This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, traces the settlement of Illinois from the early years of European exploration of North America to the 1860s. It focuses particularly on the relationship between settler groups and Native Americans, on the construction of infrastructure that linked Illinois to the rest of the emerging U.S., and on the changing culture of the state's occupants.

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, follows the progression of political events from the end of the 18th century to Abraham Lincoln's election as president. It considers particularly the formation and dissolution of political parties and the rise of tensions between North and South.

Kathryn Kish Sklar of SUNY-Binghamton describes women's rise in political and social power and activism in response to encouragement by antebellum churches. Sklar looks particularly at women's actions in forming anti-slavery societies and circulating petitions.

To view this clip, select "Women Churches and the Development of Antebellum Social Reform Movement" under "Religion and Culture Video."

Michael F. Holt of the University of Virginia looks at the development of a second two-party political system in antebellum U.S. and the role the system played in balancing and unifying the nation. Holt also looks at the dissolution of this second system through loss of public faith in the Democratic and Whig parties as they stood and in the development of the Republican and Know Nothing parties in response to new social forces (such as immigration and the rise of Roman Catholicism).

To view this clip, select "The Second Party System in American Politics" under "Political Development Video."

Edward L. Ayers of the University of Virginia looks at Northern and Southern responses to John Brown's Raid and John Brown's execution, focusing on the regional differences the responses brought to the fore and media manipulation of these responses.

To view this clip, select "John Brown's Raid and the American Sectional Crisis" under "Political Development Video."

Michael F. Holt of the University of Virginia outlines Stephen Douglas's creation of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the repercussions of Congress's passing the Act.

To view this clip, select "Stephen Douglas and the Kansas-Nebraska Act" under "Frontier Settlement Video."

Michael F. Holt of the University of Virginia discusses the struggle to resolve disputes over territory acquired during the Mexican-American War, particularly the dispute over how (and whether) slavery should spread into the new territories.

To view this clip, select "Origins of the Compromise of 1850" under "Frontier Settlement Video."

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."

John Mack Faragher of Yale University outlines the patterns of antebellum settlement in Illinois, looking also at ideas of family and an American desire for mobility as forces behind settlement.

Too view this clip, select "The Settlement of Illinois" under "Frontier Settlement Video."

Edward L. Ayers of the University of Virginia looks at the early antebellum support of African colonization as an answer to U.S. racial tensions, and considers it as a possible root of the later abolitionist movement.

To listen to this lecture, select "The Movement of African-American Colonization" under "African-American Experience Video."