Lincoln's Biography, Part Six: Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Rise of the Republican Party, 1854-1856

Description

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, examines several years of Abraham Lincoln's life, including his return to politics in reaction to the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and his election to the state legislature and resignation to run for the Senate. The lecture describes both Lincoln's and the nation's reactions to the Kansas-Nebraska Act and to the possibility of extending slavery into the territories that it represented. This lecture continues from the lecture "Lincoln's Biography, Part Five: Return to the Law, 1850-1853."

To view this documentary, scroll to "Multimedia Slideshows," and select "Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Rise of the Republican Party, 1854-1856."

Education, Culture, and the Patterns of Frontier Settlement Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/15/2008 - 15:00
Description

Kathryn Kish Sklar of SUNY—Binghamton discusses the rising importance of successful schools in antebellum frontier towns and the feminization of the teaching profession that accompanied the new demand for teachers. Sklar also looks at the impact of the Second Great Awakening on the education of female teachers.

To view this clip, select "Education, Culture, and the Patterns of Frontier Settlement" under "Frontier Settlement Video."

Henry B. Plant Museum [FL]

Description

The Museum interprets the turn-of-the-century Tampa Bay Hotel, an 1891 railroad resort, and the lifestyles of America's Gilded Age. Through educational exhibits and events, the museum takes visitors back to the late Victorian period, the beginnings of Florida's tourist industry, and the early years of the city of Tampa. This Victorian palace features Moorish revival architecture, European furniture, and art treasures of the original railroad resort.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events.

North Carolina Transportation Museum

Description

Visitors to the Museum discover the people and machines that have moved North Carolina. Located on the site of Southern Railway's former steam locomotive repair facility Spencer Shops, this is where locomotives that hauled Southern's passenger trains and freight trains filled with North Carolina furniture, textiles, tobacco, and produce were serviced from 1896 to the late 1970s. Up to 3,000 people once worked here but today visitors can see an authentic train depot, antique automobiles, and a roundhouse with 25 locomotives.

A second website for the museum, operated by the Friends of the Museum, can be found here.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, train rides, educational programs, and recreational and educational events.

Sacramento Mountains Historical Museum

Description

"Before the turn of the twentieth century, settlers began to flock to the beautiful Sacramento Mountains, encroaching on the Mescalero Apaches who already made their homes in the cool timbers. Some came looking for a better country for permanent settlement. Others were interested in harvesting timber to build a railroad from El Paso to points north. Still others came on holiday, finding respite in the cool breezes and mild temperatures of what the Apaches once termed as Pisacah, 'a place of plenty.'

Come visit the Sacramento Mountains Museum & Pioneer Village and learn the fascinating story of these resilient peoples as they struggled against the elements and against one another to tame the environs and claim a portion of it as their own."

Culberson County Historical Museum

Description

"The museum building is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Van Horn. When Culberson County was first created (it broke off from El Paso County), the Museum site served as the first courthouse while one was being constructed. It subsequently served as a hotel for more than four decades. It was purchased in 1979 by the Museum Association and has been in the process of restoration since that time.

The Museum contains a large quantity of artifacts reflecting the history of Van Horn and the surrounding area. It features an old western style saloon with bar and mirrored back bar which have been in the same room since the early 1900’s. There are displays showing the history of mining, ranching, the railroad, and other early activities, as well as personal items which belonged to members of early pioneer families who first settled here."

Beluga Point

Description

"The earliest evidence of humans along Turnagain Arm is at Beluga Point, which prehistoric hunters used as a view point to search for Beluga whales and sheep. The first white explorers arrived in 1778 aboard Captain Cook's ships, Discovery and Resolution. Cook sailed up Cook Inlet hoping to find the Northwest Passage, but had to "turn again", leading him to name the water body River Turnagain. In the late 19th century, miners and trappers began traveling into interior Alaska from Whittier and Seward along old trails that soon became established routes with roadhouses. In 1895 prospectors crossed from the south side of Turnagain Arm to the north and searched for gold from Girdwood to Rainbow Creek.

In 1903, the Alaska Central Railway began building a railroad from Seward to Fairbanks, but the company soon went bankrupt. The U.S. Government bought the railroad in 1915 and improved the trail along the arm to handle the horse and wagon traffic needed for railroad construction. The trail was also used to deliver mail between Anchorage and Seward. IN 1917 telegraph lines were laid along the Turnagain "road" and by 1918 the railroad extended from Seward to Anchorage, with flag stops at Bird Creek, Indian, Rainbow and Potter. Remnants of construction camps remain along the trail, but are barely discernible. Part of the original trail was covered by the highway which was completed in 1950 and paved in 1954."

California State Railroad Museum

Description

The California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento is a tribute to the role of the "iron horse" in connecting California to the rest of the nation. The museum features 21 restored locomotives and cars, some dating back to 1862. There is a full-scale diorama of an 1860s construction site high in the Sierra Nevada as well as a bridge elevated 24 feet above the museum floor.

The museum offers exhibits, train rides, a short film, tours, research library access, educational programs, and recreational and educational events.