Douglas and Lincoln: slavery?

[Verily]

If I recall correctly, Lincoln was in favor of abolition, while Douglas was in favor of leaving it up to the states.

Lincoln was not (publicly) in favor of abolition. He was in favor of banning it in DC and the territories, though. Douglas was in favor of allowing the residents of a territory to ban it, which amounted, in practice, to the same thing. As everybody knew.

More important was that Lincoln's Republican supporters were adamantly anti-slavery while the Northern Democrats (though not necessarily Douglas specifically) were only half-heartedly anti-slavery.

[Verily]

If I recall correctly, Lincoln was in favor of abolition, while Douglas was in favor of leaving it up to the states.

Lincoln was not (publicly) in favor of abolition. He was in favor of banning it in DC and the territories, though. Douglas was in favor of allowing the residents of a territory to ban it, which amounted, in practice, to the same thing. As everybody knew.

More important was that Lincoln's Republican supporters were adamantly anti-slavery while the Northern Democrats (though not necessarily Douglas specifically) were only half-heartedly anti-slavery.

Actually the abolition movement was a very small margin compared to all the moderate Republicans and Democrats up north. Its' been estimated that no more then 10% of the Republican party was actually and truly abolishionists and even those that supported abolishion many supported 'deporting' slaves back to Africa in the experiment called Liberia.

ROFL. The Republican Party was based on an anti-slavery platform; that was it's most distinguishing characteristic. Are you trying to tell me that the 10% the Free Soil Party got in 1848 were the only people opposed to slavery in the entire country?

10% as radical abolitionists willing to actively and illegally free slaves in the South as vigilantes, maybe, but 10% in favor of abolition? Ha!