In the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Stephen Douglas took the view that the issue of slavery should be decided by popular sovereignty, meaning that each state should be allowed to decide for itself whether to allow or prohibit slavery within its borders. Douglas believed that the national government should not interfere with the decision-making process of individual states. He argued that the Constitution protected the rights of states to make their own laws and that slavery was a matter best left to the states to decide.
Douglas' position on slavery was complex. While he believed that slavery was morally wrong, he did not support its abolition. Instead, he argued that the best way to deal with the issue was to allow each state to decide for itself whether to allow or prohibit slavery within its borders. This view was in contrast to Abraham Lincoln's position, who believed that slavery was morally wrong and should be abolished altogether.
During the debates, Douglas also argued that the issue of slavery should not be allowed to disrupt the Union. He believed that if each state, slave or free, worried only about its own status, then there could be harmony between the states. However, this view ultimately proved to be untenable, as the issue of slavery continued to be a source of conflict between the North and the South, ultimately leading to the American Civil War.