Abraham Lincoln (1930) Movie Script
Tom Lincoln!
It's a comin'
- Boy or gal?
- 'T aint fur enough along yit fer a tag.
- How's Nancy standin' it?
- She's a-prayin'
It's a boy?
It's as long as an eel!
Shucks, he'never
amount to nothin' nohow!
Is he purty?
Homely as a mud fence!
What do you 'low
to call him, Aunty?
Abraham.
There he is. Ugliest, laziest,
smartest man in New Salem.
- Ain't yuh, Abe?
- I don't mind my face, I'm behind it.
It's the people
in front that get jarred.
Whip any man in shoo
leather I At least, I hope he can.
Offut does the braggin'
I do the runnin'
You better dust off
them shoes then, stranger,
'cause you ain't here for long.
Well, I was aimin'
to settle here awhile.
- This ain't no peaceable town.
- Well, I'm a peaceable man.
Wait till
Jack Armstrong gets hold o' yuh.
He'll throw yuh out
that door like yuh was a sack o' meal!
- Big fellow?
- No bigger'n you,
but he's champeen o' this country
he ain' never been licked.
And when he sees you...
Folks can't even spit
without his sayso.
Chuck me outa that door, you say?
Like a sack o' meal.
Well, that's a pretty long
chuck for a peaceful man.
Whar be he?
Now, Armstrong,
cain't you leave us be?
Yuh just busted up
old man Simpson's place
and scattered
his new place all over the county.
Man, don't you ever rest?
Whare be he?
That yellow-livered baboon from Indianny!
I come from Indianny,
but not that part.
Well, get down!
Let's see what bones
I wants to crack first!
Get a good hold, Jack!
Come on,
an' get yer neck broke!
This is the neatest
wrestle you've ever had.
Go to him, Champ!
- Get 'in, Jack!
- Abraham Lincoln!
- Let's get 'im, Abe come on!
- Get 'in, Jack!
- Get 'im, Jack!
- Atta boy, Abe!
I'll bet yuh ten dollars,
Offut, on the Champeen!
- Watch 'im, boy!
- Git 'im!
- Watch 'im, boy!
- Come on, git 'im!
- Come on, git 'im!
- Git 'im!
Watch 'im, boy!
Come on, git 'im!
Now, come on, all o' you.
I'm the big tuck of thisn lick!
Yuh are, eh?
Hold on, boys!
He throwed me fair.
What's your name?
Lincoln,...
Abraham Lincoln.
Well, we're goin' to make yuh one of us.
Come on, boys, I'll set 'em up!
It's about time you set 'em up.
Let's have some o'
that rattlesnake bite.
He said he was a peaceful man.
He meant peaceful like a wildcat!
Yeh, that's what he thought.
Looks like good corn liquor.
That is corn liquor.
Come on, Abe. Where's yours?
No, I don't care much for it.
Come on, have a drink, Abe.
Well, I'll drink
if you'll take it like I do.
How's that?
Lift up the barrel,
and drink it outa the bung.
Well, I'll show you boys.
Maybe can, maybe can't.
Try it, anyway.
Whew!
He's the strongest man in Salem!
I told you he was the strongest man.
I've seen him lift
500 pounds in each hand.
- Ain't yuh drinkin?
- No.
- Teetotal?
- No.
Reformer?
No, I don't
regulate nobody's drinkin'
just my own.
I've seen him lift a thousand...
- In this sense,-
- the term "law" -
- includes any edict,-
- decree, order,-
- ordinance,-
- statute, resolutin,-
rule, etcetera. -
Uff!, etcetera...
Well, my old Daddy
taught me how to work,
but he never
taught me how to like it.
I reckon I better
keep on with the lesson.
I'd rather keep on
with something else.
You made a bad bargain
making me the professor.
Well he told me about that too.
He said:
"When you make a bad bargain,
hug it all the tighter. "
But he didn't mean
this kind of a bargain.
Well, don't you like it,
Ann, when I hold you tight?
I guess every girl sorta likes that...
Now, Abe, what is law?
Well, professor, law is a rule
of human conduct governing
Whoa!
Abe, I'ain't payin' you no forty
cents a day to spark a pretty gal!
Well, Uncle Jimmie,
I don't charge nothing extra for it
just throw it in.
I'm expectin'
a sight of rails cut of you.
He's the best
rail-splitter in the country.
He'll be more than a rail-splitter.
How old are you, Uncle Jimmie?
Oh nearin' forty.
I'll get you out forty
more rails than you expected.
Giddap! Maybe you'd better
make it nearin' seventy!
Now, Abe,
your professor needs a seat
where's there's more law
and less temptatin.
Oh, Abe! Ohhh!
Ohhhh!
- Are you all right, Anne?
- I think so.
- Are you hurt?
- My legs are still on me.
Scared me worse than it did you.
Did it, Abe?
You know, Anne, if anything happened
to you, I don't think I could live.
Funny, Abe, I feel the same about you.
You taught me how to love.
Have I taught you to like it?
In the gloaming, oh, my darling,-
When the lights are dim and low,-
And the quiet shadows falling. -
Softly come and softly go. -
It's awful nice this time of day.
Yes, Abe.
Can I tell you
a sort of a story, Anne?
Why of course, Abe.
Well, there was
a town in lllinois called...
called...
- New Salem?
- Yeh, that's it.
And in that town lived
the prettiest girl in the worid.
What was her name?
Anne Rutledge.
Oh, Abe...
What I'd like
to find out about that girl is,
she ever take a little time off
to think about gettin' married?
Well, maybe.
'Cause there's an Abe Lincoln
hanging around that's a pretty good catch.
What's he like?
Oh, he's a big merchant,
owner of three stores all bankrupt.
Well, is he handsome?
His pa said that Abe
had been cut out with an axe.
Politician too, I hear.
Yes, he's got less property
and owes more debts
than anybody
ever running for the legislature.
Oh, Abe, you'll do all
right when you get started.
There's something I'd like to start
right now if I thought I could finish it.
You know, Anne, I...
I've always done a lot of dreamin'
and lately it seems when I dream,
your face gets mixed up in it.
Does it really, Abe?
Tell me about the mixin'
I feel as though I'm going to be
seeing your face till the day I die.
'Course I know that would be pretty hard
for you to have to look at my face that long.
Everybody to their own opinin
Meaning?
I think...
it's the dearest, kindest,
most beautiful face in the whole worid!
Oh, Anne...
Anne...
I know
that's just flattery but I love it.
You know
I feel like little Jimmie Watkins,
he got a hunk of gingerbread
the other day and says:
"I guess there's nobody
likes ginger bread like I does and
gets so little of it".
Oh, Abe!
Anne, will you...
will you marry me?
I mean, of course when I...
when I...
get out of debt and can support you?
Well, you know, Abe,
I've intended to for a long while
that is, of course, if you asked me.
You... you mean?
Yes, Abe, you've got your gingerbread.
Oh, Anne!
Will you think of me and love me-
As you did once long ago?-
How is she, Doctor?
Pretty bad.
She's been asking for you, Abe.
I came as soon as I could.
I had the fever pretty bad myself.
I've got to tell you the truth, Abe,
It's hopeless...
perhaps by tomorrow...
no longer.
I'm so glad you came, Abe.
Are you all right now?
Now, don't bother about me, dear.
I'm all right now.
I know the truth, dear.
It's good-bye.
No, no, Anne dear,
you're not going to leave me!
I won't let you!
We must be brave, dear...
Don't take me away!
Don't take me away!
It's so dark and lonesome going!
Anne, you mustn't let go!
If they'd sing,
I wouldn't be so afraid.
In the sweet by and by,-
We shall meet on that beautiful shore. -
We will meet there, dear.
Oh... I love you so!
I love you so!
Feeling any better, Bowling?
No, not much.
I'll tell you, Doctor,
he's just like a sick child...
He was lost for five days
before we found him.
Yeh, I know.
We took his pocket-knife away from him,
we were so afeard something might happen.
Good gracious,
Abe, you're looking better!
No use trying to talk to him,
he just cain't answer.
If we could only think of something
that would just bring him back.
I guess time's the only thing.
Why should the spirit of mortal be proud,
like a swift-fleeting meteor,
fast-flying cloud?
Flash of the lightning,
break of the wave,
He passes from life
to his rest in the grave.
My goodness, Mary Todd, just think!
He'll be here in a few minutes
the catch of America!
Stephen A. Douglas!
Just think of being his wife!
Don't be in such a hurry, sister.
I'm not even engaged
much less married.
But if he should propose?
How do I know he's going further
than anyone else in Springfield?
When I pick a husband, sister,
I'll pick a man!
But I don't know
what you're talking about.
A lot of people seem to think
a man named Abraham Lincoln
is going even further than Mr. Douglas.
