Abraham Lincoln Movie Analysis

What do many people think of when they think of Abraham Lincoln? Is it the top hat? An ax? Savior of the Union or Self-Made Man? These images and concepts have captured the imagination of directors and screen play writers for decades and thus they make up what the majority of the nation thinks of Abraham Lincoln. Within these films, however, there is not just historical fact, there is also fiction and ulterior motives. The films Abraham Lincoln, Young Abe Lincoln, and Abe Lincoln in Illinois are just three of the more popular films that helped shape the myths surrounding the president. When dissected by a historian these films can tell us a lot about what the public believes about Lincoln, the time period in which the film was made, and the …show more content…
The film, Young Mr. Lincoln directed by John Ford, depicts Ann as a motivator for Lincoln’s success. Ann is depicted as a smart and ambitious girl who believes that Abe is special. In one scene, Abe and Ann discuss going away for further schooling together. Additionally, after her death Abe goes to the cemetery to visit Ann’s grave and “lets the stick decide” whether or not he will leave New Salem and go to Springfield to become a lawyer. By having Lincoln put his trust in a stick over Ann’s grave, hoping for some ghostly intervention, the director shows the audience how dependent Lincoln was on Ann. In reality, however, Lincoln was intrinsically motivated to become well versed in law. He read and mastered Euclid’s Geometry on his own according to William Herndon. One of his friends Henry McHenry commented that Lincoln “was so studious—took so little physical exercise—was so laborious in his studies that he became emaciated and his best friends were afraid that he would craze himself.” Lincoln loved to learn and read, and that love began when he was a boy, long before he ever came to New