INTRODUCTION To LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE

Lincoln-Douglas Debate is one on one values debate, based upon the famous 1858 debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas as they battled for a U.S. senate seat from Illinois and disagreed sharply over the morality of slavery while the nation sat on the brink of the Civil War.

As a competitive event, Lincoln-Douglas (“L-D”) was born in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a more oratorical alternative to the fast talking of the popular Policy Debate (“policy”) format. Students square off against each other in 45 minute rounds at tournaments on a topic that changes every 2 months and frame their arguments over which competing value or principle should be used to argue either side of the topic and then make arguments and read evidence in support of their particular principles.

“LD” is the second most rigorous form of debate behind only Policy Debate and works well for students and families that have to juggle multiple commitments. Students will take a deep dive on each topic for shorter periods of time than in Policy Debate (two-month topics rather than all year long) but don’t have to match schedules with the partner that Policy Debate and other formats require. LD allows students to have strong academic rigor while still playing sports, performing in school plays, writing and editing campus publications, and working after school jobs.  LD is also a great place for new debaters to start as it provides a solid entree to speech and debate competition regardless of what students later choose to specialize in.

This is class is designed for students with no prior experience in debate.

• Resolved: The United States ought to adopt a wealth tax.
• Resolved: The United States ought to require that workers receive a living wage.
• Resolved: In a democracy, a people ought to have the right to secede from their government.
• Resolved: The primary objective of the United States criminal justice system ought to be rehabilitation.
• Resolved: The United States ought to substantially reduce its military presence in the West Asia-North Africa region.
• Resolved: The United States ought to prohibit the extraction of fossil fuels from federal public lands and waters.
• Resolved: The United States ought to guarantee the right to housing.

This course will begin with an overview of speech and debate competition designed to prepare students to compete successfully at the middle school and high school novice levels of competition. Students will participate in the analysis and study of debate topics as well as the evaluation and preparation of debate evidence to write cases for the team on both sides of the topic, which students will then use in competitions. Competitions run throughout the fall semester and are usually held on Saturdays alone or on Saturday and Sunday.

For classes, students will need a high speed Internet connection, an electronic device with which to access the Internet, pen and paper to take notes, and a willingness to learn both about the topic and from other students. In-person classes will also require that they like eating pizza and drinking soda or bottled water.

For competition, students will need conservative professional attire, an electronic device to access the Internet, a timer or a smartphone timer app (TimeKept for iPhone and NSDA Timer for Android are strongly recommended). In-person tournaments will also require coordinating rides back and forth to competition sites and meal money, while online tournaments will require a high speed (preferably wired) Internet connection and a hotspot or other backup connection is strongly recommended.

For parents looking for a good value on a laptop, Homeboy Industries is selling refurbished MacBooks for as little as $199. TableTote stands are also recommended as they allow students to place their laptops on a level surface at chest level and enunciate their arguments clearly.