This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, outlines Abraham Lincoln's early years, including his childhood in Indiana, move to Illinois, participation in the Black Hawk War, election to the state legislature, work as a lawyer, political campaigning, marriage to Mary Todd, and reaction to the Mormon War.

Michael Johnson of Johns Hopkins University discusses the reasons antebellum Midwestern settlers, including those in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, excluded slavery from their states. Johnson considers racism and fear of competition as two possible reasons.

To view this clip, select "The Expansion of Slavery, White Racial Attitudes, and the Settlement of Illinois" under "Frontier Settlement Video."

Kathryn Kish Sklar of SUNY-Binghamton discusses the immigration of Germans and Irish to the U.S. during the antebellum period, to serve as members of the working class. Sklar considers immigrant labor as supporting the development of the new middle class, and also looks at the changing role of women in immigrant families.

To view this clip, select "Women's Changing Roles in Immigrant Families" under "Economic Development and Labor Video."

Eric Foner of Columbia University discusses the perception of abolitionism in central Illinois, where Lincoln grew up, and Lincoln's own perceptions of slavery and of abolitionism.

To view to this clip, select "Lincoln and Abolitionism" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."

Eric Foner of Columbia University outlines the arguments Abraham Lincoln (and other Northerners) articulated in favor of free labor, as well as the arguments Southerners presented against free labor and in favor of a slave economy.

To listen to this clip, select "Abraham Lincoln and the Idea of Free Labor" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."

James O. Horton of George Washington University describes the Kansas-Nebraska Act and reactions to it, including the fear that the spread of slavery into the territories would take labor and land-owning opportunities away from free workers.

To view this clip, select "Abraham Lincoln and the Kansas-Nebraska Act" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."

Dianne Swann-Wright, Director of African American and Special Programs at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, looks at what artifacts found at Monticello reveal about the personal lives of slaves on the estate.

To view this video, select "Scholars," followed by "Dianne Swann-Wright." Choose one of the Windows Media options.

Dianne Swann-Wright, Director of African American and Special Programs at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, discusses the living quarters of slaves at Monticello, looking particularly at the dependencies in the building, which served the kitchens, and at what life would have been like there.

To view this video, select "Scholars," followed by "Dianne Swann-Wright." Choose one of the Windows Media options.

Dianne Swann-Wright, Director of African-American and Special Programs at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, discusses the columns at Monticello and the life of the slave, Jupiter, who carved them. She also mentions the railings, carved by a slave artisan.

To view this video, select "Scholars," followed by "Dianne Swann-Wright." From there, scroll to the feature, and choose one of the two Windows Media options.

Dianne Swann-Wright, Director of African American and Special Programs at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, discusses the slave gardens at Monticello, where slaves grew extra food to supplement their rations.

To view this video, select "Scholars," followed by "Dianne Swann-Wright." Choose one of the two Windows Media options.