All language subtitles for Lincon

the door is locked from the inside

yes ma'am

key please

my uncle is an invalid he requires absolute privacy

do you understand

see to it

we'll take a special overnight train

I've cleared the tracks

and how the telegraph lines cut from here to Baltimore

these men intend to kill you

you can't risk being recognized

ah

well

this is not how I plan to get to Washington

ladies and gentlemen some of you may have heard of him

his story has been passed down

from one generation to the next

more score and seven years ago

he felt that democracy in its purest form

is for all people

all persons held as slaves shall be thanks forward

and forever free

but there's something deeper than what he did

it's about who he was

Lincoln grew up in poverty

haven't done anything to make anyone remember that

I ever lived he's living proof that Americans can rise

obscurity to power

with that wit and that charm and that intellect

it's better to stay silent and be thoughtful

than to speak up and remove all doubt

he has this deep sense of empathy

he takes the declaration of independence

all men are created equal

and turns it into a nation's moral compass

as the country is breaking apart

there's a turning point

where he's gonna have to take a stand

blood will be on your hand

blood is already on my hand

you need to learn how to be a commander in chief

I can't have a war to front

he was willing to admit he was wrong and to change

we can attack immediately

he was the right person at the right time

if we let this stand for one minute longer

we might as well say goodbye to the whole thing

union democracy

all of it

babe

come here

hold it steady

I think anyone will know mom is in there

God will know

we should put a marker

write your name on it leave it alone

when Lincoln's mother died

she had said to him Abraham

I'm going away from you now and I shall not return

death was a common traveler during that period of time

Lincoln's childhood was hard

Lincoln's father was a carpenter some of the time

farmer some of the time he wasn't good at making money

Abraham Lincoln had a hard scrabble

poverty ridden existence they lived on the frontier

in a one room cabin that had a dirt floor

there were times when he fell into an extreme sense of

sadness in melancholy

that would stay with him the rest of his life

after the death of his mother

his father traveled to civilization

looking for a replacement wife

and he was left alone with his older sister

for months and months

oh

my God

how the children survive that time

alone on the frontier is hard to imagine

they were forging for food

they look like wild animals

in the early 1800s

Lincoln is at the edge of what is the American frontier

it's just six years after the Louisiana Purchase

the nation expands

all the way over to the Mississippi River

and parts of the Northwestern and Plains areas

we can trace the movement of the American population

across the continent

and the Lincoln family is exemplifying that trend

and they move steadily westward

frontier life is dangerous

and consists of a lot of hard labor

clearing the land chopping down trees

removing tree stumps Lincoln is a hard worker

but he doesn't like physical labor

he's not someone who enjoys farming

after a few months Lincoln's father remarried

a woman named Sarah Bush Johnston

hey there you are

come on

go on

you can read Abraham

sorry ma'am

it's alright

there's plenty of work out there

come on

we used to reading about evil stepmothers

Lincoln had a good stepmother

she brought a little library of books

she couldn't even read them herself

but she had them

and she forges an extraordinary bond with Abraham

she understood him she sympathized with him

she would encourage him about reading and education

and ambition he's basically self taught

he read

some of the best writing in the English language

the King James Bible Shakespeare and Greek classics

and a few other adventure books thrown in

like Robinson Cruso

he was drawing from this incredibly rich Fallon

he went to a primitive school for less

than one full year where he stood out

one of his friends said

his ambitions soared beyond all the rest of us

that while we were playing

he was reading and rereading his books

the most impressive thing about Lincoln's ability

to teach himself

is his mastery of Euclid he loved geometry

he's reading about George Washington

he's reading about the Founding Fathers

he is reading that all men created equal

is the most revolutionary statement

ever articulated by any founded country

that is a mind blowing proposition

where did you get that

I borrowed it from Mr Crawford

put it away and get to bed

I'm gonna need you to dig out them rocks

first thing tomorrow

his father didn't understand why Abraham chose to read

instead of to work on the farm

he thought it was a sign of laziness

but Abraham had a different set of ambitions

through everything he read

he began to imagine to envision another way of life

it rained last night

this is worth 75 cents

I'll work it off I swear Mr Grover

three days working in my fields

this kid doesn't share the values of physical labor

but his father

he yearns to fight his way out of that

daily struggle for survival

Crawford ought to be ashamed

how stand still

three days work

nothing to show for it I get to keep the book

it's mine now

but despite the tension between them

Abe got his story telling

talent from his father

who did have a great sense of humor

so this preacher stars his sermon by saying

the congregation today I represent to the Christ

just then this little blue lizard runs up his pants

and he starts to kick them pants off haha

a little blue lizard runs up the preacher's leg

oh off come his pants

the lizard runs under his shirt

well that comes off too

one little old lady

when the congregation can't take anymore

she shouts to the preacher who's standing there

no pants no shirt on

if you represent the Christ

I am done with the Bible

that yarn was a lie when your pop told it

and it's still a lie the mighty good lie though

yeah

gentlemen

name's Denton Opert looking for Mr John Hanks that's me

need some men to build me a flatboat

take some barrels down in New Orleans

I heard you're a river man New Orleans

I can't be gone that long

got family to tend to I pay you a decent wage

I could go for you Mr Office

I made a trip to New Orleans with my cousin John

here a couple years back saying a job for a jokester

serious work

I'll take the group with you

what do you say John

this could be my chance

alright

got a deal then huh

thank you Mr Alfie

pleasure sir

he could read about other people's adventures

but now this was an adventure of his own

he begins to create that wider world

that he's dreamed of since he was a little kid

he took his flatboat journey down the Mississippi River

to New Orleans and there he saw the big city

he saw what a new world might look like

beyond the remote farm

and in course of that visit

he saw more than he had ever seen

New Orleans was the largest slave trading port

in the United States

he saw human beings with hearts and minds being sold

like chapel like animals

like furniture

and it left the lasting and haunting impression on him

when he comes back home

there was a law in Illinois at the time

that you had to give your wages to your father

until you reach the age of majority

which was 21 he's now 21

so he can strike out on his own

offered

offers him a job to be a clerk in his general store

you'll be back by winter

I'm gonna be a clerk now in a new store

stores go under every day

so do farmers

I'm gonna keep studying

you ready

you'll do fine

bad boy

that the new man yeah that's Lincoln

I've never seen Armstrong lose

how long they've been at it about an hour

we've been at this spell it ain't over

July with it's hard to draw

it's a draw oh my God

New Zealand was a tough town

there was a gang

LED by a tough guy named Jack Armstrong

newcomers had to prove themselves or beyond the outs

New Zealand itself

is yet another one of these just emerging

frontier towns it's very small

just a few hundred people

but for Lincoln it seems like a bustling Metropolis

there's a post offices three general stores

there's a blacksmith shop

had an intellectual community

it had a little debating society

it had a teacher who loaned him books

he's demonstrated his physical prowess

he's a hard worker he's also known for his intelligence

