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, 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 law and legal institutions in Illinois, beginning with early colonization and ending with the mid-1800s. It focuses particularly on the laws dealing with land and property ownership.

John Mack Faragher of Yale University discusses the institutions of the law and the maintenance of public peace in the antebellum frontier, particularly in Illinois. He focuses particularly on the role of local Justices of the Peace.

To view this clip, select "Law and Society in Frontier Illinois" under "Law and Society 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 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."

Charles McCurdy of the University of Virginia follows the progression of the U.S. Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sandford up the U.S. court system, detailing the legal precedents and state laws that determined each decision and each step along the way. This lecture continues from the lecture "The Dred Scott Case, Part One: Background."

To listen to this lecture, select "The Dred Scott Case, Part Two: Taney's Decision" under "African-American Experience Video."

Charles McCurdy of the University of Virginia outlines the legal cases that preceded the U.S. Supreme Court Case Dred Scott v. Sandford. McCurdy looks at the support, until the 1830s, of the master's side of cases involving slaves suing for freedom following time spent in a free state; the support, beginning in the 1830s, of the slave's side of such cases in free states; the life of Dred Scott prior to the case; and the climbing of the case up the U.S. court system.