Why, Mary Todd, have you gone crazy?
You compare an unknown cornfield lawyer
with a brilliant cultured gentleman
like Stephen A. Douglas!
Why, if you just saw
the two of them together.
Oh, he's here!
Mr. Douglas is down in the parlor
and he's asking for Mary!
Now, Mary, you must be
very careful, and remember
he doesn't like to have giris too bold.
Don't get so excited,
sister, and don't hurry me.
I'll take care of myself.
You glide through the dance
like grace itself Miss Todd.
Always the politician, Mr. Douglas!
Who wouldn't be a politician
with so fair a constituent to win?
- Exquisite!
- The fan, Mr. Douglas?
No, the fair owner herself.
- May I look?
- Sr. Douglas...
I wonder if you'd do me a great favor?
Yes.
Then, pray present me
to this young lady.
- Miss Todd?
- Yes?
May I present one
of the leading lawyers of Springfield
Mr. Abraham Lincoln?
Mr. Lincoln!
Miss Todd I wonder
if you'd honor me with the next dance?
Why,... why...
I'd be delighted.
Miss Todd, you thought my face was funny,
and the way I dressed even funnier,
but the joke's on you.
Why, I don't understand.
Wait till you dance with me.
Have you got the license, Mr. Lincoln?
Well, she got you.
I knew she would
when she started out the first time for you.
Now, Billie, don't bother me.
I'm going to be married
and I'm scared to death.
Oh, don't be alarmed.
There's many a bite
that's worse than a bride's.
But, Billie,
that woman scares me.
She's even got the ridiculous idea
that I could get to be president.
Oh, don't take that seriously.
Every spunky girl thinks
that her husband ought to be president.
I know, Billie,
but it's a pity to fool her.
And she's a fine woman,
smart as pepper and pretty too.
She'll be a great help to you, Mr. Lincoln,
but you've got to keep
climbing with her.
Yes... yes, I know.
I've got the best supper
you've ever tasted
and the cake...
wait till you see that cake!
What can have happened
to Mr. Lincoln? It's long after the...
He would be late at his own wedding.
Now, never mind, Mary,
if he doesn't come soon,
I'll send John after him.
But he's hours late already!
Think of that!
Sister, calm yourself.
For heaven's sakes,
you've got to hurry!
Billie, you... you go ahead.
You go on over and I'll come later.
I doubt if there's a word in the
dictionary that could tell how I feel!
Billie, what does a man do
if his head's all right
but his legs are cowardly?
My cure is to get drunk.
My legs are too frightened
to pay any attentin to liquor.
I'll go ahead and
tell them that you're coming.
Anne!
Anne!
Anne!
We looked, everywhere,
tort we can't find him.
No, can't find him...
not at the office.
What on earth happened to him?
He was in a terrible
state when I left him.
He was so frightened and upset.
I imagine he just ran away.
Ran away... from me!
On our weddin' day!
Now sistern dear...
Don't 'sister' me!
Can you imagine! That's what a Todd gets
for engagin' herself to a country baboon!
- Listen, dear, you mustn't...
- You may as well all go home!
You hear me?
You may as well all go home!
Not goin' to be any weddin' here.
You can all go home
as far as I'm concerned!
But this is so distressing!
You certainly are a matchmaker
to reconcile those two after
what happened two years ago.
We all like Mr. Lincoln,
and Mary is just
the girl to push him along.
Oh, Mary, how sweet you look!
What a lovely dress!
Yes, and so becoming to her too.
Maybe that's Mr. Lincoln now.
Julia it all seems so strange
having things end this way.
It's just as it should end. You and
Mr. Lincoln will make a great man.
Good morning, Mr. Lincoln.
Good morning.
Come, my dear
we'll leave the happy pair alone.
Good morning, Mary.
I,... I...
Mary, you don't have
to bother about me any more.
I think I've settled down at last.
I hope I can make
your future all you desire.
We'll say no more about it, Mr. Lincoln.
I really think, after all, you need me.
You'll need a lot of patience
to put up with me, Mary,
but if anyone can do it,
I'm sure you're the one.
Oh, Mary!
Douglas is a prize speaker,
but just wait till old Abe
gets ahold of him on slavery!
You're crazy!
Lincoln has no more chance of beating
Douglas for Senate than I have.
He only went to school for three months.
There must be no issue of slavery.
We must face the facts.
I'll run Mr. Lincoln out of this campaign.
I will not throw mud.
Let each State mind its own business
and this Republic can exist forever...
divided into free and slave states.
We will not allow
the extensin of slavery to any State.
We will not allow
the secessin of any State.
Above all and before all,
the Unin must be preserved.
A house divided
against itself must fall!
- Douglas elected!-
- Hurrah for Douglas!-
- Douglas elected!-
- Hurrah for Douglas!-
- Douglas elected!-
- Hurrah for Douglas!-
Mary...
I'm home, Mary.
You must be tired, Mr, Lincoln.
Sit down.
You just ait right here.
I'll get your supper for you in a minute.
Billy, I feel like
the little boy who stubbed his toe.
It hurt too bad to laugh,
and he was too big to cry.
I'm fifty years old, Billy,
and a failure in everything.
If I died today,
nobody'd ever know I'd lived.
Come in.
Mr. Lincoln,
I want you to meet Mr. Pell
one of the most important
men in Eastern politics.
- I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Pell.
- I'm honored, indeed, Mr. Lincoln.
- Meet my partner, Mr, Herndon.
- How do you do, Mr. Herndon?
Happy to meet you, sir.
- Won't you sit down, gentlemen?
- Thank you.
Mr. Lincoln, your campaign against
Douglas has made you a national figure.
I'm here to ask you if you will consider
being the Republican party's candidate
for the presidency.
Did you say a failure in everything?
- A telegram for you, Mr. Fell.
- Oh thank you.
Mr. Lincoln, you know
ever since John Brown's raid,
the South has been infuriated,
the East on the verge of revolt,
and now New York
threatens to quit the Unin.
No, no New York mustn't do that.
We must keep the front door on the hinge.
There can be no secessin.
The Unin must be preserved.
The crisis is at hand, Mr. Lincoln,
and we believe you are the man.
Gentlemen,
I feel deeply grateful.
Paw, Maw says if you don't come on home,
you won't get no supper.
"I have another crisis; the soup and
the country are boiling over together!"
Maw's boiling too!
It needs deep consideratin.
Well, Mr. Lincoln,
mayn't we meet you at our hotel later?
- I'll be there within the hour?
- Thank you.
Come on, Paw, we're hungry.
They've started it.
This is gonna mean war!
This darkio saw it himself.
Brown and a gang of Abolxitionists
have captured the armory at Harper's Ferry!
They're arming the slaves
to rise up and murder us all.
They gived us all rifles.
And what'd you do with yours?
What'd I do? I trowed it down,
and I say, 'Feet, you travel'
- They can't invade Virginia.
- No!
Boys, go home and git your guns.
What's all this talk about guns?
This thing has gone far enough.
We'll be murdered
in our beds by our own slaves.
Pardon me, ladies,
while I find out about this desecratin.
- John Brown, eh?
- Abolitionists!
It's an outrage!
Outrage isn't the word.
I'll shoot on sight every Abolitionist
who dares defile the soil of old Virginia.
- Who's he?
- That's the actor, John Wilkes Booth.
He can't act
but the women don't know it.
All right, men, get your guns
and we'll meet at the square!
At the square!
Can't say much for her dispositin!
Hush! She may hear you.
Soldiers, indeed!
They can't even carry trunks.
Here you no, the stupid-looking one
put that over there...
and you... idiot
don't look at me like
a duck in a thunderstorm!
Hurry... hurry!
Will you put them in there?
I never saw such a lot of incompetents.
And as for you with the whiskers,
I told you to put it in there.
Oh, is it going to take forever?
Thank heavens, that's the last!
Imbeciles!
Well, Mary, we're here.
Thanks to me! If it wasn't for my advice,
you'd be out in Oregon, chopping trees.
Yes, you're always right, Mary.
I've found out one thing, Lincoln.
Servants here are no better
than they are in Springfield.
This place
hasn't been cleaned in a year.
Why, Mr. President!
Huh?
Then we agree that the situatin
of our country is ominous.
- Most alarming.
- Certainly.
We agree that we must yield
to the demands of the South
and evacuate Fort Sumter.
- Absolutely.
- It's the only solutin.
That must be done.
We agree that our President
must be firmly guided by us.
That we must make every effort
to control his inexperienced judgment.
- We certainly must.
- Yes.
Gentlemen...
- Mr. President.
- Good morning, Mr. President.
Thank you, Hay.
Thank you, gentlemen...
I will shoulder all responsibilities.