and he will have the funniest stories to tell

he will have you and your friends in stitches

and Lincoln has to learn how to hustle

he's a store owner he's a land surveyor shopkeeper

eventually Lincoln became a grocer and he sold whiskey

he also becomes the village postmaster

and that's where he first got news beyond Illinois

reading about issues far beyond his limited sphere

everybody would come to the store

they debate issues they'd stay around and talk politics

he was always interested in politics

I loved politics thank you

then little towns like New Salem

politicians running for office

would come on Saturdays and give speeches

Illinois needs railroads you got a railroad

you can get your goods to market

y'all like me to state Assembly

and I swear

I'll bring the railroad right here to new sale

no you won't

I beg your pardon who said that I did

see the way I figure it

if they do build that railroad

it'll be near Springfield

I saw as much in the paper

and how far away from Springfield

about what 20 miles

that won't do us a liquor good

see this fellow

he's right about us needing to get to market

but what we need a New Salem is to widen the river

so the steam ships can get here

then this town will take off

like a rabbit in front of a pack of wolves

well I could vote for both waterway and the railroad

I don't think so Mister

how much that railroad gonna cost

well a lot right

see this fellow

he might be able to talk to hind leg off a donkey

but if they build that railroad

there won't be a dime left of tax money for our river

and we'll just be like the

like a run to the litter left behind

squinting for a meal when there's nothing left

there was something about the way Lincoln spoke

he was able to translate complex issues into something

simple terms of the daily life of the people

within eight months of his being in New Salem

the

residents wanted him to run for the state legislature

at the time we have a two party system

with the Democrats and the wigs

and the wig party was most interested in infrastructure

that would help the country grow

Lincoln very much defines himself

initially as a wig Norton

advocate for the federal government

taking a particularly active role in promoting

improve railroads or turnpike

networks and navigable rivers

in Lincoln's day if you wanted to run for office

you simply put out a hand Bill

telling what your promises were and what you stood for

so at 23 years old he writes this hand Bill

and it's an extraordinary document

first of all most politicians put out a short document

his is 2,000 words long and it's very personal

it starts saying every man has his peculiar ambition

mine is to be esteemed by my fellow man

and what he means by that is

to accomplish something worthy

so my story will be told in that same talk

he talks about how he grew up

I was born and I've ever remained

in the most humble walks of life

if you will let me I'm still gonna be this humble guy

I'm not gonna become somebody different

and then he says I promise you

I will do everything I can

to make my promises come true

he's a young man on the make

right and

and he wasn't shy about it either

Lincoln seems to emerge out of the roughness

and ambition and the hunger of what was certainly

a very young country

he had pulled himself out of poverty

there was no shame in saying

I wanna be famous

he's embarrassed about forging alliances

with people who can help him

he wants to make people like him

he is a politician I'm from New Salem

Abraham Lincoln I'm running for state Assembly

I'll tell you what if I can toss this thing past yours

you take a look at this it'll tell you where I stand

yeah you toss this ball farther than me

I'll vote for you

alright

what about you boys get all our votes

ah

in 1834 Abraham Lincoln

is elected to the Illinois state legislature

as of Whig the new political party

established by United States Senator Henry Clay

to promote infrastructure

a national bank and tariffs

and he becomes one of the Long Nine of Sangamon County

the Long Nine were a group of wig legislators

including Lincoln who got their name

because they were all over 6 feet tall

they advocated for internal improvements

for the state of Illinois

that

they wanted to move the state capital from the sleepy

little town of Mandalia to Springfield Illinois

we gotta move the capital from Vandalia to Springfield

but the Democrats will do whatever they can to stop us

they're already trying to redraw Sangamon County lines

that means two less seats for us

we want the capital in Springfield

in sangament in our county why

because

there's value to having the power in our own backyard

so if it's valuable

shouldn't there be a cost for it

there's a spending Bill coming up right right

what if we tack on an amendment that says

whatever city gets the capital

will have to pay the state of fee for that privilege

a large fee

$50,000 Vandalia could never afford that

but Sangamon could

that's what I'm thinking

Lincoln was immediately perceived as different

unique wily and smart

taller than everyone else

funnier than everyone else

stronger than everyone else

he was a magnetic person he was always making friends

and they gravitated to him

and he meets John T Stewart

who advises him that he should study the law

he had to study it all on his own however

he would have to borrow books from John Stewart

it was 20 miles away he'd have to walk those 20 miles

borrow the book come back

read the book return the book

and then get another one but he passed the bar

he's now on his way he's taking another step

he's gonna be around people who make things happen

he would in fact

serve four terms in the Illinois state legislature

and with each term

his profile and his prestige would grow

he promotes roads he promotes canals

the American economy is transforming

in the early decades of the 19th century

the transportation revolution is so crucial

to moving goods and people

factories which are using new steam technology

makes cotton profitable in a way that it hadn't been

makes it the boom crop changes the southern economy

where slave based agriculture comes

enormously profitable

the entire United States benefits from slavery

even if they wanna argue that they don't

northern cotton Mills are reliant upon the cotton

produced by enslaved laborers

in the south the insurance industry in New York City is

where slaveholders bought policies

to protect the bodies of their enslaved men and women

merchants bankers

the brokers the people who extended loans

they are all tied up in the institution of slavery

it's this global enterprise

in key areas of the Deep South

you're talking about

communities that are 60 to 70% enslaved

so the use of terror

and violence had been the method of control

but there certainly were white northerners

who believe that slavery is morally wrong

they are abolitionist

and at the heart of all of these things

is the story of Abraham Lincoln himself

in his own transformation

at the time Lincoln was an anti slavery man

he didn't like slavery

but that didn't mean that he was an abolitionist

he thought that eventually

slavery will die away and rot on the vine

but as a politician he had to be very

very cautious in expressing his anti slave reviews

once the capital gets moved to Springfield

he arrives in Springfield on a horse and two saddlebags

with all of his possessions

that's it

and he gets an offer to have a junior partnership

in a law practice with John Stewart

his fellow legislator he moved to Springfield

Illinois on April 15th, 1837

I always find that to be bizarrely coincidental

he was 28 years old when he moved

and he had 28 years more to live to the very day

you can try it on if you like

oh no thank you

I'm only looking what can I help you

ah which would a bed cost

well I can sell you one for $17

17

that's 8 thank you

here's the thing Mister Joshua

it's Joshua speaking oh

Abraham Lincoln

uh I'm newly arrived

I'm a freshly minted lawyer

and I'm not certain I will succeed

Jerry still out is it

haha Jerry hadn't even been chosen yet

haha

thing of this is I don't have money for the bed

not yet

do you have any prospects

yes I'm partnering with John Stewart

he's well established

well I've got a room upstairs with the Bennett

you know if you're looking for a share mom

take a look and see if you like it

yeah these boys by the way

the man managing the store

