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1
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- The door's locked
from the inside?
2
00:00:27,908 --> 00:00:28,908
- Yes, ma'am.
3
00:00:30,765 --> 00:00:31,765
- Key, please.
4
00:00:33,701 --> 00:00:36,869
My uncle is an invalid, he
requires absolute privacy.
5
00:00:36,971 --> 00:00:38,203
Do you understand?
6
00:00:39,740 --> 00:00:41,273
See to it.
7
00:01:10,738 --> 00:01:12,905
- We'll take a special
overnight train.
8
00:01:13,007 --> 00:01:15,252
I've cleared the tracks and
had the telegraph lanes cut
9
00:01:15,276 --> 00:01:17,176
from here to Baltimore.
10
00:01:17,278 --> 00:01:20,112
These men intend to kill you.
11
00:01:31,125 --> 00:01:33,725
You can't risk being recognized.
12
00:02:07,962 --> 00:02:09,661
- Now
13
00:02:09,763 --> 00:02:12,397
- This is not how I planned
to get to Washington.
14
00:02:18,072 --> 00:02:19,312
- Ladies and gentlemen,
15
00:02:19,373 --> 00:02:22,040
some of you may
have heard of him.
16
00:02:22,143 --> 00:02:23,587
- His story
has been passed down
17
00:02:23,611 --> 00:02:25,511
from one generation to the next.
18
00:02:25,613 --> 00:02:28,213
- Four score and
seven years ago.
19
00:02:28,315 --> 00:02:31,350
- He felt that democracy
in its purest form
20
00:02:31,452 --> 00:02:33,485
is for all people.
21
00:02:33,587 --> 00:02:35,627
- All
persons held as slaves
22
00:02:35,656 --> 00:02:38,857
shall be thence forward
and forever free.
23
00:02:38,959 --> 00:02:42,461
- But there's something
deeper than what he did.
24
00:02:42,563 --> 00:02:44,396
It's about who he was.
25
00:02:44,498 --> 00:02:46,832
- Lincoln grew up in poverty.
26
00:02:46,934 --> 00:02:48,044
- Haven't done anything
27
00:02:48,068 --> 00:02:49,346
to make anyone remember
that I ever lived.
28
00:02:49,370 --> 00:02:50,602
- He's living proof
29
00:02:50,704 --> 00:02:53,372
that Americans can rise
from obscurity to power.
30
00:02:53,474 --> 00:02:56,775
- With that wit and that
charm and that intellect.
31
00:02:56,877 --> 00:02:59,244
- It's better to stay
silent and be thought a fool
32
00:02:59,346 --> 00:03:00,924
than to speak up and
remove all doubt.
33
00:03:00,948 --> 00:03:03,148
- He has this deep
sense of empathy.
34
00:03:03,250 --> 00:03:05,328
- He takes the
Declaration of Independence.
35
00:03:05,352 --> 00:03:07,052
- All men are created equal.
36
00:03:07,154 --> 00:03:10,789
- And turns it into a
nation's moral compass.
37
00:03:13,894 --> 00:03:16,528
- As the country is breaking
apart, there's a turning point
38
00:03:16,630 --> 00:03:17,908
where he's gonna
have to take a stand.
39
00:03:17,932 --> 00:03:19,509
- Charge!
40
00:03:19,533 --> 00:03:20,933
- Blood will be on your hands!
41
00:03:21,035 --> 00:03:23,202
- Blood is already on my hands!
42
00:03:23,304 --> 00:03:25,248
- You have to learn how to
be a Commander in Chief.
43
00:03:25,272 --> 00:03:27,017
- I can't have a
war on two fronts.
44
00:03:27,041 --> 00:03:30,542
- He was willing to admit
he was wrong and to change.
45
00:03:30,644 --> 00:03:32,010
- We can attack immediately.
46
00:03:32,112 --> 00:03:34,057
- He was the right
person at the right time.
47
00:03:34,081 --> 00:03:36,381
- If we let this stand
for one minute longer,
48
00:03:37,785 --> 00:03:40,025
we might as well say
goodbye to the whole thing.
49
00:03:40,421 --> 00:03:42,454
Union, democracy,
50
00:03:43,991 --> 00:03:45,023
all of it.
51
00:04:07,648 --> 00:04:10,015
- Abe, come here.
52
00:04:22,830 --> 00:04:23,962
Hold it steady.
53
00:04:38,812 --> 00:04:42,247
- You think anyone will
know mom is in there?
54
00:04:43,851 --> 00:04:47,519
- God will know.
55
00:04:47,621 --> 00:04:51,390
- We should put a marker,
write her name on it.
56
00:04:51,492 --> 00:04:52,492
- Leave it alone.
57
00:04:54,128 --> 00:04:56,962
- When Lincoln's mother
died, she had said to him,
58
00:04:57,064 --> 00:05:01,700
Abraham, I'm going away from
you now and I shall not return.
59
00:05:01,802 --> 00:05:05,137
Death was a common traveler
during that period of time.
60
00:05:05,239 --> 00:05:07,706
- Lincoln's childhood was hard.
61
00:05:07,808 --> 00:05:11,009
Lincoln's father was a
carpenter some of the time,
62
00:05:11,111 --> 00:05:13,111
farmer some of the time.
63
00:05:13,213 --> 00:05:15,380
He wasn't good at making money.
64
00:05:19,086 --> 00:05:21,720
- Abraham Lincoln
had a hard scrabble,
65
00:05:21,822 --> 00:05:24,523
poverty ridden existence.
66
00:05:24,625 --> 00:05:26,491
- They lived on the frontier
67
00:05:26,593 --> 00:05:29,861
in a one room cabin
that had a dirt floor.
68
00:05:30,998 --> 00:05:32,275
- There were
times when he fell into
69
00:05:32,299 --> 00:05:34,633
an extreme sense of
sadness and melancholy,
70
00:05:34,735 --> 00:05:37,035
that would stay with him
the rest of his life.
71
00:05:39,106 --> 00:05:40,750
- After the
death of his mother,
72
00:05:40,774 --> 00:05:42,585
his father traveled
to civilization
73
00:05:42,609 --> 00:05:44,543
looking for a replacement wife.
74
00:05:45,846 --> 00:05:48,347
And he was left alone
with his older sister
75
00:05:48,449 --> 00:05:49,614
for months and months.
76
00:06:05,532 --> 00:06:06,843
- How the
children survived
77
00:06:06,867 --> 00:06:10,202
that time alone on the
frontier is hard to imagine.
78
00:06:11,271 --> 00:06:13,271
They were foraging for food.
79
00:06:13,374 --> 00:06:15,207
They looked like wild animals.
80
00:06:20,714 --> 00:06:23,882
- In the early 1800s
Lincoln is at the edge of
81
00:06:23,984 --> 00:06:26,151
what is the American frontier.
82
00:06:26,253 --> 00:06:29,421
- It's just six years after
the Louisiana Purchase.
83
00:06:29,523 --> 00:06:33,024
The nation expands all the way
over to the Mississippi River
84
00:06:33,127 --> 00:06:36,261
and parts of the northwestern
and plains areas.
85
00:06:36,363 --> 00:06:37,562
- We can trace
86
00:06:37,664 --> 00:06:39,142
the movement of the
American population
87
00:06:39,166 --> 00:06:40,565
across the continent.
88
00:06:40,667 --> 00:06:42,948
And the Lincoln family is
exemplifying that trend
89
00:06:43,036 --> 00:06:45,237
and they moved
steadily westward.
90
00:06:45,339 --> 00:06:47,205
- Frontier life is dangerous,
91
00:06:47,307 --> 00:06:49,841
and consists of a
lot of hard labor.
92
00:06:49,943 --> 00:06:51,721
Clearing the land,
chopping down trees,
93
00:06:51,745 --> 00:06:53,512
removing tree stumps.
94
00:06:53,614 --> 00:06:55,013
Lincoln is a hard worker,
95
00:06:55,115 --> 00:06:56,593
but he doesn't like
physical labor.
96
00:06:56,617 --> 00:06:58,750
He's not someone
who enjoys farming.
97
00:07:07,694 --> 00:07:09,227
- After a few months,
98
00:07:09,329 --> 00:07:11,830
Lincoln's father
remarried a woman
99
00:07:11,932 --> 00:07:14,099
named Sarah Bush Johnston.
100
00:07:15,869 --> 00:07:17,035
- Hey, there you are.
101
00:07:19,106 --> 00:07:20,106
Come on.
102
00:07:29,016 --> 00:07:30,016
Go on.
103
00:08:08,222 --> 00:08:10,188
- You can read, Abraham?
104
00:08:10,290 --> 00:08:11,356
- Sorry, ma'am.
105
00:08:19,266 --> 00:08:20,765
- It's all right.
106
00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:28,400
- There's plenty
of work out there.
107
00:08:29,076 --> 00:08:30,076
Come on.
108
00:08:38,685 --> 00:08:41,520
- We're used to reading
about evil stepmothers,
109
00:08:41,622 --> 00:08:43,321
Lincoln had a good stepmother.
110
00:08:43,423 --> 00:08:45,590
She brought a little
library of books.
111
00:08:45,692 --> 00:08:48,159
She couldn't even read them
herself, but she had them.
112
00:08:48,262 --> 00:08:52,430
- And she forges an
extraordinary bond with Abraham.
113
00:08:52,533 --> 00:08:57,536
She understood him, she
sympathized with him.
114
00:08:57,638 --> 00:08:59,971
She would encourage
him about reading
115
00:09:00,073 --> 00:09:02,240
and education and ambition.
116
00:09:02,342 --> 00:09:03,875
- He's basically self-taught.
117
00:09:03,977 --> 00:09:06,645
He read some of the best
writing in the English language.
118
00:09:06,747 --> 00:09:10,048
The King James Bible,
Shakespeare, and Greek classics,
119
00:09:10,150 --> 00:09:12,095
and a few other
adventure books thrown in
120
00:09:12,119 --> 00:09:13,485
like Robinson Crusoe.
121
00:09:13,587 --> 00:09:18,356
He was drawing from this
incredibly rich fountain.
122
00:09:18,792 --> 00:09:21,037
- He went to a primitive school
for less than one full year
123
00:09:21,061 --> 00:09:22,460
where he stood out.
124
00:09:22,563 --> 00:09:23,929
One of his friends said,
125
00:09:24,031 --> 00:09:26,364
his ambition soared
beyond all the rest of us.
126
00:09:26,466 --> 00:09:28,133
That while we were playing,
127
00:09:28,235 --> 00:09:30,602
he was reading and
rereading his books.
128
00:09:30,704 --> 00:09:32,348
- The most
impressive thing
129
00:09:32,372 --> 00:09:33,750
about Lincoln's ability
to teach himself
130
00:09:33,774 --> 00:09:36,975
is his mastery of Euclid,
he loved geometry.
131
00:09:37,077 --> 00:09:38,821
- He's reading
about George Washington.
132
00:09:38,845 --> 00:09:40,790
He's reading about
the founding fathers.
133
00:09:40,814 --> 00:09:43,181
- He is reading that all
men are created equal.
134
00:09:43,283 --> 00:09:44,994
It's the most
revolutionary statement
135
00:09:45,018 --> 00:09:48,219
ever articulated by
any founding country.
136
00:09:48,322 --> 00:09:50,488
That is a mindblowing
proposition.
137
00:09:54,161 --> 00:09:55,727
- Where'd you get that?
138
00:09:55,829 --> 00:09:59,164
- I borrowed it
from Mr. Crawford.
139
00:09:59,266 --> 00:10:00,599
- Put it away and get to bed.
140
00:10:00,701 --> 00:10:02,178
I'm gonna need you
to dig out them rocks
141
00:10:02,202 --> 00:10:03,335
first thing tomorrow.
142
00:10:08,842 --> 00:10:10,241
- His father didn't understand
143
00:10:10,344 --> 00:10:14,145
why Abraham chose to read
instead of to work on the farm.
144
00:10:14,247 --> 00:10:16,748
He thought it was
a sign of laziness.
145
00:10:16,850 --> 00:10:19,384
But Abraham had a
different set of ambitions.
146
00:10:19,486 --> 00:10:22,454
Through everything he
read, he began to imagine,
147
00:10:22,556 --> 00:10:24,556
to envision another way of life.
148
00:11:05,599 --> 00:11:06,719
- It rained last night.
149
00:11:10,303 --> 00:11:12,971
- This is worth 75 cents.
150
00:11:13,073 --> 00:11:15,640
- I'll work it off, I
swear, Mr. Crawford.
151
00:11:18,512 --> 00:11:20,612
- Three days working
in my fields.
152
00:11:31,525 --> 00:11:33,436
- This kid
doesn't share the values
153
00:11:33,460 --> 00:11:35,420
of physical labor
with his father.
154
00:11:36,430 --> 00:11:38,129
He yearns to fight his way out
155
00:11:38,231 --> 00:11:40,231
of that daily
struggle for survival.
156
00:11:47,207 --> 00:11:49,674
- Crawford
ought to be ashamed.
157
00:11:49,776 --> 00:11:51,496
- Ouch.
- Stay still.
158
00:11:51,578 --> 00:11:55,046
- Three days work,
nothing to show for it.
159
00:11:55,148 --> 00:11:56,848
- I get to keep the book.
160
00:11:56,950 --> 00:11:58,016
It's mine now.
161
00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:01,864
- But despite the
tension between them,
162
00:12:01,888 --> 00:12:04,889
Abe got his storytelling
talent from his father,
163
00:12:04,991 --> 00:12:06,903
who did have a great
sense of humor.
164
00:12:06,927 --> 00:12:08,504
- So this preacher
starts his sermon
165
00:12:08,528 --> 00:12:12,230
by saying to the congregation,
today I represent the Christ.
166
00:12:12,332 --> 00:12:16,134
Just then this little blue
lizard runs up his pants
167
00:12:16,236 --> 00:12:20,872
and he starts to kick
them pants off.
168
00:12:20,974 --> 00:12:24,109
- A little blue lizard
runs up the preachers leg.
169
00:12:24,211 --> 00:12:26,711
Off come his pants.
170
00:12:26,813 --> 00:12:28,680
The lizard runs under his shirt.
171
00:12:28,782 --> 00:12:30,648
Well, that comes off too.
172
00:12:30,751 --> 00:12:33,218
One little old lady
from the congregation
173
00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:34,552
can't take anymore.
174
00:12:34,654 --> 00:12:35,765
She shouts to the preacher,
175
00:12:35,789 --> 00:12:38,623
who's standing there,
no pants, no shirt on.
176
00:12:38,725 --> 00:12:42,961
If you represent the Christ
I am done with the Bible!
177
00:12:44,431 --> 00:12:46,375
- That yarn of a lie
when your Pa told it,
178
00:12:46,399 --> 00:12:47,265
and it's still a lie.
179
00:12:47,367 --> 00:12:49,067
- It's a mighty good lie though.
180
00:12:50,604 --> 00:12:53,605
- Gentlemen, names
Denton Offutt,
181
00:12:53,707 --> 00:12:55,740
looking for Mr. John Hanks.
182
00:12:55,842 --> 00:12:56,842
- That's me.
183
00:12:58,912 --> 00:13:00,979
- Need some men to
build me a flatboat,
184
00:13:01,081 --> 00:13:03,248
take some barrels
down to New Orleans.
185
00:13:03,350 --> 00:13:04,849
I heard you're a river man.
186
00:13:04,951 --> 00:13:06,017
- New Orleans?
187
00:13:07,420 --> 00:13:10,088
- I can't be gone that long,
got a family to tend to.
188
00:13:10,190 --> 00:13:12,390
- I'll pay you a decent wage.
189
00:13:12,492 --> 00:13:14,070
- Well, I could go
for you, Mr. Offutt.
190
00:13:14,094 --> 00:13:15,794
I made a trip to New Orleans
191
00:13:15,896 --> 00:13:17,507
with cousin John here
a couple years back.
192
00:13:17,531 --> 00:13:19,308
- This ain't a job
for a jokester.
193
00:13:19,332 --> 00:13:20,398
Serious work.
194
00:13:25,038 --> 00:13:26,337
I'll take the group of ya.
195
00:13:27,974 --> 00:13:29,674
- Whaddya say?
196
00:13:29,776 --> 00:13:31,810
John, this could be my chance.
197
00:13:31,912 --> 00:13:33,244
- All right.
198
00:13:33,346 --> 00:13:34,679
- Got a deal then, huh?
199
00:13:37,450 --> 00:13:38,494
- Thank you, Mr. Offutt.
200
00:13:38,518 --> 00:13:39,851
-Pleasure sir.
201
00:13:42,189 --> 00:13:44,100
- He could read about
other people's adventures,
202
00:13:44,124 --> 00:13:46,291
but now this was an
adventure of his own.
203
00:13:46,393 --> 00:13:48,760
He begins to create
that wider world
204
00:13:48,862 --> 00:13:51,062
that he's dreamed of
since he was a little kid.
205
00:13:51,131 --> 00:13:54,599
- He took his flatboat journey
down the Mississippi River
206
00:13:54,701 --> 00:13:59,370
to New Orleans and there
he saw the big city.
207
00:13:59,472 --> 00:14:01,773
He saw what a new
world might look like
208
00:14:01,875 --> 00:14:04,075
beyond the remote farm.
209
00:14:05,645 --> 00:14:07,685
- And during the
course of that visit,
210
00:14:07,747 --> 00:14:10,281
he saw more than
he had ever seen.
211
00:14:11,685 --> 00:14:13,885
New Orleans was the
largest slave trading port
212
00:14:13,954 --> 00:14:15,653
in the United States.
213
00:14:15,755 --> 00:14:19,724
- He saw human beings
with hearts and minds
214
00:14:19,826 --> 00:14:23,828
being sold like chattel,
like animals, like furniture.
215
00:14:25,198 --> 00:14:28,399
And it left a lasting and
haunting impression on him.
216
00:14:33,373 --> 00:14:34,906
- When he comes back home,
217
00:14:35,008 --> 00:14:37,048
there was a law in
Illinois at the time
218
00:14:37,110 --> 00:14:40,111
that you had to give
your wages to your father
219
00:14:40,213 --> 00:14:43,381
until you reached the age
of majority, which was 21.
220
00:14:43,483 --> 00:14:46,951
He's now 21, so he can
strike out on his own.
221
00:14:47,053 --> 00:14:50,154
Offutt offers him a job to be
a clerk in his general store.
222
00:14:52,792 --> 00:14:54,092
- You'll be back by winter.
223
00:14:55,862 --> 00:14:59,197
- I'm gonna be a clerk
now, in a new store.
224
00:14:59,299 --> 00:15:00,632
- Stores go under every day.
225
00:15:01,568 --> 00:15:02,568
- So do farmers.
226
00:15:04,371 --> 00:15:06,638
I'm gonna keep
studying, be ready.
227
00:15:09,075 --> 00:15:10,075
- You'll do fine.
228
00:15:15,916 --> 00:15:16,916
- Bye, Pa.
229
00:15:35,368 --> 00:15:37,580
Abraham Lincoln, I'm
running for state assembly.
230
00:15:37,604 --> 00:15:40,471
I'm newly arrived, it's
not certain I will succeed.
231
00:15:40,573 --> 00:15:42,151
You know, I heard
a fella say once,
232
00:15:42,175 --> 00:15:44,509
it's better to stay silent
and be thought a fool
233
00:15:44,611 --> 00:15:46,778
than to speak up and
remove all doubt.
234
00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:48,658
I would like to dance
with you in the worst way.
235
00:15:48,682 --> 00:15:51,382
- I'm not like other
ladies, Mr. Lincoln.
236
00:15:51,484 --> 00:15:53,985
It might not have been
wise to make that speech.
237
00:15:54,087 --> 00:15:57,088
- I'm afraid this might
be my one and only term.
238
00:15:57,190 --> 00:16:00,191
- There's not a
nation on this earth
239
00:16:00,293 --> 00:16:04,262
guilty of practices more
shocking and bloody.
240
00:16:04,364 --> 00:16:05,808
- Gonna be a big
argument in this country.
241
00:16:05,832 --> 00:16:07,532
I intend to be ready for it.
242
00:16:08,768 --> 00:16:10,046
- Lincoln.
- Mr. Douglas.
