Eighth-grade American history educator Eric Langhorst introduces an online interactive version of the Gettysburg Address offered by the Smithsonian, suggesting it for use in the classroom.

David Herbert Donald, Charles Warren Professor of American History and Professor of American Civilization Emeritus at Harvard University, talks about the qualities and experience that made Abraham Lincoln both an exceptional and an unlikely national leader.

Gerald Prokopowicz of the Lincoln Museum very briefly describes the role of politics as entertainment in the antebellum U.S.

To view this clip, select "Antebellum Politics as Popular Entertainment" under "Political Development 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."

Gerald Prokopowicz of the Lincoln Museum examines Lincoln's development of a political language balanced between formal oratory and direct speech.

To view this clip, scroll to "Lincoln's Political Rhetoric and the Growth of American Democracy" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."

Gerald Prokopowicz of the Lincoln Museum outlines Lincoln's experiences as a captain in the Black Hawk War and the general ineffectiveness of militia in Lincoln's day.

To view this clip, select "Abraham Lincoln's Militia Service in the Black Hawk War" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."

Gerald Prokopowicz of the Lincoln Museum looks at Abraham Lincoln's views on slavery, contrasting them with those expressed by Stephen Douglas in the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

To listen to this clip, select "Abraham Lincoln's Attitudes Toward Race and Slavery" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."

Gerald Prokopowicz of the Lincoln Museum discusses the importance of religious beliefs in presidential campaigns in Abraham Lincoln's day, and considers what is known of Lincoln's changing religious views.

To listen to this clip, select "Abraham Lincoln's Religious Beliefs and Public Life" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."

Eric Foner of Columbia University looks at perceptions of the Lincoln-Douglas debates today, in which their significance derives from Lincoln's participation, and contemporary perceptions, in which the debates received attention because Douglas took part.

To listen to this clip, select "The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858" under "Abraham Lincoln's Biography Video."

Professor Salvatore Nick reviews the life of C.L. Franklin (1915-1984), African-American Baptist preacher and civil rights activist. Nick looks particularly at the greater social context within which Franklin spoke and worked—that is, the daily experiences of the African American communities to which he spoke and which he spoke for.