The relief shall go to Fort Sumter.
That means war.
Mr. Seward, I am a man of peace,
but the Unin shall be preserved.
Seventy-five thousand...
It might be difficult
to get that many volunteers.
- Glory, glory Hallelujah,-
- Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
- Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
- His soul is marching on!-
- Glory, glory Hallelujah,-
- Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
- I wish I was in Dixie,-
- Hooray! Hooray!-
- In Dixieland I'll take my stand-
- To live and die in Dixie. -
- Away, away, away down South in Dixie,-
- Away, away, away down South in Dixie. -
- I wish I was in Dixie,-
- Hooray! Hooray!-
- In Dixieland I'll take my stand-
- To live and die in Dixie. -
- Away, away, away down South in Dixie,-
- Away, away, away down South in Dixie. -
President, the people demand a victory,
and we've got to take Richmond.
The country is discouraged.
We must do something.
That reminds me of a story...
about a man building
a boat to cross a river.
He got impatient
building the boat and started swimming.
Well, sir, what happened?
He drowned.
We've got to be careful
not to drown this country.
Ready here!
Ready here!
- Quartermaster General.
- Yes, sir.
Ready here!
Ready here!
- Ready here!
- Sergeant, I'm going out.
- How did you make out?
- Make out?
He darned near kissed me.
- Who?
- The Secretary of War.
We're just licking
the tar out of thorn all along the line.
- Who's next?
- I am.
I hope it's for the President.
I'd like to sec his face
when he gets the good news.
Ready here! Commissary.
For General Scott.
Marked private.
Rush it it's victory!
General Scott, what news?
We're winning, sir. I'm sure of it.
- I wish...
- Come in.
Rebel resistance broken at Bulll Run,-
our army sweeping everything before it. -
President, if we can
capture Richmond now,
it means the end of the war.
- Ah, thank God.
- And you, sir...
this victory will silence
your enemies forever
and you will be
the greatest president in our history.
It doesn't matter
what they think of me, General.
- We will have saved the Unin.
- Yes.
General, would you mind
letting me have that telegram?
I'd like to show it
to Mrs. Lincoln myself.
Why, certainly, not, Mr. President.
And would you mind
not calling me 'Mr. President'..
just Lincoln.
All right, Lincoln.
Ready here!
Headquarters!
Sergeant, all messages
for General Scott, hold.
All messages for General Scott hold.
All messages for General Scott hold.
Attentin! Commanding officer.
At ease!
Ready here!
Bad news?
Give it to me.
Attentin the President!
At ease!
Well, General, what news now?
And the first reports?
Over-confidence.
Yes, I should have known.
Impossible to reform lines. -
The men are a confused mob,-
entirely demoralized. -
You must make every effort
to save Washington.
- 1!
- 2!
- 3!
- 4!
- 1!
- 2!
- 3!
- 4!
- 1!
- 2!
- 3!
- 4!
- 1!
- 2!
Battalion!
On right into line, March!
Company, halt!
Left turn!
Right turn!
Halt!
First Company, right by fours.
Halt!
Forward!
Halt!
Forward!
Well, they're gathering.
The reserves are gathering, sir.
- How many regulars can we muster?
- About five thousand.
- Volunteers?
- Doubtful, sir.
Can we hold Washington?
We'll do our best sir.
Mr. Hay, is it true
we have to get out of Washington?
It is very serious, madam.
For heaven's sake,
what sort of an army have we anyhow?
They did the best
they could, Mrs. Lincoln.
They might have considered us.
It'll take forever
to get those trunks packed.
I'm sorry, madam, for all of us.
Mr. Lincoln, I hear we're leaving.
Just a moment, Mary, please.
After all the trouble we had getting here,
I must say we've had a very short stay.
Mary, I've hung up my hat right here,
and here it stays till
they knock it off with a bayonet.
From now on, Mary,
I'm going to run this war.
March! Halt!
Headquarters,
Post Number Four.
Halt! Guard.
Forward March!
Counsel of the accused,
have you nothing further
to say in defense of the prisoner?
The court finds you guilty
and the sentence death.
- Just a minute.
- The President... attentin!
You must pardon me,
gentlemen, for this intrusin.
I overheard one of our soldiers
sentenced to death.
Yes, Mr. President.
A bad example of cowardice and desertin.
Well, young man, tell me about it.
I think the findings
of the court were just, sir.
That all you have to say?
Sire, it was our first big battle.
We were trying to take a stone wall.
We'd been trying,
it seems, for years...
Go on.
Finally, though, we got there.
I was fighting bayonets.
We were all crazy...
on top of the wall...
Yes?
There was my boyhood chum,
looking up at me from the ground.
Not alive,
we had killed him a long time ago,
but I knew him.
And then?
I guess I went really crazy, sir.
That's all.
The captain reports
that you threw your rifle away.
Yes, sir. That must be right, sir.
Making excuses, Colton?
No, sir only...
get it over with, quick!
Hanging, killing, blood.
I'm tired.
But my generals are right,
we must maintain discipline.
That's all.
Wait a minute.
Bring that young man back.
I have it!
- It's a leg case.
- I beg your pardon, sir?
Leg case... yes, yes,
my shelves are full of them,
but not quite like this one.
If the Lord Almighty
gives a man a cowardly pair of legs,
and that man gets frightened,
he can't help his legs
running away with him, can he?
Young man, I'm going to pardon you.
Go back and do your duty.
Oh, I will, sir! I will!
I'm trusting you.
Well, Senator?
Mr. President, my state of New York
is crying out
against this endless slaughter.
And mine, sir.
They're holding services here today
for those who were sacrificed,
as they are everywhere.
From the East to the West, sir.
It can't go on, sir.
New England,the West,
the entire country are in mourning
for this useless waste of lives.
Let the Southern States
go there wat, Mr. President,
and we will go ours.
But I tell you, Mr. President...
- ... out of the wilderness,-
- out of the wilderness. -
- Old Abe Lincoln-
- came out of the wilderness,-
down in lllinois. -
Daddy, mother won't let me stay up.
She wants me to go to bed,
and I don't want to.
Don't you think it's time
for little boys to be in bed, Tad?
- But I want to stay with you.
- But your mother?
If you say so, she can't make me.
You're the President.
You're the only person in the country
who thinks I should have any authority.
- Run along now.
- No.
I want to stay with you.
Please, can't I, daddy?
No, we're very busy here now, Tad.
Run along.
All right, daddy.
- Goodnight.
- Goodnight.
Sleep tight.
Goodnight...
Gentlemen,
don't you suppose my heart bleeds
for all the sorrows
this war has brought upon us?
Do you suppose there is a human being
who wants peace more than I do.
But we want lasting peace,
and we can have that only
by preserving the Unin.
And, gentlemen...
the Unin is going to be preserved!
- And by virtue of the power,-
- and for the purpose aforesaid,-
- I do order and declare-
- that all persons held as slaves -
- within said designated states-
- and parts of states-
- are henceforward-
- and forever shall be... -
free. -
Well, gentlemen, it is done.
- More bad news, Hay?
- I'm afraid there is.
Well, let's have it.
The Secret Service
reports that there are 600.000
pperheads in the North and under cath and arme
- To get me?
- Yes.
That many ought
to keep me dodging.
We're taking
every precautin to guard you.
Where are they mostly?
Ohio has one 100.000 armed men
ready to rise up and depose you.
lllionois, 135.000.
lllinois,
my old stamping ground...
That makes me feel badly.
You mustn't tell Mary.
But Mr. President,
we are worried about you.
Don't mind me, Hay.
Go on to bed, you're tired.
Lincoln, come on to bed.
I'm worried, Mary.
You can't win this war worrying and
walking around in your stocking feet.
I can't sleep.
Neither can I. At least we could sleep
in Springfield, couldn't we?
Did we ever sleep?
Now, stand still.
I've got it, Mary.
I've found the man to win this war
and his name is Grant.
I'm sorry, Mr. President, but smoking
is one of my most persistent habits.
And winning victories is another.
Thank you.
Then you do believe in me, Sir?
I sent for you.
General, the North is desperate.
We need you.
And, should I assume command,
there will be no interference?
None. I promise you that.
Grant,...
Lieutenant-General is
the highest army command
the President can bestow.
We haven't had one
since General Washington.
He was a fair sort of a soldier too.
Lieutenant-General Grant,...
my orders are: Win the War.
I'll give my best, Mr. President.
I know you will.
Unfortunately many of us
have failed to recognize
a great Confederate Soldier.
Lee.
On the other hand, we have thus far
failed to take advantage
of a great Northern Soldier.
I hope I am not too late
in correcting the error.
Mr. President,
I think it only fair to warn you
that many people, don't approve of me.
Nor of me.