243
00:16:10,070 --> 00:16:13,071
Nobody has ever looked
at my lean, lank face
244
00:16:13,173 --> 00:16:14,872
and expected me to be president.
245
00:16:15,775 --> 00:16:16,841
- That's Lincoln?
246
00:16:16,943 --> 00:16:21,212
- Let us have faith
that right makes might.
247
00:16:21,314 --> 00:16:23,681
- Four votes for Mr. Lincoln.
248
00:16:23,783 --> 00:16:24,983
- Yes!
249
00:16:25,085 --> 00:16:26,495
- How long can
Sumter hold out for?
250
00:16:26,519 --> 00:16:28,130
- Wait for- - You
must send more ships.
251
00:16:28,154 --> 00:16:29,520
- I say we withdraw.
252
00:16:29,622 --> 00:16:30,655
- Fire!
253
00:16:48,892 --> 00:16:50,002
- That your new man?
254
00:16:50,026 --> 00:16:51,893
- Yeah, that's Lincoln.
255
00:16:51,995 --> 00:16:54,996
- That's
an illegal hold!
256
00:16:56,866 --> 00:16:59,233
- I've never seen
Armstrong lose.
257
00:16:59,335 --> 00:17:00,501
How long they been at it?
258
00:17:00,603 --> 00:17:03,137
- About an hour.
259
00:17:05,175 --> 00:17:07,842
- Armstrong, preventing
this will fail.
260
00:17:07,944 --> 00:17:09,610
- It ain't over til I win.
261
00:17:11,081 --> 00:17:12,081
- Call it a draw.
262
00:17:12,849 --> 00:17:14,348
Then we both win.
263
00:17:23,259 --> 00:17:24,259
- It's a draw.
264
00:17:29,666 --> 00:17:31,199
- New Salem was a tough town.
265
00:17:31,301 --> 00:17:35,403
There was a gang led by a
tough guy named Jack Armstrong.
266
00:17:35,505 --> 00:17:39,507
Newcomers had to prove
themselves or be on the outs.
267
00:17:39,609 --> 00:17:41,809
- New Salem itself is
yet another one of these
268
00:17:41,911 --> 00:17:43,911
just emerging frontier towns.
269
00:17:44,013 --> 00:17:46,681
It's very small, just
a few hundred people.
270
00:17:46,783 --> 00:17:49,450
- But for Lincoln, it seems
like a bustling metropolis.
271
00:17:49,552 --> 00:17:51,630
There's a post office,
there's three general stores,
272
00:17:51,654 --> 00:17:53,187
there's a blacksmith's shop.
273
00:17:53,289 --> 00:17:55,101
- It had an
intellectual community,
274
00:17:55,125 --> 00:17:57,125
it had a little
debating society,
275
00:17:57,227 --> 00:18:00,228
it had a teacher who
loaned him books.
276
00:18:00,330 --> 00:18:02,497
- He's demonstrated
his physical prowess.
277
00:18:02,599 --> 00:18:03,798
He's a hard worker.
278
00:18:03,900 --> 00:18:06,100
He's also known for
his intelligence.
279
00:18:06,202 --> 00:18:08,870
- And he will have the
funniest stories to tell.
280
00:18:08,972 --> 00:18:12,406
He will have you and
your friends in stitches.
281
00:18:12,509 --> 00:18:14,589
- And Lincoln has to
learn how to hustle.
282
00:18:14,677 --> 00:18:19,147
He's a store owner, he's a
land surveyor, a shopkeeper.
283
00:18:19,249 --> 00:18:23,851
- Eventually Lincoln became
a grocer and he sold whiskey.
284
00:18:23,953 --> 00:18:26,487
He also becomes the
village postmaster,
285
00:18:26,589 --> 00:18:29,924
and that's where he first
got news beyond Illinois.
286
00:18:30,026 --> 00:18:33,628
Reading about issues far
beyond his limited sphere.
287
00:18:33,730 --> 00:18:35,374
- Everybody would
come to the store,
288
00:18:35,398 --> 00:18:38,366
they'd debate issues, they'd
stay around and talk politics.
289
00:18:38,468 --> 00:18:40,968
- He was always
interested in politics.
290
00:18:42,071 --> 00:18:43,071
He loved politics.
291
00:18:44,474 --> 00:18:46,434
- In little towns
like New Salem,
292
00:18:46,476 --> 00:18:49,143
politicians running for office
would come on Saturdays.
293
00:18:49,245 --> 00:18:50,111
And gives speeches.
294
00:18:50,213 --> 00:18:52,547
- Illinois needs railroads.
295
00:18:52,649 --> 00:18:55,683
You got a railroad, you can
get your goods to market.
296
00:18:55,785 --> 00:18:57,919
Y'all elect me to state assembly
297
00:18:58,021 --> 00:19:01,055
and I swear I'll bring
the railroad right
298
00:19:01,157 --> 00:19:02,490
here to New Salem.
299
00:19:05,528 --> 00:19:08,362
- No, you won't.
- I beg your pardon?
300
00:19:08,464 --> 00:19:10,031
Who said that?
301
00:19:10,133 --> 00:19:11,133
- I did.
302
00:19:12,035 --> 00:19:13,935
See, the way I figure it,
303
00:19:14,037 --> 00:19:17,205
if they do build that railroad
it'll be near Springfield.
304
00:19:17,307 --> 00:19:19,140
I saw as much in the paper.
305
00:19:19,242 --> 00:19:20,486
And how far are we
from Springfield?
306
00:19:20,510 --> 00:19:22,543
About what, 20 miles?
307
00:19:22,645 --> 00:19:24,212
That won't do us a lick of good.
308
00:19:24,314 --> 00:19:25,391
See, this fella,
he's right about us
309
00:19:25,415 --> 00:19:26,814
needing to get to market,
310
00:19:26,916 --> 00:19:29,617
but what we need in New
Salem is to widen the river
311
00:19:29,719 --> 00:19:31,686
so the steamships can get here.
312
00:19:31,788 --> 00:19:33,187
Then this town will take off,
313
00:19:33,289 --> 00:19:35,367
like a rabbit in front
of a pack of wolves.
314
00:19:35,391 --> 00:19:38,392
- Well, I could vote for both,
waterway and the railroad.
315
00:19:39,295 --> 00:19:40,995
- I don't think so, mister.
316
00:19:41,097 --> 00:19:43,264
How much that
railroad gonna cost?
317
00:19:43,366 --> 00:19:44,565
A lot, right?
318
00:19:44,667 --> 00:19:45,778
See, this fella, he
might be able to talk
319
00:19:45,802 --> 00:19:47,668
the hind leg off a donkey,
320
00:19:47,770 --> 00:19:49,303
but if they build that railroad,
321
00:19:49,405 --> 00:19:52,240
there won't be a dime left
of tax money for our river.
322
00:19:52,342 --> 00:19:54,842
Then we'll just be like the,
like the runt of the litter,
323
00:19:54,944 --> 00:19:58,112
left behind squinting for a
meal when there's nothing left.
324
00:19:58,214 --> 00:20:00,715
- Tell 'em Abe.
325
00:20:00,817 --> 00:20:03,684
- There was something about
the way Lincoln spoke.
326
00:20:03,786 --> 00:20:05,826
He was able to
translate complex issues
327
00:20:05,889 --> 00:20:07,288
into something simple,
328
00:20:07,390 --> 00:20:09,523
terms of the daily
life of the people.
329
00:20:09,626 --> 00:20:12,159
Within eight months of
his being in New Salem,
330
00:20:12,262 --> 00:20:15,096
the residents wanted him to
run for the state legislature.
331
00:20:16,432 --> 00:20:18,410
- At the time we have
a two party system
332
00:20:18,434 --> 00:20:20,768
with the Democrats
and the Whigs.
333
00:20:20,870 --> 00:20:24,538
And the Whig Party
was most interested in
334
00:20:24,641 --> 00:20:26,974
infrastructure that would
help the country grow.
335
00:20:27,076 --> 00:20:29,476
- Lincoln very much defines
himself initially as a Whig.
336
00:20:29,545 --> 00:20:31,123
An ardent advocate for
the federal government
337
00:20:31,147 --> 00:20:32,925
taking a particularly
active role
338
00:20:32,949 --> 00:20:35,950
in promoting improved
railroads or turnpike networks,
339
00:20:36,052 --> 00:20:37,718
and navigable rivers.
340
00:20:37,820 --> 00:20:40,354
- in Lincoln's day, if you
wanted to run for office,
341
00:20:40,456 --> 00:20:42,323
you simply put out a handbill
342
00:20:42,425 --> 00:20:45,393
telling what your promises
were and what you stood for.
343
00:20:45,495 --> 00:20:48,162
So at 23 years old he
writes this handbill
344
00:20:48,264 --> 00:20:50,464
and it's an
extraordinary document.
345
00:20:50,566 --> 00:20:53,234
First of all, most politicians
put out a short document.
346
00:20:53,336 --> 00:20:57,138
His is 2,000 words long,
and it's very personal.
347
00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,441
It starts saying, every man
has his peculiar ambition.
348
00:21:00,543 --> 00:21:03,177
Mine is to be esteemed
by my fellow man.
349
00:21:03,279 --> 00:21:06,113
And what he means by that is
to accomplish something worthy
350
00:21:06,215 --> 00:21:08,215
so my story will be told.
351
00:21:08,318 --> 00:21:10,596
- In that same time, he
talks about how he grew up.
352
00:21:10,620 --> 00:21:12,153
I was born, I've ever remained
353
00:21:12,255 --> 00:21:14,422
in the most humble
walks of life.
354
00:21:14,524 --> 00:21:18,192
If you elect me, I'm still
gonna be this humble guy.
355
00:21:18,294 --> 00:21:20,205
I'm not gonna become
somebody different.
356
00:21:20,229 --> 00:21:22,174
- And then he
says, I promise you,
357
00:21:22,198 --> 00:21:25,700
I will do everything I can to
make my promises come true.
358
00:21:25,802 --> 00:21:27,713
- He's a young man
on the make, right?
359
00:21:27,737 --> 00:21:29,548
And then he wasn't
shy about it either.
360
00:21:29,572 --> 00:21:32,873
Lincoln seems to emerge
out of the roughness
361
00:21:32,976 --> 00:21:35,142
and ambition and the hunger
362
00:21:35,244 --> 00:21:37,912
of what was certainly
a very young country.
363
00:21:38,014 --> 00:21:40,514
He had pulled himself
out of poverty.
364
00:21:40,616 --> 00:21:42,950
There was no shame in
saying, I want to be famous.
365
00:21:43,052 --> 00:21:45,252
He's unembarrassed
about forging alliances
366
00:21:45,355 --> 00:21:46,887
with people who can help him.
367
00:21:46,990 --> 00:21:48,910
He wants to make
people like him.
368
00:21:48,958 --> 00:21:50,791
He is a politician.
369
00:21:50,893 --> 00:21:53,260
- I'm from New Salem,
Abraham Lincoln.
370
00:21:53,363 --> 00:21:54,862
I'm running for state assembly.
371
00:21:56,299 --> 00:21:58,699
I'll tell you what, if I can
toss this thing past yours,
372
00:21:58,735 --> 00:21:59,600
you take a look at this?
373
00:21:59,702 --> 00:22:01,736
It'll tell you where I stand.
374
00:22:01,838 --> 00:22:04,505
- Hell, you toss this
ball farther than me,
375
00:22:04,607 --> 00:22:05,607
I'll vote for you.
376
00:22:07,043 --> 00:22:08,043
- All right.
377
00:22:10,279 --> 00:22:12,513
What about you boys?
- You get all our votes.
378
00:22:23,493 --> 00:22:26,660
- In 1834 Abraham
Lincoln is elected
379
00:22:26,763 --> 00:22:29,430
to the Illinois state
legislature as a Whig,
380
00:22:29,532 --> 00:22:31,176
a new political
party established
381
00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:33,112
by United States
Senator, Henry Clay,
382
00:22:33,136 --> 00:22:36,470
to promote infrastructure, a
national bank, and tariffs.
383
00:22:36,572 --> 00:22:41,542
And he becomes one of the
Long Nine of Sangamon County,
384
00:22:42,011 --> 00:22:45,246
- The Long Nine were a
group of Whig legislators,
385
00:22:45,348 --> 00:22:47,292
including Lincoln,
who got their name
386
00:22:47,316 --> 00:22:49,984
because they were all
over six feet tall.
387
00:22:50,086 --> 00:22:52,031
They advocated for
internal improvements
388
00:22:52,055 --> 00:22:53,254
for the state of Illinois,
389
00:22:53,356 --> 00:22:55,689
that they wanted to
move the state Capitol
390
00:22:55,792 --> 00:22:58,426
from the sleepy little
town of Vandalia
391
00:22:58,528 --> 00:23:00,094
to Springfield, Illinois.
392
00:23:02,198 --> 00:23:04,999
- We gotta move the capital
from Vandalia to Springfield.
393
00:23:05,101 --> 00:23:07,768
- But the Democrats will do
whatever they can to stop us.
394
00:23:07,870 --> 00:23:10,538
They're already trying to
redraw Sangamon County lines.
395
00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:12,560
That means two
less seats for us.
396
00:23:13,609 --> 00:23:15,649
- We want the capital
in Springfield,
397
00:23:15,711 --> 00:23:17,678
in Sangamon, in our county.
398
00:23:17,780 --> 00:23:18,879
Why?
399
00:23:18,981 --> 00:23:20,059
- Because there's value
to having the power
400
00:23:20,083 --> 00:23:21,449
in our own backyard.
401
00:23:21,551 --> 00:23:24,085
- So, if it's valuable,
shouldn't there
402
00:23:24,187 --> 00:23:27,121
be a cost for it?
403
00:23:27,223 --> 00:23:28,122
There's a spending
bill coming up, right?
404
00:23:28,224 --> 00:23:29,224
- Right.
405
00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:32,304
- What if we tack
on an amendment
406
00:23:32,328 --> 00:23:35,296
that says whatever
city gets the capital
407
00:23:35,398 --> 00:23:38,099
will have to pay the state
of fee for that privilege.
408
00:23:39,035 --> 00:23:42,336
A large fee, $50,000.
409
00:23:42,438 --> 00:23:44,358
Vandalia could
never afford that.
410
00:23:45,041 --> 00:23:46,207
But Sangamon could.
411
00:23:46,976 --> 00:23:48,876
That's what I'm thinking.
412
00:23:48,978 --> 00:23:53,080
- Lincoln was immediately
perceived as different, unique,
413
00:23:53,182 --> 00:23:54,715
wily and smart.
414
00:23:54,817 --> 00:23:57,351
Taller than everyone else,
funnier than everyone else,
415
00:23:57,453 --> 00:23:59,420
stronger than everyone else.
416
00:23:59,522 --> 00:24:01,088
He was a magnetic person.
417
00:24:01,190 --> 00:24:04,191
He was always making friends
and they gravitated to him.
418
00:24:04,293 --> 00:24:07,128
And he meets John T.
Stewart who advises him
419
00:24:07,230 --> 00:24:09,096
that he should study the law.
420
00:24:09,198 --> 00:24:11,532
- He had to study it
all on his own, however.
421
00:24:11,634 --> 00:24:13,874
He would have to borrow
books from John Stewart,
422
00:24:13,936 --> 00:24:15,269
who was 20 miles away.
423
00:24:15,371 --> 00:24:17,705
He'd have to walk those
20 miles, borrow the book,
424
00:24:17,807 --> 00:24:20,007
come back, read the
book, return the book,
425
00:24:20,109 --> 00:24:21,220
and then get another one.
426
00:24:21,244 --> 00:24:22,476
But he passed the bar.
427
00:24:22,578 --> 00:24:25,045
- He's now on his way,
he's taken another step.
428
00:24:25,148 --> 00:24:28,816
He's gonna be around people
who make things happen.
429
00:24:28,918 --> 00:24:31,252
- He would in fact,
serve four terms
430
00:24:31,354 --> 00:24:33,132
in the Illinois
state legislature.
431
00:24:33,156 --> 00:24:37,091
And with each term, his profile
and his prestige would grow.
432
00:24:37,193 --> 00:24:39,994
He promotes roads,
he promotes canals.
433
00:24:40,997 --> 00:24:42,374
- The American economy
is transforming
434
00:24:42,398 --> 00:24:44,765
in the early decades
of the 19th century.
435
00:24:44,867 --> 00:24:48,068
The transportation
revolution is so crucial
436
00:24:48,171 --> 00:24:50,004
to moving goods and people,
437
00:24:50,106 --> 00:24:52,773
factories which are using
new steam technology
438
00:24:52,875 --> 00:24:55,376
makes cotton profitable in
a way that it hadn't been.
439
00:24:55,478 --> 00:24:57,344
Makes it the boom crop.
440
00:24:57,446 --> 00:24:58,879
Changes the Southern economy,
441
00:24:58,981 --> 00:25:02,383
where slave based agriculture
becomes enormously profitable.
442
00:25:03,686 --> 00:25:05,898
- The entire United States
benefits from slavery,
443
00:25:05,922 --> 00:25:08,422
even if they want to
argue that they don't.
444
00:25:08,524 --> 00:25:11,058
Northern cotton mills
are reliant upon
445
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,128
the cotton produced by
enslaved laborers in the south.
446
00:25:14,230 --> 00:25:16,297
The insurance industry
in New York City
447
00:25:16,399 --> 00:25:18,310
is where slave holders
bought policies
448
00:25:18,334 --> 00:25:21,135
to protect the bodies of
their enslaved men and women.
449
00:25:21,237 --> 00:25:23,137
Merchants, bankers, the brokers,
450
00:25:23,239 --> 00:25:25,072
the people who extended loans,
451
00:25:25,174 --> 00:25:29,643
they are all tied up in
the institution of slavery.
452
00:25:29,745 --> 00:25:31,445
- It's this global enterprise.
453
00:25:31,547 --> 00:25:33,547
In key areas of the deep south,
454
00:25:33,649 --> 00:25:35,182
you're talking about communities
455
00:25:35,284 --> 00:25:38,953
that are 60 to 70% enslaved.
456
00:25:39,055 --> 00:25:42,189
So the use of
terror and violence
457
00:25:42,291 --> 00:25:44,625
have been the method of control.
458
00:25:44,727 --> 00:25:46,672
- But there
certainly were white northerners
459
00:25:46,696 --> 00:25:49,663
who believed that
slavery is morally wrong.
460
00:25:49,765 --> 00:25:51,498
They are abolitionist.
461
00:25:51,601 --> 00:25:54,735
- And at the heart of
all of these things
462
00:25:54,837 --> 00:25:56,448
is the story of
Abraham Lincoln himself
463
00:25:56,472 --> 00:25:58,672
and his own transformation.
464
00:25:58,774 --> 00:26:02,409
- At the time, Lincoln
was an anti-slavery man.
465
00:26:02,511 --> 00:26:04,345
He didn't like slavery,
466
00:26:04,447 --> 00:26:07,114
but that didn't mean that
he was an abolitionist.
467
00:26:07,216 --> 00:26:09,583
- He thought that eventually
slavery would die away
468
00:26:09,685 --> 00:26:11,051
and rot on the vine.
469
00:26:11,153 --> 00:26:14,321
But as a politician, he had
to be very, very cautious
470
00:26:14,423 --> 00:26:17,691
in expressing his
anti-slavery views.
471
00:26:19,662 --> 00:26:22,296
- Once the capital gets
moved to Springfield,
472
00:26:22,398 --> 00:26:24,398
he arrives in
Springfield on a horse
473
00:26:24,500 --> 00:26:27,401
and two saddlebags with all
of his possessions, that's it.
474
00:26:27,503 --> 00:26:29,715
And he gets an offer to
have a junior partnership
475
00:26:29,739 --> 00:26:33,574
in a law practice with John
Stewart, his fellow legislator.
476
00:26:33,676 --> 00:26:37,978
- He moved to Springfield,
Illinois on April 15th, 1837.
477
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:41,048
I always find that to be
bizarrely coincidental.
478
00:26:41,150 --> 00:26:43,450
He was 28 years
old when he moved
479
00:26:44,587 --> 00:26:48,022
and he had 28 years more
to live to the very day.
480
00:26:57,300 --> 00:26:58,744
- You can
try it on if you like.
