Attached are four paragraphs that first appeared on the pages of THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE and were written by a reporter named of Horace White at the conclusion of Lincoln - Douglas debates of 1858. The journalist did a fine job in describing the excitement at the debates and the spirit of the participating candidates.
"Douglas ended in a whirlwind of applause...and Lincoln began to speak in a slow and rather awkward way. He had a thin tenor, or rather falsetto voice, almost as high pitched as a boatswain's whistle".
The debates resulted in a close election that returned Douglas to the U.S. Senate and Lincoln to his law practice, but historians agree that during the course of that contest he had found his voice.
Read About Lincoln's Speech at Cooper Union
