Lincoln

Lincoln is a 2012 American historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as United States President Abraham Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln. The film is based in part on Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography of Lincoln, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and covers the final four months of Lincoln's life, focusing on Lincoln's efforts in January 1865 to have the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution passed by the United States House of Representatives.
Filming began October 17, 2011, and ended on December 19, 2011. Lincoln premiered on October 8, 2012, at the New York Film Festival. The film was released on November 9, 2012, in select cities and widely released on November 16, 2012, in the United States by DreamWorks through Disney’s Touchstone distribution label in the U.S. The film is scheduled for release on January 25, 2013 in the United Kingdom, with distribution in international territories, including the U.K., by 20th Century Fox.
Lincoln received widespread critical acclaim, with major praise directed to Day-Lewis' performance. In December 2012, the film was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards including Best Picture (Drama), Best Director, and Best Actor (Drama) for Day-Lewis. The film also became a commercial success by grossing over $122 million at the domestic box office.

Plot

Lincoln recounts President Abraham Lincoln's efforts, during January 1865, to pass in the United States House of Representatives the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that would formally abolish slavery in the country. Expecting the Civil War to end within a month but concerned that his 1863 Emancipation Proclamation may be discarded by the courts once the war has concluded and the 13th Amendment defeated by the returning slave states, Lincoln feels it is imperative to pass the amendment by the end of January, thus removing any possibility that slaves who have already been freed may be re-enslaved. The Radical Republicans fear the amendment will merely be defeated and some wished to delay; the support of the amendment by Republicans in the border states is not yet assured either, since they prioritize the issue of ending the war. Even if all of them are ultimately brought on board, the amendment will still require the support of several Democratic congressmen if it is to pass. With dozens of Democrats having just become lame ducks after losing their re-election campaigns in the fall of 1864, some of Lincoln's advisers believe that he should wait until the new Republican-heavy Congress is seated, presumably giving the amendment an easier road to passage. Lincoln, however, remains adamant about having the amendment in place and the issue of slavery settled before the war is concluded and the southern States reintegrated into the Union.
Lincoln's hopes for passage of the amendment rely upon the support of the Republican Party founder Francis Preston Blair, the only one whose influence can ensure that all members of the western and border state conservative Republican faction will back the amendment. With Union victory in the Civil War seeming highly likely and greatly anticipated, but not yet a fully accomplished fact, Blair is keen to end the hostilities as soon as possible. Therefore, in return for his support, Blair insists that Lincoln allow him to immediately engage the Confederate government in peace negotiations. This is a complication to Lincoln's amendment efforts since he knows that a significant portion of the support he has garnered for the amendment is from the Radical Republican faction for which a negotiated peace that leaves slavery intact is anathema. If there seems to be a realistic possibility of ending the war even without guaranteeing the end of slavery, needed support for the amendment from the more conservative wing which does not favor abolition will certainly fall away. Unable to proceed without Blair's support, however, Lincoln reluctantly authorizes Blair's mission.
In the meantime, Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward work on the issue of securing the necessary Democratic votes for the amendment. Lincoln suggests that they concentrate on the lame duck Democrats, as they have already lost re-election and thus will feel free to vote as they please, rather than having to worry about how their vote will affect a future re-election campaign. Since those members also will soon be in need of employment and Lincoln will have many federal jobs to fill as he begins his second term, he sees this as a tool he can use to his advantage. Though Lincoln and Seward are unwilling to offer direct monetary bribes to the Democrats, they authorize agents to quietly go about contacting Democratic congressmen with offers of federal jobs in exchange for their voting in favor of the amendment.
The amendment is brought to the floor of the House of Representatives and through the month of January, there is contentious debate, particularly between Radical Republican stalwart Thaddeus Stevens and Copperhead Democrats, such as George Pendleton and Fernando Wood. Stevens' staunch support for complete racial equality provides another complication with regard to Lincoln's efforts to pass the amendment. Lincoln is aware that tolerance for the idea of abolishing slavery far exceeds support for the idea of complete racial equality. If the amendment comes to be seen as the first step in an attempt to bring about complete equality of the black and white races, there is no chance it will pass. Pendleton and Wood have made the same calculation and hope to defeat the amendment by getting Stevens to declare during the debate his intention to promote just such racial equality. As the month proceeds, Lincoln must simultaneously oversee the efforts to secure the Democratic votes, monitor Blair's peace efforts, including attempting to delay the presentation to him of any formal peace offer from the Confederacy, and try to convince Stevens to temper his statements advocating racial equality during the debate. During this same time, Lincoln must deal with family strife, torn between his son Robert's determination to enlist in the army and his wife's highly emotional objections to such plans.
With Confederate envoys ready to meet with Lincoln, he instructs them to be kept out of Washington, as the amendment approaches a vote on the House floor. At the moment of truth, Stevens decides to moderate his statements about racial equality to help the amendment's chances of passage. A rumor circulates that there are Confederate representatives in Washington ready to discuss peace, prompting both Democrats and conservative Republicans to advocate postponing the vote on the amendment. Lincoln explicitly denies that such envoys are in or will be in the city — technically a truthful statement, since he had ordered them to be kept away — and the vote proceeds, narrowly passing by a margin of two votes. When Lincoln subsequently meets with the Confederates, he quashes the idea of their being able to rejoin the Union in time to prevent the amendment from going into effect.
After the amendment's passage, the film's narrative shifts forward two months, portraying Lincoln's visit to the battlefield at Petersburg, Virginia, where he exchanges a few words with General Grant. Shortly thereafter, Grant receives General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. On the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln is in a late-night meeting with his cabinet, discussing possible future measures to enfranchise blacks, when he is reminded that Mrs. Lincoln is waiting to take them to their evening at Ford's Theater.
The next morning, after Lincoln is shot, his physician pronounces him dead. The film concludes with a flashback to Lincoln delivering his Second Inaugural Address.