is a young man named Joshua Speed

Speed and Lincoln

taken almost instant liking to each other

the two are about as close as anyone

really gets to Abraham Lincoln

who was otherwise a very very private person

for the next four years they lived in the same room

they slept in the same bed

there were more people than beds in those days

when business was over with the store for the day

in the back room all

all the young political ambitious types we gather

it's there that he meets Steven Douglas

the Little Giant as he's called

because he's short of stature but huge in personality

and as a Democrat he supposed to

government support for infrastructure projects

and Douglas becomes Lincoln's lifelong political rival

and then in 1837

a sustained recession hit the state of Illinois

up to that point Lincoln

had been the champion of infrastructure projects

the economy is a disaster

and funding for those damn improvement bills

so dead is that bear under your feet Lincoln

and if you keep going

your career will soon enjoy the same fate

a bad economy

doesn't mean that improvements to roads and waterway

should stop Douglas

if anything they should be built faster

faster uh

now you've lost me if it's raining

do you stop building a roof and stand there getting wet

or do you build a double quick

building faster will bring back business and trade

that doesn't make sense no

it's delusional

I made a promise to look out for the people saying well

you wouldn't be the first politician to break a promise

or the last

I'm telling my ways to vote for more funding

you should tell your Democrats to do the same

takes a little courage to do what's right

was it a courageous man who digs his own grave

or just a fool

you know I heard a fellow say once

it's better to stay silent and be thought a fool

than to speak up and remove all doubt

it's been all the country wisdom

you like thinking it won't make you right

you plan on pouring that

can I get you a drink

I didn't expect to see you here Lincoln oh

Mr Douglas you haven't introduced your friend

Miss Mary Todd is Mr Abraham Lincoln Miss Todd

I am honored

Miss Lincoln's a stubborn weight

determined to drive his carriage over a cliff

when everyone else is rained in their horses

perhaps Mr Lincoln sees a road where you don't

Mr Douglas

Miss Adam

I would like to dance with you in the worst way

haha

oh my God

Lincoln had a great passion for women

he was very bashful he was very shy

but that didn't mean that

he was not always thinking about women

Mary Todd was the Belle of the town

she was beautiful she was witty

she attracted many suitors

she was actually courted by Steven Douglas among others

she was educated she came from a long line of diplomats

ambassadors governors

she was very interested in politics

she was from a prominent wake political family

her father was a slaveholder

but he was also a wig who knew Henry Clay

who was Lincoln's political hero

I myself my great admirer of Henry Clay

really

wow I didn't think that a lady like yourself

would be interested in politics

I hope you'll find I'm not like other ladies Mr Lee

now tell me

what is this cliff you determine to drive on

Lincoln felt an instant connection to her and she

to him she saw something in him right away

well Mr Lincoln

you said you wanted to dance with me in the worst way

and you certainly did

don't look so wounded

it's not your dancing skills I'm interested in

finally it seems like

all those pieces of his life came together

to allow him to rise

beyond the first circumstances of his childhood

on the frontier

at the time like Lincoln

there's another young man who was trying to rise up

through education and literacy

to escape Frederick Douglas had been born into slavery

he was separated from his mother

when he was about a year old

he was chosen when he was about 8 or 9 years old

to go to Baltimore

to be the house servant for his master's family

his mistress had never had a slave before

and didn't know that it was illegal

to teach him to read and write

and so out of the goodness of her heart

she began to teach young Frederick his ABCs

and the more he reads it's a fire in his belly

this is why they don't wanna educate the Negro

because when we become aware

when we understand we can no longer be enslaved

and Frederick knew that he would one day

make his attempt to escape

Fred

Fred

you got the ticket

had to show my papers before they sell it to me

straight through the walk

then a fairy

listen

that's where you have to be extra careful

the slave catches on the look out there Anna

I'll be alright

you don't know that

let me see your sailors pass again

they catch you this time they gonna sell you south

I have to go

Douglas was helped by my great great

great grandmother Anna Murray

who was the first in her family to be born free

she sold a feather bed to help finance his escape

she sold the sailor's disguise that he would wear

and he carried with him Semen's Protection papers

that he had borrowed from a friend

it's dangerous

because they're slave patrols looking for runaways

there were lots of consequences

for people that attempted to run away

and that were recaptured

people would have their feet cut off

other limbs cut off

they would have to wear these grotesque contraptions

around their necks severe whipping with a bull whip

cutting your Achilles tendon

you still work

can't run

and the ultimate punishment is death

I love you

he successfully escaped on that train and then by boat

and he would taste freedom for the first time

in New York City

Anna would join him two weeks later and become his wife

in Springfield Abraham and Mary corded for two years

but they had kind of a stormy courtship

opposites tract

and they were definitely opposite and temperament

he was laconic and laid back

she was lucurial she was temperamental

but they decided to get married

meanwhile

because of this sustained recession in Illinois

the state legislature can't finish these projects

that Lincoln has promised

his constituency will deliver

and he shouldered the blame

and he actually said that

that he would not run for the legislature the next time

so it seems like it was the end of his political career

Abraham and Mary

was supposed to be married on January 1st, 1841

but Lincoln got cold feet

they broke up he called it the fatal first of January

and now he broken two promises

he broke the promise to his constituents

and he broken his promise to marry

and he said at the time that

the chief gem of his character

was his ability to keep his word

and now

that he was no longer confident he could do that

he wasn't sure he could do anything

that's what LED him into this most profound depression

that he had ever suffered

his friends worried that he might take his life

Joshua Speed his roommate

actually hides all Lincoln's knives and razor blades

meanwhile Joshua Speed announces

he's closing up shop in Springfield

and moving back to Kentucky

Lincoln loses his closest friend

you are a fan

what will you do

I'll be better or I'll be dead

don't worry speed I won't die

I haven't done anything to make anyone remember

that I ever lived

Lincoln is in such a state of depression

he can barely drag himself out of bed

he'd been going on such a high

in a sense going from the fields to political office

the lawyer

to about to marry a woman from a very elite family

and it all comes apart

but that drive that he had

ever since he was a little kid

ever since his mother died

to create something

that would allow his story to be told

saved him he finished his term in the state legislature

he went back to his practice of law

he and Mary had stayed apart for an entire year

and then finally in 1842

friends brought them back together

and they renewed their engagement

they got married

his ambition provided the fuel of energy for him

and his aim will next be for the United States Congress

he is elected to Congress as a fig

and the figs were bitterly critical of the Mexican War

Mexican War broke out in 1846

and was widely viewed

as the pet project of Democratic President

James Knocks Polt

war with Mexico

could open new territory for the extension of slavery

going through with that speech today

I am what speech

Lincoln wants to put our presence in his place

over the Mexico War

I won't do that presents properly

don't poke the bear

but what if the bear is wrong

President Pope provoked this war

