Protection, free trade, internal improvements, the sub-treasury, all the issues, in short, which had divided parties for a long series of years, and on which both speakers entertained very decided views, were omitted from the discussion.
The public mind saw but one issue; every thing else was irrelevant.
At the first meeting, Douglas addressed a series of questions to Mr.Lincoln, skillfully prepared and well adapted to entrap him in contradictions, or commit him to such extreme doctrine as would ruin his canvass.

Mr.Lincoln's answers at the second meeting, held at Freeport, were both frank and adroit.

Douglas had failed to gain a point by his resort to the Socratic mode of argument.
He had indeed only given Mr.Lincoln an opportunity to exhibit both his candor and his skill.

After he had answered, he assumed the offensive, and addressed a series of questions to Mr.Douglas which were constructed with the design of forcing the latter to an unmistakable declaration of his creed.

Douglas had been a party to the duplex construction of the Cincinnati platform of 1856, in which the people of the South had been comforted with the doctrine that slavery was protected in the Territories by the Constitution against the authority of Congress and against the power of the Territorial citizens, until the period should be reached, when, under an enabling act to form a constitution for a State government, the majority might decide the question of slavery.