Senate race in 1858, he would beat Douglas out in the 1860 race for the US Presidency.
The major issue of these debates was slavery. More specifically, the debates focused on whether new states should make slavery legal or illegal
The Debates Douglas favored the idea of popular sovereignty, or leaving it up to the states to make their own decisions about whether or not to allow slavery.
Lincoln, on the other hand, who was a staunch abolitionist, thought that slavery should be outlawed in the new states simply on the grounds that slavery was morally wrong.
In other words, Lincoln defended himself with a value. Today, competitive Lincoln-Douglas debates are also called value debates because they are about moral issues, human rights, and philosophical matters.
For this project, seniors will follow a modified Lincoln-Douglas debate format. The order of speeches is exactly the same, with the addition of a closing statement at the end, and the times have also been slightly adjusted. Format
Teams will be given study guides with the information. Download from kspringstead.buchananschools.com
Sources of information should include: Famous quotations Facts Statistics Scientific research Preparing the debate
Start here Wikipedia International Debate Association Debatepedia Learn about Debating Websites http://www.wikipedia.org http://wiki.idebate.org http://www.factmonster.com http://debate.uvm.edu/learn2.html Preparing the debate
Preparation Each team should prepare a list of at least five arguments. Remember, an argument is just a reason for supporting your side, and reasons should always be supported by facts and evidence. Each argument should be approximately one-paragraph in length.
The constructive is your opening statement. Writing the constructive It is a short speech that identifies and briefly describes each of you very best arguments. Keep in mind that there is a three-minute time limit when delivering your constructive.
Prepare for crossexamination, refutes, and rebuttals. A good debate team always anticipates the opponents arguments. Preparation
Preparation Knowing what your opponent might say helps you prepare a list of crossexamination questions, points to refute, and rebuttals to use during the debate
You won t have enough time to think quickly enough on the fly, so it s crucial you bring good notes with you to the debate. Be Prepared
(a) pre-written constructive (b) summaries of affirmative and negative arguments (b) list of crossexamination questions (d) lists of quotes Facts Statistics Evidence Examples, etc. Good notes include:
Practice, practice, practice
Debates begin December 18