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."
Charles McCurdy of the University of Virginia contrasts the emphasis of the antebellum Whig party on public interest with the Democratic party's emphasis on individual rights.
To view this clip, select "Whig Political Ideas" under "Economic Development and Labor Video."
Charles McCurdy of the University of Virginia examines the distribution of bank paper by banks in the antebellum U.S. frontier lands and the legal problems that arose when banks issued more notes than they were able to pay.
To view this clip, select "Banks in Antebellum Illinois" under "Economic Development and Labor Video."
Charles McCurdy of the University of Virginia discusses the use of promissory-note and bill-of-exchange systems in antebellum U.S. frontier lands and the legal complexities of ensuring that such bills would be paid as promised.
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."
Edward L. Ayers of the University of Virginia discusses the movement of religions, ways of life, racial attitudes, and other cultural aspects into frontier areas. Ayers focuses specifically on the movement of race-related concepts into Illinois, including a general resistance to slaveholding and a general unfriendliness to free blacks. He also mentions how politicians, such as Abraham Lincoln, had to take care to tailor their political messages for particular regions.
To listen to this lecture, select "Southerners on the Frontier," and scroll to "African-American Experience Videos."
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."
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.