The Freeport Doctrine was involved in arguably the most important debates of American history. The debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas had ivoked some of the most controversial subjects, and brought a plethora of speaking points. The significance of Douglas pointing out his theory of the Freeport Doctrine, itself has altered American history. Referring to the "Freeport Doctrine", (see navigation bar), the reason for Douglas ultimately losing the 1860 presidential election was the loss of support from southern Democrats. They felt as if Douglas had abandoned them because he decided to ignore Supreme Court ruling, thus when time for the election, he had limited support, meanwhile Lincoln had almost full support of the northern states. Thus Lincoln won, and as a result declared the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves. If the Freeport Doctrine was states by Douglas there were better odds for Douglas to win the election coming off of a Illinois Senate seat win. If Douglas did then claim the presidency history would have been re-written to the compromise of Douglas, for both pro and anti-slavery territories, thus slowing down the process of racial equality in the United States even more.