During the Civil War in America, Abraham Lincoln did many things that are not specifically outlined in the constitution. The only reason he could do this was because of the cryptic war powers clause. In this clause of the constitution the president of the United States is given special powers in times of war. This is one of the few times that the constitution does not clearly outline what these powers are. In the movie Lincoln uses these war powers to ‘confiscate’ slaves because, at least in the south, they are considered property. Because he used his war powers to do this he now needs an amendment to keep the south from going back to enslaving people.
Early in the movie Lincoln was talking about how he needed more votes