The Lost Cause Movie Analysis

Lost Cause? Not in Lincoln
The movie Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg, is a good representation of Civil War history with major emphasis on emancipation and the Thirteenth Amendment. One thing to notice is that this recent movie does not jump onto the Confederate Lost Cause bandwagon like many of the older movies I saw in the past. It shows that the Lost Cause view of the Civil War is beginning to fade away in modern day era but also shows the influences of present day view on Civil War history.
According to the Lost Cause mythology, the slaves were content with their masters, Union generals were often portrayed as barbaric, incompetent commanders, Confederate generals like Lee and Jackson were focused on and
glorified, and the cruelty of black units against white populations were emphasized, etc.
In this movie, however, we see that the Lost Cause mythology is rejected.
Although the movie itself takes place mostly in the North, the theme slavery plays a significant part throughout the movie. One character to point out immediately is Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave but now a member of Lincoln’s household. In one scene, Lincoln’s younger son, Tad, asks Mrs. Keckley if she was beaten when she was a slave; she responds with, “I was beaten with a fire shovel when I was younger than you.” This shows the cruelty she experienced as a slave. Another significant quote by her is at the part where she talks to Lincoln after the play; she tells Lincoln that, “White people don’t want us here . . . Negroes have been fighting and dying for freedom since the first of us was a slave.” Her words show that the notion of slaves happy with their masters under the Lost Cause mythology is rejected in this
movie.
Battles and generals are not the main focus in Lincoln, but generals still play important roles in this movie. Union general Grant is a significant character in this movie. Grant is portrayed as a confident with a gentleman-like feel in this movie. In the scene on board the River Queen steamship, Grant meets with the Confederate delegates. When arguing over the issues of “two countries”, Grant tells the delegates that, “There’s just one country. And you and I, we’re citizens of that country. I’m fighting to protect it from armed rebels. From you.” This part shows his strength and confidence as a general in a more non-violent, gentleman-like manner. Another scene at Petersburg, Grant sits with Lincoln outside his temporary headquarters. Grant says to Lincoln, “By outward appearance, you 're 10 years older than you were a year ago . . . You always knew that...what this was going to be. Intimate and ugly. You must’ve needed to see it close when you decided to come down here.” Here, Grant is portrayed as a caring, soft figure lamenting over the impacts of war. One final scene to point out is General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. This is the only General Lee scene in the entire movie. There is no conversation between Lee and Grant, the movie only portrays General Grant and the other Union officers and soldiers offering a sign of respect to General Lee by doffing their hats as Lee rides off alone. No glory is given to Lee in this scene, just sadness and some respect to the defeated Confederate general. Meanwhile, General Grant is the main general in this movie and is more gentleman-like rather than barbaric, incompetent shown in the Lost Cause themed movies.
Works of history are often influenced by the time period of production.
Lincoln is no exception. This movie was released in 2011, so it is influenced by the present day view of Civil War history. The Lost Cause view turns out to be fading away as almost none of the Lost Cause mythology elements are present in this movie. However, it also reflects other noteworthy modern era influences and views on the Civil War. For example, nowadays people fail to notice things in the Civil War like the abolitionists. And indeed, there is no sign of abolitionists to be found in Lincoln, only the radical Republican Party members. Another thing to point out is the passiveness of the African-American roles in this movies. The black soldiers, former slaves and free black men in this movie seem to not have a big impact to the story and are simply waiting for freedom and salvation. At the beginning of the movie, the two black soldiers talk to Lincoln during a rainy night. The younger one simply points out the unequal treatments they are getting and hoping things will get better in the future while the older one seems uncomfortable with the topic and wants to change the topic. The black characters in this movie all seem to be very passive, including Mrs. Keckley; they all seem to be waiting for their savior, Lincoln to do something for them. This may be a result of this notion of “Lincoln the Great Emancipator” of the modern day era. The racism and mistreatment suffered by black people, including
freedmen during that era are forgotten by many people today. Still, the most important and good thing to point out is the fading away of the Lost Cause view of history. This movie shows the abolition of slavery and portrays Lincoln, Grant and many other Union characters in a nice way, instead of stepping onto the Lost Cause bandwagon.

Works Cited
"Lost Cause of the South." - RationalWiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. .
Pinsker, Matthew. "Spielberg’s “Lincoln” (2012): The Unofficial Scene-by-Scene Summary." Emancipation Digital Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. .