cause he wants California in the whole west

and he wants in the slave states

slave powers got to be reigned in

it's the end of it we agree

but if you make a speech against the president

before the fighting is even over

you'll be crucified and for what

Lincoln makes a speech in Congress

denouncing President Paul for a

triggering on the Mexican War

on false pretenses the war was incredibly popular

United States won a huge amount of land

including future states of California

New Mexico and Arizona so

the Democrats use that against Lincoln

to basically try and pin him as not being patriotic

the speech backfired on Lincoln and he suffered for it

can't have been so bad

I won't talk about it

oh

it might not have been wise to made that speech

but it needed to be said

presidents can't just go to war because they want to

it's outrageous

well

I'm afraid this might be my one and only term

you'll make other speeches

I know you will

at the end of 1849 he's a lame duck

he comes back to Springfield

Illinois very dispirited

he's out of politics he felt like a failure

he wasn't popular he embarrassed himself

so he turns back to the law

traveling the Big 8 judicial circuit in Illinois

he was quite happy early in his marriage

they had a nice home on Jackson Street in Springfield

he had two children at that time

Robert and Edward and as Lincoln is practicing law

and making reputation for himself

the country is increasingly having to deal with slavery

the issue is dividing the nation

the slaveholding south wants to

not only maintain slavery

but also be able to expand it west

into those territories

that have been acquired through the war with Mexico

and then the Future Slave

Acts of 1850 says northern

states have an obligation to return slaves

that have fled from the south

into the north and the north is up in arms there

absolutely livid people are being kidnapped

bounty hunters are going into the north

and capturing free people

whether they've been free for generations or not

it just

you got a random black person and I can get to him

I can capture them and take them away

Lincoln is aware of all this

at the same time the abolition is there

agitating against slavery

through the formation of societies

publication of newspapers

lecturers that are going about the country

whipping folks up against slavery

the most important abolitionist

are formally enslaved men and women

what better way to describe slavery

than someone like Frederick Douglas

after escaping from slavery

Frederick Douglas wrote his first autobiography

it became a bestseller made him a household name

it made him an instant celebrity

and he joined the anti slavery lecture circuit

what to the American slave is your 4th of July

I answer

a day that reveals to him

more than all other days in the year

the gross injustice and cruelty

to which he is the constant victim

to him your Celebration is a sham

your shouts of liberty and Equality hollow mockery

your sermons and thanksgivings

with all their religious parade and celebrity

are to him mere bombast fraud

deception empire and hypocrisy

a thin veiled a cover up crimes which would disgrace

a nation of savages

there's not a nation on this earth

guilty of practices more shocking and bloody

than other people of these United States

at this very hour

if it's alright by you

I'll just remind you of a few of the facts of this case

poor Mr Flevin he almost got burnt in a fire

and his legs they were broken getting away

and Mr Flemon he begged the doctor to fix him up

and well my client obliged

but now Flemon is complaining

that one of his legs didn't straight

and then it's the doctor's fault

and I do I reckon that's his right to complain on me

Lincoln was an extraordinarily good lawyer

when he was in front of a jury

you sort of was just having a conversation with them

usually Judge David Davis was the presiding judge

he became a good friend of Lincoln's

your honor may I perform a demonstration

this is the bone of a young chicken

pretty flexible

probably heal pretty good adventure

now this is the bone of one that's done some lemon

you know what I mean I ask the plank to stand stand up

gentlemen of the jury

I think you'll all agree that Mr Fleming here is a

well he's no spring chicken

I ain't none kind of chicken

but you are complaining that you now have a limp

and you want some money for it

now if it were me

I'd get down on my knees and thank my heavenly father

and also this doctor for legs to stand on it all

thank you judge nothing for me

Lincoln is so good at persuading a jury

he's almost imagining that

he's really had his political game for his life

it's about as far as he's likely to get

he was very well respected

he established the most successful law practice

in central Illinois

Lincoln's able to make a good look

ride circuit tell tall tales and tell funny stories

he's got this self deprecating humor and folksy charm

combined with a high intellect

that's a pretty potent combination

he's reading philosophy

he's reading history and literature

he's growing his mind and then Steven A

Douglas Lincoln's long time rival

United States senator from Illinois

introduced a law in 1854

that he thought would end slavery agitation forever

and it was called the Kansas Nebraska Act

The Kansas Nebraska Act says

the new territories of Kansas Nebraska

when they come into the union

can choose themselves by popular sovereignty

whether they wanna come in as a free state

or a slave state with this act

the balance between free states and enslave states

is going to be thrown into jeopardy

since the Missouri Compromise of 1820

Northerners thought

slavery will never be north of the southern border

of Missouri now potentially

there could be even more slave state

and they will have even more power

and that's just unacceptable to Lincoln

rather than reduce and ultimately eliminate the

existence of slavery in this country

over time which is how Lincoln imagined it

this might allow slavery's power to grow

but he's out of politics

he's still on the road throughout his judicial circuit

making friends and telling jokes

so we stayed with this old lady

now this fellow

he loved anything to do with our revolution

and he venerated any artifacts he found

so when he had heard that this old woman

still had a dress that she'd worn during that time

oh he begged her to bring it out

so lady she takes out this dusty dress from her trunk

and this fella is so excited

that he also tenderly kisses it

well the old woman watches this and she says Mister

if you wanna kiss something old

why don't you kiss my ass

it's 16 years older than that dress

haha

evening edition Kansas Nebraska act

I passed it ah

there goes a compromise good riddance

no Douglas is a fool

let the people decide you're talking rubbish

this is a democracy God damn shame

you know what you're talking about

how did you get your dog quick

Lincoln was outraged by this

there comes a point for him

when morality

and the idea of the expansion of human dignity

takes the four

Ava

Judge you say that a is white and B is black

so it's color that dictates a hug

hey it's 5 in the morning

if you've been up all night

I have to start at the beginning

in order to see this through to the end

that's what this is all about isn't it

the lighter man having the right to enslave the darker

by that rule

you'd be slave to the first man you meet

with a fair skin than your own

that's not all there is to it

you know it so

it's not just color

that justifies one man owning another

there are other ways a man might be superior to another

you saying that whites are intellectually superior

and so they have a right to enslave blacks

follow that rule

and you're bound to be slave to the first man you meet

smarter than you

but then I'm your slave babe

unless

you are fool enough to think you can figure it all out

one night

oh god

it has got to be figured out

can't you see

this this can't just act

just open the door to slavery in every single state

gonna be a big argument in this country judge

I intend to be ready for

yeah yeah

yeah

yeah

yeah yeah

called Bleeding Kansas The Kansas

Nebraska Act

kicks open the door to slavery existing anywhere

and that leads to serious bloodshed

most settlers want Kansas to be a free state

but border ruffians from Missouri

which was a slave state invade Kansas

and steal elections to try to make it a slave state

there's a full fledged war going on

