Historical Accuracy In Lincoln By Steven Spielberg

Since the release of “Lincoln” in 2012, Steven Spielberg has been under heavy fire regarding the discrepancies in his film. Kate Masur, a professor of history at Northwestern, argues that his film is,“Inaccurate, damaging, and difficult to dislodge”, because it, “underemphasized the role of African Americans” in the abolishment of slavery. Through the viewpoint of Masur, she believes that Spielberg inaccurately interpreted that only, “White men alone were the authors of abolition.” Although he is an artist and director, it is still quite ironic that the cause of which the Union is fighting for in the film isn’t portrayed in this film. While many side with Kate Masur, others depict Lincoln differently. James Grossman, the executive director of AHA, sees much differently as to what Spielberg’s intentions were. …show more content…
Although he, “resisted worrying about the historical accuracy of the film as a whole”, Grossman was still able to describe the film as, “ Top down”, meaning that it started with the involvement of whites rather than displaying the influence of African Americans first. This is important to note as it shows Spielberg never intended to portray heavy African American influence, but only a film of white agency in political power. The debate between celebrating Lincoln despite its inaccuracies and having directors taking greater care when publicly representing history is still highly contested. Each side to the argument has its downfalls and its peaks, but where they separate from each other is when historical evidence and the fine line between art and falsity is