And what if you reach the white house and theres no nation left to save . The United States is on the brink of civil war. The dispute is about whether the New Territories should become free states like the north or slave states like the south. Nowhere is the debate fiercer than in ottawa, illinois. Thousands have descended on this little town. Its the campaign for the u. S. Senate, and theyve come to hear Abraham Lincoln confront senator stephen a. Douglas on the issue that threatens to tear america apart slavery. The debates between lincoln and douglas drew enormous crowds. People are drinking. People are cheering. People are fighting. It was almost pugilistic, as if people were coming to a boxing match to watch these two heavyweights slug it out. Lincoln is a rookie politician, a member of the brandnew Republican Party. Just four years old, it was formed to end slavery. Hes an unknown, Abraham Lincolns career as a politician has been almost nonexistent. The only thing lincoln has is