481
00:26:58,768 --> 00:27:00,808
- Oh no, thank you,
I'm only looking.
482
00:27:00,870 --> 00:27:01,870
- Can I help you?
483
00:27:02,705 --> 00:27:04,505
- How much would a bed cost?
484
00:27:05,474 --> 00:27:07,394
Well, I can sell
you one for $17.
485
00:27:08,844 --> 00:27:09,844
- 17.
486
00:27:10,646 --> 00:27:11,545
I see.
487
00:27:11,647 --> 00:27:12,647
Thank you.
488
00:27:18,821 --> 00:27:19,965
Here's the thing, mister.
489
00:27:19,989 --> 00:27:22,323
- Joshua, Joshua Speed.
- Oh, Abraham Lincoln.
490
00:27:23,759 --> 00:27:27,528
I'm newly arrived and I'm
a freshly minted lawyer
491
00:27:27,630 --> 00:27:29,541
and it's not certain
I will succeed.
492
00:27:29,565 --> 00:27:30,964
- Jury's still out, is it?
493
00:27:31,067 --> 00:27:33,367
- Jury hadn't
even been chosen yet.
494
00:27:34,670 --> 00:27:38,472
The thing of it is is I
don't have money for the bed,
495
00:27:38,574 --> 00:27:39,574
not yet.
496
00:27:40,376 --> 00:27:42,009
- Do you have any prospects?
497
00:27:42,111 --> 00:27:44,445
- Yes, I'm partnering
with John Stewart.
498
00:27:45,448 --> 00:27:46,613
He's well-established.
499
00:27:48,017 --> 00:27:50,095
- I've got a room upstairs
with a bed in it, you know,
500
00:27:50,119 --> 00:27:51,518
if you're looking for a share.
501
00:27:51,620 --> 00:27:53,699
Come on, take a look
and see if you like it.
502
00:27:53,723 --> 00:27:54,922
- Yeah.
503
00:27:55,024 --> 00:27:56,668
- These are
the boys, by the way.
504
00:27:56,692 --> 00:27:58,570
- Hi, gentlemen.
- Abe Lincoln.
505
00:27:58,594 --> 00:28:00,794
- The man managing the
store is a young man
506
00:28:00,896 --> 00:28:02,262
named Joshua Speed.
507
00:28:02,365 --> 00:28:04,231
Speed and Lincoln take an almost
508
00:28:04,333 --> 00:28:05,866
instant liking to each other.
509
00:28:05,968 --> 00:28:09,303
The two are about as close
as anyone really gets
510
00:28:09,405 --> 00:28:10,571
to Abraham Lincoln,
511
00:28:10,673 --> 00:28:13,040
who was otherwise a very,
very private person.
512
00:28:13,142 --> 00:28:16,110
- For the next four years,
they lived in the same room,
513
00:28:16,212 --> 00:28:17,745
they slept in the same bed.
514
00:28:17,847 --> 00:28:20,681
There were more people
than beds in those days.
515
00:28:20,783 --> 00:28:23,117
- When business was over
with the store for the day,
516
00:28:23,219 --> 00:28:24,618
in the back room
517
00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:28,722
all the young political,
ambitious types would gather.
518
00:28:28,824 --> 00:28:30,902
- It's there that
he meets Stephen Douglas,
519
00:28:30,926 --> 00:28:32,204
the Little Giant as he's called
520
00:28:32,228 --> 00:28:35,696
because he's short of stature,
but huge in personality.
521
00:28:35,798 --> 00:28:38,465
And as a Democrat, he's
opposed to government support
522
00:28:38,567 --> 00:28:40,267
for infrastructure projects.
523
00:28:40,369 --> 00:28:41,613
- And Douglas
becomes Lincoln's
524
00:28:41,637 --> 00:28:43,704
lifelong political rival.
525
00:28:44,774 --> 00:28:47,741
- And then in 1837,
a sustained recession
526
00:28:47,843 --> 00:28:49,410
hit the state of Illinois.
527
00:28:49,512 --> 00:28:50,911
Up til that point,
528
00:28:51,013 --> 00:28:53,981
Lincoln had been the champion
of infrastructure projects.
529
00:28:54,083 --> 00:28:55,749
- The economy is a disaster
530
00:28:55,851 --> 00:28:58,385
and funding for those
damn improvement bills,
531
00:28:58,487 --> 00:29:00,565
it's as dead as that bear
under your feet, Lincoln.
532
00:29:00,589 --> 00:29:01,789
And if you keep going,
533
00:29:01,891 --> 00:29:04,391
your career will soon
enjoy the same fate.
534
00:29:04,493 --> 00:29:06,827
- A bad economy doesn't
mean that improvements
535
00:29:06,929 --> 00:29:09,763
to roads and waterway
should stop, Douglas.
536
00:29:09,865 --> 00:29:12,232
If anything, they
should be built faster.
537
00:29:12,334 --> 00:29:13,367
- Faster?
538
00:29:13,469 --> 00:29:14,668
Now you've lost me.
539
00:29:14,770 --> 00:29:16,715
- If it's raining, do
you stop building a roof
540
00:29:16,739 --> 00:29:19,740
and stand there getting wet,
or do you build a double quick?
541
00:29:21,277 --> 00:29:24,311
Building faster will bring
back business and trade.
542
00:29:24,413 --> 00:29:25,524
- It doesn't make sense.
543
00:29:25,548 --> 00:29:27,347
- No, it's delusional.
544
00:29:27,450 --> 00:29:30,017
- I made a promise to look out
for the people of Sangamon.
545
00:29:30,119 --> 00:29:31,530
- Well, you wouldn't
be the first politician
546
00:29:31,554 --> 00:29:32,594
to break a promise.
547
00:29:32,688 --> 00:29:34,755
- Or the last.
548
00:29:34,857 --> 00:29:37,097
- I'm telling my Whigs
to vote for more funding.
549
00:29:37,126 --> 00:29:39,626
You should tell your
Democrats to do the same.
550
00:29:39,728 --> 00:29:42,062
It takes a little courage
to do what's right.
551
00:29:42,164 --> 00:29:45,165
- Was it a courageous man
who digs his own grave?
552
00:29:45,267 --> 00:29:46,267
Or just a fool.
553
00:29:48,370 --> 00:29:50,182
- You know, I heard
a fella say once,
554
00:29:50,206 --> 00:29:52,840
it's better to stay silent
and be thought a fool
555
00:29:52,942 --> 00:29:54,982
than to speak up and
remove all doubt.
556
00:29:57,012 --> 00:29:59,680
- Spin all the country
wisdom you like, Lincoln.
557
00:29:59,782 --> 00:30:00,914
It won't make you right.
558
00:30:20,936 --> 00:30:23,437
- You planning on pouring that?
559
00:30:32,481 --> 00:30:33,747
- Thank you.
560
00:30:35,117 --> 00:30:37,284
- I didn't expect to
see you here, Lincoln.
561
00:30:37,386 --> 00:30:38,386
- Oh.
562
00:30:39,855 --> 00:30:42,856
- Mr. Douglas, you haven't
introduced your friend.
563
00:30:42,958 --> 00:30:46,093
- Ms. Mary Todd, this
is Mr. Abraham Lincoln.
564
00:30:46,195 --> 00:30:48,896
- Ms. Todd, I am honored.
565
00:30:50,299 --> 00:30:52,299
- Mr. Lincoln's a stubborn Whig,
566
00:30:52,401 --> 00:30:54,768
determined to drop his
carriage over a cliff
567
00:30:54,870 --> 00:30:57,871
when everyone else has
reigned in their horses.
568
00:30:57,973 --> 00:30:59,251
- Perhaps Mr. Lincoln
sees a road
569
00:30:59,275 --> 00:31:00,807
where you don't, Mr. Douglas.
570
00:31:03,546 --> 00:31:07,915
- Ms. Todd, I would like to
dance with you in the worst way.
571
00:31:29,104 --> 00:31:31,605
- Lincoln had a
great passion for women.
572
00:31:31,707 --> 00:31:33,618
He was very bashful,
he was very shy,
573
00:31:33,642 --> 00:31:34,875
but that didn't mean
574
00:31:34,977 --> 00:31:37,811
that he was not always
thinking about women.
575
00:31:38,914 --> 00:31:40,954
- Mary Todd was the
Belle of the town.
576
00:31:41,016 --> 00:31:43,517
She was beautiful,
she was witty.
577
00:31:43,619 --> 00:31:45,352
She attracted many suitors.
578
00:31:45,454 --> 00:31:50,057
She was actually courted by
Stephen Douglas, among others.
579
00:31:50,159 --> 00:31:53,627
She was educated, she came
from a long line of diplomats,
580
00:31:53,729 --> 00:31:55,429
ambassadors, governors.
581
00:31:55,531 --> 00:31:57,731
She was very
interested in politics.
582
00:31:57,833 --> 00:32:01,435
- She was from a prominent
Whig political family.
583
00:32:01,537 --> 00:32:03,236
Her father was a slave holder,
584
00:32:03,339 --> 00:32:05,672
but he was also a Whig
who knew Henry Clay,
585
00:32:05,774 --> 00:32:07,975
who was Lincoln's
political hero.
586
00:32:08,077 --> 00:32:11,044
- I myself am a great
admirer of Henry Clay.
587
00:32:11,146 --> 00:32:12,146
- Really?
588
00:32:13,482 --> 00:32:16,416
Wow, I didn't think that a
lady like yourself would be-
589
00:32:16,518 --> 00:32:17,784
- Interested in politics?
590
00:32:19,188 --> 00:32:21,788
I hope you'll find I'm not
like other ladies, Mr. Lincoln.
591
00:32:24,893 --> 00:32:26,426
Now tell me,
592
00:32:26,528 --> 00:32:29,363
what is this cliff you're
determined to drive over?
593
00:32:31,233 --> 00:32:32,978
- Lincoln felt an
instant connection to
594
00:32:33,002 --> 00:32:34,868
her and she, to him.
595
00:32:34,970 --> 00:32:37,104
She saw something
in him right away.
596
00:32:43,612 --> 00:32:44,978
- Well, Mr. Lincoln,
597
00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:46,558
you said you wanted to dance
with me in the worst way
598
00:32:46,582 --> 00:32:47,748
and you certainly did.
599
00:32:49,184 --> 00:32:52,319
- Oh, well.
- Don't look so wounded.
600
00:32:53,555 --> 00:32:55,795
It's not your dancing
skills I'm interested in.
601
00:33:02,064 --> 00:33:05,365
- Finally, it seems like
all those pieces of his life
602
00:33:05,467 --> 00:33:07,412
came together to
allow him to rise
603
00:33:07,436 --> 00:33:08,716
beyond the adverse circumstances
604
00:33:08,771 --> 00:33:10,691
of his childhood
on the frontier.
605
00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:14,641
- At the time, like Lincoln,
there's another young man
606
00:33:14,743 --> 00:33:15,976
who was trying to rise up
607
00:33:16,078 --> 00:33:19,246
through education and
literacy to escape.
608
00:33:19,348 --> 00:33:22,015
Frederick Douglass had
been born into slavery,
609
00:33:22,117 --> 00:33:23,450
he was separated from his mother
610
00:33:23,552 --> 00:33:25,452
when he was about a year old.
611
00:33:25,554 --> 00:33:27,632
He was chosen when he was
about eight or nine years old
612
00:33:27,656 --> 00:33:29,189
to go to Baltimore
613
00:33:29,291 --> 00:33:31,925
to be the house servant
for his master's family.
614
00:33:32,027 --> 00:33:34,107
His mistress had never
had a slave before
615
00:33:34,196 --> 00:33:35,940
and didn't know that it
was illegal to teach him
616
00:33:35,964 --> 00:33:37,197
to read and write.
617
00:33:37,299 --> 00:33:38,843
And so out of the
goodness of her heart
618
00:33:38,867 --> 00:33:41,902
she began to teach young
Frederick his ABCs.
619
00:33:42,004 --> 00:33:45,205
- And the more he reads,
it's a fire in his belly.
620
00:33:45,307 --> 00:33:47,218
This is why they don't
want to educate the Negro,
621
00:33:47,242 --> 00:33:50,210
because when we become
aware, when we understand,
622
00:33:50,312 --> 00:33:52,312
we can no longer be enslaved.
623
00:33:52,414 --> 00:33:54,025
- And Frederick
knew that he would one day
624
00:33:54,049 --> 00:33:56,049
make his attempt to escape.
625
00:33:59,455 --> 00:34:00,455
- Fred?
626
00:34:01,390 --> 00:34:02,390
Fred!
627
00:34:05,828 --> 00:34:07,194
- You got the ticket?
628
00:34:07,296 --> 00:34:09,796
- Had to show em my papers
before they'd sell it to me.
629
00:34:11,867 --> 00:34:14,167
Straight through to
Newark, then a ferry.
630
00:34:15,604 --> 00:34:19,372
Listen, that's where you
have to be extra careful.
631
00:34:19,475 --> 00:34:21,875
They slave catches
on the lookout there.
632
00:34:21,977 --> 00:34:23,577
- Anna, I'll be all right.
633
00:34:24,747 --> 00:34:25,827
- You don't know that.
634
00:34:29,785 --> 00:34:32,786
Let me see your
sailor's pass again.
635
00:34:39,561 --> 00:34:42,362
They catch you this time
they gonna sell you south.
636
00:34:45,234 --> 00:34:46,234
- I have to go.
637
00:34:59,481 --> 00:35:03,283
- Douglass was helped by my
great, great, great grandmother,
638
00:35:03,385 --> 00:35:05,819
Anna Murray, who was
the first in her family
639
00:35:05,921 --> 00:35:07,354
to be born free.
640
00:35:07,456 --> 00:35:10,590
She sold a feather bed to
help finance his escape.
641
00:35:10,692 --> 00:35:13,527
She sold the sailors
disguise that he would wear,
642
00:35:13,629 --> 00:35:16,496
and he carried with him
seaman's protection papers
643
00:35:16,598 --> 00:35:18,558
that he had borrowed
from a friend.
644
00:35:19,701 --> 00:35:21,880
- It's dangerous
because there's slave patrols
645
00:35:21,904 --> 00:35:23,470
looking for runaways.
646
00:35:23,572 --> 00:35:25,216
- There were lots
of consequences
647
00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:27,152
for people that
attempted to run away
648
00:35:27,176 --> 00:35:28,575
and that were recaptured.
649
00:35:28,677 --> 00:35:32,612
People would have their feet
cut off, other limbs cut off.
650
00:35:32,714 --> 00:35:33,947
They would have to wear
651
00:35:34,049 --> 00:35:36,850
these grotesque contraptions
around their necks.
652
00:35:36,952 --> 00:35:38,985
- Severe whipping
with a bullwhip,
653
00:35:39,087 --> 00:35:41,254
cutting your Achilles tendon.
654
00:35:41,356 --> 00:35:43,657
You can still work, can't run.
655
00:35:44,793 --> 00:35:46,927
And the ultimate
punishment is death.
656
00:36:33,242 --> 00:36:36,543
- He successfully escaped on
that train and then by boat.
657
00:36:36,645 --> 00:36:38,812
And he would taste
freedom for the first time
658
00:36:38,914 --> 00:36:40,313
in New York City.
659
00:36:40,415 --> 00:36:43,350
Anna would join him two weeks
later and become his wife.
660
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:48,588
- In Springfield, Abraham and
Mary courted for two years.
661
00:36:48,690 --> 00:36:51,191
But they had kind of
a stormy courtship.
662
00:36:51,293 --> 00:36:52,359
Opposites attract
663
00:36:52,461 --> 00:36:54,701
and they were definitely
opposite in temperament.
664
00:36:54,763 --> 00:36:56,396
He was laconic and laid back,
665
00:36:56,498 --> 00:36:59,366
she was mercurial,
she was temperamental.
666
00:36:59,468 --> 00:37:01,868
But they decided to get married.
667
00:37:01,970 --> 00:37:05,372
- Meanwhile, because of the
sustained recession in Illinois,
668
00:37:05,474 --> 00:37:08,141
the state legislature
can't finish these projects
669
00:37:08,243 --> 00:37:11,111
that Lincoln has promised his
constituents he will deliver.
670
00:37:11,213 --> 00:37:13,880
And he shouldered the blame
and he actually said then
671
00:37:13,982 --> 00:37:15,126
that and that he would not run
672
00:37:15,150 --> 00:37:16,561
for the legislature
the next time.
673
00:37:16,585 --> 00:37:19,586
So it seemed like it was the
end of his political career.
674
00:37:19,688 --> 00:37:21,466
- Abraham and Mary were
supposed to be married
675
00:37:21,490 --> 00:37:26,393
on January 1st, 1841, but
Lincoln got cold feet.
676
00:37:27,029 --> 00:37:30,964
They broke up, he called it
the fatal 1st of January.
677
00:37:31,934 --> 00:37:34,067
- And now he'd
broken two promises.
678
00:37:34,169 --> 00:37:36,147
He broke the promise
to his constituents
679
00:37:36,171 --> 00:37:38,872
and he'd broken his
promise to Mary.
680
00:37:38,974 --> 00:37:42,242
And he said at the time that
the chief gem of his character
681
00:37:42,344 --> 00:37:44,377
was his ability
to keep his word,
682
00:37:44,479 --> 00:37:47,147
and now that he was no longer
confident he could do that,
683
00:37:47,249 --> 00:37:49,582
he wasn't sure he
could do anything.
684
00:37:49,685 --> 00:37:52,552
That's what led him into
this most profound depression
685
00:37:52,654 --> 00:37:54,020
that he had ever suffered.
686
00:37:54,122 --> 00:37:56,456
His friends worried that
he might take his life.
687
00:37:56,558 --> 00:37:58,391
- Joshua's Speed, his roommate,
688
00:37:58,493 --> 00:38:01,661
actually hides all of Lincoln's
knives and razorblades.
689
00:38:01,763 --> 00:38:03,374
- Meanwhile, Joshua
Speed announces
690
00:38:03,398 --> 00:38:05,478
that he's closing up
shop in Springfield
691
00:38:05,534 --> 00:38:07,033
and moving back to Kentucky.
692
00:38:07,135 --> 00:38:09,102
Lincoln loses his
closest friend.
693
00:38:10,739 --> 00:38:11,739
- You're off then?
694
00:38:14,176 --> 00:38:15,216
- What will you do?
695
00:38:17,079 --> 00:38:20,513
- I'll be better or
I'll be dead.
696
00:38:22,317 --> 00:38:23,984
Don't worry, Speed, I won't die.
697
00:38:26,088 --> 00:38:27,165
Haven't done anything
698
00:38:27,189 --> 00:38:29,309
to make anyone remember
that I ever lived.
699
00:39:07,779 --> 00:39:10,947
- Lincoln isn't in
such a state of depression,
700
00:39:11,049 --> 00:39:13,089
he can barely drag
himself out of bed.
701
00:39:14,653 --> 00:39:16,953
- He had been going on
such a high, in a sense,
702
00:39:17,055 --> 00:39:21,391
going from the fields to
political office, a lawyer,
703
00:39:21,493 --> 00:39:24,994
to about to marry a woman
from a very elite family.
704
00:39:25,097 --> 00:39:26,563
And it all comes apart.
705
00:39:27,365 --> 00:39:29,099
- But that drive that he'd had
706
00:39:29,201 --> 00:39:32,335
ever since he was a little kid,
ever since his mother died,
707
00:39:32,437 --> 00:39:35,739
to create something that would
allow his story to be told,
708
00:39:35,841 --> 00:39:37,207
saved him.
709
00:39:37,309 --> 00:39:39,387
He finished his term in
the state legislature.
710
00:39:39,411 --> 00:39:41,611
He went back to his
practice of law.
711
00:39:41,713 --> 00:39:44,380
He and Mary had stayed
apart for an entire year.
712
00:39:44,483 --> 00:39:47,951
And then finally in 1842 friends
brought them back together
713
00:39:48,053 --> 00:39:50,687
and they renewed their
engagement, they got married.
714
00:39:52,023 --> 00:39:55,458
- His ambition provided
the fuel of energy for him
715
00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:58,928
and his aim will next be for
the United States Congress.
716
00:40:00,599 --> 00:40:03,633
He is elected to
Congress as a Whig
717
00:40:03,735 --> 00:40:08,004
and the Whigs were bitterly
critical of the Mexican War.
