Author Nancy Schultz, author of Fire and Roses: The Burning of the Charlestown Convent, 1834, describes the burning down of a Roman Catholic convent and elite boarding school in 19th-century Boston; and discusses its causes.

John Turner, a manager of program development at Colonial Williamsburg, talks about the place of religion in colonial society, looking at the Great Awakening, African American participation in religious institutions, and the different denominations represented in Williamsburg.

Patrick Henry, as portrayed by Colonial Williamsburg interpreter Richard Schumann, defends the bill on religion he introduced to the Virginia General Assembly.

Colonial Williamsburg interpreters Bill Barker, as Thomas Jefferson, and Richard Schumann, as Patrick Henry, debate on whether Virginia citizens should be taxed to support religious institutions.

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, examines several years of Abraham Lincoln's life, including his election to the U.S. Congress in 1846; his opposition to the Mexican-American War, articulated in his "Spot" Resolutions; and his support of abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia and opposition to allowing slavery to spread into the territories. The lecture also examines Lincoln's views on religion and discusses religious and cultural tensions and trends during these years, including the Second Great Awakening, the Mormon War, and anti-immigrant and -Catholic sentiments. This lecture continues from the lecture "Lincoln's Biography, Part Three: Springfield, the Law, and the Whig Party, 1837-1843."

To view this documentary, scroll to "Multimedia Slideshow," and select "Congress and the Mexican War, 1844-1849."

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, traces the development of religious institutions and trends in antebellum Illinois, beginning with the early days of Western exploration of North America and continuing to the mid-1800s. It focuses particularly on the importation of New England Protestant social reform ideals and the migration of Mormons to Illinois—a migration which led to the rise of the city of Nauvoo and, eventually, to the Mormon War.

Kathryn Kish Sklar of SUNY-Binghamton describes women's rise in political and social power and activism in response to encouragement by antebellum churches. Sklar looks particularly at women's actions in forming anti-slavery societies and circulating petitions.

To view this clip, select "Women Churches and the Development of Antebellum Social Reform Movement" under "Religion and Culture Video."

John Mack Faragher of Yale University discusses the significance of religion to antebellum settlers in Illinois. He looks at the diversity of sects represented and the importance of religion in community-forming.

To view this clip, select "Religion on the Illinois Frontier" under "Religion and Culture Video."