Stephen A. Douglas Western Man

<p> It didn't take long for freshman Congressman Stephen A. Douglas to see the truth of Senator Thomas Hart Benton's warning: slavery attached itself to every measure that came before the U.S. Congress. Douglas wanted to expand the nation into an ocean-bound republic. Yet slavery and the violent conflicts it stirred always interfered as it did in 1844 with his first bill to organize Nebraska. </p><p> In 1848 when America acquired 550000 square miles after the Mexican War the fight began over whether the territory would be free or slave. Henry Clay a slave owner who favored gradual emancipation packaged territorial bills from Douglas's committee with four others. But Clay's Omnibus Bill failed. Exhausted he left the Senate leaving Douglas in control. </p><p> Within two weeks Douglas won passage of all eight bills and President Millard Fillmore signed the Compromise of 1850. It was Douglas's greatest legislative achievement. This book a sequel to the author's <I>Stephen A. Douglas: The Political Apprenticeship 1833-1843</I> fully details Douglas's early congressional career. The text chronicles how Douglas moved the issue of slavery from Congress to the ballot box.</p>