But rest assured
there will be no interference,
no intrusin.
Well, of all things!
Who locked this door?
My wife!
All right, Mary.
Land sakes!
Where did all the smoke come from?
Mary, meet General Grant. Mrs. Lincoln.
- It's a pleasure to meet the first lady.
- Thank you.
- I want to talk to you. Mr. Lincoln.
- But Mary, we...
I want to talk to you about discharging
some of the servants in this house.
I don't see how anybody
could talk in here with all this smoke.
Why don't you open the window?
I can't stand it!
Pardon me, General.
I'll have to talk to you later.
- I'm very sorry if...
- There no apoligies, General.
You've given me an idea.
I may take up smoking myself.
But to resume, General.
We will give you
all the help you need.
Every man capable
of bearing arms shall go.
We've got to win this war.
It is a duty we owe
the South as well as the North.
It's a big job, Mr. President...
a big job.
but thy will be done.
Thy will be done.
We're in a tight place now.
Yes, we generally are, Stanton.
Everything depends upon Sheridan.
He's a fighting Irishman.
Then why doesn't he fight?
- One divisin Sheridan's -
- army routed. -
Now trying to hold left flank. -
Oh, the blood it takes
to hold this Unin together.
It will undo everything
Grant has done. It's hopeless.
I don't think so...
Before each victory I've had
a visin of a ship with white sails.
That visin has just conic to me.
With all respect,
I'd rather trade your ship
for good news from Sheridan.
Is that General Sheridan in there?
Sure 'tis General Sheridan.
Doesn't that sound like cannon fire?
I don't hear anything, sir.
Hey, come here.
Have you good ears?
Pretty good when they're washed.
Then try them.
Do you hear anything like cannon fire?
It's cannon all right,
over by the swamp.
They may have caught
General Wright by surprise!
Mount those shorses!
- Sheridan's entire army-
- has met an overwhelming defeat. -
Incredible.
And no word from Sheridan.
I'm afraid he was away.
It means the defeat of all our plans.
Yes, for we'll have
to withdraw Grant from Richmond
to protect Washington.
Come on, boys! Come on!
General,
the right wing is in full retreat.
Impossible to hold our positin, sir.
Tell Colonel Tolliver
to reform and hold at all costs.
We're going back!
Officers, reform your men!
We're going back!
- Come on boys, let's go!
- Let's go, boys!
Forward!
Forward to victory!
- Down with, the traitor,-
- up with the star!-
- While we rally-
- 'round the flag boys,-
- We'll rally-
- once again,-
shouting the battle cry of freedom!-
Yes, we'll rally 'round the flag, boys-
We'll rally once again,-
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,-
- We will rally from the hillside,-
- We'll gather from the plain. -
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,-
- The Unin forever,-
- hurrah, boys, hurrah!-
- Sown with the traitor,-
- up with the star. -
While we rally round the flag boys,-
We'll rally once again,-
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,-
Arrived in time to reform forces. -
Have struck the enemy-
- and have won an
overwhelming victory. Sheridan. -
I knew it.
I knew it...
Better and better. Look! Here.
Tremendous number of prisoners.
Prisoners?
I hope there's nothing
but prisoners from now on.
The ship, Stanton!
Yes, Mr. President,
and Sheridan!
Surrender...
my poor army!
I'd rather die a thousand deaths
than do that to them.
There, General,
you must lie down and rest.
Rest...
that's a beautiful word...
They've caught a spy and they want
the order for his executin approved.
Colonel Marshall...
who was that?
- Only a courier, sir.
- What did he want?
They've caught a spy.
I approved the executin order, sir.
Colonel,...
the only reason for shooting a spy
is the protectin of an army, isn't it?
Yes, sir.
Well,...
you and I know
that this army can't exist much longer.
Isn't that right?
Yes, sir.
That is why I am unwilling
that there shall be a single life lost
unnecessarily.
Colonel...
I wonder if you'd mind
countermanding that order.
I will.
Yes, sir.
Tired, Grant?
Not much.
Mr. President, we have them.
It can only last a few days more.
General Sherman and I are glad
of this chance to talk with you.
The Unin...
we've saved it at last.
They must surrender soon.
The Unin...
We'll have 'em all back...
United, free...
one Country.
And meanwhile, Mr. President?
I've heard the country
wishes all rebel property confiscated
and the rebel generals,
such as Lee, shot for treason.
He's put up a grand battle.
And they've robbed
the cradle and the grave, sir.
Lee is fighting with his last breath.
Shoot Robert E. Lee?
Someone will have to shoot
Abraham Lincoln first.
They're rebels, not traitors.
And their horses and baggage, sir?
They'll need them
for the spring plowing.
Let 'em keep 'em and get to work.
Very good, sir.
Just one thing more, Mr. President...
the head of the rebel government
Jefferson Davis?
Jefferson Davis...
Do you wish his capture?
That reminds me of a story.
We had a terrible drunkard once
in Springfield.
Finally he signed the pledge.
Next day he got thirsty
and went to a bar
and ordered a lemonade.
While the bartender was fixing it,
the old drunk got sadder and sadder.
Finally he leaned over
and said to the bartender,
"Mike, while you're fixin' that,
couldn't you put
a nice little shot of whiskey in,
unbeknownst to meself?"
Well, sir?
Couldn't you sort
of lot Jeff Davis escape,
unbeknownst to yourselves?
We'll do our part, sir.
We're going to take them back
as though they'd never been away.
Lincoln...
He freed the negroes.
He's supressed
the right of a trail by jury.
He muzzled the press!
Now, wiht the oid of this "butternuts",
his army and his negroes,
he make himself
King of the Amrica.
Lincoln!
I drink to him...
and his domatin!
Right,...
you're right.
On my part...
Go on,
you're among friends...
The man who kills Abraham Lincoln
will be inmortal.
Now, listen...
I have a plan...
and I'm going in.
Do you mind my smoking, Mrs. Lincoln?
No, not much.
You don't know how glad we all are
that you were reelected, Mr. President.
I'm sure this lady will be glad
to spend four more years
in the White House.
Glad? I've just hired two new maids.
Lincoln, will you ever learn
to keep your feet in shoes?
Mrs. Lincoln,
have you met General Grant?
I met him. It took us a week
to get the smoke out of the curtains.
Yes, Oglesby, he's one
human being who has faults.
A party of prohibitionists,
called on me the other day
and complained about Grant's drinking.
I told 'em if I knew what brand he uses,
I'd send barrels of it
to my other generals.
Two new maids...
If we're going to be
here four more years...
Four years...
four more years...
Mr. Lincoln, don't you go thinking
about of those dreams again.
You'll live two hundred and after
we'll celebrate it right over here,
we'll travel around the worid
and have a nice long rest.
Oh, Daddy!,
Would that be fun?
- You're not going without me...?
- Why, of course not, Tad.
You can depend on Mother Surratt,
and everything is straight with me.
I said I'd go through with it,
and I will.
Tonight will be remembered
throughout the ages.
I play my best part.
How much better a dagger would look,
Cassius used a dagger,
but this is safer.
- Speech!
- Speech!
- Speech!
- Speech!
Again I say,
with malice toward none,
with charity for all,
with firmness in the right
as God gives us to see the right,
we shall bind up
the natin's wounds and cherish peace.
That government of the people,
by the people, for the people
shall not perish from the earth.
Thank you.
God bless you all.
Mr. Lincoln, I'm just proud of you!
- Peanuts, hold the horse for me?
- Yes.
Will you be long, sir?
No, not very long.
Dundreary,
would you mind bringing me a wrap?
I feel a draught.
I'm afraid you must be mistaken.
Mr. Lincoln...
has just stopped the draft.
I reckon I'm going
to feel right to home here, b'gosh!
I would be too if it wasn't for
that 'ternal servant-critter
with brass buttons on his coat.
He just swells out his big bosom
like a turkey cock in layin' time,
looks at me as if I meant
to esquatulate with the spoons.
I reckon they don't know who they're
dealin' with, but I'll show 'em.
I'm as obstinate
as Deacon Stumpp's forelock.
"It wouldn't lie down; it couldn't stand up,"
wouldn't point forward and couldn't go backward.
I don't know what
they're going to do with me,
but whatever they do do
and wherever they put me,
I hope it's outa
the reach of that jackass.
I'm a real hoss, I am,
and I get kinda riley with them critters.
They say I don't know
the manners of good society too,
but I guess I know enough
to turn that old gal inside out,
the sock-dollaging old mantrap.
But I dare no more kill her
than I dare ask Queen Victoria
to dance a Cape Cod reel.
Sic semper tyrannis!
Mr. Lincoln,
Mr. Lincoln has been shot!
Get a doctor!
Somebody get a doctor!
Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
His soul is marching on!-
It's a comin'
- Boy or gal?
- 'T aint fur enough along yit fer a tag.
- How's Nancy standin' it?
- She's a-prayin'
It's a boy?
It's as long as an eel!
Shucks, he'never
amount to nothin' nohow!
Is he purty?
Homely as a mud fence!
What do you 'low
to call him, Aunty?
Abraham.
There he is. Ugliest, laziest,
smartest man in New Salem.
- Ain't yuh, Abe?
- I don't mind my face, I'm behind it.
It's the people
in front that get jarred.
Whip any man in shoo
leather I At least, I hope he can.
Offut does the braggin'
I do the runnin'
You better dust off
them shoes then, stranger,
'cause you ain't here for long.
Well, I was aimin'
to settle here awhile.
- This ain't no peaceable town.
- Well, I'm a peaceable man.
Wait till
Jack Armstrong gets hold o' yuh.
He'll throw yuh out
that door like yuh was a sack o' meal!
- Big fellow?
- No bigger'n you,
but he's champeen o' this country
he ain' never been licked.
And when he sees you...
Folks can't even spit
without his sayso.
Chuck me outa that door, you say?
Like a sack o' meal.
Well, that's a pretty long
chuck for a peaceful man.
Whar be he?
Now, Armstrong,
cain't you leave us be?
Yuh just busted up
old man Simpson's place
and scattered
his new place all over the county.
Man, don't you ever rest?
Whare be he?
That yellow-livered baboon from Indianny!
I come from Indianny,
but not that part.
Well, get down!
Let's see what bones
I wants to crack first!
Get a good hold, Jack!
Come on,
an' get yer neck broke!
This is the neatest
wrestle you've ever had.
Go to him, Champ!
- Get 'in, Jack!
- Abraham Lincoln!
- Let's get 'im, Abe come on!
- Get 'in, Jack!
- Get 'im, Jack!
- Atta boy, Abe!
I'll bet yuh ten dollars,
Offut, on the Champeen!
- Watch 'im, boy!
- Git 'im!
- Watch 'im, boy!
- Come on, git 'im!
- Come on, git 'im!
- Git 'im!
Watch 'im, boy!
Come on, git 'im!
Now, come on, all o' you.
I'm the big tuck of thisn lick!
Yuh are, eh?
Hold on, boys!
He throwed me fair.
What's your name?
Lincoln,...
Abraham Lincoln.
Well, we're goin' to make yuh one of us.
Come on, boys, I'll set 'em up!
It's about time you set 'em up.
Let's have some o'
that rattlesnake bite.
He said he was a peaceful man.
He meant peaceful like a wildcat!
Yeh, that's what he thought.
Looks like good corn liquor.
That is corn liquor.
Come on, Abe. Where's yours?
No, I don't care much for it.
Come on, have a drink, Abe.
Well, I'll drink
if you'll take it like I do.
How's that?
Lift up the barrel,
and drink it outa the bung.
Well, I'll show you boys.
Maybe can, maybe can't.
Try it, anyway.
Whew!
He's the strongest man in Salem!
I told you he was the strongest man.
I've seen him lift
500 pounds in each hand.
- Ain't yuh drinkin?
- No.
- Teetotal?
- No.
Reformer?
No, I don't
regulate nobody's drinkin'
just my own.
I've seen him lift a thousand...
- In this sense,-
- the term "law" -
- includes any edict,-
- decree, order,-
- ordinance,-
- statute, resolutin,-
rule, etcetera. -
Uff!, etcetera...
Well, my old Daddy
taught me how to work,
but he never
taught me how to like it.
I reckon I better
keep on with the lesson.
I'd rather keep on
with something else.
You made a bad bargain
making me the professor.
Well he told me about that too.
He said:
"When you make a bad bargain,
hug it all the tighter. "
But he didn't mean
this kind of a bargain.
Well, don't you like it,
Ann, when I hold you tight?
I guess every girl sorta likes that...
Now, Abe, what is law?
Well, professor, law is a rule
of human conduct governing
Whoa!
Abe, I'ain't payin' you no forty
cents a day to spark a pretty gal!
Well, Uncle Jimmie,
I don't charge nothing extra for it
just throw it in.
I'm expectin'
a sight of rails cut of you.
He's the best
rail-splitter in the country.
He'll be more than a rail-splitter.
How old are you, Uncle Jimmie?
Oh nearin' forty.
I'll get you out forty
more rails than you expected.
Giddap! Maybe you'd better
make it nearin' seventy!
Now, Abe,
your professor needs a seat
where's there's more law
and less temptatin.
Oh, Abe! Ohhh!
Ohhhh!
- Are you all right, Anne?
- I think so.
- Are you hurt?
- My legs are still on me.
Scared me worse than it did you.
Did it, Abe?
You know, Anne, if anything happened
to you, I don't think I could live.
Funny, Abe, I feel the same about you.
You taught me how to love.
Have I taught you to like it?
In the gloaming, oh, my darling,-
When the lights are dim and low,-
And the quiet shadows falling. -
Softly come and softly go. -
It's awful nice this time of day.
Yes, Abe.
Can I tell you
a sort of a story, Anne?
Why of course, Abe.
Well, there was
a town in lllinois called...
called...
- New Salem?
- Yeh, that's it.
And in that town lived
the prettiest girl in the worid.
What was her name?
Anne Rutledge.
Oh, Abe...
What I'd like
to find out about that girl is,
she ever take a little time off
to think about gettin' married?
Well, maybe.
'Cause there's an Abe Lincoln
hanging around that's a pretty good catch.
What's he like?
Oh, he's a big merchant,
owner of three stores all bankrupt.
Well, is he handsome?
His pa said that Abe
had been cut out with an axe.
Politician too, I hear.
Yes, he's got less property
and owes more debts
than anybody
ever running for the legislature.
Oh, Abe, you'll do all
right when you get started.
There's something I'd like to start
right now if I thought I could finish it.
You know, Anne, I...
I've always done a lot of dreamin'
and lately it seems when I dream,
your face gets mixed up in it.
Does it really, Abe?
Tell me about the mixin'
I feel as though I'm going to be
seeing your face till the day I die.
'Course I know that would be pretty hard
for you to have to look at my face that long.
Everybody to their own opinin
Meaning?
I think...
it's the dearest, kindest,
most beautiful face in the whole worid!
Oh, Anne...
Anne...
I know
that's just flattery but I love it.
You know
I feel like little Jimmie Watkins,
he got a hunk of gingerbread
the other day and says:
"I guess there's nobody
likes ginger bread like I does and
gets so little of it".
Oh, Abe!
Anne, will you...
will you marry me?
I mean, of course when I...
when I...
get out of debt and can support you?
Well, you know, Abe,
I've intended to for a long while
that is, of course, if you asked me.
You... you mean?
Yes, Abe, you've got your gingerbread.
Oh, Anne!
Will you think of me and love me-
As you did once long ago?-
How is she, Doctor?
Pretty bad.
She's been asking for you, Abe.
I came as soon as I could.
I had the fever pretty bad myself.
I've got to tell you the truth, Abe,
It's hopeless...
perhaps by tomorrow...
no longer.
I'm so glad you came, Abe.
Are you all right now?
Now, don't bother about me, dear.
I'm all right now.
I know the truth, dear.
It's good-bye.
No, no, Anne dear,
you're not going to leave me!
I won't let you!
We must be brave, dear...
Don't take me away!
Don't take me away!
It's so dark and lonesome going!
Anne, you mustn't let go!
If they'd sing,
I wouldn't be so afraid.
In the sweet by and by,-
We shall meet on that beautiful shore. -
We will meet there, dear.
Oh... I love you so!
I love you so!
Feeling any better, Bowling?
No, not much.
I'll tell you, Doctor,
he's just like a sick child...
He was lost for five days
before we found him.
Yeh, I know.
We took his pocket-knife away from him,
we were so afeard something might happen.
Good gracious,
Abe, you're looking better!
No use trying to talk to him,
he just cain't answer.
If we could only think of something
that would just bring him back.
I guess time's the only thing.
Why should the spirit of mortal be proud,
like a swift-fleeting meteor,
fast-flying cloud?
Flash of the lightning,
break of the wave,
He passes from life
to his rest in the grave.
My goodness, Mary Todd, just think!
He'll be here in a few minutes
the catch of America!
Stephen A. Douglas!
Just think of being his wife!
Don't be in such a hurry, sister.
I'm not even engaged
much less married.
But if he should propose?
How do I know he's going further
than anyone else in Springfield?
When I pick a husband, sister,
I'll pick a man!
But I don't know
what you're talking about.
A lot of people seem to think
a man named Abraham Lincoln
is going even further than Mr. Douglas.