718
00:40:09,908 --> 00:40:12,742
Mexican War broke out in 1846
719
00:40:12,844 --> 00:40:15,378
and was widely viewed
as the pet project
720
00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:18,148
of democratic president
James Knox Polk.
721
00:40:18,250 --> 00:40:21,084
War with Mexico could
open new territory
722
00:40:21,186 --> 00:40:23,319
for the extension of slavery.
723
00:40:25,891 --> 00:40:27,335
- Going through with
that speech today?
724
00:40:27,359 --> 00:40:28,625
- I am.
725
00:40:29,327 --> 00:40:30,727
- What speech?
726
00:40:30,829 --> 00:40:32,573
- Lincoln wants to put
our president in his place
727
00:40:32,597 --> 00:40:33,830
over the Mexican War.
728
00:40:40,105 --> 00:40:43,039
- I wouldn't do that,
the president's popular.
729
00:40:45,277 --> 00:40:46,442
Don't poke the bear.
730
00:40:47,913 --> 00:40:49,913
- But what if the bear is wrong.
731
00:40:50,015 --> 00:40:51,414
President Polk provoked this war
732
00:40:51,516 --> 00:40:53,261
'cause he wants California
and the whole west
733
00:40:53,285 --> 00:40:55,029
and he wants them
as slave states.
734
00:40:57,355 --> 00:40:59,522
Slave power's got
to be reigned in.
735
00:40:59,624 --> 00:41:00,390
That's the end of it.
736
00:41:00,492 --> 00:41:01,492
- We agree.
737
00:41:02,627 --> 00:41:04,372
But if you make a speech
against the president
738
00:41:04,396 --> 00:41:07,430
before the fighting's even
over, you'll be crucified.
739
00:41:08,266 --> 00:41:09,299
And for what?
740
00:41:13,839 --> 00:41:16,172
- Lincoln makes a
speech in Congress
741
00:41:16,274 --> 00:41:17,807
denouncing President Polk
742
00:41:17,909 --> 00:41:21,911
for a triggering the Mexican
War on false pretenses.
743
00:41:22,013 --> 00:41:24,514
- The war was
incredibly popular.
744
00:41:24,616 --> 00:41:26,527
The United States won
a huge amount of land,
745
00:41:26,551 --> 00:41:29,385
including future
states of California
746
00:41:29,487 --> 00:41:31,554
and New Mexico and Arizona.
747
00:41:31,656 --> 00:41:33,701
So the Democrats use
that against Lincoln
748
00:41:33,725 --> 00:41:36,860
to basically try and paint
him as not being patriotic.
749
00:41:36,962 --> 00:41:39,362
- The speech
backfired on Lincoln
750
00:41:39,464 --> 00:41:41,097
and he suffered for it.
751
00:41:51,977 --> 00:41:53,409
- Can't have been so bad.
752
00:42:02,754 --> 00:42:04,220
- I won't talk about it.
753
00:42:20,038 --> 00:42:23,373
- It might not have been wise
to have made that speech,
754
00:42:23,475 --> 00:42:24,941
but it needed to be said.
755
00:42:26,411 --> 00:42:28,356
Presidents can just go to
war because they want to,
756
00:42:28,380 --> 00:42:29,545
it's outrageous.
757
00:42:31,116 --> 00:42:32,415
- Well
758
00:42:33,752 --> 00:42:36,853
- I'm afraid this might
be my one and only term.
759
00:42:38,623 --> 00:42:40,423
- You'll make other speeches.
760
00:42:47,132 --> 00:42:48,132
I know you will.
761
00:42:52,337 --> 00:42:55,004
- At the end of 1849,
he's a lame duck,
762
00:42:55,106 --> 00:42:57,146
he comes back to
Springfield, Illinois,
763
00:42:57,208 --> 00:43:00,677
very dispirited,
he's out of politics.
764
00:43:00,779 --> 00:43:03,813
- He felt like a failure,
he wasn't popular.
765
00:43:03,915 --> 00:43:05,782
He embarrassed himself.
766
00:43:05,884 --> 00:43:08,051
- So he
turns back to the law,
767
00:43:08,153 --> 00:43:11,688
traveling the big eighth
judicial circuit in Illinois.
768
00:43:12,724 --> 00:43:15,558
- He was quite happy
early in his marriage.
769
00:43:15,660 --> 00:43:18,761
They had a nice home on
Jackson Street in Springfield.
770
00:43:18,863 --> 00:43:22,665
He had two children at that
time, Robert and Edward.
771
00:43:22,767 --> 00:43:24,578
- And as Lincoln
is practicing law
772
00:43:24,602 --> 00:43:26,380
and making a
reputation for himself,
773
00:43:26,404 --> 00:43:30,340
the country is increasingly
having to deal with slavery.
774
00:43:31,476 --> 00:43:34,310
- The issue
is dividing the nation.
775
00:43:34,412 --> 00:43:36,245
- The slave holding south
776
00:43:36,348 --> 00:43:38,815
wants to to not only
maintain slavery,
777
00:43:38,917 --> 00:43:41,484
but also be able
to expand it west
778
00:43:41,586 --> 00:43:43,497
into those territories
that have been acquired
779
00:43:43,521 --> 00:43:45,254
through the war with Mexico.
780
00:43:45,357 --> 00:43:47,857
- And then the Fugitive
Slave Act of 1850
781
00:43:47,959 --> 00:43:50,293
says northern states
have an obligation
782
00:43:50,395 --> 00:43:52,862
to return slaves that have fled
783
00:43:52,964 --> 00:43:54,697
from the south into the north.
784
00:43:54,799 --> 00:43:57,600
And the north is up in arms,
they are absolutely livid.
785
00:43:57,702 --> 00:43:59,102
- People are being kidnapped,
786
00:43:59,204 --> 00:44:01,337
bounty hunters are
going into the north
787
00:44:01,439 --> 00:44:02,872
and capturing free people,
788
00:44:02,974 --> 00:44:04,885
whether they've been free
for generations or not,
789
00:44:04,909 --> 00:44:07,021
it just is if you got
a random black person
790
00:44:07,045 --> 00:44:10,146
and I can get to 'em, I can
capture them and take them away.
791
00:44:10,248 --> 00:44:11,781
Lincoln is aware of all this.
792
00:44:11,883 --> 00:44:13,316
- At the same time,
793
00:44:13,418 --> 00:44:15,885
the abolitionists they're
agitating against slavery
794
00:44:15,987 --> 00:44:17,987
through the formation
of societies,
795
00:44:18,089 --> 00:44:19,956
publication of newspapers,
796
00:44:20,058 --> 00:44:22,525
the lecturers that are
going about the country,
797
00:44:22,627 --> 00:44:25,028
whipping folks up
against slavery.
798
00:44:25,130 --> 00:44:27,041
- The most important
abolitionists
799
00:44:27,065 --> 00:44:29,010
are formerly enslaved
men and women.
800
00:44:29,034 --> 00:44:32,535
What better way to
describe slavery
801
00:44:32,637 --> 00:44:34,804
than someone like a
Frederick Douglass.
802
00:44:34,906 --> 00:44:36,272
- After escaping from slavery,
803
00:44:36,374 --> 00:44:39,008
Frederick Douglass wrote
his first autobiography.
804
00:44:39,110 --> 00:44:41,778
It became a bestseller,
made him a household name.
805
00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:43,946
It made him an
instant celebrity,
806
00:44:44,049 --> 00:44:46,649
and he joined the
anti-slavery lecture circuit.
807
00:44:49,087 --> 00:44:54,757
- What to the American
slave is your 4th of July?
808
00:44:57,062 --> 00:45:00,730
I answer, a day
that reveals to him
809
00:45:00,832 --> 00:45:03,533
more than all other
days in the year,
810
00:45:03,635 --> 00:45:06,903
the gross injustice and cruelty
811
00:45:07,005 --> 00:45:10,173
to which he is the
constant victim.
812
00:45:10,275 --> 00:45:13,643
To him, your
celebration is a sham.
813
00:45:13,745 --> 00:45:19,916
Your shouts of liberty and
equality, hollow mockery.
814
00:45:20,718 --> 00:45:22,418
Your sermons and Thanksgivings
815
00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:25,455
with all their religious
parade and solemnity
816
00:45:25,557 --> 00:45:29,926
are to him mere, bombast,
fraud, deception,
817
00:45:30,028 --> 00:45:32,128
impiety and hypocrisy.
818
00:45:33,098 --> 00:45:35,098
A thin veil to cover up crimes
819
00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:38,234
which would disgrace
a nation of savages.
820
00:45:38,336 --> 00:45:41,471
There's not a
nation on this earth
821
00:45:41,573 --> 00:45:45,374
guilty of practices
more shocking and bloody
822
00:45:45,477 --> 00:45:48,511
than are the people
of these United States
823
00:45:48,613 --> 00:45:50,947
at this very hour.
824
00:46:07,632 --> 00:46:10,633
- Gents of the jury, if
it's all right by you,
825
00:46:10,735 --> 00:46:13,503
I'll just remind you of a few
of the facts of this case.
826
00:46:14,506 --> 00:46:16,005
Poor Mr. Fleming,
827
00:46:16,107 --> 00:46:18,774
he almost got burnt in a fire,
828
00:46:18,877 --> 00:46:21,677
and his legs, they were
broken, getting away.
829
00:46:22,981 --> 00:46:26,315
Now, Mr. Fleming, he begged
the doctor to fix him up
830
00:46:26,417 --> 00:46:28,885
and well, my client obliged.
831
00:46:28,987 --> 00:46:31,187
But now Fleming is complaining
832
00:46:31,289 --> 00:46:33,489
that one of his
legs didn't straight
833
00:46:33,591 --> 00:46:35,551
and that it's the
doctor's fault.
834
00:46:36,661 --> 00:46:40,296
And I do, I reckon that's his
right, to complain, I mean.
835
00:46:40,398 --> 00:46:42,798
- Lincoln was an
extraordinarily good lawyer.
836
00:46:42,901 --> 00:46:44,867
When he was in front of a jury,
837
00:46:44,969 --> 00:46:47,703
he sort of was just having
a conversation with them.
838
00:46:47,805 --> 00:46:51,240
- Usually judge David Davis
was the presiding judge.
839
00:46:51,342 --> 00:46:53,120
He became a good
friend of Lincoln's.
840
00:46:53,144 --> 00:46:55,578
- Your honor, may I
perform a demonstration?
841
00:46:59,651 --> 00:47:02,185
This is the bone
of a young chicken.
842
00:47:07,959 --> 00:47:08,959
Pretty flexible.
843
00:47:10,595 --> 00:47:12,595
Probably heal pretty
good if injured.
844
00:47:14,365 --> 00:47:17,433
Now this is the bone of one
that's done some living.
845
00:47:24,108 --> 00:47:26,308
Your honor, may I ask
the plaintiff to stand?
846
00:47:26,377 --> 00:47:27,443
- Stand up.
847
00:47:30,815 --> 00:47:32,014
- Gentlemen of the jury,
848
00:47:33,918 --> 00:47:37,920
I think you'll all agree
that Mr. Fleming here is,
849
00:47:39,123 --> 00:47:40,489
well, he's no spring chicken.
850
00:47:43,861 --> 00:47:46,028
- I ain't none kinda chicken.
851
00:47:46,130 --> 00:47:48,275
- But you are complaining
that you now have a limp
852
00:47:48,299 --> 00:47:50,099
and you want some money for it.
853
00:47:50,201 --> 00:47:51,601
Now, if it were me,
854
00:47:51,703 --> 00:47:55,004
I'd get down on my knees and
thank my heavenly father.
855
00:47:55,106 --> 00:48:00,076
And also this doctor for
legs to stand on at all.
856
00:48:04,215 --> 00:48:06,175
Thank you, judge,
nothing further.
857
00:48:08,186 --> 00:48:11,621
- Lincoln is so good
at persuading a jury,
858
00:48:11,723 --> 00:48:13,834
he's almost imagining
that he's really had
859
00:48:13,858 --> 00:48:16,559
his political game for his life.
860
00:48:16,661 --> 00:48:18,995
It's about as far as
he's likely to get.
861
00:48:19,097 --> 00:48:20,596
- He was very well-respected.
862
00:48:20,698 --> 00:48:23,566
He established the most
successful law practice
863
00:48:23,668 --> 00:48:25,001
in central Illinois.
864
00:48:25,103 --> 00:48:28,271
- Lincoln's able to make a
good living, ride circuit,
865
00:48:28,373 --> 00:48:30,740
and tell tall tales
and tell funny stories.
866
00:48:30,842 --> 00:48:34,176
He's got this self-deprecating
humor and folksy charm
867
00:48:34,279 --> 00:48:36,245
combined with a high intellect.
868
00:48:36,347 --> 00:48:37,791
That's a pretty
potent combination.
869
00:48:37,815 --> 00:48:39,215
- He's reading philosophy,
870
00:48:39,317 --> 00:48:40,928
he's reading history
and literature.
871
00:48:40,952 --> 00:48:42,451
He's growing his mind.
872
00:48:42,553 --> 00:48:44,231
- And then Stephen A. Douglas,
873
00:48:44,255 --> 00:48:45,721
Lincoln's long time rival,
874
00:48:45,823 --> 00:48:47,735
United States,
Senator from Illinois,
875
00:48:47,759 --> 00:48:50,826
introduced a law in 1854
876
00:48:50,928 --> 00:48:54,697
that he thought would end
slavery agitation forever.
877
00:48:54,799 --> 00:48:57,333
And it was called the
Kansas Nebraska Act.
878
00:48:57,435 --> 00:48:59,402
- The Kansas Nebraska Act
879
00:48:59,504 --> 00:49:02,505
says the new territories
of Kansas Nebraska,
880
00:49:02,607 --> 00:49:04,006
when they come into the union
881
00:49:04,108 --> 00:49:06,942
can choose themselves
by popular sovereignty
882
00:49:07,045 --> 00:49:08,155
whether they want to come in
883
00:49:08,179 --> 00:49:10,513
as a free state
or a slave state.
884
00:49:10,615 --> 00:49:11,981
- With this act,
885
00:49:12,083 --> 00:49:14,361
the balance between free
states and enslave states
886
00:49:14,385 --> 00:49:16,552
is going to be
thrown into jeopardy.
887
00:49:16,654 --> 00:49:18,694
Since the Missouri
Compromise of 1820,
888
00:49:18,790 --> 00:49:21,123
northerners thought
slavery will never
889
00:49:21,225 --> 00:49:23,726
be north of the southern
border of Missouri.
890
00:49:23,828 --> 00:49:27,596
Now, potentially there could
be even more slave states
891
00:49:27,699 --> 00:49:29,765
and they will have
even more power.
892
00:49:29,867 --> 00:49:32,027
- And that's just
unacceptable, to Lincoln.
893
00:49:32,103 --> 00:49:34,670
Rather than reduce and
ultimately eliminate
894
00:49:34,772 --> 00:49:36,717
the existence of slavery
in this country over time,
895
00:49:36,741 --> 00:49:38,152
which is how
Lincoln imagined it,
896
00:49:38,176 --> 00:49:40,710
this might allow
slavery's power to grow.
897
00:49:41,746 --> 00:49:43,746
- But he's
out of politics.
898
00:49:43,848 --> 00:49:46,415
He's still on the road
throughout his judicial circuit,
899
00:49:46,517 --> 00:49:49,318
making friends
and telling jokes.
900
00:49:49,420 --> 00:49:51,454
- So we stayed
with this old lady.
901
00:49:51,556 --> 00:49:52,755
Now, this fella',
902
00:49:52,857 --> 00:49:55,024
he loved anything to
do with our revolution
903
00:49:55,126 --> 00:49:57,793
and he venerated any
artifacts he found.
904
00:49:57,895 --> 00:50:00,396
So when he had heard
that this old woman
905
00:50:00,498 --> 00:50:02,643
still had a dress that
she'd worn during that time,
906
00:50:02,667 --> 00:50:05,434
oh, he begged her
to bring it out.
907
00:50:05,536 --> 00:50:09,538
Well, the lady, she takes out
this dusty dress from a trunk
908
00:50:09,640 --> 00:50:12,308
and this fella is so excited
909
00:50:12,410 --> 00:50:14,643
that he oh so
tenderly kisses it.
910
00:50:15,847 --> 00:50:18,848
Well, he old woman
watches this and she says,
911
00:50:18,950 --> 00:50:21,484
mister, if you want
to kiss something old,
912
00:50:21,586 --> 00:50:23,252
why don't you kiss my ass?
913
00:50:23,354 --> 00:50:26,021
It's 16 years older
than that dress.
914
00:50:30,828 --> 00:50:34,296
- Evening edition, the
Kansas Nebraska Act,
915
00:50:34,399 --> 00:50:35,399
they passed it.
916
00:50:37,535 --> 00:50:39,869
- There goes the compromise.
- Good riddance.
917
00:50:39,971 --> 00:50:41,437
- No, Douglas is a fool!
918
00:50:42,273 --> 00:50:43,472
- Let the people decide.
919
00:50:43,574 --> 00:50:46,208
- You're talking rubbish!
- This is a democracy!
920
00:50:50,214 --> 00:50:52,915
- Lincoln
was outraged by this.
921
00:50:53,017 --> 00:50:54,750
- There comes a point for him
922
00:50:54,852 --> 00:50:59,789
when morality and the idea of
the expansion of human dignity
923
00:51:01,325 --> 00:51:02,725
takes the fore.
924
00:51:06,564 --> 00:51:07,564
- Abe?
925
00:51:10,301 --> 00:51:14,570
- Judge, you say that A
is white and B is black.
926
00:51:15,840 --> 00:51:19,041
So, it's color that
dictates that hierarchy?
927
00:51:21,212 --> 00:51:23,746
- Abe, it's five in the morning.
928
00:51:23,848 --> 00:51:25,147
You've been up all night?
929
00:51:26,117 --> 00:51:27,394
- I've got to start
at the beginning
930
00:51:27,418 --> 00:51:29,552
in order to see this
through to the end.
931
00:51:31,389 --> 00:51:33,469
That's what this is
all about, isn't it?
932
00:51:34,492 --> 00:51:37,126
A lighter man having the
right to enslave the darker?
933
00:51:38,830 --> 00:51:42,798
By that rule, you oughta be
slave to the first man you meet
934
00:51:42,900 --> 00:51:44,711
with a fairer skin
than your own.
935
00:51:44,735 --> 00:51:46,980
- That's not all there is
to it, and you know it.
936
00:51:47,004 --> 00:51:48,615
- So it's not just
color that justifies
937
00:51:48,639 --> 00:51:50,339
one man owning another?
938
00:51:50,441 --> 00:51:53,609
- There are other ways a man
might be superior to another.
939
00:51:53,711 --> 00:51:56,345
- You're saying that whites
are intellectually superior?
940
00:51:56,447 --> 00:51:58,981
And so they have a
right to enslave blacks?
941
00:51:59,083 --> 00:52:00,828
Follow that rule and
you're bound to be slave
942
00:52:00,852 --> 00:52:03,385
to the first man you meet
that's smarter than you.
943
00:52:04,455 --> 00:52:06,400
- Well, then I'm your
slave, Abe.
944
00:52:06,424 --> 00:52:07,289
- No.
945
00:52:07,391 --> 00:52:08,502
- Unless you are fool enough
946
00:52:08,526 --> 00:52:11,193
to think you can figure
it all out in one night.
947
00:52:12,296 --> 00:52:14,256
- But it has got
to be figured out.
948
00:52:17,201 --> 00:52:18,201
Can't you see?
949
00:52:20,137 --> 00:52:21,570
This, this Kansas Act,
950
00:52:22,874 --> 00:52:25,508
just opened the door to
slavery in every single state.
951
00:52:27,278 --> 00:52:29,578
Gonna be a big argument
in this country, judge.
952
00:52:30,848 --> 00:52:32,348
I intend to be ready for it.
953
00:53:25,786 --> 00:53:27,186
- Get him!
954
00:53:34,929 --> 00:53:35,929
Get him!
955
00:53:40,668 --> 00:53:42,501
- Call it Bleeding Kansas.