for Lincoln the young lawyer

there's a series of events from 1850 through 1860

that are going to sharply shape his thinking

about what's happening to his country

is the Fugitive Slave Law

is the Kansas Nebraska Act

is the dress code decision

Dred Scott is an enslaved man in Missouri

who was taken to the Free State

so he sues for his freedom

than the basis of having been in a free state

and this case

goes all the way to the United States Supreme Court

the Dred Scott decision

essentially says that black Americans

if they're enslaved their property period

and therefore they don't have a right to sue

The Supreme Court ruled that

black people had never been

and could not be citizens of the United States

so blacks have no rights

which white men are bound to respect

which leads us to John Brown

John Brown is an abolitionist zealot

he settles in Kansas and he believes through his faith

that it is his calling and his purpose in this life

to end the atrocity of slavery in the United States

because it's an antithesis to god

John Brown was either a maniac or a saint

he was a white man

who cared enough about black freedom

to try to start a revolution

and in Kansas

John Brown hacked to death five pro slavery men

Lincoln saw that

all these series of events divided the country

it divided every party The Wake Party divides

between the anti slavery Whigs and the pro

slavery Whigs The Democratic Party

divides between the anti slavery Democrats

and the pro slavery Democrats

the wake party

eventually is gonna collapse as a result of this

and out of this comes the new Republican Party

this new party This Republican Party

begins in earnest in the early 1850s

and its platform isn't anti slavery

it's no extension of slavery

into the western territories

but there are radical Republicans who say

slavery is vile evil

we need to get rid of slavery

in the late 1850s the rhetoric within Congress

was becoming increasingly hot

Charles Sumner of Massachusetts

was one of the radical wing of the Republican Party

he had made a speech called The Crime Against Kansas

on the floor of Congress

where he used very salacious language

about a US senator from South Carolina

named Andrew Butler

Senator Summer

you have impugned the honor of my cousin

Senator Butler

all I've done is tell the world the truth

that your cousin backs the hideous Kansas Act

that he has a mistress who he obeys without question

an ugly mistress

what was the name the slavery

sumners carried out unconscious

unable to return to the Senate for three years

after the canning of Sumner in the north

there is a visceral reaction to an attack

right in the capital

rallies are formed mass

numbers of people begin to join the Republican Party

meanwhile in the south however

Preston Brooks has become a hero

people start carrying canes around

as if they're gonna attack somebody

the split between the north and the south goes deeper

and deeper and deeper

Lincoln so unsettled by what's happening

that he decides I need to be a part of this

this is an ambition he had since he was young

to be a part of something that was bigger than himself

he may have been somewhat content being a lawyer

but he obviously still had the political bug

he still had the itch

Lincoln helped form the Republican Party in Illinois

and he becomes the leading candidate in 1858

for the next Senate Ron

running against Steven Douglas

who is not only now already a senator

but he's the presumptive presidential candidate in 1860

for the Democratic Party

Lincoln gives an acceptance speech

and it's the most radical thing he's ever said

and his friends hearing him rehearse

had begged him not to deliver that speech

they thought it would end his career

Lincoln's speech uses a biblical phrase

from the book of Mark calling America a house divided

he declares a house divided shall not stand

we can't have a nation that's half slave and half free

it does Mark a turning point in his mind

he recognizes that in his political life

he's gonna have to object to slavery

in a way that is tougher and more controversial

Lincoln begins to campaign through the state

and invites Douglas to a series of joint debates

Douglas writes back and says

I'm under no obligation to meet jointly with you

I'm the incumbent senator

I'm the most famous politician in America

at this moment

why am I going to give you space on the platform

with me but Douglas can't resist

hey thank you so much for coming out

appreciate you Douglas comes in as the champion

he comes in a train with a special car decorated

he comes with servants with secretary

and Lincoln has to walk from one debate to another

the reputation of Lincoln and Douglas

were both on the line here

they literally are

setting up the conflict in the nation

now I know Lincoln from when we're both young men

and no one can compete with him in wrestling

or a foot race or born whisking his grocery store

but we served on the state legislature together

and then Mr Lincoln submerged four time

until he reappeared in the hallowed halls of Congress

where he distinguished himself

by his opposition to the war with Mexico

taking the side of the common enemy

against his own country

and he again submerged

he came up again in 1854 this time

in cahoots with Fred Douglas

and his abolitionist friends

just in time to create this black Republican platform

that's right Douglas hit him again

thinking your two face

if I had two faces you think I'd be wearing this one

this old rivalry has come to roast

very good very good

Lincoln felt that his life had been a flat failure

compared to Douglas's

Douglas had gotten further than he had

and now

they're running against each other for the Senate

now I am no giant like Judge Douglas

I'm a mere mortal

now his ambition if fire exceeds my own

his party they all expect him to be president one day

and then

they will all reap the benefits of his greatness

yeah

but nobody has ever looked at my lean

like face and expected me to be president

people come to these debates with all the fervent love

and attention that they would bring to a giant

sporting event today

but these were

more important than any sporting event could have been

I am here to talk about basic principles

now if the Negro is a man

well then

my ancient faith teaches me

that all men are created equal

and that there can be no more right

in connection with one man making a slave of another

let's talk about principle

I care more for the great principle of self governing

the right of the people to rule

then I do for all the Negros inquisitive

when a white man governs himself

that is self governed but when he governs himself

and he also governs another man

that is more than self government that is despotism

Mr Lincoln and his ilk

won't Negro Equality in all things

if they get their way

Negroes and wives will be permitted to marry

Negroes will serve on juries

Negros will vote

during these debates

Lincoln's not an abolitionist by any stretch

but he's inadvertently making their arguments

as he's looking for logic

in the constitutionality of all this

and he goes way back to Euclid

Euclid is very much about how you prove something

beyond any shadow of a doubt

and

he's working toward crushing the fallacious arguments

on behalf of slavery

but like most people of the day

he absolutely

perfectly believes that black people are inferior

whether they're enslaved or freed

just because I believe the Negro should be free

does not mean that I want to marry one

as a nation

we began by declaring that all men are created equal

we now practically read it

all men are created equal except Negroes

soon it will read all men are created equal

except Negroes and foreigners and Catholics

Negroes like many other men

may not be equal in all things

but if they are men

they are entitled to their right to life

liberty and the pursuit of happiness

the real issue

which will last long after the tongues of Judge Douglas

and our son

is the eternal struggle between these two principles

between right and wrong

what Lincoln does so brilliantly is

he takes that poor language

the declaration of independence

and turns it into a nation's moral compass

and he couples that with constitutionality

and he couples that with scripture

he has a really powerful argument

this is where Lincoln makes his name

one debate after another

everything had prepared him for

the repertoire of talents that he was able to show

in these debates he's telling stories

he's funny he can talk philosophically

he can talk politically

the Lincoln Douglas debates helped Lincoln

raised his profile lifted him up a lot

but he loses the election

one of the things about Lincoln that's amazing

is that he loses a lot

but the great ones in life take a loss

and they come back

even though he loses the selection

once again the lost becomes a platform for him to grow

underlying it all is this

a passion that he has

a passion for that cause of anti slavery

which is coming to a head

in 1859 John Brown left Kansas

he and his small band of people

Black Sunrise many of them his own children

went into what was then western Virginia

to a town called Harpers Ferry

which was a federal armory to attack

the arsenal is

trying to organise an army of interracial folks

to go into the South

Arm the slaves and destroy the slave system

those who would not join him like Frederick Douglas

gave him moral support and gave him funds

the attack was a disaster

John Brown was captured and executed

and he sacrificed two of his sons

in the south there is an absolute fear

that there are more John Browns out there lurking

the thought of a mass of slave rebellion

unhinged white Southerners

and so we start to see more talks about secession

meanwhile many people in the north celebrated brown

church bells are totally

people thought that what he had done

was the right thing to do

using violence to enslavery

in a way that most Republican politicians

including Lincoln

were not willing to even consider at this point

and the reaction to brown is so important

in setting up the election of 1860

in 1860 the Republican Party was only running at second

presidential candidate

many Republicans assumed that the famous New Yorker

William Henry Seward would be the Republican nominee

Seward

it carried the banner of the anti slavery movement

for a decade he was a great orator

and beloved in large sections of the north

but Trent Scott cast Nebraska Act

John Brown

all these things have been ripping the country apart

Seward was not a candidate who people saw as

could bring that together

so Republican leaders in the east

began looking around for other possible alternatives

The Young Men's Republican Union

decides to organize a series of lectures in New York

Lincoln accepted the invitation immediately

he was relatively unknown in the east

if he can make an impression there

then he can leave an impression nationwide

the day of the speech

he had his photograph taken by Matthew Brady

that's an awareness

that he's making himself a national figure

I like to start by expressing my sincere gratitude

to the young man

Central Republican Union

for all the work done to public

by the time he got to Cooper Union

even though he's got a new suit

it's badly wrinkled his hair was disheveled

he does look awkward

that's Lincoln

looks like he slept in a bar

so Lincoln is the right thing belongs to Mccormick

I reckon if I needed anything

it's too late now an evident citizen of the west

ladies and gentlemen Mr Abraham Lincoln of Illinois

Mr Chairman and citizens of New York

the facts I will deal with

the facts I will deal with tonight

are nothing new to you

if there shall be any novelty

it may be

in the mode of presenting the facts and observations

sounds like an out of tune fiddle

give him a chance

Lincoln comes out

with his Indiana hick accent filling the air

a man taking notes writes

this is New York this will never do

and now if they would listen

as I suppose they will not

I would address a few words to the southern people

you have a specific and well understood illusion

to an assumed constitutional right

to take slaves in the federal territories

and hold them there is property

but no such right is

specifically written in the Constitution

your purpose then plainly stated

is that you will destroy the government

unless you be allowed to construe

and enforce the Constitution as please

you will rule or ruin in all events

something happens around 10 minutes in

his voice relaxes its high pitch

tininess melts into something more endurable

more bearable

his eyes begin to flash wrong as we think slavery is

we can yet afford to let it alone where it is

but can we allow it to spread

into the national territories

and overrun us here in the Free States

if our sense of duty forbids this

then let us stand by our duty

fearlessly and effectively

let us have faith that right makes might

and in that faith

let us to the end

dare to do our duty as we understand it

you're here

what do you think you're thinking now

appreciate that very much appreciate

he mesmerized this crowd after the Cooper Union speech

he was all over the media

if it had been on the internet today

it would have gone viral the next morning

every newspaper in New York City

carried an account of the speech

and it's reprinted in Detroit

in Washington in Chicago

even a German language version of the speech

invitations poured into him to go on

further speeches all throughout New England

you have the 1860 election coming up

there are some Republicans who see this guy in Lincoln

that is fresh he's folksy

he's moderate

he does seem to not be as radical as William Seward

the absolute front runner

or the Salmon Chase the governor of Ohio

he's not as conservative as Edward Bates

a judge former congressman from Missouri

those are the three main contenders for the nomination

so step by step he's accepting the fact that

I'm really running for the

president of the United States

and then he had this extraordinary team

headed by Judge Davis going to be his representative

at the Republican National Convention

and they loved him

they wanted to do everything they could for him

a judge you've got to make sure that everyone knows

which delegation they're supposed to make friends with

in Chicago

I've drawn up a list for our people to look after

but tell them not to press too hard for fuss too much

we have to make some fuss

there'll be a lot of New York men there

pushing hard for Seward if he takes on the first ballot

we're licked

he won't oh

he might

oh I understand that

I'm not anybody's first love

but I could be people's second

found the second biggest frog in that puddle

I got a fighting chance to jump over the beach haha

what we gotta do is get the delegates from Pennsylvania

Indiana and Ohio to go Lincoln

isn't Ohio just gonna go to chase

yeah Pennsylvania

be solid for camera it's just the first ballot

you have to switch to somebody

but we're gonna have to promise him something

to make it worth their while

no

no judge

don't make any pledges it will tie me up

okay

I can't be there but you got to do what I would do

now

the Republican National Committee needs

in May 1860 in Chicago

it's a very exciting thing

the Republican Party is feeling its oats

the presidential nominee for the Republican Party

needs 233 votes to win

while Lincoln is in Springfield

he has his friends on the ground in Chicago

headed by Judge Davis organizing as busyly as beavers

order

fellow Republicans please join your delegations

his team knows that

the importance is to win the battleground states

Pennsylvania New Jersey

Indiana we're about to begin the first ballot

I know you gotta vote Cameron in the first ballot

what about Lincoln in the second swing Pennsylvania

are we

that's a big ass

what's it gonna take

what have you got

as the first round voting goes

Seward as expected

gets the most votes

the extraordinary thing is that Lincoln comes in second

Seward might have some problems

he is too radical backdrop of all of this is

we've just dealt with an execution of John Brown

and the fever around John Brown

you've got this relatively new party

talking about holding slavery where it is

but you also know that people

who have aligned themselves with Republicans

are saying end it now

and so the Republican Party has to make a determination

principle

electability we're about to begin the second ballot

so what Pennsylvania say they want Treasury for Cameron

Abe said make no pledges remember

it's not here

so what did you do

Lincoln is in Springfield the entire time

Mr Lincoln good luck for today

oh I appreciate that Mr hey

don't you have anything for us

oh

all I have is this message from George Davis

very hopeful don't be excited

any idea what that means

after the second ballot Stewart gains a few more votes

but Lincoln gains many more

as delegations now switch to Lincoln

I call for third ballot

that idea that I would like to be your second love

if I can't get your first love

means that people who might have gone for Chaser Bates

now are going for Lincoln

that concludes the third ballot

and as yet no candidate has the majority

so we will now reconvene

so on the final round of voting

Lincoln has two hundred thirty one and a/2 votes

all he needs is another one and a/2 votes

order

order

the state of Ohio wishes to change its vote

Ohio what is your final vote

Ohio

give me your vote now what is your final vote

The State of Ohio wishes to change its vote

it wishes to switch four votes from Mr Chase

to Mr Lincoln

send the telegram to straight away straight away

ha ha yes

yes yes

yes bling done bling done

a gentleman walks into the theater

and sets his dove top hat down beside him

well he gets so wrapped up in the drama

that he didn't realize that an old

stout woman come and sit down right next to him yes

from Chicago

haha

congratulations little kid

thank you thank you gentlemen

God bless thank you gentlemen

thank you thank you

thank you

wow

well uh

thank you gentlemen

if you'll excuse me

there's a little woman on 8th Street

who will be glad to hear the news

yes she will

Lincoln's nomination shocked people

they had expected sewer to win

but this new guy had won

and there's an excitement and they rally around him

when Lincoln gets the nomination in may of 1860

in the North East the surprise nominee

he doesn't have that much experience running anything

he's not that well known

Frederick Douglas and other African Americans

we're not too sure of Lincoln

just because he's a Republican

doesn't mean that this man is an abolitionist

or that he's going to do us any good

at the same time he's hated in the south

and it was pretty clearly a racist hatred

there are accusations that he had African blood

or his wife did

southern newspapers call him terrible names

he's a baboon he's a gorilla

he's illiterate he's a tyrant

but going into the general election

there's a great possibility

that the Republicans will win

because the Democratic Party has split apart

there are four candidates in the election of 1860

of course Lincoln for the Republican Party

meanwhile

the Democratic Party has split itself into two factions

you have John Brackenridge

who's representing the white slave holding south

you have Steven Douglas representing white northerners

and then you have the Union Party LED by John Bell

this is one of the most exciting elections

in American history to that point

the future of the nation

the future of the democracy really seemed at stake

in Europe during this time

some experiments in democracy

in France and Germany

had failed and had gone back to being monarchies

in dictatorships

this great American experiment in democracy was so new

and so fragile

meanwhile Lincoln's at home in Springfield

was not considered proper

for a candidate to really campaign for himself

in those days

but during the election

Matthew Brady's photograph of Lincoln

was so widely reproduced that picture was everywhere

it was in illustrated newspapers

engravings for display

pins you could wear on your Lapel

few weeks before the election

Lincoln's receiving letters from people in reading them

and he receives a letter from 11 year old girl

she asked him to grow a beard

she said that she thought he would look better

and Lincoln does grow a beard and it looks good on him

he's listening to his constituency

the day of the general election

he's restless all day long

he's been so familiar with disappointment

that he just fears something bad will happen

About 9:00 he and Judge Davis

and the friends go to the telegraph office

to hear the returns coming in

finally midnight

the word comes in that New York has gone Republican

then the church bells ring

people gather in the streets this new guy had won

and then he runs home

as he says to tell Mary and famously says Mary

Mary we are elected

Mary always believed that he had a destiny

she surely believed in him

at the lowest moments of his life

and now this great moment has arrived

but Lincoln our most beloved president

one with the second worst popular vote

he only got 39.8% of the vote

which is very small

we now get worried if someone has less than 50%

he had less than 40% in the Electoral College

he got more than half got 180

but still was not a resounding victory

southern states have been saying if this man is elected

we will have no choice but to succeed

and as soon as he is elected

South Carolina decide to have a secession convention

and by December of 1860 they decide to leave the union

in February 1861 seven US states succeeded

the Confederate government formed

and puts Jefferson Davis in place as president

they're seceding for one thing and one thing only

and that is the preservation of slavery

and its expansion anybody who says it's states rights

it's terrorists it's this

it's nonsense

you have not read the articles of secession

that every single state laid out

and in every single one of them

they make very clear why they are seceding

and it is to preserve the institutional slavery

to control that financial interest forever

Lincoln believed over optimistically

that there was a way to get the southern

slave holding states back in the union

once he actually got to Washington

but before he left Illinois

Lincoln decided to visit his stepmother one more time

it refused to visit his father

on his deathbed

so his father died without Lincoln seeing him again

if it were up to me

you have no part in being a president

the way folks talk I can't help but worry about you

don't stop your worry I'll be fine

get him a proper stone

he'd be proud of you

and you always see the best in folks Mama

we'll see each other again

I promise

on February 11th, 1861

Lincoln begins the train journey to Washington

DC it would have been nice to take the shortest route

but he couldn't go to Kentucky

the city was born

or Virginia because it was too dangerous

he wrote a letter to a friend

that he was worried he might be lynched

so he has to go in this very winding roundabout route

over 19 miles whenever Lincoln comes in anywhere

everybody comes out to see him

there's hope

but there's also this fear

people would have known

that the southern states succeeded

these are difficult times

and their credible

assassination threats against Lincoln

there was intelligence of a massive conspiracy

to try to assassinate him

as he came through Baltimore

the leader of the plot had a system of drawing lots

pieces of paper with a red dot on them

and those who got a red dot

would try to kill Lincoln with guns

and knives and grenades

but Alan Pinkerton who was a railroad detective

penetrated the conspiracy with operatives

Davies Mr Pinkerton

it's all true

anyone who picked one with the red dot as an assassin

how many have red dots 8 is worse than I thought

the door is locked from the inside

yes ma'am

key please

my uncle is an invalid he requires absolute privacy

do you understand

you take a special overnight train

I've cleared the tracks

and how the telegraph lines cut from here to Baltimore

these men intend to create a diversion with the police

and stab you to death that's all

like Julius Caesar you need to take this seriously Abe

you have fierce enemies

if I sneak into the capital with fear

I'm showing good people there's reason to fear

so

the worst thing that could happen is

you don't make it to Washington

at all

you can't risk being recognized

take care of it

this is my associate Miss Key Warner

Mr Lincoln

it's an honor Miss Warren

I have far too plain to pass for your uncle

not at all sir

I wanna take comfort in the idea that common folk

with the best look

that's why the Lord made us so many

well

this is not how I plan to get to Washington

Lincoln goes from Harrisburg

Pennsylvania

to Philadelphia to Baltimore to Washington at night

in secret wearing a disguise

he arrives in Washington 6:00am unannounced

and he was attacked in the press

depicted in these crazy disguises

including kills doing the Mclinkin Highland Fling

and just ridiculed not a good thing for

a president

who's coming to Washington to exhibit courage

Frederick Douglas says at least now

Mister Lincoln knows

what it's like to travel on the Underground Railroad

when Lincoln ascends the presidency

