![]() Much has been written on this subject, but it is commonly understood by historians that Mary Todd suffered from prolonged bouts of depression, and there is some conjecture that she suffered from bipolar disorder. ![]() In regards to his marriage to Mary Todd Lincoln, Spielberg was correct in demonstrating the tremendous strain that Mary Todd’s temperament put on her husband’s life. Even if Daniel Day-Lewis’s excellent characterization of these aspects of Lincoln are not perfect, they are certainly historically supportable. Lincoln was an extremely complex man, in that he not only composed inspiring, insightful speeches such as the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address, but he also told homely jokes and stories. It may seem incongruous to us today that America’s greatest statesman, a leader of discriminating logic that tackled and solved some of the greatest problems America has ever faced, would also have a demeanor in casual conversation that was jovial and approachable. Rather than having a deep, melodious voice, Lincoln had a higher-pitched tenor voice-and when in informal conversation his midwestern drawl would come through. There is no recording of Lincoln’s voice, but there is a lot of historical information about it, garnered from the recollections of Lincoln’s friends. Was it as high pitched as Daniel Day-Lewis’s rendition is? Was his vernacular as “folksy” as the movie portrays? What about other aspects of the movie? Lincoln’s voice, for instance. Fortunately for the slaves, he succeeded before he was assassinated on April 14, 1865. Consequently, Lincoln was insistent on using his influence as President of the United States to assure the Thirteenth Amendment’s passage. But Lincoln was concerned that if he waited for the 39th Congress to pass the amendment after the war, his previously issued Emancipation Proclamation might be overturned by the courts-allowing slavery to continue. There was a lot of pressure put on Lincoln to delay the Thirteenth Amendment’s passage until after the war had ended. Lincoln and Congressman Thaddeus Stevens worked together, in spite of their differences, to pass the the Thirteenth Amendment through the 38th Congress. He used his political skills and his “immense power” (which, by the way, Lincoln DID say) to sway the votes of reluctant Democratic congressman towards acceptance of the Thirteenth Amendment. Lincoln did, in fact, lead the fight to get the 38th Congress to pass the Thirteenth Amendment and abolish slavery. Although it is beyond this article’s scope to cover movie dialogue, I do address the movie’s basic historical facts below.Īs can be seen by other articles from Great American History, the basic history covered in Spielberg’s Lincoln movie is correct. ![]() Of course, in order to make an interesting story it was necessary for the movie’s screen writer, Tony Kushner, to start with Goodwin’s book and add a lot of conjectured dialogue. If you have seen Steven Spielberg’s movie “Lincoln,” starring Daniel Day-Lewis, you may want to know: “how much is fact and how much is fiction?” As you probably have heard, the movie is based in part on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s excellent book about Lincoln, entitled, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln Quick fact check of Stephen Spielberg’s movie Lincoln by Gordon Leidner of Great American History
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