956
00:53:42,603 --> 00:53:44,603
That Kansas Nebraska
Act kicks open
957
00:53:44,705 --> 00:53:47,239
the door to slavery
existing anywhere
958
00:53:47,341 --> 00:53:50,009
and that leads to
serious bloodshed.
959
00:53:50,111 --> 00:53:53,112
- Most settlers want
Kansas to be a free state,
960
00:53:53,214 --> 00:53:54,992
but border ruffians
from Missouri,
961
00:53:55,016 --> 00:53:59,885
which was a slave state, invade
Kansas and steal elections
962
00:54:00,721 --> 00:54:02,054
to try to make it a slave state.
963
00:54:02,156 --> 00:54:04,556
There's a full
fledged war going on.
964
00:54:06,260 --> 00:54:07,926
- For Lincoln, the young lawyer,
965
00:54:08,029 --> 00:54:12,164
there's this series of
events from 1850 through 1860
966
00:54:12,266 --> 00:54:14,466
that are going to sharply shape
967
00:54:14,568 --> 00:54:16,813
his thinking about what's
happening to his country.
968
00:54:16,837 --> 00:54:18,782
- There's the
fugitive slave law,
969
00:54:18,806 --> 00:54:20,839
there's the Kansas Nebraska Act,
970
00:54:20,941 --> 00:54:23,142
there's the Dred Scott decision.
971
00:54:23,244 --> 00:54:26,045
- Dred Scott is an
enslaved man in Missouri
972
00:54:26,147 --> 00:54:29,481
who was taken to a free state,
so he sues for his freedom
973
00:54:29,583 --> 00:54:32,384
on the basis of having
been in a free state.
974
00:54:32,486 --> 00:54:34,219
And this case goes all the way
975
00:54:34,322 --> 00:54:36,322
to the United States
Supreme Court.
976
00:54:36,424 --> 00:54:38,791
- The Dred Scott decision
essentially says that,
977
00:54:38,893 --> 00:54:42,361
black Americans, if they're
enslaved their property, period,
978
00:54:42,463 --> 00:54:44,963
and therefore they don't
have a right to suit.
979
00:54:45,066 --> 00:54:47,433
- The Supreme Court
ruled that black people
980
00:54:47,535 --> 00:54:50,336
had never been and could not be
981
00:54:50,438 --> 00:54:52,304
citizens of the United States.
982
00:54:52,406 --> 00:54:53,772
So blacks have no rights,
983
00:54:53,874 --> 00:54:56,875
which white men are
bound to respect.
984
00:54:56,977 --> 00:54:59,311
- Which leads us to John Brown.
985
00:54:59,413 --> 00:55:02,581
John Brown is an
abolitionist zealot.
986
00:55:02,683 --> 00:55:06,819
He settled in Kansas and he
believes through his faith
987
00:55:06,921 --> 00:55:10,255
that it is his calling and
his purpose in this life
988
00:55:10,358 --> 00:55:15,828
to end the atrocity of
slavery in the United States,
989
00:55:15,930 --> 00:55:18,063
because it's an
antithesis to God.
990
00:55:18,165 --> 00:55:22,301
- John Brown was either
a maniac or a saint.
991
00:55:22,403 --> 00:55:26,705
He was a white man who cared
enough about black freedom
992
00:55:26,807 --> 00:55:30,642
to try to start a revolution.
993
00:55:30,745 --> 00:55:33,746
And in Kansas, John
Brown hacked to death
994
00:55:33,848 --> 00:55:36,115
five pro slavery men.
995
00:55:37,418 --> 00:55:39,752
- Lincoln saw that all
these series of events
996
00:55:39,854 --> 00:55:41,553
divided the country.
997
00:55:41,655 --> 00:55:43,222
It divided every party.
998
00:55:43,324 --> 00:55:46,258
The Whig Party divides
between the anti-slavery Whigs
999
00:55:46,360 --> 00:55:47,471
and the pro-slavery Whigs.
1000
00:55:47,495 --> 00:55:48,894
The Democratic Party divides
1001
00:55:48,996 --> 00:55:50,574
between the
anti-slavery Democrats
1002
00:55:50,598 --> 00:55:52,164
and the pro-slavery Democrats.
1003
00:55:52,266 --> 00:55:54,010
The Whig Party eventually
is gonna collapse
1004
00:55:54,034 --> 00:55:55,434
as a result of this.
1005
00:55:55,536 --> 00:55:57,776
And out of this comes
the New Republican Party.
1006
00:55:59,106 --> 00:56:01,273
- This new party,
this Republican Party,
1007
00:56:01,375 --> 00:56:04,376
begins in earnest
in the early 1850s
1008
00:56:04,478 --> 00:56:06,712
and its platform
isn't anti-slavery,
1009
00:56:06,814 --> 00:56:10,416
it's no extension of slavery
into the western territories.
1010
00:56:10,518 --> 00:56:13,185
- But there are radical
Republicans who say,
1011
00:56:13,287 --> 00:56:18,257
slavery is vile, evil, we
need to get rid of slavery.
1012
00:56:18,793 --> 00:56:21,326
- In the late 1850s, the
rhetoric within Congress
1013
00:56:21,429 --> 00:56:24,129
was becoming increasingly hot.
1014
00:56:24,231 --> 00:56:26,198
Charles Sumner of Massachusetts
1015
00:56:26,300 --> 00:56:29,668
was one of the radical wing
of the Republican Party.
1016
00:56:29,770 --> 00:56:32,938
He had made a speech called
"The Crime against Kansas"
1017
00:56:33,040 --> 00:56:34,540
on the floor of Congress,
1018
00:56:34,642 --> 00:56:36,975
where he used very
salacious language
1019
00:56:37,077 --> 00:56:40,446
about a US Senator from South
Carolina named Andrew Butler.
1020
00:56:41,649 --> 00:56:42,815
- Senator Sumner,
1021
00:56:44,185 --> 00:56:48,086
you have impugn the honor of
my cousin, Senator Butler.
1022
00:56:49,123 --> 00:56:53,125
- All I've done is told
the world the truth,
1023
00:56:53,227 --> 00:56:56,662
that your cousin backs
the hideous Kansas Act
1024
00:56:58,098 --> 00:57:02,301
and he has a mistress who
he obeys without question.
1025
00:57:05,473 --> 00:57:10,642
An ugly mistress,
whose name is slavery.
1026
00:57:33,067 --> 00:57:34,978
- Sumner's carried
out unconscious,
1027
00:57:35,002 --> 00:57:37,336
unable to return to the
Senate for three years.
1028
00:57:38,239 --> 00:57:39,738
After the caning of Sumner,
1029
00:57:39,840 --> 00:57:42,407
in the north there is
a visceral reaction
1030
00:57:42,510 --> 00:57:45,177
to an attack right
in the Capitol.
1031
00:57:45,279 --> 00:57:46,645
Rallies are formed,
1032
00:57:46,747 --> 00:57:49,748
mass numbers of people begin
to join the Republican Party.
1033
00:57:49,850 --> 00:57:51,294
Meanwhile, in the
south, however,
1034
00:57:51,318 --> 00:57:53,318
Preston Brooks
has become a hero.
1035
00:57:53,420 --> 00:57:55,198
People start
carrying canes around
1036
00:57:55,222 --> 00:57:57,000
as if they're gonna
attack somebody.
1037
00:57:57,024 --> 00:57:58,602
The split between the
north and the south
1038
00:57:58,626 --> 00:58:00,586
goes deeper and
deeper and deeper.
1039
00:58:00,628 --> 00:58:02,672
- Lincoln's so unsettled
by what's happening
1040
00:58:02,696 --> 00:58:05,063
that he decides, I need
to be a part of this.
1041
00:58:05,165 --> 00:58:08,166
This is an ambition he
had since he was young
1042
00:58:08,269 --> 00:58:11,270
to be a part of something
that was bigger than himself.
1043
00:58:11,372 --> 00:58:13,705
- He may have been somewhat
content being a lawyer,
1044
00:58:13,807 --> 00:58:16,308
but he obviously still
had the political bug.
1045
00:58:16,410 --> 00:58:17,776
He still had the itch.
1046
00:58:17,878 --> 00:58:20,123
- Lincoln helped form the
Republican Party in Illinois.
1047
00:58:20,147 --> 00:58:22,848
And he becomes the
leading candidate in 1858
1048
00:58:22,950 --> 00:58:24,616
for the next Senate run,
1049
00:58:24,718 --> 00:58:26,919
running against Stephen Douglas,
1050
00:58:27,021 --> 00:58:29,688
who was not only now
already a Senator,
1051
00:58:29,790 --> 00:58:32,591
but he's the presumptive
presidential candidate in 1860
1052
00:58:32,693 --> 00:58:34,593
for the Democratic Party.
1053
00:58:34,695 --> 00:58:36,439
- Lincoln gives an
acceptance speech
1054
00:58:36,463 --> 00:58:39,131
and it's the most radical
thing he's ever said.
1055
00:58:39,233 --> 00:58:41,900
And his friends,
hearing him rehearse it,
1056
00:58:42,002 --> 00:58:44,369
had begged him not to
deliver that speech.
1057
00:58:44,471 --> 00:58:46,672
They thought it
would end his career.
1058
00:58:46,774 --> 00:58:49,575
- Lincoln's speech
uses a biblical phrase
1059
00:58:49,677 --> 00:58:54,313
from the book of Mark, calling
America a house divided.
1060
00:58:54,415 --> 00:58:57,583
- He declares, a house
divided shall not stand.
1061
00:58:57,685 --> 00:59:00,319
We can't have a nation that's
half slave and half free.
1062
00:59:00,421 --> 00:59:03,288
It does mark a turning
point in his mind.
1063
00:59:03,390 --> 00:59:06,224
He recognizes that in
his political life,
1064
00:59:06,327 --> 00:59:08,238
he's gonna have to
object to slavery
1065
00:59:08,262 --> 00:59:11,129
in a way that is tougher
and more controversial.
1066
00:59:12,333 --> 00:59:14,700
- Lincoln begins to
campaign through the state
1067
00:59:14,802 --> 00:59:18,270
and invites Douglas to a
series of joint debates.
1068
00:59:18,372 --> 00:59:19,738
Douglas writes back and says,
1069
00:59:19,840 --> 00:59:22,118
I'm under no obligation
to meet jointly with you.
1070
00:59:22,142 --> 00:59:23,675
I'm the incumbent Senator,
1071
00:59:23,777 --> 00:59:27,245
I'm the most famous politician
in America at this moment.
1072
00:59:27,348 --> 00:59:30,515
Why am I going to give you
space on a platform with me?
1073
00:59:30,618 --> 00:59:31,917
But Douglas can't resist.
1074
00:59:35,189 --> 00:59:37,723
- How you doing, everyone?
1075
00:59:37,825 --> 00:59:40,092
Thank you so much
for coming out.
1076
00:59:40,194 --> 00:59:41,426
I Appreciate you.
1077
00:59:41,528 --> 00:59:43,306
- Douglas comes
in as the champion.
1078
00:59:43,330 --> 00:59:46,031
He comes in to train with
a special car decorated.
1079
00:59:46,133 --> 00:59:48,044
He comes with servants
and his secretaries.
1080
00:59:48,068 --> 00:59:51,236
- Mayor, good to see you.
1081
00:59:51,338 --> 00:59:52,449
- And
Lincoln has to walk
1082
00:59:52,473 --> 00:59:53,939
from one debate to another.
1083
00:59:55,242 --> 00:59:57,743
The reputation of
Lincoln and Douglas
1084
00:59:57,845 --> 00:59:59,144
were both on the line here.
1085
01:00:00,447 --> 01:00:02,058
- They
literally are setting up
1086
01:00:02,082 --> 01:00:04,916
the conflict in the nation.
1087
01:00:17,865 --> 01:00:21,633
- Now I've known Lincoln from
when we were both young men,
1088
01:00:21,735 --> 01:00:25,037
and no one can compete
with him in wrestling,
1089
01:00:25,139 --> 01:00:30,509
or a foot race or on whiskey
in his grocery store.
1090
01:00:32,846 --> 01:00:35,714
We served on the state
legislature together.
1091
01:00:35,816 --> 01:00:39,918
And then Mr. Lincoln
submerged for a time,
1092
01:00:40,020 --> 01:00:44,456
until he reappeared in the
hallowed halls of Congress,
1093
01:00:44,558 --> 01:00:47,059
where he distinguished himself
1094
01:00:47,161 --> 01:00:50,962
by his opposition to
the war with Mexico.
1095
01:00:51,065 --> 01:00:56,001
Taking the side of the common
enemy against his own country.
1096
01:00:58,605 --> 01:01:00,572
And he, again, submerged.
1097
01:01:01,542 --> 01:01:05,043
He came up again in 1854,
1098
01:01:05,145 --> 01:01:08,113
this time in cahoots
with Fred Douglass
1099
01:01:08,215 --> 01:01:10,582
and his abolitionist friends,
1100
01:01:10,684 --> 01:01:16,088
just in time to create this
black Republican platform.
1101
01:01:17,691 --> 01:01:20,492
- That's right,
Douglas, hit him again.
1102
01:01:20,594 --> 01:01:21,827
- Lincoln you're two faced!
1103
01:01:24,064 --> 01:01:26,865
- If I had two faces you
think I'd be wearing this one?
1104
01:01:32,206 --> 01:01:34,706
- This old
rivalry has come to roost.
1105
01:01:34,808 --> 01:01:36,208
- Very good, very good.
1106
01:01:36,310 --> 01:01:38,643
- Lincoln felt that his
life had been a flat failure
1107
01:01:38,746 --> 01:01:40,078
compared to Douglas's.
1108
01:01:40,180 --> 01:01:42,247
Douglas had gotten
further than he had,
1109
01:01:42,349 --> 01:01:45,484
and now they're running against
each other for the Senate.
1110
01:01:45,586 --> 01:01:48,687
- Now, I am no giant
like judge Douglas.
1111
01:01:50,124 --> 01:01:51,289
I'm a mere mortal.
1112
01:01:52,392 --> 01:01:55,360
No, his ambition, it
far exceeds my own.
1113
01:01:56,663 --> 01:01:59,131
His party, they all expect
him to be president one day.
1114
01:02:01,101 --> 01:02:03,346
And then they will all reap
the benefits of his greatness.
1115
01:02:04,838 --> 01:02:08,440
But nobody has ever looked
at my lean, lank face
1116
01:02:08,542 --> 01:02:10,709
and expected me to be president.
1117
01:02:11,645 --> 01:02:12,885
- People come to these debates
1118
01:02:12,980 --> 01:02:15,480
with all the fervent
love and attention
1119
01:02:15,582 --> 01:02:18,717
that they would bring to a
giant sporting event today.
1120
01:02:18,819 --> 01:02:19,963
But these were more important
1121
01:02:19,987 --> 01:02:22,320
than any sporting
event could have been.
1122
01:02:22,422 --> 01:02:25,724
- I am here to talk
about basic principles.
1123
01:02:27,494 --> 01:02:29,761
Now, if the Negro is a man,
1124
01:02:30,731 --> 01:02:32,375
while then my ancient
faith teaches me
1125
01:02:32,399 --> 01:02:33,865
that all men are created equal,
1126
01:02:35,135 --> 01:02:37,936
and that there can
be no moral right
1127
01:02:38,038 --> 01:02:41,406
in connection with one man
making a slave of another.
1128
01:02:46,880 --> 01:02:49,581
- Now let's talk
about principle.
1129
01:02:50,951 --> 01:02:55,353
I care more for the great
principle of self government,
1130
01:02:56,156 --> 01:02:57,556
the right of the people to rule,
1131
01:02:57,658 --> 01:03:01,126
than I do for all the
Negros in Christiandom.
1132
01:03:02,863 --> 01:03:06,665
- When a white man governs
himself, that is self-governed.
1133
01:03:06,767 --> 01:03:08,633
But when he governed himself
1134
01:03:08,735 --> 01:03:10,902
and he also governs another man,
1135
01:03:11,004 --> 01:03:14,339
that is more than self
government, there is despotism.
1136
01:03:16,443 --> 01:03:22,013
- Mr. Lincoln and his ilk want
Negro equality in all things.
1137
01:03:23,116 --> 01:03:25,584
If they get their way,
1138
01:03:25,686 --> 01:03:30,021
Negroes and whites will
be permitted to marry.
1139
01:03:31,091 --> 01:03:34,226
Negroes will serve on juries.
1140
01:03:35,629 --> 01:03:37,495
Negroes will vote.
1141
01:03:39,366 --> 01:03:40,599
- During these debates,
1142
01:03:40,701 --> 01:03:44,169
Lincoln's not an
abolitionist by any stretch,
1143
01:03:44,271 --> 01:03:47,472
but he's inadvertently
making their arguments
1144
01:03:47,574 --> 01:03:51,176
as he's looking for logic
1145
01:03:51,278 --> 01:03:54,279
in the constitutionality
of all this.
1146
01:03:54,381 --> 01:03:57,749
- And he goes way
back to Euclid.
1147
01:03:57,851 --> 01:04:00,485
Euclid is very much about
how you prove something
1148
01:04:00,587 --> 01:04:02,954
beyond any shadow of a doubt.
1149
01:04:03,056 --> 01:04:07,192
And he's working toward crushing
the fallacious arguments
1150
01:04:07,294 --> 01:04:08,693
on behalf of slavery.
1151
01:04:09,696 --> 01:04:11,897
- But like most
people of the day,
1152
01:04:11,999 --> 01:04:14,165
he absolutely fervently believes
1153
01:04:14,268 --> 01:04:15,967
that black people are inferior,
1154
01:04:16,069 --> 01:04:18,109
and whether they're
enslaved or freed.
1155
01:04:19,339 --> 01:04:22,674
- Just because I believe
the Negro should be free,
1156
01:04:22,776 --> 01:04:25,443
does not mean that
I want to marry one.
1157
01:04:27,648 --> 01:04:31,650
As a nation, we
began by declaring
1158
01:04:31,752 --> 01:04:33,785
that all men are created equal.
1159
01:04:35,522 --> 01:04:39,157
We now practically read it
all men are created equal,
1160
01:04:39,259 --> 01:04:41,092
except Negroes.
1161
01:04:41,194 --> 01:04:44,529
Soon it will read, all
men are created equal
1162
01:04:44,631 --> 01:04:48,066
except Negroes and
foreigners and Catholics.
1163
01:04:50,337 --> 01:04:52,938
Negroes, like many other men,
1164
01:04:53,941 --> 01:04:56,574
may not be equal in all things.
1165
01:04:56,677 --> 01:04:58,877
But if they are men,
1166
01:04:58,979 --> 01:05:01,646
they are entitled to their right
1167
01:05:01,748 --> 01:05:05,083
to life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness.
1168
01:05:11,892 --> 01:05:15,193
The real issue, which
will last long after
1169
01:05:15,295 --> 01:05:17,796
the tongues of judge
Douglas and I are silent,
1170
01:05:17,898 --> 01:05:21,866
is the eternal struggle
between these two principles,
1171
01:05:22,602 --> 01:05:25,770
between right and wrong.
1172
01:05:35,349 --> 01:05:37,260
- What Lincoln
does so brilliantly
1173
01:05:37,284 --> 01:05:39,818
is he takes that core language
1174
01:05:39,920 --> 01:05:41,920
of the Declaration
of Independence
1175
01:05:42,022 --> 01:05:45,690
and turns it into a
nation's moral compass.
1176
01:05:46,927 --> 01:05:49,427
And he couples that
with constitutionality.
1177
01:05:49,529 --> 01:05:51,529
And he couples that
with scripture,
1178
01:05:51,631 --> 01:05:55,000
he has a really
powerful argument.
1179
01:05:56,069 --> 01:05:58,203
- This is where
Lincoln makes his name.
1180
01:05:58,305 --> 01:06:00,338
One debate after another.
1181
01:06:00,440 --> 01:06:03,475
Everything had prepared him
for the repertoire of talents
1182
01:06:03,577 --> 01:06:05,655
that he was able to
show in these debates.
1183
01:06:05,679 --> 01:06:08,213
He's telling
stories, he's funny.
1184
01:06:08,315 --> 01:06:11,449
He can talk philosophically,
he can talk politically.
1185
01:06:12,519 --> 01:06:14,097
- The Lincoln Douglas
debates helped Lincoln,
1186
01:06:14,121 --> 01:06:17,922
it raised his profile,
lifted him up a lot.
