Lincoln By Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln is a biographical historical film that focuses on the final months in the life of Abraham Lincoln and his push to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery. The events of the film start soon after Lincoln’s reelection in 1864, with the American Civil War in its fourth year of fighting and the Confederacy close to defeat. In the previous year, an attempt had been made to pass the Thirteenth Amendment by Congress. The Senate had approved the Amendment, but the House of Representatives failed to obtain the 2/3 majority required to pass the Amendment. Lincoln’s 1864 campaign for presidency endorsed the Thirteenth Amendment and Lincoln wants to see slavery abolished before the end of the Civil War so that his Emancipation

After a suspenseful build-up, the film culminates with the successful passing of the Thirteenth Amendment, Lincoln entering into peace talks with the Confederate leadership, and his assassination at the end of the war. With a focus on Lincoln and his efforts to bring various politicians with different agendas together to vote for the Thirteenth Amendment while also trying to maintain his strained relationship with his family, the film expertly merges aspects of a political thriller into the biographical film. The events that led to the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment are some of the most important moments in the history of the United States, leading the nation into a new era without slavery. To cover said events was an enormous undertaking, especially since the filmmakers wanted to do the events justice while also exploring the personal life of Lincoln near the end of his

Lincoln was definitely in favour of passing the Thirteenth Amendment and worked to get it passed through the House of Representatives after it initially failed. There were indeed lobbyists employed by Secretary of State William Seward to obtain the needed votes from “lame duck” Democrats. However, there are a few facts that are omitted from the movie that overlook the roles played by others and some alterations made to further the plot or for drama purposes. Firstly, the film almost completely overlooks the role played by free African Americans concerning abolition. In the real world, there was a thriving African American community in Washington D.C., with the servants Elizabeth Keckley and William Slade being prominent figures in the community. Members of the African-American community were activists and were involved in relief work for fugitive slaves. Other famous African American figures such as Frederick Douglass, who visited Washington D.C. to advocate for the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment were also excluded from the film. In a sort of twisted way, the omission of the roles played by African Americans in the film makes it seem as if they sat around passively, waiting anxiously for white abolitionists to pass the Thirteenth Amendment. While it was an omitted fact in the film, it severely underplays the role played by African Americans in abolition and the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment