How Did Lincoln Play A Key Role In Making American History?

Steven Spielberg's Lincoln directly relates to the life of Abraham Lincoln and the highly debated topic of slavery. The film depicts the struggle and emotions of everyone when the thirteenth amendment was set to be passed. Everyone during the time, not just Lincoln, plays a key role in making American history. The amendment comes soon after the end of the Civil War, and changes the lives of every single person living in the divided nation.
The issue of slavery and the question of whether or not it should spread into the western states caused an uproar. The south seceded and refused to return to the Union. Even though Lincoln's original focus was reconciliation between the Union and the Confederacy, he soon realized that slavery was the way to reach his goals of peace. Later, by adding African American soldiers and slaves looking for freedom into the Union army, Lincoln had started to base the war on slavery. Although he stated in 1863, "all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated
"Lincoln argued that emancipation would so undermine the morale of the Confederacy that it would weaken their military and bring about a swift end to the war. The President undertook his own campaign for passage of the amendment, and his political allies and cabinet members helped to further the cause, convincing constituents and state legislatures to appeal directly to their congressmen for passage of the amendment" (Constitution Daily). The thirteenth amendment passed quickly through the Senate in the Spring of 1864, but the House of Representatives gave little hope as to whether or not it would be passed. However, on January 31, 1865, the thirteenth amendment was passed, and officially adopted the following December. Less than a year after the ratification, Congress passed the Civil Rights of 1866 in order to grant African Americans citizenship and equal