1187
01:06:18,025 --> 01:06:19,691
But he loses the election.
1188
01:06:21,328 --> 01:06:23,828
- One of the things about
Lincoln that's amazing
1189
01:06:23,930 --> 01:06:28,166
is that he loses a lot,
but the great ones in life
1190
01:06:29,302 --> 01:06:32,303
take a loss and they come back.
1191
01:06:33,540 --> 01:06:35,740
- Even though he
loses this election,
1192
01:06:35,842 --> 01:06:40,145
once again the loss becomes
a platform for him to grow.
1193
01:06:40,247 --> 01:06:43,515
Underlying it all is there's
a passion that he has,
1194
01:06:43,617 --> 01:06:46,184
a passion for that
cause of antislavery,
1195
01:06:46,286 --> 01:06:48,119
which is coming to a head.
1196
01:06:54,428 --> 01:06:59,397
- In 1859, John Brown,
who left Kansas.
1197
01:07:00,100 --> 01:07:02,801
He and his small band of
people, blacks and whites,
1198
01:07:02,903 --> 01:07:04,302
many of them his own children,
1199
01:07:04,404 --> 01:07:07,372
went into what was
then Western Virginia
1200
01:07:07,474 --> 01:07:08,840
to a town called Harper's Ferry,
1201
01:07:08,942 --> 01:07:12,610
which was a federal armory,
to attack the arsenal.
1202
01:07:13,480 --> 01:07:15,591
He's trying to organize an
army of interracial folks
1203
01:07:15,615 --> 01:07:18,450
to go into the south,
arm the slaves,
1204
01:07:18,552 --> 01:07:20,585
and destroy the slave system.
1205
01:07:20,687 --> 01:07:23,521
- Those who would not join
him, like Frederick Douglass,
1206
01:07:23,623 --> 01:07:27,759
gave him moral support
and gave him funds.
1207
01:07:27,861 --> 01:07:30,028
- The
attack was a disaster.
1208
01:07:30,130 --> 01:07:33,298
- John Brown was
captured and executed
1209
01:07:33,400 --> 01:07:35,600
and he sacrificed
two of his sons.
1210
01:07:37,771 --> 01:07:40,972
- In the south there
is an absolute fear
1211
01:07:41,074 --> 01:07:43,741
that there are more John
Browns out there lurking.
1212
01:07:43,844 --> 01:07:46,678
The thought of a
massive slave rebellion
1213
01:07:46,780 --> 01:07:48,580
unhinged white southerners.
1214
01:07:48,682 --> 01:07:52,016
And so we start to see
more talks about secession.
1215
01:07:52,119 --> 01:07:55,653
Meanwhile, many people in
the north celebrated Brown.
1216
01:07:55,755 --> 01:07:57,122
Church bells are tolling.
1217
01:07:57,224 --> 01:07:59,001
People thought that
what he had done
1218
01:07:59,025 --> 01:08:00,358
was the right thing to do.
1219
01:08:00,460 --> 01:08:02,794
Using violence to end slavery
1220
01:08:02,896 --> 01:08:05,096
in a way that most
Republican politicians,
1221
01:08:05,198 --> 01:08:06,231
including Lincoln,
1222
01:08:06,333 --> 01:08:09,300
were not willing to even
consider at this point.
1223
01:08:09,402 --> 01:08:12,070
And the reaction to
Brown is so important
1224
01:08:12,172 --> 01:08:14,973
in setting up the
election of 1860.
1225
01:08:15,976 --> 01:08:17,842
- In 1860, the Republican Party
1226
01:08:17,944 --> 01:08:20,545
was only running a second
presidential candidate.
1227
01:08:20,647 --> 01:08:23,047
Many Republicans assumed
that the famous New Yorker,
1228
01:08:23,150 --> 01:08:26,784
William Henry Seward, would
be the Republican nominee.
1229
01:08:26,887 --> 01:08:29,087
- Seward had carried the banner
1230
01:08:29,189 --> 01:08:31,234
of the anti-slavery
movement for a decade,
1231
01:08:31,258 --> 01:08:32,824
he was a great orator,
1232
01:08:32,926 --> 01:08:35,727
and beloved in large
sections of the north.
1233
01:08:35,829 --> 01:08:39,831
- But Dred Scott, Kansas
Nebraska Act, John Brown,
1234
01:08:39,933 --> 01:08:42,467
all these things have been
ripping the country apart.
1235
01:08:42,569 --> 01:08:43,735
Seward was not a candidate
1236
01:08:43,837 --> 01:08:46,204
who people saw as could
bring that together.
1237
01:08:46,306 --> 01:08:48,184
- So Republican
leaders in the east
1238
01:08:48,208 --> 01:08:51,743
began looking around for
other possible alternatives.
1239
01:08:51,845 --> 01:08:54,646
- The Young
Men's Republican Union
1240
01:08:54,748 --> 01:08:59,651
decides to organize a series
of lectures in New York.
1241
01:09:00,820 --> 01:09:02,565
- Lincoln accepted the
invitation immediately.
1242
01:09:02,589 --> 01:09:04,756
He was relatively
unknown in the east.
1243
01:09:04,858 --> 01:09:06,502
If he can make an
impression there,
1244
01:09:06,526 --> 01:09:09,027
then he can leave an
impression nationwide.
1245
01:09:09,129 --> 01:09:11,369
The day of the speech he
had his photograph taken
1246
01:09:11,398 --> 01:09:13,097
by Matthew Brady.
1247
01:09:13,200 --> 01:09:14,240
That's an awareness
1248
01:09:14,301 --> 01:09:16,634
that he's making himself
a national figure.
1249
01:09:18,104 --> 01:09:19,549
- I'd like to
start by expressing
1250
01:09:19,573 --> 01:09:21,873
my sincere gratitude to the
1251
01:09:21,975 --> 01:09:23,975
Young Men's Central
Republican Union
1252
01:09:24,077 --> 01:09:25,555
for all the work they've
done to publicize-
1253
01:09:25,579 --> 01:09:27,356
- By the time
he got to Cooper Union,
1254
01:09:27,380 --> 01:09:30,181
even though he's gotten a new
suit, it's badly wrinkled,
1255
01:09:30,283 --> 01:09:31,816
his hair was disheveled.
1256
01:09:31,918 --> 01:09:33,084
He does look awkward.
1257
01:09:34,854 --> 01:09:36,721
- That's Lincoln?
1258
01:09:36,823 --> 01:09:38,890
Looks like he slept in a barn.
1259
01:09:42,562 --> 01:09:44,862
- Mr. Lincoln, is there
anything you need?
1260
01:09:44,965 --> 01:09:46,698
- No, Mr. McCormick.
1261
01:09:48,268 --> 01:09:50,802
I reckon if I needed
anything, it's too late now.
1262
01:09:50,904 --> 01:09:53,171
- Eminent
citizen of the west,
1263
01:09:53,273 --> 01:09:57,442
ladies and gentlemen,
Mr. Abraham Lincoln of Illinois.
1264
01:10:17,297 --> 01:10:21,265
- Mister chairman and
citizens of New York.
1265
01:10:21,367 --> 01:10:22,834
The facts I will deal with,
1266
01:10:24,070 --> 01:10:28,206
the facts I will deal with
tonight are nothing new to you.
1267
01:10:29,175 --> 01:10:31,509
If there shall be any novelty,
1268
01:10:31,611 --> 01:10:33,444
it may be in the mode
1269
01:10:33,546 --> 01:10:36,414
of presenting the
facts and observations.
1270
01:10:36,516 --> 01:10:38,516
- Sounds like an
out of tune fiddle.
1271
01:10:38,618 --> 01:10:40,384
- Give him a chance.
1272
01:10:41,221 --> 01:10:42,453
- Lincoln comes out
1273
01:10:42,555 --> 01:10:45,723
with his Indiana hick
accent filling the air.
1274
01:10:45,825 --> 01:10:47,692
A man taking notes writes,
1275
01:10:47,794 --> 01:10:50,761
this is New York,
this will never do.
1276
01:10:50,864 --> 01:10:54,065
- And now if they would listen,
as I suppose they will not,
1277
01:10:54,167 --> 01:10:57,301
I would address a few words
to the southern people.
1278
01:10:57,403 --> 01:11:01,539
You have a specific and
well understood illusion
1279
01:11:01,641 --> 01:11:03,841
to an assumed
constitutional right
1280
01:11:05,044 --> 01:11:06,989
to take slaves into
federal territories
1281
01:11:07,013 --> 01:11:08,713
and hold them there as property.
1282
01:11:09,649 --> 01:11:10,715
But no such right
1283
01:11:10,817 --> 01:11:12,984
is specifically written
in the Constitution.
1284
01:11:14,020 --> 01:11:15,965
Your purpose then,
plainly stated,
1285
01:11:15,989 --> 01:11:18,990
is that you will
destroy the government
1286
01:11:19,092 --> 01:11:21,259
unless you be
allowed to construe
1287
01:11:21,361 --> 01:11:23,494
and enforce the
Constitution as pleased.
1288
01:11:24,631 --> 01:11:28,966
You will rule or
ruin in all events.
1289
01:11:29,068 --> 01:11:31,702
- Something happens
around 10 minutes in.
1290
01:11:32,939 --> 01:11:37,475
His voice relaxes, its
high pitch tininess melts
1291
01:11:37,577 --> 01:11:40,344
into something more
endurable, more bearable.
1292
01:11:40,446 --> 01:11:42,780
His eyes begin to flash.
1293
01:11:42,882 --> 01:11:45,550
- Wrong as we think slavery is,
1294
01:11:45,652 --> 01:11:48,819
we can yet afford to let
it alone where it is.
1295
01:11:48,922 --> 01:11:51,889
But can we allow it to spread
into the national territories
1296
01:11:51,991 --> 01:11:54,071
and overrun us here
in the free states?
1297
01:11:55,595 --> 01:11:58,763
If our sense of
duty forbids this,
1298
01:11:58,865 --> 01:12:04,368
then let us stand by our duty,
fearlessly and effectively.
1299
01:12:05,705 --> 01:12:10,675
Let us have faith that
right makes might.
1300
01:12:11,744 --> 01:12:15,379
And in that faith,
let us to the end,
1301
01:12:15,481 --> 01:12:18,649
dare to do our duty
as we understand it.
1302
01:12:23,489 --> 01:12:25,823
- Here here!
1303
01:12:25,925 --> 01:12:28,559
What do you think
of Lincoln now?
1304
01:12:32,298 --> 01:12:33,664
- I appreciate that very much.
1305
01:12:33,766 --> 01:12:36,167
I appreciate that very much.
1306
01:12:38,972 --> 01:12:40,972
- He
mesmerized this crowd.
1307
01:12:42,041 --> 01:12:46,043
- After the Cooper Union speech,
he was all over the media.
1308
01:12:46,145 --> 01:12:48,185
If it had been on
the internet today,
1309
01:12:48,281 --> 01:12:50,114
it would have gone viral.
1310
01:12:50,216 --> 01:12:53,084
- The next morning, every
newspaper in New York City
1311
01:12:53,186 --> 01:12:55,186
carried an account
of this speech.
1312
01:12:55,288 --> 01:12:58,956
And it's reprinted in Detroit,
in Washington, in Chicago,
1313
01:12:59,058 --> 01:13:02,193
even a German language
version of this speech.
1314
01:13:02,295 --> 01:13:04,161
- Invitations poured into him
1315
01:13:04,263 --> 01:13:07,264
to go on further speeches
all throughout New England.
1316
01:13:07,367 --> 01:13:10,034
- You have the 1860
election coming up.
1317
01:13:10,136 --> 01:13:12,169
There are some
Republicans who see
1318
01:13:12,271 --> 01:13:14,605
this guy in Lincoln
that is fresh,
1319
01:13:14,707 --> 01:13:17,375
he's folksy, he's moderate.
1320
01:13:17,477 --> 01:13:20,645
- He does seem to not be as
radical as William Seward,
1321
01:13:20,747 --> 01:13:23,381
the absolute front
runner or Salmon Chase,
1322
01:13:23,483 --> 01:13:25,049
the governor of Ohio.
1323
01:13:25,151 --> 01:13:27,229
He's not as conservative
as Edward Bates,
1324
01:13:27,253 --> 01:13:29,453
a judge, former
Congressman, from Missouri.
1325
01:13:29,555 --> 01:13:33,024
Those are the three main
contenders for the nomination.
1326
01:13:33,126 --> 01:13:35,459
So step-by-step, he's
accepting the fact that,
1327
01:13:35,561 --> 01:13:39,063
I'm really running for the
president of the United States.
1328
01:13:39,165 --> 01:13:41,205
And then he had this
extraordinary team
1329
01:13:41,300 --> 01:13:44,101
headed by judge Davis going
to be his representative
1330
01:13:44,203 --> 01:13:46,243
at the Republican
National Convention.
1331
01:13:46,305 --> 01:13:47,705
And they loved him.
1332
01:13:47,807 --> 01:13:49,418
They wanted to do everything
they could for him.
1333
01:13:49,442 --> 01:13:53,577
- Now judge, you've got to
make sure that everyone knows
1334
01:13:53,680 --> 01:13:54,957
which delegation
they're supposed
1335
01:13:54,981 --> 01:13:56,313
to make friends with in Chicago.
1336
01:13:56,416 --> 01:13:58,694
- I've drawn up a list for
our people to look after.
1337
01:13:58,718 --> 01:14:02,186
- Tell them not to press
too hard or fuss too much.
1338
01:14:02,288 --> 01:14:04,655
- We have to make some fuss.
1339
01:14:04,757 --> 01:14:06,235
There'll be a lot of
New York men there
1340
01:14:06,259 --> 01:14:08,092
pushing hard for Seward.
1341
01:14:08,194 --> 01:14:10,828
If he takes it on the
first ballot we're licked.
1342
01:14:10,930 --> 01:14:13,097
- He won't.
- He might.
1343
01:14:15,201 --> 01:14:17,902
I understand that I'm
not anybody's first love,
1344
01:14:18,004 --> 01:14:19,603
but I could be people's second.
1345
01:14:24,010 --> 01:14:26,210
If I'm the second biggest
frog in that puddle,
1346
01:14:26,279 --> 01:14:29,313
I got a fighting chance to
jump over the biggest one.
1347
01:14:30,383 --> 01:14:31,749
- What we've got to do
1348
01:14:31,851 --> 01:14:35,419
is get the delegates from
Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio
1349
01:14:36,723 --> 01:14:37,922
to go Lincoln.
1350
01:14:38,024 --> 01:14:40,057
- Isn't Ohio just
gonna go to Chase?
1351
01:14:40,159 --> 01:14:42,104
- Yeah, and Pennsylvania'll
be solid Cameron.
1352
01:14:42,128 --> 01:14:43,594
- That's just the first ballot.
1353
01:14:43,696 --> 01:14:46,030
They're gonna have to
switch to somebody.
1354
01:14:47,100 --> 01:14:50,367
But we're gonna have to
promise them something,
1355
01:14:51,571 --> 01:14:52,681
to make it worth their while.
1356
01:14:52,705 --> 01:14:54,071
- No.
1357
01:14:54,173 --> 01:14:55,639
No, judge.
1358
01:14:57,310 --> 01:14:59,477
Don't make any pledges
that will tie me up.
1359
01:15:02,482 --> 01:15:03,482
Okay?
1360
01:15:04,784 --> 01:15:07,451
I can't be there so you've
got to do as I would do.
1361
01:15:18,998 --> 01:15:20,375
- The Republican
National Committee
1362
01:15:20,399 --> 01:15:23,868
meets in May, 1860 in Chicago.
1363
01:15:24,804 --> 01:15:26,248
- It's a
very exciting thing,
1364
01:15:26,272 --> 01:15:28,572
the Republican Party
is feeling its oats.
1365
01:15:30,376 --> 01:15:32,910
- The presidential nominee
for the Republican Party,
1366
01:15:33,012 --> 01:15:36,180
needs 233 votes to win.
1367
01:15:37,383 --> 01:15:38,994
- So while
Lincoln is in Springfield,
1368
01:15:39,018 --> 01:15:41,986
he has his friends on
the ground in Chicago,
1369
01:15:42,088 --> 01:15:47,024
headed by Judge Davis,
organizing as busily as beavers.
1370
01:15:48,661 --> 01:15:49,661
- Order!
1371
01:15:50,963 --> 01:15:55,399
Fellow Republicans, please
join your delegations.
1372
01:15:55,501 --> 01:15:57,112
- His team knows
that the importance is
1373
01:15:57,136 --> 01:15:58,836
to win the battleground states,
1374
01:15:58,938 --> 01:16:01,572
Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, Indiana.
1375
01:16:01,674 --> 01:16:04,708
- We're about to begin
the first ballot.
1376
01:16:06,913 --> 01:16:09,880
- I know you're gonna vote
Cameron in the first ballot.
1377
01:16:09,982 --> 01:16:11,902
What about Lincoln
in the second?
1378
01:16:11,951 --> 01:16:13,951
Can you swing
Pennsylvania our way?
1379
01:16:14,720 --> 01:16:15,820
- That's a big ask.
1380
01:16:16,689 --> 01:16:17,922
- What's it gonna take?
1381
01:16:19,592 --> 01:16:20,592
- What've you got?
1382
01:16:24,997 --> 01:16:26,942
- As the first
round of voting goes,
1383
01:16:26,966 --> 01:16:29,934
Seward, as expected,
gets the most votes.
1384
01:16:30,036 --> 01:16:31,313
- The
extraordinary thing is
1385
01:16:31,337 --> 01:16:33,204
that Lincoln comes in second.
1386
01:16:33,306 --> 01:16:35,339
- Seward might
have some problems.
1387
01:16:35,441 --> 01:16:37,308
He's too radical.
1388
01:16:37,410 --> 01:16:39,076
The backdrop of all of this
1389
01:16:39,178 --> 01:16:41,512
is we've just dealt with
an execution of John Brown
1390
01:16:41,614 --> 01:16:43,981
and the fever around John Brown.
1391
01:16:44,083 --> 01:16:46,028
You've got this
relatively new party
1392
01:16:46,052 --> 01:16:49,687
talking about holding
slavery where it is,
1393
01:16:49,789 --> 01:16:52,289
but you also know that people
who have aligned themselves
1394
01:16:52,391 --> 01:16:55,226
with Republicans are
saying, end it now.
1395
01:16:55,328 --> 01:16:58,462
- And so the Republican Party
has to make a determination,
1396
01:16:58,564 --> 01:16:59,564
principle
1397
01:17:01,167 --> 01:17:02,233
electability.
1398
01:17:02,335 --> 01:17:05,369
- We're about to begin
the second ballot.
1399
01:17:06,239 --> 01:17:08,305
- So, what did Pennsylvania say?
1400
01:17:08,407 --> 01:17:10,541
- They want treasury
for Cameron.
1401
01:17:10,643 --> 01:17:12,683
- Abe said, make no
pledges, remember?
1402
01:17:13,946 --> 01:17:14,946
- Abe's not here.
1403
01:17:16,382 --> 01:17:17,781
- So what did you tell them?
1404
01:17:23,890 --> 01:17:27,024
- Lincoln is in
Springfield the entire time.
1405
01:17:27,126 --> 01:17:29,493
- Mr. Lincoln, good
luck for today.
1406
01:17:30,196 --> 01:17:32,429
- I appreciate that, Mr. Hay.
1407
01:17:32,531 --> 01:17:34,451
- Don't you have
anything for us?
1408
01:17:36,269 --> 01:17:39,937
- All I have is this
message from Judge Davis,
1409
01:17:41,007 --> 01:17:43,707
I'm very hopeful,
don't be excited.
1410
01:17:44,911 --> 01:17:46,277
Any idea what that means?
1411
01:17:47,680 --> 01:17:50,948
- After the second ballot,
Seward gains a few more votes,
1412
01:17:51,918 --> 01:17:53,284
Lincoln gains many more
1413
01:17:53,386 --> 01:17:56,220
as delegations now
switch to Lincoln.
1414
01:17:56,322 --> 01:17:57,688
They call for a third ballot.
