Stephen Douglas was born on April 23, 1813 in Brandon, Vermont. He was the third child of Stephen Arnold Douglas and Sarah Fisk. His father was a physician and his mother died when Stephen was just two months old.
As a young man, Douglas worked as a cabinet maker's apprentice before attending the Brandon Academy. He later moved to Canandaigua, New York to attend the Canandaigua Academy. After briefly working as a teacher, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio to study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1834.
Stephen Douglas began his political career in Illinois, where he was elected to the state legislature in 1836 at the age of 23. He served as Secretary of State of Illinois from 1840 to 1841 before being appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of Illinois. In 1847, he was elected as a U.S. Congressman, and in 1858, he defeated Abraham Lincoln in the Illinois Senate election.
One of Stephen Douglas's most famous acts was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. This controversial legislation allowed settlers in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery, overturning the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The passage of this act led to violent conflicts in Kansas known as "Bleeding Kansas" and heightened tensions between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions.
In 1860, Stephen Douglas ran for President as the Democratic nominee. Despite being a prominent and experienced politician, he faced a divided party and ultimately lost to Abraham Lincoln in the election. Douglas's defeat was seen as a factor in the outbreak of the Civil War, as it highlighted the growing divide between the North and South.
Stephen Douglas married Martha Martin in 1847, and they had two sons together. Tragically, Martha died during the birth of their third child. Douglas later married Adele Cutts in 1856, with whom he had one daughter.
Stephen Douglas is remembered as a skilled politician who played a significant role in shaping the political landscape of the United States in the mid-19th century. Despite his controversial stance on slavery, he is still regarded as an influential figure in American history.