Winners and Losers —History’s Famous Debates
Much of Marcus Youssef and James Long’s Winners and Losers can be characterized as a series of “mini debates.” Though the framing of these debates remains the same, the topics are all over the place: from Mother Teresa to Twinkies to the Zapatistas. Trivial though some of these subjects may seem, the back-and-forth between the two debaters never fails to be immensely captivating. The practice of debate, no matter what you’re debating, can be an extremely valuable means of sorting through complex issues, elevating critical thinking, and creating riveting entertainment. Below we’ve compiled a list of some of the most fascinating debates throughout history. Do you disagree? You’d better have a good argument to back it up!
- The Valladolid Debate
This famous Spanish debate took place from 1550–1551 — prime time for the Spanish wars of conquest in the New World. It concerned a theologically and politically pressing issue of the time: did the native peoples of the Americas deserve the same treatment as free men? Or did Christian teachings and natural law make colonization (and thus oppression) imperative?
The Debaters: Dominican friar and Bishop of Chiapas Bartolomé de las Casas; humanist scholar Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda
The Outcome (via Wikipedia):
“In the end, both parties declared that they had won the debate, but neither received the desired outcome. Las Casas saw no end to Spanish wars of conquest in the New World, and Sepúlveda did not see the New Laws’ restricting the power of the encomienda system overturned. The debate cemented Las Casas’s position as the lead defender of the Indians in the Spanish Empire, and further weakened the encomienda system. However, it did not substantially alter Spanish treatment of the Indians.”
2. Webster-Hayne Debate
One of the most storied match-ups in Senate history, the 1830 Webster-Hayne debate began with a beef between Northeast states and Western states over a plan to restrict western land sales. Senator Robert Hayne of South Carolina, in an effort to forge an alliance between the South and the West, argued on behalf of states’ rights, contending that the states and not the federal government should be in charge of land transactions. Daniel Webster of Massachusetts disputed this claim, arguing that America was not just a collection of sovereign states, but a “popular government, erected by the people; those who administer it responsible to the people; and itself capable of being amended and modified, just as the people may choose it should be.”
The Debaters: Senator Robert Hayne (South Carolina) and Senator Daniel Webster (Massachusetts)
The Outcome (via Senate.gov):
“Overnight, the Massachusetts senator became a major national figure, respected by his many friends and enemies alike. The Senate shelved the land sales resolution, and chances of an alliance between the South and West evaporated.”
3. Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The big kahuna of American debate history, this contest — consisting of seven debates throughout Illinois, one in each of the state’s Congressional districts — revolved around the 1858 Illinois state election campaign. The volatile climate of national politics at the time, due to unprecedented sectional divisiveness and the slavery issue, hung over the debate like a specter. The Republican hopeful Lincoln (maybe you’ve heard of him?) was a newcomer to the antislavery movement, but he used the debates as a platform to solidify his position and double-down on abolition.
The Debaters: Senator Stephen A. Douglas (Illinois) and Abraham Lincoln
The Outcome (via History.com):
“Although Lincoln lost, the Republicans received more popular votes than the Democrats, signaling an important shift in the political character of the state. Moreover, Lincoln had gained a reputation throughout the North. He was invited to campaign for Republican candidates in other states and was now mentioned as a candidate for the presidency. In winning, Douglas further alienated the Buchanan administration and the South, [and] was soon to be stripped of his power in the Senate.”
4. Frederick Copleston v. Bertrand Russell
BBC Radio was the battleground, 1948 was the year, and the existence of God was the subject. The Russell/Copleston debate is now known as one of the most famous theological conversations ever recorded. Copleston, a Jesuit priest, relied heavily on Aquinas and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for his argument, while the agnostic Russell looked to David Hume, who famously believed that the limits of human understanding rendered any conversation about God inherently meaningless, for his inspiration in the debate.
The Debaters: Bertrand Russell and Father Frederick C. Copleston
The Outcome (via Open Culture):
“Perhaps the most memorable moment of the debate on the cosmological argument comes near the end, when Russell criticizes Copleston’s assertion that because everything contained within the Universe is contingent, the Universe as a whole must also be contingent. ‘I can illustrate what seems to me your fallacy,’ says Russell. ‘Every man who exists has a mother, and it seems to me your argument is that therefore the human race must have a mother, but obviously the human race hasn’t a mother–that’s a different logical sphere.’”
5. Vidal-Buckley Debates
Well…that escalated quickly. The infamous series of televised debates between the oil and water of public intellectualism — writer Gore Vidal and conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr. — is known less for its illuminating insights on the topic at hand (the 1968 political convetions) than the outright animosity and rancor of its participants. There’s a case to be made that the innovative format and ratings-friendly drama of Buckley v. Vidal paved the way for the cartoonishly adversarial punditry of today’s 24-hour political TV programming.
The Debaters: William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal
The Outcome (via NPR):
“ Forty-seven years on, it’s clear that Buckley’s conservatism won the political battle — his free-market, anti-government ideas now dominate. Culturally, though, Vidal’s values won — not least his libertarian, label-free ideas of sexuality. One imagines Buckley blanching at the right to gay marriage or at the triumph of hip-hop.”
6. The Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium
In October 2012, with the U.S. presidential election looming, longtime cable TV frenemies Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly mashed it up in a marquee Saturday night debate at George Washington University. Topics on the discussion table? Mitt Romney, the Iraq War, Oprah, Jersey Shore, and Lil’ Wayne, to name a few. You can watch the whole thing above!
The Debaters: Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) and Bill O’Reilly (Fox News)
The Outcome (via TIME):
“If the debate were scored on points well made, Stewart would have taken home the gold. He used a larger range — from dropping F-bombs to waxing poetic about the greatness of the U.S. — to outfox O’Reilly’s classic news-show style. But from a p.r. perspective, O’Reilly was the real winner. His willingness to engage and be ridiculous with Stewart serves as proof that the employees at Fox News aren’t all humorless conservative zombies, as Stewart and other liberals often paint them.”
— Justin McCarthy, Communications Coordinator
Winners and Losers, a debate for all-time, is coming to Woolly Mammoth on October 27! Get tickets here: www.woollymammoth.net/winners-and-losers