Why, Mary Todd, have you gone crazy?
You compare an unknown cornfield lawyer
with a brilliant cultured gentleman
like Stephen A. Douglas!
Why, if you just saw
the two of them together.
Oh, he's here!
Mr. Douglas is down in the parlor
and he's asking for Mary!
Now, Mary, you must be
very careful, and remember
he doesn't like to have giris too bold.
Don't get so excited,
sister, and don't hurry me.
I'll take care of myself.
You glide through the dance
like grace itself Miss Todd.
Always the politician, Mr. Douglas!
Who wouldn't be a politician
with so fair a constituent to win?
- Exquisite!
- The fan, Mr. Douglas?
No, the fair owner herself.
- May I look?
- Sr. Douglas...
I wonder if you'd do me a great favor?
Yes.
Then, pray present me
to this young lady.
- Miss Todd?
- Yes?
May I present one
of the leading lawyers of Springfield
Mr. Abraham Lincoln?
Mr. Lincoln!
Miss Todd I wonder
if you'd honor me with the next dance?
Why,... why...
I'd be delighted.
Miss Todd, you thought my face was funny,
and the way I dressed even funnier,
but the joke's on you.
Why, I don't understand.
Wait till you dance with me.
Have you got the license, Mr. Lincoln?
Well, she got you.
I knew she would
when she started out the first time for you.
Now, Billie, don't bother me.
I'm going to be married
and I'm scared to death.
Oh, don't be alarmed.
There's many a bite
that's worse than a bride's.
But, Billie,
that woman scares me.
She's even got the ridiculous idea
that I could get to be president.
Oh, don't take that seriously.
Every spunky girl thinks
that her husband ought to be president.
I know, Billie,
but it's a pity to fool her.
And she's a fine woman,
smart as pepper and pretty too.
She'll be a great help to you, Mr. Lincoln,
but you've got to keep
climbing with her.
Yes... yes, I know.
I've got the best supper
you've ever tasted
and the cake...
wait till you see that cake!
What can have happened
to Mr. Lincoln? It's long after the...
He would be late at his own wedding.
Now, never mind, Mary,
if he doesn't come soon,
I'll send John after him.
But he's hours late already!
Think of that!
Sister, calm yourself.
For heaven's sakes,
you've got to hurry!
Billie, you... you go ahead.
You go on over and I'll come later.
I doubt if there's a word in the
dictionary that could tell how I feel!
Billie, what does a man do
if his head's all right
but his legs are cowardly?
My cure is to get drunk.
My legs are too frightened
to pay any attentin to liquor.
I'll go ahead and
tell them that you're coming.
Anne!
Anne!
Anne!
We looked, everywhere,
tort we can't find him.
No, can't find him...
not at the office.
What on earth happened to him?
He was in a terrible
state when I left him.
He was so frightened and upset.
I imagine he just ran away.
Ran away... from me!
On our weddin' day!
Now sistern dear...
Don't 'sister' me!
Can you imagine! That's what a Todd gets
for engagin' herself to a country baboon!
- Listen, dear, you mustn't...
- You may as well all go home!
You hear me?
You may as well all go home!
Not goin' to be any weddin' here.
You can all go home
as far as I'm concerned!
But this is so distressing!
You certainly are a matchmaker
to reconcile those two after
what happened two years ago.
We all like Mr. Lincoln,
and Mary is just
the girl to push him along.
Oh, Mary, how sweet you look!
What a lovely dress!
Yes, and so becoming to her too.
Maybe that's Mr. Lincoln now.
Julia it all seems so strange
having things end this way.
It's just as it should end. You and
Mr. Lincoln will make a great man.
Good morning, Mr. Lincoln.
Good morning.
Come, my dear
we'll leave the happy pair alone.
Good morning, Mary.
I,... I...
Mary, you don't have
to bother about me any more.
I think I've settled down at last.
I hope I can make
your future all you desire.
We'll say no more about it, Mr. Lincoln.
I really think, after all, you need me.
You'll need a lot of patience
to put up with me, Mary,
but if anyone can do it,
I'm sure you're the one.
Oh, Mary!
Douglas is a prize speaker,
but just wait till old Abe
gets ahold of him on slavery!
You're crazy!
Lincoln has no more chance of beating
Douglas for Senate than I have.
He only went to school for three months.
There must be no issue of slavery.
We must face the facts.
I'll run Mr. Lincoln out of this campaign.
I will not throw mud.
Let each State mind its own business
and this Republic can exist forever...
divided into free and slave states.
We will not allow
the extensin of slavery to any State.
We will not allow
the secessin of any State.
Above all and before all,
the Unin must be preserved.
A house divided
against itself must fall!
- Douglas elected!-
- Hurrah for Douglas!-
- Douglas elected!-
- Hurrah for Douglas!-
- Douglas elected!-
- Hurrah for Douglas!-
Mary...
I'm home, Mary.
You must be tired, Mr, Lincoln.
Sit down.
You just ait right here.
I'll get your supper for you in a minute.
Billy, I feel like
the little boy who stubbed his toe.
It hurt too bad to laugh,
and he was too big to cry.
I'm fifty years old, Billy,
and a failure in everything.
If I died today,
nobody'd ever know I'd lived.
Come in.
Mr. Lincoln,
I want you to meet Mr. Pell
one of the most important
men in Eastern politics.
- I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Pell.
- I'm honored, indeed, Mr. Lincoln.
- Meet my partner, Mr, Herndon.
- How do you do, Mr. Herndon?
Happy to meet you, sir.
- Won't you sit down, gentlemen?
- Thank you.
Mr. Lincoln, your campaign against
Douglas has made you a national figure.
I'm here to ask you if you will consider
being the Republican party's candidate
for the presidency.
Did you say a failure in everything?
- A telegram for you, Mr. Fell.
- Oh thank you.
Mr. Lincoln, you know
ever since John Brown's raid,
the South has been infuriated,
the East on the verge of revolt,
and now New York
threatens to quit the Unin.
No, no New York mustn't do that.
We must keep the front door on the hinge.
There can be no secessin.
The Unin must be preserved.
The crisis is at hand, Mr. Lincoln,
and we believe you are the man.
Gentlemen,
I feel deeply grateful.
Paw, Maw says if you don't come on home,
you won't get no supper.
"I have another crisis; the soup and
the country are boiling over together!"
Maw's boiling too!
It needs deep consideratin.
Well, Mr. Lincoln,
mayn't we meet you at our hotel later?
- I'll be there within the hour?
- Thank you.
Come on, Paw, we're hungry.
They've started it.
This is gonna mean war!
This darkio saw it himself.
Brown and a gang of Abolxitionists
have captured the armory at Harper's Ferry!
They're arming the slaves
to rise up and murder us all.
They gived us all rifles.
And what'd you do with yours?
What'd I do? I trowed it down,
and I say, 'Feet, you travel'
- They can't invade Virginia.
- No!
Boys, go home and git your guns.
What's all this talk about guns?
This thing has gone far enough.
We'll be murdered
in our beds by our own slaves.
Pardon me, ladies,
while I find out about this desecratin.
- John Brown, eh?
- Abolitionists!
It's an outrage!
Outrage isn't the word.
I'll shoot on sight every Abolitionist
who dares defile the soil of old Virginia.
- Who's he?
- That's the actor, John Wilkes Booth.
He can't act
but the women don't know it.
All right, men, get your guns
and we'll meet at the square!
At the square!
Can't say much for her dispositin!
Hush! She may hear you.
Soldiers, indeed!
They can't even carry trunks.
Here you no, the stupid-looking one
put that over there...
and you... idiot
don't look at me like
a duck in a thunderstorm!
Hurry... hurry!
Will you put them in there?
I never saw such a lot of incompetents.
And as for you with the whiskers,
I told you to put it in there.
Oh, is it going to take forever?
Thank heavens, that's the last!
Imbeciles!
Well, Mary, we're here.
Thanks to me! If it wasn't for my advice,
you'd be out in Oregon, chopping trees.
Yes, you're always right, Mary.
I've found out one thing, Lincoln.
Servants here are no better
than they are in Springfield.
This place
hasn't been cleaned in a year.
Why, Mr. President!
Huh?
Then we agree that the situatin
of our country is ominous.
- Most alarming.
- Certainly.
We agree that we must yield
to the demands of the South
and evacuate Fort Sumter.
- Absolutely.
- It's the only solutin.
That must be done.
We agree that our President
must be firmly guided by us.
That we must make every effort
to control his inexperienced judgment.
- We certainly must.
- Yes.
Gentlemen...
- Mr. President.
- Good morning, Mr. President.
Thank you, Hay.
Thank you, gentlemen...
I will shoulder all responsibilities.
The relief shall go to Fort Sumter.
