Lincoln(2012)- User Reviews

Many cast members are easily recognized and all do excellent work portraying Lincoln, Stevens, Mrs. Lincoln, and many others. The movies is historically based but deviates. To my knowledge there was never a meeting between the North and South to discuss surrender terms - just overtures. So the scene where the South offers to cease hostilities if they are assured they will be re-admitted to the Union in time to defeat the recently passed 13th Amendment is fiction used to reinforce Lincoln's commitment to the Amendment. Stevens never marries and lived with a "mixed blood" widow that was referred to as Mrs. Stevens. The movie portrays her as a secret African American love but the women Stevens had was a Common Law wife to all intents and purposes and open. She may have been African American - don't know. He did adopt her kids. There was little if any mention of what the South was fighting for - no mention that Jefferson Davis was one of the largest slave owners in the country and no mention the people of the South were indoctrinated with "States Rights" as a cause to fight for. I'd like to have seen this in the movie. If the fictional scene with the South were not in the movie I'd give it 5 stars. Some will believe what they see as fact.