Kamryn Thompson

HIST 1301
Ms. Chandler
9/15/2016

Lincoln

The film Lincoln, takes place during the time period of 1863-1865. Lincoln is based on

the true story of Abraham Lincoln and his efforts to pass the Thirteenth Amendment. It is based

on the 2005 book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln written by Doris

Kearns Goodwin. The film was released in North America on November 9, 2012 and received

tremendous reviews. Lincoln runs 150 minutes.

President Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) is in the middle of a struggle towards getting the

Thirteenth Amendment passed. The Civil War is ending in approximately one month, but Lincoln

is concerned that the Amendment will not be approved by then, or else slaves would be re-

enslaved. Francis Preston Blair (Hal Holbrook), a founder of the Republican Party, is someone

who Lincoln relies on since he can ensure that the Amendment could get passed. Blair asks for

Lincoln to engage in peace negotiations with the Confederacy and Lincoln is hesitant because

slavery would still be intact. In order to garner more votes for the Amendment, the President

contacts Democratic congressmen to give them federal jobs in exchange for their votes. Lincoln

meets with the Confederates and tries to convince them that slavery will not be restored as the

North is united for the vote. Soon after, Union General Ulysses S. Grant (Jared Harris) receives

General Robert E. Lees surrender. While Lincoln is enjoying a play with his wife, Mary Todd

Lincoln, he is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. The film concludes with Lincoln presenting

his second inaugural address.

 Overall, Lincoln is thoroughly historically accurate. It portrayed Lincolns character well

based on accounts of him. It also portrayed how the Republicans and Democrats viewed slavery

and other events. All major facts and scenes were correct. As for visuals, it was accurate for the

time period. Major figures were white males and they had the views that were common for the

time period. Even small details such as lighting matched the time period. The lighting was

mostly dark and gloomy due to the stage of technology. Also dates and settings were correct such

as where Lincolns assassination took place and when Robert E. Lee surrendered.

The movie fails to focus on other events that occurred during this time period. These

events include womens rights and the impact of free Blacks. I think these events, especially the

role of free Blacks, were extremely important to include. They could have even been included

when the men were having a conference or when Lincoln interacted with Blacks. However,

characters were completely portrayed truthfully.

The intentions of the film were for the audience to expand their knowledge of slavery,

Abraham Lincoln, and the Thirteenth Amendment. The potential audience for this film would

include high school students, college students, historians, and educators. The movie is also rated

PG-13, which means it also has intentions for an audience at least 13 years old.

Lincoln was a great film in my eyes. It gave me insight to the order of events in which

slaves became free. It gave me insight into the Civil War and how hard Lincoln worked. Lincoln

was portrayed exactly like how I pictured him to be, hardworking and honest. I also gained

insight into how the time period looked or close to how it looked. As for dislikes I would say that

the movie was a little slow. It seemed like it dragged out everything, which is probably because it

was two and a half hours. However, I would give the film 4 stars, because it was truthful, the

effects were great, and I learned a lot.

 Works Cited

Chandler, Kimberley. Indentured Servitude and Slavery. Lecture, HAIS, Houston, TX.

Kushner, Tony. Lincoln. DVD. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Universal City: Dreamworks,
2012.

McKernie, Kelsey. How Historically Accurate is Lincoln? HistoryNewsNetwork.com.

http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/149664 (Accessed September 17, 2016).

Shi, David, George Brown Tindall. America: A Narrative History. New York City: W.W. Norton
& Company, Inc., 2016