and he issues his first inaugural address

African Americans are waiting

in anticipation to see what he's going to say

cause by this time

seven states have succeeded from the union

and African Americans are thinking

this is our opportunity you know

this is the time to end slavery

you got this Republican who has won

he's not an abolitionist

but you got enough Republicans who are ready to move on

these people who seen these traitors to the country

his first inaugural address is a moment

fraud with tension

there were still very serious fears of assassination

fellow citizens of the United States

in your hands

my dissatisfied fellow countrymen

and not in mind is the momentous issue of Civil War

Lincoln wanted the speech to be strong

without being threatening

to try to stem the tide of succession

the government will not assail you

you can have no conflict

without yourselves being the aggressors

he says federal forts and armories would be protected

and at the same time he says

I'm not a threat

and he promised to enforce the hated fugitive slave law

we are not enemies

but friends

we must not be enemies

though passion may have strained

it must not break our bonds of affection

link in the children's speech to William

Seward and Seward made corrections

and then Seward looked at the ending of the draft

and it says it's your choice

my friends in the south will it be peace or a sword

and Seward says you can't end it like this

so Seward writes out a really good idea

Lincoln looks at the suggestion

and displaying as much brilliance as an editor

as he showed as a writer

he recast Seward's proposal into poetry

the mystic cords of memory

stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave

to every heart and heart stone

all over this broad land

will yet swell the chorus of the union when again

touched as surely they will be

by the better angels of our nature

yeah

Happy New Year

this beautifully crafted

final paragraph steps away from threats

and just says you remember

we are all part of the same country

with equally valid memories of the revolution

that not only gave us our independence

but created a new kind of country

but

Lincoln was totally disappointing to Frederick Douglas

and other black men and women

because in that first inaugural address

Lincoln

talked about the fact that he had no inclination

no right to actually do anything about slavery

where it already existed

but he's also telling the south

he will not permit an illegal rebellion to happen

without a response

Lincoln has an immediate military problem on his plate

when those states in the south secede

they take over many of the federal arsenals and forts

that

leaves the United States with just a few federal forts

that it keeps including Fort Sumter in Charleston

South Carolina

the first day after his inauguration

he receives a message from Major Anderson

at Fort Sumter

telling him that they are running out of supplies

and unless an expedition can bring them relief

they will have to evacuate

Lincoln and the federal government

maintain

that all federal property still belongs to the union

so he meets with his cabinet

the night Lincoln won the election

he had made a decision that will define his presidency

to put each of his chief three rivals

suward and chase and Bates

into the top positions of the Cabinet

William Suward as secretary of State

Salmon Chase Secretary of the Treasury

Edward Bates Attorney General

each one of those three rivals

thought he should have been president

instead of Abraham Lincoln

and they think that Lincoln's rather unremarkable

but Lincoln realized the country is in peril

these are the most able men in the country

they each represented a different point of view

the moderate conservative and radical

I need them by my side

President Lyndon Johnson

might have talked about that issue in less noble terms

he like to say

it's better to have your enemies inside the tent

pissing out than outside the tent pissing in

general Scott says

we have no hope but to surrender for something

yes

and I think he's right

but Mr Seward

only yesterday I gave my solemn vow to hold

occupy and possess our thoughts

I believe you help me craft that passage

the situation is changed sir

Fort Center can't hold out

not without supplies

and the South Carolinians have made their intentions

more than clear

I advise withdraw

make it seem like our idea

not that the secessionists have forced us out

it seems the most reasonable course

no

I'd be encouraging their rebellion

the country would crumble

it's already crumbling we need time to short back up

wait for cooler hands you must send more ships

a fleet carrying reinforcements and long guns

I'll bet a bombardment will force them to back off

since when were you a Navy man Blair

I say we withdraw Mr President

look where compromise has gotten us

we have to crush them now before they grow stronger

I will not be the first to fire on my country

I told them that in my speech too

that leaves no alternative

how long can some to hold out for

General Scott thinks 26 days

how many of you say give up the four

you have to give up before him

or we'll bring this country to war

those weeks of anticipation before Fort Sumter

were the hardest weeks for him

he's still hoping that maybe

there be some way to prevent a war

look

all the papers

gonna know what you're gonna do about that fort

yeah so do I

huh

you have done a fine job with this scrapbook Willy

he's thinking if I provision for its Sumter

it might bring about a war

if I don't do that then

maybe

we're gonna look like we're so embolding the south

that it'll make the secession even more permanent

this division in the cabinet as to what he should do

Seward is talking to South Carolina

he's having discussions with the secessionist leaders

basically suggesting that this can be negotiated

things can be worked out and he's doing so

without Lincoln's knowledge or approval

if we send troops down south

we'll lose Virginia Arkansas all the border states

time is running out

abandoning the fort is inevitable

we can't let the rebels humiliate us

but overrunning it

the sooner we leave on our own the better

now we have a clear cut majority in agreement

so it's decided

no

it's not decided secretary suit

it's not decided until I decided

Mister President

now

I reckon that everything Secretary Sue would

says is true

but there are also other things that are true

one of them being

that I'm not willing to go back on my word

and I'm also not ready to give up

the way I see it

is that surrender would be ruinous to the union

by discouraging the folks at home

and encouraging our adversaries

and it might get this illegal confederacy

recognized by foreign powers

I have talked to a Navy man

who's got a plan to send supplies by sea

backed by a warship

and I have decided to do it

Lincoln's response was brief and firm

that puts Seward pretty firmly in his place

and it is something of a tribute to Seward

that he understood that Lincoln was the boss

and that there was more to Abraham Lincoln

that he had originally thought

Lincoln doesn't wanna create war

so he tries to again thread the needle on this

and he says to the governor of South Carolina

look I will just send food and water

I won't send one more man

not one more grain of powder

not one more bullet to Fort Temper

you couldn't be against someone getting food or water

could you he puts the Confederacy in a bind

if they allow the ship to come in

the stalemate continues if they fire

well

then the Confederacy is fire the first shot of the war

the Confederates decide to ask

Major Anderson to surrender

the fort

Anderson says no fire

the Confederates fire for 36 hours

until finally

the United States flag is lowered within port center

is any word on the Palhattan

I need to know the minute for itself is resupplied

this is for you

my Lord

sure

I hope you boys all re enlist yeah

yeah cause I need every single one of you

what can I do for you it's about that army of yours

came by to find out when you were intended to use it

again

why don't you leave military matters to military men

this war has nothing to do with generals

rebels fight on their own land

something else to make this a war for abolition

and we'll drive Kentucky to the rebels

it lead to insurrection in the north

massacre in the street

and the rebels will only fight hard

blood will be on your hands

blood is already on my hands