This book examines the impact of westward migration on political development and behavior in Ohio, the most populous midwestern state during the nineteenth century. Professor Winkle explores the influence of migration on rules of suffrage, the conduct of elections, patterns of voting, recruitment of political leaders, and local party organizations as they all emerged before the Civil War.

Drawing on the latest interpretive and methodological advances in historical scholarship, The Young Eagle: The Rise of Abraham Lincoln reexamines the young adult life of America's sixteenth president.