VA's social studies reform legis.: Lincoln-Douglas debates were Lincoln and Frederick Douglass

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. Hey, Virginia lawmakers, the Lincoln-Douglas debates did not involve Frederick Douglass

The Washington Post is having fun here

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Section B3 of the bill, which was sponsored by Republican freshman Del. Wren Williams, defined what could be taught as “the founding documents,” like the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, excerpts from the Federalist Papers, the writings of the Founding Fathers and Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic “Democracy in America.” Oh, and one more thing: “the first debate between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.”

It was a clear reference to the famed Lincoln-Douglas debates, one of the high points in this country’s intellectual, moral and civic history, but there’s just one problem: Lincoln did not debate Frederick Douglass.

By Friday morning, Frederick Douglass was trending on Twitter, and the bill had been withdrawn.

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......The Lincoln-Douglas debates took place in the late summer and fall of 1858, when Lincoln was the Republican candidate for Senate challenging Democratic incumbent Stephen A. Douglas. At the time, senators were chosen not by popular vote but by state legislatures; their respective campaigns were designed to help their parties win control of the Illinois legislature, which would then install one of them as senator.