1415
01:17:57,790 --> 01:18:00,124
- That idea that I would
like to be your second love
1416
01:18:00,226 --> 01:18:01,759
if I can't get your first love
1417
01:18:01,861 --> 01:18:04,228
means that people who might've
gone for Chase or Bates
1418
01:18:04,330 --> 01:18:05,696
now are going for Lincoln.
1419
01:18:05,798 --> 01:18:07,758
- That concludes
the third ballot.
1420
01:18:08,734 --> 01:18:12,202
And as yet, no candidate
has the majority.
1421
01:18:13,105 --> 01:18:14,939
So we will now reconvene.
1422
01:18:15,041 --> 01:18:17,274
- So on the final
round of voting,
1423
01:18:17,376 --> 01:18:21,345
Lincoln has 231
and a half votes.
1424
01:18:21,447 --> 01:18:24,481
All he needs is another
one and a half votes.
1425
01:18:28,421 --> 01:18:29,421
- Order.
1426
01:18:30,423 --> 01:18:31,423
Order!
1427
01:18:33,993 --> 01:18:38,829
The state of Ohio wishes
to change its vote.
1428
01:18:39,999 --> 01:18:42,800
Ohio, what is your final vote?
1429
01:18:44,103 --> 01:18:47,538
Ohio, give me a vote now,
what is your final vote?
1430
01:19:02,338 --> 01:19:03,949
Order!
1431
01:19:03,973 --> 01:19:07,441
The state of Ohio wishes
to change its vote.
1432
01:19:08,544 --> 01:19:13,247
It wishes to switch four
votes from Mr. Chase
1433
01:19:15,718 --> 01:19:20,587
to Mr. Lincoln.
1434
01:19:21,924 --> 01:19:26,794
- We've won.
1435
01:19:29,932 --> 01:19:33,934
- Send a telegram to
Springfield, straight away!
1436
01:19:37,239 --> 01:19:38,305
Yes!
1437
01:19:40,042 --> 01:19:42,743
Yes, yes, yes, Lincoln, Lincoln!
1438
01:19:45,281 --> 01:19:47,225
- The gentlemen walks
into the theater,
1439
01:19:47,249 --> 01:19:49,717
and sets his stovetop
hat down beside him.
1440
01:19:49,819 --> 01:19:51,730
Well, he gets so
wrapped up in the drama
1441
01:19:51,754 --> 01:19:54,455
that he didn't realize
that old stout woman
1442
01:19:54,557 --> 01:19:56,134
come and sit down
right next to him.
1443
01:19:56,158 --> 01:19:57,158
Yes?
1444
01:20:00,930 --> 01:20:01,930
It's from Chicago.
1445
01:20:12,475 --> 01:20:15,008
- Congratulations, sir.
1446
01:20:15,111 --> 01:20:18,245
- Mr. Hay, thank you.
1447
01:20:18,347 --> 01:20:20,125
Thank you, gentlemen.
- Congratulations.
1448
01:20:20,149 --> 01:20:21,515
- Thank you, gentlemen.
1449
01:20:21,617 --> 01:20:24,284
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
1450
01:20:24,386 --> 01:20:25,386
Wow.
1451
01:20:26,021 --> 01:20:30,691
Well, thank you. gentlemen.
1452
01:20:32,228 --> 01:20:33,293
If you'll excuse me,
1453
01:20:34,530 --> 01:20:35,640
there's a little
woman on Eighth Street
1454
01:20:35,664 --> 01:20:37,442
who will be glad
to hear the news.
1455
01:20:37,466 --> 01:20:38,665
- Yes she will.
1456
01:20:45,641 --> 01:20:47,875
- Lincoln's nomination
shocked people.
1457
01:20:48,711 --> 01:20:50,677
They had expected Seward to win,
1458
01:20:50,780 --> 01:20:52,379
but this new guy had won.
1459
01:20:52,481 --> 01:20:55,449
And there's an excitement
and they rally around him.
1460
01:20:55,551 --> 01:20:58,519
- When Lincoln gets the
nomination in May of 1860
1461
01:20:58,621 --> 01:21:02,122
in the north, he's
the surprise nominee.
1462
01:21:02,224 --> 01:21:05,526
He doesn't have that much
experience running anything.
1463
01:21:05,628 --> 01:21:07,528
He's not that well known.
1464
01:21:07,630 --> 01:21:10,130
- Frederick Douglass and
other African-Americans
1465
01:21:10,232 --> 01:21:12,566
were not too sure of Lincoln.
1466
01:21:12,668 --> 01:21:14,368
Just because he was a Republican
1467
01:21:14,470 --> 01:21:16,804
doesn't mean that this
man is an abolitionists
1468
01:21:16,906 --> 01:21:19,273
or that he's going
to do us any good.
1469
01:21:19,375 --> 01:21:22,342
- At the same time,
he's hated in the south,
1470
01:21:22,444 --> 01:21:26,113
and it was pretty
clearly a racist hatred.
1471
01:21:26,215 --> 01:21:29,049
There were accusations
that he had African blood
1472
01:21:29,151 --> 01:21:30,951
or his wife did.
1473
01:21:31,053 --> 01:21:33,921
Southern newspapers
call him terrible names,
1474
01:21:34,023 --> 01:21:36,390
he's a baboon, he's a gorilla.
1475
01:21:36,492 --> 01:21:39,159
He's illiterate, he's a tyrant.
1476
01:21:40,229 --> 01:21:42,207
- But going into the
general election,
1477
01:21:42,231 --> 01:21:45,199
there's a great possibility
that the Republicans will win,
1478
01:21:45,301 --> 01:21:47,668
because the Democratic
Party has split apart.
1479
01:21:49,004 --> 01:21:52,039
- There are four candidates
in the election of 1860.
1480
01:21:52,141 --> 01:21:54,641
Of course, Lincoln for
the Republican Party.
1481
01:21:54,743 --> 01:21:56,983
Meanwhile, the Democratic
Party has split itself
1482
01:21:57,012 --> 01:21:58,078
into two factions.
1483
01:21:58,180 --> 01:21:59,546
You have John Breckenridge,
1484
01:21:59,648 --> 01:22:01,982
who's representing the
white slaveholding south.
1485
01:22:02,084 --> 01:22:05,686
You have Stephen Douglas
representing white northerners.
1486
01:22:05,788 --> 01:22:08,989
And then you have the Union
Party led by John Bell.
1487
01:22:09,091 --> 01:22:11,592
- This is one of the
most exciting elections
1488
01:22:11,694 --> 01:22:14,194
in American history
to that point.
1489
01:22:14,296 --> 01:22:16,196
- The future of the nation,
1490
01:22:16,298 --> 01:22:19,766
the future of the democracy
really seemed at stake.
1491
01:22:19,869 --> 01:22:23,503
In Europe during this time,
some experiments in democracy
1492
01:22:23,606 --> 01:22:26,273
in France and Germany had failed
1493
01:22:26,375 --> 01:22:30,043
and had gone back to being
monarchies and dictatorships.
1494
01:22:30,145 --> 01:22:32,613
This great American
experiment in democracy
1495
01:22:32,715 --> 01:22:34,915
was so new and so fragile.
1496
01:22:36,318 --> 01:22:38,819
- Meanwhile, Lincoln's
at home in Springfield.
1497
01:22:38,921 --> 01:22:41,421
It was not considered
proper for a candidate
1498
01:22:41,523 --> 01:22:44,491
to really campaign for
himself in those days.
1499
01:22:44,593 --> 01:22:45,826
- But during the election,
1500
01:22:45,928 --> 01:22:48,462
Matthew Brady's
photograph of Lincoln
1501
01:22:48,564 --> 01:22:52,199
was so widely reproduced,
that picture was everywhere.
1502
01:22:52,301 --> 01:22:53,778
It was in illustrated
newspapers,
1503
01:22:53,802 --> 01:22:55,936
engravings for display,
1504
01:22:56,038 --> 01:22:58,338
pins you could
wear on your lapel.
1505
01:22:59,642 --> 01:23:01,808
- A few weeks
before the election,
1506
01:23:01,911 --> 01:23:04,322
Lincoln's receiving letters
from people and reading them.
1507
01:23:04,346 --> 01:23:07,514
And he receives a letter
from an 11 year old girl.
1508
01:23:07,616 --> 01:23:10,150
She asked him to grow a beard.
1509
01:23:10,252 --> 01:23:12,452
She said that she thought
he would look better
1510
01:23:12,521 --> 01:23:15,822
and Lincoln does grow a beard
and it looks good on him.
1511
01:23:15,925 --> 01:23:17,925
He's listening to
his constituency.
1512
01:23:19,194 --> 01:23:20,505
- The day of the
general election,
1513
01:23:20,529 --> 01:23:22,195
he's restless all day long.
1514
01:23:22,298 --> 01:23:24,665
He's been so familiar
with disappointment
1515
01:23:24,767 --> 01:23:27,768
that he just fears
something bad will happen.
1516
01:23:27,870 --> 01:23:30,230
About nine o'clock he and
Judge Davis and the friends
1517
01:23:30,306 --> 01:23:33,607
go to the Telegraph office to
hear the returns coming in.
1518
01:23:33,709 --> 01:23:35,075
Finally at midnight,
1519
01:23:35,177 --> 01:23:36,076
the word comes in
1520
01:23:36,178 --> 01:23:37,956
that New York has
gone Republican.
1521
01:23:37,980 --> 01:23:41,114
Then the church bells ring,
people gather in the streets.
1522
01:23:41,216 --> 01:23:42,616
This new guy had won.
1523
01:23:46,121 --> 01:23:47,599
And then he runs
home, as he says,
1524
01:23:47,623 --> 01:23:52,059
to tell Mary and famously says,
Mary Mary, we are elected.
1525
01:23:52,161 --> 01:23:54,661
Mary always believed
that he had a destiny.
1526
01:23:54,763 --> 01:23:55,874
She surely believed in him
1527
01:23:55,898 --> 01:23:57,342
at the lowest
moments of his life.
1528
01:23:57,366 --> 01:23:59,599
And now his great
moment has arrived.
1529
01:24:01,904 --> 01:24:04,638
- But Lincoln, our
most beloved president,
1530
01:24:04,740 --> 01:24:08,208
won with the second
worst popular vote.
1531
01:24:08,310 --> 01:24:12,946
He only got 39.8% of the
vote, which is very small.
1532
01:24:13,048 --> 01:24:15,682
We now get worried if
someone has less than 50%,
1533
01:24:15,784 --> 01:24:17,951
he had less than 40%.
1534
01:24:18,053 --> 01:24:19,653
In the electoral college he
1535
01:24:19,755 --> 01:24:22,055
got more than half, got 180,
1536
01:24:22,157 --> 01:24:23,523
but still it was not
1537
01:24:23,625 --> 01:24:25,292
a resounding victory.
1538
01:24:25,394 --> 01:24:28,261
- Southern states have been
saying, if this man is elected,
1539
01:24:28,364 --> 01:24:30,497
we will have no
choice but to secede.
1540
01:24:30,599 --> 01:24:32,366
And as soon as he is elected,
1541
01:24:32,468 --> 01:24:36,236
South Carolina decided to
have a secession convention
1542
01:24:36,338 --> 01:24:40,474
and by December of 1860, they
decide to leave the Union.
1543
01:24:41,543 --> 01:24:46,046
- In February of 1861,
seven US states seceded.
1544
01:24:46,148 --> 01:24:48,059
The Confederate
government formed
1545
01:24:48,083 --> 01:24:51,385
and puts Jefferson Davis
in place as president.
1546
01:24:51,487 --> 01:24:53,887
- They're seceding, for one
thing and one thing only,
1547
01:24:53,989 --> 01:24:57,124
and that is the preservation
of slavery and its expansion.
1548
01:24:57,226 --> 01:25:00,327
Anybody who says its'
states' rights, it's tariffs,
1549
01:25:00,429 --> 01:25:01,995
this is nonsense.
1550
01:25:02,097 --> 01:25:03,875
You have not read the
articles of secession
1551
01:25:03,899 --> 01:25:05,810
that every single
state laid out.
1552
01:25:05,834 --> 01:25:08,835
And in every single one of
them they've made very clear
1553
01:25:08,937 --> 01:25:10,470
why they are seceding.
1554
01:25:10,572 --> 01:25:13,106
And it is to preserve the
institution of slavery
1555
01:25:13,208 --> 01:25:16,777
to control that financial
interest forever.
1556
01:25:17,913 --> 01:25:20,580
- Lincoln believed
over optimistically,
1557
01:25:20,682 --> 01:25:21,848
that there was a way
1558
01:25:21,950 --> 01:25:23,728
to get these southern
slave holding states
1559
01:25:23,752 --> 01:25:27,154
back in the Union once he
actually got to Washington.
1560
01:25:28,023 --> 01:25:29,756
But before he left Illinois,
1561
01:25:29,858 --> 01:25:32,793
Lincoln decided to visit his
stepmother one more time.
1562
01:25:32,895 --> 01:25:35,729
He had refused to visit his
father on his death bed,
1563
01:25:35,831 --> 01:25:38,398
so his father died without
Lincoln seeing him again.
1564
01:25:39,268 --> 01:25:40,667
- If it were up to me,
1565
01:25:40,769 --> 01:25:42,849
you'd have no part
in being a president.
1566
01:25:44,173 --> 01:25:48,175
The way folks talk, I can't
help but worry about you.
1567
01:25:48,277 --> 01:25:50,644
- Oh, stop your
worrying, I'll be fine.
1568
01:25:57,719 --> 01:25:59,119
Gotta get him a proper stone.
1569
01:26:01,323 --> 01:26:02,923
- He'd be proud of you.
1570
01:26:07,663 --> 01:26:10,363
- You always see the
best in folks, momma.
1571
01:26:16,271 --> 01:26:19,606
We'll see each other
again, I promise.
1572
01:26:29,518 --> 01:26:32,486
- On February 11th, 1861,
1573
01:26:32,588 --> 01:26:36,723
Lincoln begins the train
journey to Washington D.C.
1574
01:26:36,825 --> 01:26:38,937
It would have been nice to
take the shortest route,
1575
01:26:38,961 --> 01:26:42,129
but he couldn't go through
Kentucky, the state he was born,
1576
01:26:42,231 --> 01:26:44,731
or Virginia, because
it was too dangerous.
1577
01:26:44,833 --> 01:26:45,977
He wrote a letter to a friend
1578
01:26:46,001 --> 01:26:47,912
that he was worried
he might be lynched.
1579
01:26:47,936 --> 01:26:50,570
So he has to go in this very
winding roundabout route
1580
01:26:50,672 --> 01:26:52,706
over 1900 miles.
1581
01:26:52,808 --> 01:26:54,752
Whenever Lincoln
comes in anywhere,
1582
01:26:54,776 --> 01:26:56,810
everybody comes out to see him.
1583
01:26:56,912 --> 01:27:00,514
- There's hope, but
there's also this fear.
1584
01:27:00,616 --> 01:27:01,736
People would have known
1585
01:27:01,783 --> 01:27:03,823
that the southern
states have seceded.
1586
01:27:03,886 --> 01:27:05,285
These are difficult times
1587
01:27:05,387 --> 01:27:07,165
and there are credible
assassination threats
1588
01:27:07,189 --> 01:27:08,688
against Lincoln.
1589
01:27:08,790 --> 01:27:10,468
- There was
intelligence of a
1590
01:27:10,492 --> 01:27:11,791
massive conspiracy
1591
01:27:11,894 --> 01:27:14,261
to try to assassinate him as
he came through Baltimore.
1592
01:27:15,631 --> 01:27:19,332
The leader of the plot had
a system of drawing lots,
1593
01:27:19,434 --> 01:27:22,536
pieces of paper with
a red dot on them.
1594
01:27:22,638 --> 01:27:25,672
And those who got a red dot
would try to kill Lincoln
1595
01:27:25,774 --> 01:27:29,743
with guns and
knives and grenades.
1596
01:27:29,845 --> 01:27:33,180
But Allen Pinkerton, who
was a railroad detective,
1597
01:27:33,282 --> 01:27:36,516
penetrated the conspiracy
with operatives.
1598
01:27:43,492 --> 01:27:45,425
- Davis?
- Mr. Pinkerton.
1599
01:27:46,929 --> 01:27:47,929
It's all true.
1600
01:27:50,199 --> 01:27:52,899
Anyone who picked one with
a red dot is an assassin.
1601
01:27:53,835 --> 01:27:56,002
- How many have red dots?
1602
01:27:56,104 --> 01:27:57,104
- Eight.
1603
01:27:57,706 --> 01:28:00,106
- It's worse than I thought.
1604
01:28:23,515 --> 01:28:25,226
- The door's locked
from the inside?
1605
01:28:25,250 --> 01:28:26,250
- Yes, ma'am.
1606
01:28:27,920 --> 01:28:28,920
- Key, please.
1607
01:28:30,956 --> 01:28:33,990
My uncle is an invalid, he
requires absolute privacy.
1608
01:28:34,092 --> 01:28:36,126
Do you understand?
1609
01:28:53,979 --> 01:28:56,019
- We'll take a special
overnight train.
1610
01:28:56,081 --> 01:28:57,480
I've cleared the tracks
1611
01:28:57,582 --> 01:28:59,982
and had the telegraph lanes
cut from here to Baltimore.
1612
01:29:00,018 --> 01:29:03,053
These men intend to create
a diversion with the police
1613
01:29:03,155 --> 01:29:05,288
and stab you to death.
1614
01:29:05,390 --> 01:29:06,790
- That's all?
1615
01:29:06,892 --> 01:29:08,425
Like Julius Caesar.
1616
01:29:08,527 --> 01:29:10,694
- You need to take
this seriously, Abe.
1617
01:29:10,796 --> 01:29:12,095
You have fierce enemies.
1618
01:29:13,031 --> 01:29:15,899
- If I sneak into the
Capitol with fear,
1619
01:29:16,001 --> 01:29:18,501
I'm showing good people
there's reason to fear.
1620
01:29:18,603 --> 01:29:21,638
- Sir, the worst thing
that could happen
1621
01:29:21,740 --> 01:29:23,907
is you don't make it
to Washington at all.
1622
01:29:24,977 --> 01:29:27,043
You can't risk being recognized.
1623
01:29:33,785 --> 01:29:34,785
- Take care of it.
1624
01:30:17,829 --> 01:30:20,330
- This is my associate,
Mrs. Kate Warne.
1625
01:30:20,432 --> 01:30:23,099
- Mr. Lincoln, it's an honor.
1626
01:30:23,201 --> 01:30:27,303
- Mrs. Warne, I am far to
plain to pass for your uncle.
1627
01:30:27,406 --> 01:30:28,772
- Not at all, sir.
1628
01:30:28,874 --> 01:30:30,106
- I take comfort in the idea
1629
01:30:30,208 --> 01:30:32,248
that common folk are
the best lookin'.
1630
01:30:32,344 --> 01:30:34,844
That's why the lord
made us so many.
1631
01:30:48,493 --> 01:30:49,559
Well
1632
01:30:50,762 --> 01:30:53,763
this is not how I planned
to get to Washington.
1633
01:30:58,570 --> 01:31:01,237
- Lincoln goes from
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
1634
01:31:01,339 --> 01:31:05,842
to Philadelphia, to
Baltimore, to Washington
1635
01:31:05,944 --> 01:31:09,712
at night in secret
wearing a disguise.
1636
01:31:09,815 --> 01:31:13,650
He arrives in Washington,
six A.M., unannounced,
1637
01:31:13,752 --> 01:31:15,785
and he was attacked
in the press,
1638
01:31:15,887 --> 01:31:19,489
depicted in these crazy
disguises, including kilts,
1639
01:31:19,591 --> 01:31:22,092
doing the McLincoln
Highland Fling,
1640
01:31:22,194 --> 01:31:23,726
and just ridiculed.
1641
01:31:23,829 --> 01:31:25,562
Not a good thing for a president
1642
01:31:25,664 --> 01:31:28,498
who was coming to Washington
to exhibit courage.
1643
01:31:28,600 --> 01:31:29,710
Frederick Douglass says,
1644
01:31:29,734 --> 01:31:32,702
at least now Mr. Lincoln
knows what it's like
1645
01:31:32,804 --> 01:31:34,844
to travel on the
Underground Railroad.
