Abraham Lincoln And Stephen Douglas: The Five Elements Of Political Debates

Decent Essays
Debates are an important part in political campaigns. Trent mentions the 1858 Illinois Senate race between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas because of the impact it had on our government. According to J. Jeffery Auer, there are five elements that makes up a true debate. Those five elements are confrontation, time equality and sufficiency, matched contestants, a proposition and receive audience decision. The third element of a true debate is not used that much. By the 20th century, political debates started evolving. An example would be in 1948 when the first broadcast debate took place. There are a number of debate strategies. Some examples include lowering public expectations, figuring out the target audience and relating the issues to

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