That means war.
Mr. Seward, I am a man of peace,
but the Unin shall be preserved.
Seventy-five thousand...
It might be difficult
to get that many volunteers.
- Glory, glory Hallelujah,-
- Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
- Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
- His soul is marching on!-
- Glory, glory Hallelujah,-
- Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
- I wish I was in Dixie,-
- Hooray! Hooray!-
- In Dixieland I'll take my stand-
- To live and die in Dixie. -
- Away, away, away down South in Dixie,-
- Away, away, away down South in Dixie. -
- I wish I was in Dixie,-
- Hooray! Hooray!-
- In Dixieland I'll take my stand-
- To live and die in Dixie. -
- Away, away, away down South in Dixie,-
- Away, away, away down South in Dixie. -
President, the people demand a victory,
and we've got to take Richmond.
The country is discouraged.
We must do something.
That reminds me of a story...
about a man building
a boat to cross a river.
He got impatient
building the boat and started swimming.
Well, sir, what happened?
He drowned.
We've got to be careful
not to drown this country.
Ready here!
Ready here!
- Quartermaster General.
- Yes, sir.
Ready here!
Ready here!
- Ready here!
- Sergeant, I'm going out.
- How did you make out?
- Make out?
He darned near kissed me.
- Who?
- The Secretary of War.
We're just licking
the tar out of thorn all along the line.
- Who's next?
- I am.
I hope it's for the President.
I'd like to sec his face
when he gets the good news.
Ready here! Commissary.
For General Scott.
Marked private.
Rush it it's victory!
General Scott, what news?
We're winning, sir. I'm sure of it.
- I wish...
- Come in.
Rebel resistance broken at Bulll Run,-
our army sweeping everything before it. -
President, if we can
capture Richmond now,
it means the end of the war.
- Ah, thank God.
- And you, sir...
this victory will silence
your enemies forever
and you will be
the greatest president in our history.
It doesn't matter
what they think of me, General.
- We will have saved the Unin.
- Yes.
General, would you mind
letting me have that telegram?
I'd like to show it
to Mrs. Lincoln myself.
Why, certainly, not, Mr. President.
And would you mind
not calling me 'Mr. President'..
just Lincoln.
All right, Lincoln.
Ready here!
Headquarters!
Sergeant, all messages
for General Scott, hold.
All messages for General Scott hold.
All messages for General Scott hold.
Attentin! Commanding officer.
At ease!
Ready here!
Bad news?
Give it to me.
Attentin the President!
At ease!
Well, General, what news now?
And the first reports?
Over-confidence.
Yes, I should have known.
Impossible to reform lines. -
The men are a confused mob,-
entirely demoralized. -
You must make every effort
to save Washington.
- 1!
- 2!
- 3!
- 4!
- 1!
- 2!
- 3!
- 4!
- 1!
- 2!
- 3!
- 4!
- 1!
- 2!
Battalion!
On right into line, March!
Company, halt!
Left turn!
Right turn!
Halt!
First Company, right by fours.
Halt!
Forward!
Halt!
Forward!
Well, they're gathering.
The reserves are gathering, sir.
- How many regulars can we muster?
- About five thousand.
- Volunteers?
- Doubtful, sir.
Can we hold Washington?
We'll do our best sir.
Mr. Hay, is it true
we have to get out of Washington?
It is very serious, madam.
For heaven's sake,
what sort of an army have we anyhow?
They did the best
they could, Mrs. Lincoln.
They might have considered us.
It'll take forever
to get those trunks packed.
I'm sorry, madam, for all of us.
Mr. Lincoln, I hear we're leaving.
Just a moment, Mary, please.
After all the trouble we had getting here,
I must say we've had a very short stay.
Mary, I've hung up my hat right here,
and here it stays till
they knock it off with a bayonet.
From now on, Mary,
I'm going to run this war.
March! Halt!
Headquarters,
Post Number Four.
Halt! Guard.
Forward March!
Counsel of the accused,
have you nothing further
to say in defense of the prisoner?
The court finds you guilty
and the sentence death.
- Just a minute.
- The President... attentin!
You must pardon me,
gentlemen, for this intrusin.
I overheard one of our soldiers
sentenced to death.
Yes, Mr. President.
A bad example of cowardice and desertin.
Well, young man, tell me about it.
I think the findings
of the court were just, sir.
That all you have to say?
Sire, it was our first big battle.
We were trying to take a stone wall.
We'd been trying,
it seems, for years...
Go on.
Finally, though, we got there.
I was fighting bayonets.
We were all crazy...
on top of the wall...
Yes?
There was my boyhood chum,
looking up at me from the ground.
Not alive,
we had killed him a long time ago,
but I knew him.
And then?
I guess I went really crazy, sir.
That's all.
The captain reports
that you threw your rifle away.
Yes, sir. That must be right, sir.
Making excuses, Colton?
No, sir only...
get it over with, quick!
Hanging, killing, blood.
I'm tired.
But my generals are right,
we must maintain discipline.
That's all.
Wait a minute.
Bring that young man back.
I have it!
- It's a leg case.
- I beg your pardon, sir?
Leg case... yes, yes,
my shelves are full of them,
but not quite like this one.
If the Lord Almighty
gives a man a cowardly pair of legs,
and that man gets frightened,
he can't help his legs
running away with him, can he?
Young man, I'm going to pardon you.
Go back and do your duty.
Oh, I will, sir! I will!
I'm trusting you.
Well, Senator?
Mr. President, my state of New York
is crying out
against this endless slaughter.
And mine, sir.
They're holding services here today
for those who were sacrificed,
as they are everywhere.
From the East to the West, sir.
It can't go on, sir.
New England,the West,
the entire country are in mourning
for this useless waste of lives.
Let the Southern States
go there wat, Mr. President,
and we will go ours.
But I tell you, Mr. President...
- ... out of the wilderness,-
- out of the wilderness. -
- Old Abe Lincoln-
- came out of the wilderness,-
down in lllinois. -
Daddy, mother won't let me stay up.
She wants me to go to bed,
and I don't want to.
Don't you think it's time
for little boys to be in bed, Tad?
- But I want to stay with you.
- But your mother?
If you say so, she can't make me.
You're the President.
You're the only person in the country
who thinks I should have any authority.
- Run along now.
- No.
I want to stay with you.
Please, can't I, daddy?
No, we're very busy here now, Tad.
Run along.
All right, daddy.
- Goodnight.
- Goodnight.
Sleep tight.
Goodnight...
Gentlemen,
don't you suppose my heart bleeds
for all the sorrows
this war has brought upon us?
Do you suppose there is a human being
who wants peace more than I do.
But we want lasting peace,
and we can have that only
by preserving the Unin.
And, gentlemen...
the Unin is going to be preserved!
- And by virtue of the power,-
- and for the purpose aforesaid,-
- I do order and declare-
- that all persons held as slaves -
- within said designated states-
- and parts of states-
- are henceforward-
- and forever shall be... -
free. -
Well, gentlemen, it is done.
- More bad news, Hay?
- I'm afraid there is.
Well, let's have it.
The Secret Service
reports that there are 600.000
pperheads in the North and under cath and arme
- To get me?
- Yes.
That many ought
to keep me dodging.
We're taking
every precautin to guard you.
Where are they mostly?
Ohio has one 100.000 armed men
ready to rise up and depose you.
lllionois, 135.000.
lllinois,
my old stamping ground...
That makes me feel badly.
You mustn't tell Mary.
But Mr. President,
we are worried about you.
Don't mind me, Hay.
Go on to bed, you're tired.
Lincoln, come on to bed.
I'm worried, Mary.
You can't win this war worrying and
walking around in your stocking feet.
I can't sleep.
Neither can I. At least we could sleep
in Springfield, couldn't we?
Did we ever sleep?
Now, stand still.
I've got it, Mary.
I've found the man to win this war
and his name is Grant.
I'm sorry, Mr. President, but smoking
is one of my most persistent habits.
And winning victories is another.
Thank you.
Then you do believe in me, Sir?
I sent for you.
General, the North is desperate.
We need you.
And, should I assume command,
there will be no interference?
None. I promise you that.
Grant,...
Lieutenant-General is
the highest army command
the President can bestow.
We haven't had one
since General Washington.
He was a fair sort of a soldier too.
Lieutenant-General Grant,...
my orders are: Win the War.
I'll give my best, Mr. President.
I know you will.
Unfortunately many of us
have failed to recognize
a great Confederate Soldier.
Lee.
On the other hand, we have thus far
failed to take advantage
of a great Northern Soldier.
I hope I am not too late
in correcting the error.
Mr. President,
I think it only fair to warn you
that many people, don't approve of me.
Nor of me.
But rest assured
there will be no interference,
no intrusin.
