Charles McCurdy of the University of Virginia gives an example of the complexities of land law in the antebellum U.S., using the case Brunson v. Kedzie to demonstrate the interplay and contradiction of state and federal laws.

Charles McCurdy of the University of Virginia offers an overview of the laws pertaining to mortgages and sale of land in the antebellum frontier areas.

To view this clip, select "Commercial Law and the Settlement of the Frontier" under "Economic Development and Labor Video."

Charles McCurdy of the University of Virginia overviews the federal land law covering division, sale, rights to, and distribution of new lands and resources in the antebellum West and Midwest.

To view this clip, select "Public Land Law and the Settlement of the Frontier" under "Economic Development and Labor 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."

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."

Produced by Jeffrey Chown of the Northern Illinois University Department of Communication, this documentary chronicles the Black Hawk War of 1832, looking also at the events that led up to it and its repercussions. It focuses on the roles of Sauk war chief Black Hawk and a young Abraham Lincoln. The documentary is divided into 18 short downloadable videos.

To view this documentary, scroll to the set of 18 links separated from the main Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video selections, and choose a section to view.

Gerald Prokopowicz of the Lincoln Museum considers reasons Abraham Lincoln may have left rural frontier life for law and politics, including the influence of his female family members and a possible near-religious sense of being called to do great deeds.

To listen to this lecture, select "Lincoln's Ambitions and Attitudes Toward Frontier Life" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."

James O. Horton of George Washington University describes Abraham Lincoln's reaction to first viewing slavery in action on plantations, and discusses his changing views on slavery and what that ability to change says about him as a man and a president.

To view this clip, select to "Abraham Lincoln's Changing Attitude Towards Slavery" 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."

Julie Roy Jeffrey of Goucher College compares the lifestyle of Mary Todd Lincoln, accustomed to middle-class comfort and entertaining, to that of frontierswomen of the same time period.

To view this clip, select "Mary Todd Lincoln's Frontier Life" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."