Why did Abraham Lincoln refer to Senator Stephen Douglas as Judge Douglas?

by breadandroses81

Douglas had served on the Illinois Supreme Court and so would have been known as Judge Douglas. But once he became a US senator, shouldn't that title have superseded the judge title? Why then does Abraham Lincoln refer to Douglas, in the Lincoln-Douglas debates and elsewhere, as Judge?

Peacock-Shah

Multiple reasons:

  1. Douglas was running for re-election & it gave him less prestige to be addressed as Judge rather than Senator.
  2. Oftentimes Senators were addressed by other positions they had held, e.g., John A. Dix always went by “General Dix” rather than Senator Dix or Governor Dix despite the fact he was all three at different times.
  3. This brought Douglas to his local roots in Illinois rather than the national figure he had become, and it was key to connect to voters in the contest.