Well, of all things!
Who locked this door?
My wife!
All right, Mary.
Land sakes!
Where did all the smoke come from?
Mary, meet General Grant. Mrs. Lincoln.
- It's a pleasure to meet the first lady.
- Thank you.
- I want to talk to you. Mr. Lincoln.
- But Mary, we...
I want to talk to you about discharging
some of the servants in this house.
I don't see how anybody
could talk in here with all this smoke.
Why don't you open the window?
I can't stand it!
Pardon me, General.
I'll have to talk to you later.
- I'm very sorry if...
- There no apoligies, General.
You've given me an idea.
I may take up smoking myself.
But to resume, General.
We will give you
all the help you need.
Every man capable
of bearing arms shall go.
We've got to win this war.
It is a duty we owe
the South as well as the North.
It's a big job, Mr. President...
a big job.
but thy will be done.
Thy will be done.
We're in a tight place now.
Yes, we generally are, Stanton.
Everything depends upon Sheridan.
He's a fighting Irishman.
Then why doesn't he fight?
- One divisin Sheridan's -
- army routed. -
Now trying to hold left flank. -
Oh, the blood it takes
to hold this Unin together.
It will undo everything
Grant has done. It's hopeless.
I don't think so...
Before each victory I've had
a visin of a ship with white sails.
That visin has just conic to me.
With all respect,
I'd rather trade your ship
for good news from Sheridan.
Is that General Sheridan in there?
Sure 'tis General Sheridan.
Doesn't that sound like cannon fire?
I don't hear anything, sir.
Hey, come here.
Have you good ears?
Pretty good when they're washed.
Then try them.
Do you hear anything like cannon fire?
It's cannon all right,
over by the swamp.
They may have caught
General Wright by surprise!
Mount those shorses!
- Sheridan's entire army-
- has met an overwhelming defeat. -
Incredible.
And no word from Sheridan.
I'm afraid he was away.
It means the defeat of all our plans.
Yes, for we'll have
to withdraw Grant from Richmond
to protect Washington.
Come on, boys! Come on!
General,
the right wing is in full retreat.
Impossible to hold our positin, sir.
Tell Colonel Tolliver
to reform and hold at all costs.
We're going back!
Officers, reform your men!
We're going back!
- Come on boys, let's go!
- Let's go, boys!
Forward!
Forward to victory!
- Down with, the traitor,-
- up with the star!-
- While we rally-
- 'round the flag boys,-
- We'll rally-
- once again,-
shouting the battle cry of freedom!-
Yes, we'll rally 'round the flag, boys-
We'll rally once again,-
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,-
- We will rally from the hillside,-
- We'll gather from the plain. -
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,-
- The Unin forever,-
- hurrah, boys, hurrah!-
- Sown with the traitor,-
- up with the star. -
While we rally round the flag boys,-
We'll rally once again,-
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,-
Arrived in time to reform forces. -
Have struck the enemy-
- and have won an
overwhelming victory. Sheridan. -
I knew it.
I knew it...
Better and better. Look! Here.
Tremendous number of prisoners.
Prisoners?
I hope there's nothing
but prisoners from now on.
The ship, Stanton!
Yes, Mr. President,
and Sheridan!
Surrender...
my poor army!
I'd rather die a thousand deaths
than do that to them.
There, General,
you must lie down and rest.
Rest...
that's a beautiful word...
They've caught a spy and they want
the order for his executin approved.
Colonel Marshall...
who was that?
- Only a courier, sir.
- What did he want?
They've caught a spy.
I approved the executin order, sir.
Colonel,...
the only reason for shooting a spy
is the protectin of an army, isn't it?
Yes, sir.
Well,...
you and I know
that this army can't exist much longer.
Isn't that right?
Yes, sir.
That is why I am unwilling
that there shall be a single life lost
unnecessarily.
Colonel...
I wonder if you'd mind
countermanding that order.
I will.
Yes, sir.
Tired, Grant?
Not much.
Mr. President, we have them.
It can only last a few days more.
General Sherman and I are glad
of this chance to talk with you.
The Unin...
we've saved it at last.
They must surrender soon.
The Unin...
We'll have 'em all back...
United, free...
one Country.
And meanwhile, Mr. President?
I've heard the country
wishes all rebel property confiscated
and the rebel generals,
such as Lee, shot for treason.
He's put up a grand battle.
And they've robbed
the cradle and the grave, sir.
Lee is fighting with his last breath.
Shoot Robert E. Lee?
Someone will have to shoot
Abraham Lincoln first.
They're rebels, not traitors.
And their horses and baggage, sir?
They'll need them
for the spring plowing.
Let 'em keep 'em and get to work.
Very good, sir.
Just one thing more, Mr. President...
the head of the rebel government
Jefferson Davis?
Jefferson Davis...
Do you wish his capture?
That reminds me of a story.
We had a terrible drunkard once
in Springfield.
Finally he signed the pledge.
Next day he got thirsty
and went to a bar
and ordered a lemonade.
While the bartender was fixing it,
the old drunk got sadder and sadder.
Finally he leaned over
and said to the bartender,
"Mike, while you're fixin' that,
couldn't you put
a nice little shot of whiskey in,
unbeknownst to meself?"
Well, sir?
Couldn't you sort
of lot Jeff Davis escape,
unbeknownst to yourselves?
We'll do our part, sir.
We're going to take them back
as though they'd never been away.
Lincoln...
He freed the negroes.
He's supressed
the right of a trail by jury.
He muzzled the press!
Now, wiht the oid of this "butternuts",
his army and his negroes,
he make himself
King of the Amrica.
Lincoln!
I drink to him...
and his domatin!
Right,...
you're right.
On my part...
Go on,
you're among friends...
The man who kills Abraham Lincoln
will be inmortal.
Now, listen...
I have a plan...
and I'm going in.
Do you mind my smoking, Mrs. Lincoln?
No, not much.
You don't know how glad we all are
that you were reelected, Mr. President.
I'm sure this lady will be glad
to spend four more years
in the White House.
Glad? I've just hired two new maids.
Lincoln, will you ever learn
to keep your feet in shoes?
Mrs. Lincoln,
have you met General Grant?
I met him. It took us a week
to get the smoke out of the curtains.
Yes, Oglesby, he's one
human being who has faults.
A party of prohibitionists,
called on me the other day
and complained about Grant's drinking.
I told 'em if I knew what brand he uses,
I'd send barrels of it
to my other generals.
Two new maids...
If we're going to be
here four more years...
Four years...
four more years...
Mr. Lincoln, don't you go thinking
about of those dreams again.
You'll live two hundred and after
we'll celebrate it right over here,
we'll travel around the worid
and have a nice long rest.
Oh, Daddy!,
Would that be fun?
- You're not going without me...?
- Why, of course not, Tad.
You can depend on Mother Surratt,
and everything is straight with me.
I said I'd go through with it,
and I will.
Tonight will be remembered
throughout the ages.
I play my best part.
How much better a dagger would look,
Cassius used a dagger,
but this is safer.
- Speech!
- Speech!
- Speech!
- Speech!
Again I say,
with malice toward none,
with charity for all,
with firmness in the right
as God gives us to see the right,
we shall bind up
the natin's wounds and cherish peace.
That government of the people,
by the people, for the people
shall not perish from the earth.
Thank you.
God bless you all.
Mr. Lincoln, I'm just proud of you!
- Peanuts, hold the horse for me?
- Yes.
Will you be long, sir?
No, not very long.
Dundreary,
would you mind bringing me a wrap?
I feel a draught.
I'm afraid you must be mistaken.
Mr. Lincoln...
has just stopped the draft.
I reckon I'm going
to feel right to home here, b'gosh!
I would be too if it wasn't for
that 'ternal servant-critter
with brass buttons on his coat.
He just swells out his big bosom
like a turkey cock in layin' time,
looks at me as if I meant
to esquatulate with the spoons.
I reckon they don't know who they're
dealin' with, but I'll show 'em.
I'm as obstinate
as Deacon Stumpp's forelock.
"It wouldn't lie down; it couldn't stand up,"
wouldn't point forward and couldn't go backward.
I don't know what
they're going to do with me,
but whatever they do do
and wherever they put me,
I hope it's outa
the reach of that jackass.
I'm a real hoss, I am,
and I get kinda riley with them critters.
They say I don't know
the manners of good society too,
but I guess I know enough
to turn that old gal inside out,
the sock-dollaging old mantrap.
But I dare no more kill her
than I dare ask Queen Victoria
to dance a Cape Cod reel.
Sic semper tyrannis!
Mr. Lincoln,
Mr. Lincoln has been shot!
Get a doctor!
Somebody get a doctor!
Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
Glory, glory Hallelujah!-
His soul is marching on!-