Which of the following best states the central disagreement between abraham lincoln and stephen douglas on the issue of slavery?

answer: c

stephen arnold douglas was an american politician from illinois. he was a representative of the usa, senator, and candidate for president by the democratic party in the 1860 elections, losing to republican abraham lincoln. douglas had previously defeated lincoln in a dispute in the senate, known for the famous lincoln-douglas debates of 1858. he was nicknamed the "little giant," because although short in stature he was a powerful and dominant figure in politics.

douglas was known as an ingenious, skilled, tactical, clever, and effective party leader in the debate and passing of laws. he was a great defender of democracy, firmly believed in the principle of popular sovereignty, especially in issues such as slavery and territorial expansion. as president of the territories commission, douglas dominated the senate in 1850. he was largely responsible for the 1850 slavery agreement, which apparently solved problems arising from slavery. however, in 1854 the question of slavery was reopened with the kansas-nebraska act, which allowed slavery in some territories where it was previously forbidden, leaving the election to popular sovereignty. opposition to this law led to the formation of the republican party.

from the religious point of view, the conflicts began because of the enmity between catholic and protestants. in 1649, at the insistence of baltimore, the colonial assembly approved the act of religious tolerance, the first law in the colonies granting freedom of worship, though only for christians. in 1654, however, with the protestants of maryland in the majority, the act was revoked. the almost civil war broke out and order was not restored until 1658, when lord baltimore was returned to power.

on the issue of class conflict, the chesapeake region offered few economic opportunities to contract employees who had served their term of obligation. even with the small amount of capital needed to grow tobacco, former hired servants at best became subsistence farmers, a mature class for those called to rebellion, such as those proposed by nathaniel bacon. as the number of new hired workers declined because of limited chances of progress and reports of severe treatment, they were replaced by african slaves.

from the racial point of view, after 1660, the chesapeake colonies imposed laws that defined slavery as a lifelong and hereditary condition based on race. this made slaves profitable because planters could rely not only on their work but also on their children. the slave population, which numbered four thousand in virginia and maryland in 1675, grew significantly by the end of the century.