1646
01:31:35,774 --> 01:31:37,854
- When Lincoln ascends
to the presidency
1647
01:31:37,909 --> 01:31:41,044
and he issues his first
inaugural address,
1648
01:31:41,146 --> 01:31:43,646
African-Americans are
waiting in anticipation
1649
01:31:43,748 --> 01:31:45,281
to see what he's going to say.
1650
01:31:45,383 --> 01:31:46,950
Because by this time
1651
01:31:47,052 --> 01:31:50,320
seven states have
seceded from the Union
1652
01:31:50,422 --> 01:31:52,789
and African-Americans
are thinking,
1653
01:31:52,891 --> 01:31:54,224
this is our opportunity.
1654
01:31:54,326 --> 01:31:57,360
You know, this is the
time to end slavery.
1655
01:31:57,462 --> 01:31:59,796
You got this
Republican who has won,
1656
01:31:59,898 --> 01:32:01,431
he's not an abolitionist,
1657
01:32:01,533 --> 01:32:03,111
but you've got
enough Republicans
1658
01:32:03,135 --> 01:32:05,168
who are ready to move
1659
01:32:05,270 --> 01:32:08,771
on these people who are seen
as traitors to the country.
1660
01:32:08,874 --> 01:32:11,040
- His first inaugural address
1661
01:32:11,143 --> 01:32:14,144
is a moment fraught
with tension.
1662
01:32:14,246 --> 01:32:15,356
- There were still
1663
01:32:15,380 --> 01:32:18,548
very serious fears
of assassination.
1664
01:32:18,650 --> 01:32:22,085
- Fellow citizens of
the United States,
1665
01:32:23,255 --> 01:32:28,024
in your hands my dissatisfied
fellow countrymen,
1666
01:32:29,261 --> 01:32:34,430
and not in mine, is the
momentous issue of Civil War.
1667
01:32:35,133 --> 01:32:37,934
- Lincoln wanted the
speech to be strong
1668
01:32:38,036 --> 01:32:39,235
without being threatening,
1669
01:32:39,337 --> 01:32:42,005
to try to stem the
tide of secession.
1670
01:32:42,107 --> 01:32:45,175
- The government
will not assail you.
1671
01:32:46,545 --> 01:32:48,545
You can have no conflict
1672
01:32:48,647 --> 01:32:51,981
without yourselves
being the aggressors.
1673
01:32:52,083 --> 01:32:55,885
- He says federal forts and
armories would be protected.
1674
01:32:55,987 --> 01:32:58,488
And at the same time, he
says, I'm not a threat.
1675
01:32:58,590 --> 01:33:03,493
And he promised to enforce
the hated fugitive slave law.
1676
01:33:04,462 --> 01:33:07,897
- We are not
enemies, but friends.
1677
01:33:09,234 --> 01:33:11,167
We must not be enemies.
1678
01:33:12,971 --> 01:33:15,972
Though passion
may have strained,
1679
01:33:17,042 --> 01:33:20,443
it must not break our
bonds of affection.
1680
01:33:21,613 --> 01:33:23,524
- Lincoln had shown this
speech to William Seward
1681
01:33:23,548 --> 01:33:25,415
and Seward made corrections.
1682
01:33:25,517 --> 01:33:27,728
And then Seward looked at
the ending of the draft
1683
01:33:27,752 --> 01:33:30,620
and it says, it's your choice,
my friends in the south,
1684
01:33:30,722 --> 01:33:33,890
will it be peace or a sword?
1685
01:33:33,992 --> 01:33:36,070
And Seward says, you
can end it like this.
1686
01:33:36,094 --> 01:33:39,095
So Seward writes out
a really good idea.
1687
01:33:39,197 --> 01:33:40,897
Lincoln looks at the suggestion
1688
01:33:40,999 --> 01:33:44,634
and displaying as much
brilliance as an editor
1689
01:33:44,736 --> 01:33:46,903
as he showed as a writer,
1690
01:33:47,005 --> 01:33:50,540
he recast Seward's
proposal into poetry.
1691
01:33:51,576 --> 01:33:54,310
- The mystic chords of memory,
1692
01:33:54,412 --> 01:33:58,381
stretching from every
battlefield and patriot grave
1693
01:33:58,483 --> 01:34:02,285
to every heart and hearthstone
all over this broad land
1694
01:34:03,355 --> 01:34:05,788
will yet swell the
chorus of the Union
1695
01:34:06,891 --> 01:34:10,627
when again touched, as
surely they will be,
1696
01:34:11,830 --> 01:34:15,231
by the better angels
of our nature.
1697
01:34:31,349 --> 01:34:34,717
- This beautifully
crafted final paragraph
1698
01:34:34,819 --> 01:34:39,589
steps away from threats
and just says, remember,
1699
01:34:39,691 --> 01:34:41,636
we are all part of
the same country
1700
01:34:41,660 --> 01:34:46,129
with equally valid
memories of the revolution
1701
01:34:46,231 --> 01:34:47,975
that not only gave
us our independence,
1702
01:34:47,999 --> 01:34:50,300
but created a new
kind of country.
1703
01:34:52,137 --> 01:34:54,270
- But Lincoln was
totally disappointing
1704
01:34:54,372 --> 01:34:57,073
to Frederick Douglass and
other black men and women.
1705
01:34:57,175 --> 01:34:59,976
Because in that first
inaugural address,
1706
01:35:00,078 --> 01:35:04,714
Lincoln talked about the fact
that he had no inclination,
1707
01:35:04,816 --> 01:35:08,451
no right, to actually do
anything about slavery,
1708
01:35:08,553 --> 01:35:10,053
where it already existed.
1709
01:35:11,156 --> 01:35:13,100
- But he's also
telling the south,
1710
01:35:13,124 --> 01:35:16,959
he will not permit
an illegal rebellion
1711
01:35:17,062 --> 01:35:20,063
to happen without a response.
1712
01:35:20,165 --> 01:35:25,068
- Lincoln has an immediate
military problem on his plate.
1713
01:35:25,670 --> 01:35:27,148
- When those states
in the south secede,
1714
01:35:27,172 --> 01:35:29,972
they take over many of the
federal arsenals and forts.
1715
01:35:30,075 --> 01:35:31,474
That leaves the United States
1716
01:35:31,576 --> 01:35:33,621
with just a few federal
ports that it keeps,
1717
01:35:33,645 --> 01:35:36,679
including Fort Sumter in
Charleston, South Carolina.
1718
01:35:36,781 --> 01:35:38,726
- The first day after
his inauguration,
1719
01:35:38,750 --> 01:35:41,584
he receives a message from
Major Anderson at Fort Sumter,
1720
01:35:41,686 --> 01:35:44,187
telling him that they are
running out of supplies
1721
01:35:44,289 --> 01:35:46,622
and unless an expedition
can bring them relief,
1722
01:35:46,725 --> 01:35:48,091
they will have to evacuate.
1723
01:35:49,327 --> 01:35:51,072
- Lincoln and the federal
government maintained
1724
01:35:51,096 --> 01:35:55,431
that all federal property
still belongs to the Union.
1725
01:35:55,533 --> 01:35:57,700
- So he meets with his cabinet.
1726
01:35:57,802 --> 01:35:59,280
The night Lincoln
won the election
1727
01:35:59,304 --> 01:36:01,804
he had made a decision that
will define his presidency
1728
01:36:01,906 --> 01:36:03,818
to put each of his
chief three rivals,
1729
01:36:03,842 --> 01:36:05,241
Seward and Chase and Bates,
1730
01:36:05,343 --> 01:36:07,383
into the top positions
of the cabinet.
1731
01:36:07,445 --> 01:36:09,612
William Seward as
Secretary of State.
1732
01:36:09,714 --> 01:36:11,794
Salmon Chase, Secretary
of the Treasury,
1733
01:36:11,850 --> 01:36:14,016
Edward Bates, Attorney General.
1734
01:36:14,119 --> 01:36:15,763
Each one of those
three rivals thought
1735
01:36:15,787 --> 01:36:18,199
he should have been president
instead of Abraham Lincoln.
1736
01:36:18,223 --> 01:36:20,723
And they think that Lincoln's
rather unremarkable,
1737
01:36:20,825 --> 01:36:23,659
but Lincoln realized
the country is in peril.
1738
01:36:23,762 --> 01:36:25,673
These are the most able
men in the country.
1739
01:36:25,697 --> 01:36:27,808
They each represented a
different point of view,
1740
01:36:27,832 --> 01:36:30,032
the moderate,
conservative, and radical.
1741
01:36:30,135 --> 01:36:31,734
I need them by my side.
1742
01:36:33,004 --> 01:36:35,149
President Lyndon Johnson
might've talked about that issue
1743
01:36:35,173 --> 01:36:36,406
in less noble terms.
1744
01:36:36,508 --> 01:36:38,552
He liked to say, it's
better to have your enemies
1745
01:36:38,576 --> 01:36:39,976
inside the tent pissing out
1746
01:36:40,078 --> 01:36:42,578
than outside the
tent pissing in.
1747
01:36:42,680 --> 01:36:44,425
- General Scott
says we have no hope
1748
01:36:44,449 --> 01:36:47,250
but to surrender Fort Sumter.
1749
01:36:47,352 --> 01:36:48,352
- Yes.
1750
01:36:50,021 --> 01:36:51,821
And I think he's right.
1751
01:36:51,923 --> 01:36:53,883
- But Mr. Seward,
only yesterday,
1752
01:36:53,958 --> 01:36:58,895
I gave my solemn vow to hold,
occupy, and possess our forts.
1753
01:36:59,464 --> 01:37:01,409
I believe you helped
me craft that passage.
1754
01:37:01,433 --> 01:37:03,633
- The situation
has changed, sir.
1755
01:37:05,003 --> 01:37:08,171
Fort Sumter can't hold
out, not without supplies.
1756
01:37:08,273 --> 01:37:09,505
And the South Carolinians
1757
01:37:09,607 --> 01:37:12,074
have made their intentions
more than clear.
1758
01:37:12,977 --> 01:37:14,076
I advise withdrawal.
1759
01:37:15,580 --> 01:37:16,891
It'll make it seem
like our idea,
1760
01:37:16,915 --> 01:37:19,193
not that this a secessionists
have forced us out.
1761
01:37:19,217 --> 01:37:21,417
- It seems the most
reasonable course.
1762
01:37:23,288 --> 01:37:24,288
- No.
1763
01:37:25,223 --> 01:37:27,390
I'd be encouraging
their rebellion.
1764
01:37:27,492 --> 01:37:28,858
The country would crumble.
1765
01:37:28,960 --> 01:37:30,326
- It's already crumbling.
1766
01:37:30,428 --> 01:37:32,795
We need time to
shore it back up.
1767
01:37:32,897 --> 01:37:33,977
Wait for cooler heads.
1768
01:37:34,032 --> 01:37:35,998
- We must send more ships.
1769
01:37:37,302 --> 01:37:40,736
A fleet carrying
reinforcements and long guns.
1770
01:37:40,839 --> 01:37:43,840
I'll bet a bombardment will
force them to back off.
1771
01:37:43,942 --> 01:37:47,109
- Since when were you
a Navy man, Blair?
1772
01:37:47,212 --> 01:37:48,744
I say, we withdraw.
1773
01:37:48,847 --> 01:37:52,482
- Mr. President, look where
compromise has gotten us.
1774
01:37:52,584 --> 01:37:55,918
We have to crush them now
before they grow stronger.
1775
01:37:56,020 --> 01:37:59,055
- I will not be the first
to fire on my country men.
1776
01:38:00,124 --> 01:38:01,691
I told them that my speech too.
1777
01:38:03,027 --> 01:38:04,861
- That leaves no alternative.
1778
01:38:10,401 --> 01:38:12,401
- How long can
Sumter, hold out for?
1779
01:38:13,671 --> 01:38:15,838
- General Scott thinks 26 days.
1780
01:38:19,711 --> 01:38:22,612
- How many of you
say give up the fort?
1781
01:38:28,353 --> 01:38:30,820
- You have to give up the fort,
1782
01:38:30,922 --> 01:38:32,922
or we'll bring this
country to war.
1783
01:38:50,975 --> 01:38:54,310
- Those weeks of
anticipation before Fort Sumter,
1784
01:38:54,412 --> 01:38:56,112
where the hardest weeks for him.
1785
01:38:57,515 --> 01:38:59,882
He's still hoping that
maybe there'd be some way
1786
01:38:59,984 --> 01:39:01,217
to prevent a war.
1787
01:39:18,069 --> 01:39:19,069
- Look.
1788
01:39:20,838 --> 01:39:21,949
All the papers want to know
1789
01:39:21,973 --> 01:39:24,013
what you're gonna
do about that fort.
1790
01:39:24,609 --> 01:39:26,375
- Well, so do I.
1791
01:39:34,819 --> 01:39:35,918
- Huh.
1792
01:39:40,558 --> 01:39:43,826
You have done a fine job
with this scrapbook, Willie.
1793
01:39:47,098 --> 01:39:49,765
- He's thinking, if I
provision Fort Sumter,
1794
01:39:49,867 --> 01:39:51,334
it might bring about a war.
1795
01:39:52,136 --> 01:39:53,502
If I don't do that,
1796
01:39:53,605 --> 01:39:54,971
then maybe we're gonna look like
1797
01:39:55,073 --> 01:39:56,472
we're so emboldening the south
1798
01:39:56,574 --> 01:39:59,375
that it will make the
secession even more permanent.
1799
01:39:59,477 --> 01:40:02,244
There's division in the cabinet
as to what he should do.
1800
01:40:03,414 --> 01:40:06,082
- Seward is talking
to South Carolina.
1801
01:40:06,184 --> 01:40:09,352
He's having discussions with
the secessionist leaders.
1802
01:40:09,454 --> 01:40:11,821
Basically suggesting that
this can be negotiated,
1803
01:40:11,923 --> 01:40:13,556
things can be worked out.
1804
01:40:13,658 --> 01:40:17,360
And he's doing so without
Lincoln's knowledge or approval.
1805
01:40:19,530 --> 01:40:20,896
- If we send troops down south
1806
01:40:20,999 --> 01:40:25,267
we'll lose Virginia, Arkansas,
all the border states.
1807
01:40:26,704 --> 01:40:27,870
Time is running out.
1808
01:40:29,007 --> 01:40:31,340
Abandoning the
fort is inevitable.
1809
01:40:31,442 --> 01:40:35,111
We can't let the rebels
humiliate us by overrunning it.
1810
01:40:35,213 --> 01:40:37,647
The sooner we leave on
our own, the better.
1811
01:40:40,084 --> 01:40:42,385
Now we have a clear cut
majority in agreement,
1812
01:40:43,855 --> 01:40:44,855
so it's decided.
1813
01:40:53,798 --> 01:40:58,100
- No, it's not decided,
Secretary Seward.
1814
01:40:58,202 --> 01:41:00,469
It's not decided
until I decide it.
1815
01:41:10,548 --> 01:41:14,216
- Mr. President.
1816
01:41:14,318 --> 01:41:18,120
- Now, I reckon that everything
1817
01:41:18,222 --> 01:41:19,955
Secretary Seward says is true.
1818
01:41:21,025 --> 01:41:23,359
But there are also other
things that are true.
1819
01:41:24,762 --> 01:41:27,763
One of them bein' that I'm not
willing to go back on my word
1820
01:41:28,833 --> 01:41:31,067
and I'm also not
ready to give up.
1821
01:41:32,236 --> 01:41:33,236
The way I see it,
1822
01:41:34,205 --> 01:41:36,672
is that surrender would
be ruinous to the Union
1823
01:41:37,775 --> 01:41:39,586
by discouraging
the folks at home
1824
01:41:39,610 --> 01:41:41,644
and encouraging our adversaries.
1825
01:41:41,746 --> 01:41:43,490
And it might get this
illegal confederacy
1826
01:41:43,514 --> 01:41:45,047
recognized by foreign powers.
1827
01:41:46,284 --> 01:41:48,317
I have talked to a Navy man
1828
01:41:48,419 --> 01:41:51,253
who's got a plan to
send supplies by sea
1829
01:41:51,355 --> 01:41:52,488
backed by a warship.
1830
01:41:55,093 --> 01:41:56,659
And I have decided to do it.
1831
01:42:03,735 --> 01:42:06,402
- Lincoln's response
was brief and firm.
1832
01:42:06,504 --> 01:42:08,871
That puts Seward pretty
firmly in his place
1833
01:42:08,973 --> 01:42:11,607
and it is something
of a tribute to Seward
1834
01:42:11,709 --> 01:42:14,844
that he understood that
Lincoln was the boss
1835
01:42:14,946 --> 01:42:16,924
and that there was
more to Abraham Lincoln
1836
01:42:16,948 --> 01:42:18,748
than he had originally thought.
1837
01:42:19,884 --> 01:42:21,328
- Lincoln doesn't
want to create war.
1838
01:42:21,352 --> 01:42:23,853
So he tries to, again,
thread the needle on this.
1839
01:42:23,955 --> 01:42:26,288
And he says to the
governor of South Carolina,
1840
01:42:26,390 --> 01:42:28,758
look, I will just
send food and water.
1841
01:42:28,860 --> 01:42:30,938
I won't send one more man,
not one more grain of powder,
1842
01:42:30,962 --> 01:42:32,406
not one more bullet
to Fort Sumter.
1843
01:42:32,430 --> 01:42:33,574
You couldn't be against someone
1844
01:42:33,598 --> 01:42:35,342
getting food or
water, could you?
1845
01:42:35,366 --> 01:42:37,311
He puts the
Confederacy in a bind.
1846
01:42:37,335 --> 01:42:39,869
If they allow the ship to come
in, the stalemate continues.
1847
01:42:39,971 --> 01:42:41,882
If they fire, well then
the Confederacy has fired
1848
01:42:41,906 --> 01:42:43,239
the first shot of the war.
1849
01:42:43,341 --> 01:42:46,041
- The Confederates decide
to ask Major Anderson
1850
01:42:46,144 --> 01:42:47,276
to surrender the fort.
1851
01:42:48,246 --> 01:42:50,412
Anderson says, no.
1852
01:42:50,515 --> 01:42:51,714
- Fire!
1853
01:42:59,357 --> 01:43:02,491
- The Confederates
fire for 36 hours
1854
01:43:02,593 --> 01:43:04,960
until finally the
United States flag
1855
01:43:05,062 --> 01:43:06,862
is lowered within Fort Sumter.
1856
01:43:16,774 --> 01:43:19,842
- Is there any word
on the Powhatan?
1857
01:43:21,379 --> 01:43:24,046
I need to know the minute
Fort Sumter's resupplied.
1858
01:43:28,519 --> 01:43:29,519
- This is for you.
1859
01:43:55,947 --> 01:43:57,313
- We're at war.
1860
01:44:31,282 --> 01:44:32,982
- Charge!
1861
01:44:35,052 --> 01:44:36,585
- I hope you boys all reenlist.
1862
01:44:36,687 --> 01:44:37,853
- Yeah.
1863
01:44:37,955 --> 01:44:38,854
- 'Cause I need every
single one of you.
1864
01:44:38,956 --> 01:44:40,155
- What can I do for you?
1865
01:44:40,258 --> 01:44:42,258
- It's about that army of yours.
1866
01:44:42,360 --> 01:44:44,860
Came by to find out when you
were intending to use it again?
1867
01:44:44,962 --> 01:44:47,963
- Why don't you leave military
matters to military men?
1868
01:44:48,065 --> 01:44:50,299
- This war has nothing
to do with generals.
1869
01:44:50,401 --> 01:44:52,401
- The rebels fight
on their own land.
1870
01:44:52,503 --> 01:44:53,743
- There's something else too.
1871
01:44:53,804 --> 01:44:55,704
- Make this a war for abolition
1872
01:44:55,806 --> 01:44:58,274
and we'll drive
Kentucky to the rebels.
1873
01:44:58,376 --> 01:45:00,456
It'll lead to
insurrection in the north,
1874
01:45:00,511 --> 01:45:02,845
massacre in the streets.
1875
01:45:02,947 --> 01:45:05,614
And the rebels will
only fight harder.
1876
01:45:05,716 --> 01:45:07,416
Blood will be on your hands.
1877
01:45:07,518 --> 01:45:09,618
- Blood is already on my hands!
146434
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