Eric Foner of Columbia University examines the effect of the Dred Scott v. Sandford U.S. Supreme Court decision on the state of antebellum U.S. politics, focusing particularly on the divisive effects it had within the Democratic party.

To view this clip, select "The Dred Scott Decision and National Politics" under "African-American Experience Video."

Eric Foner of Columbia University outlines the results of the Dred Scott v. Sandford U.S. Supreme Court case, which institutionalized the exclusion of African Americans from citizenship, and Republican denunciation of the Court's decision (including Abraham Lincoln's opposition to the ruling).

To view this clip, select "The Dred Scott Decision of 1857" under "African-American Experience Video."

Eric Foner of Columbia University discusses the implementation of the Fugitive Slave Law and Northern reactions to it. He also considers the contradiction between Southern support of the Fugitive Slave Law and of state rights, as well as Abraham Lincoln's own political (if not personal) support of the Fugitive Slave Law.

To view this clip, select "Fugitive Slaves and the Compromise of 1850" under "African-American Experience Video."

Eric Foner of Columbia University very briefly discusses the racism that characterized the antebellum American West, and its possible origins.

To view this clip, select "Frontier Settlement and the Vision of an All-White Society" under "African-American Experience Video."

Kathryn Kish Sklar of SUNY-Binghamton examines the participation of African-American women in the radical abolitionist movement headed by William Lloyd Garrison. Sklar focuses particularly on the speaking of these women at abolitionist conventions.

To view this clip, select "Free Black Women in the Anti-Slavery Movement" under "African-American Experience Video."

Kathryn Kish Sklar of SUNY-Binghamton outlines the lives of the Grimke sisters, Angelina and Sarah Grimke, focusing on their entrance into the Quaker religion and the radical abolitionist movement headed by William Lloyd Garrison. Sklar notes how the Grimkes' public speaking in support of abolitionism broke away from common conventions limiting women's public participation and behavior.

James O. Horton of George Washington University discusses the "black codes" put in place to discourage free blacks settling in antebellum Illinois and also examines the thriving urban free black communities which sprang up regardless of these codes.

To view this clip, select "African Americans and Black Codes in the Antebellum North" under "African-American Experience Video."

James O. Horton of George Washington University gives examples of incidences of recovery of fugitive slaves and kidnapping of free blacks in the North, following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law; and discusses the contradiction between Southern support of the Fugitive Slave Law and Southern support of state rights.

To view this clip, select "The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850" under "African-American Experience Video."

James O. Horton of George Washington University discusses the abolitionist views and activities of free blacks in the antebellum U.S., including reactions to the Fugitive Slave Law and participation in the Underground Railroad.

To view this clip, select "Free Blacks in the Antebellum North" under "African-American Experience Video."

James O. Horton of George Washington University highlights the development of slavery into a regional issue, which came to divide the North and the South increasingly in the years prior to the Civil War.

To view this clip, select "Slavery and the Sectional Crisis of 1850" under "African-American Experience Video."