This presentation, narrated partially from the perspectives of Uriah and Mattie Oblinger, 1872 homesteaders, describes the efforts of pioneers to settle the Great Plains and their belief in Manifest Destiny and personal ownership.

This presentation, narrated partially from the perspective of Sallie Hester, a young girl heading across the U.S. to California with her family, looks at the journey of settlers across the American West.

Vance Skarstedt of the National Defense Intelligence College examines the frontier wars that took place as U.S. settlers and military forces spread westward across North America into Native American lands. This lecture was part of "What Students Need To Know About America’s Wars, Part I: 1622-1919: A History Institute for Teachers," held July 26-27, 2008 at the First Division Museum in Wheaton, IL, sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Wachman Center and by the Cantigny First Division Foundation.

Audio and visual options are available.

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, follows Abraham Lincoln's early life, including his family's arrival in Illinois, his first political campaign, his participation in the Black Hawk War, his time as a postmaster and surveyor, his election to the state legislature, and his beginning to study law. This lecture continues from the lecture "Lincoln's Biography, Part One: Boyhood and Migration, 1809–1830."

To view this documentary, select "Indian Fighting and Politics in New Salem, 1831-1836" under "Multimedia Slideshows."

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, follows Abraham Lincoln's life from his childhood years in Indiana to his family's move to Illinois. This lecture continues from the lecture "Lincoln's Biography: Introduction, Part Two."

To view this documentary, select "Boyhood and Migration, 1809-1830" under "Multimedia Slideshows."

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.

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, traces the development of religious institutions and trends in antebellum Illinois, beginning with the early days of Western exploration of North America and continuing to the mid-1800s. It focuses particularly on the importation of New England Protestant social reform ideals and the migration of Mormons to Illinois—a migration which led to the rise of the city of Nauvoo and, eventually, to the Mormon War.

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, traces the economic development of Illinois from the beginning of the 19th century to the mid-1800s. It focuses particularly on the development of infrastructure, from steamboat lines to canals to railroads.

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, traces the history and status of African Americans in Illinois, beginning with the early years of North American exploration and continuing on to the Civil War.

This lecture, created by the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project, examines the role of women in 19th-century Illinois. It looks at the development of the idea of separate gender spheres of influence—work for men and the home for women; the application and adaptation of this idea in the frontier; the developing power of women in pushing for social reform; the status of Native American and African-American women; and the gender perceptions of Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd.