EXTERIOR LINCOLN LOG CABIN – AFTERNOON
Super:
Pigeon Creek, Indiana
1827
Barefoot and with pants that are much too short for his long legs, ABRAHAM LINCOLN carries a basket of vegetables and goes in the door.
INTERIOR LINCOLN LOG CABIN – AFTERNOON
Lincoln puts the basket down and speaks to MRS. SARAH LINCOLN.
LINCOLN
Mama, we have enough produce now
to sell on the river.
Will you please let me build a flatboat?
MRS. LINCOLN
All right, Abe,
you’ve worn me out with your pleading.
Lincoln is happy and picks up a large book.
MRS. LINCOLN (Continued)
Are you still reading the Revised Laws of Indiana?
LINCOLN
Mama, this is a wonderful book.
It includes the Declaration of Independence,
the Constitution of the United States,
and the Ordinance of the Northwest Territories
as well as all the laws of Indiana
and a history of its politics.
Lincoln goes out and lays down next to a tree, putting his long legs up against its trunk, and begins reading. THOMAS LINCOLN is trudging toward the cabin and speaks to his son.
THOMAS LINCOLN
Did you finish your work already, Abe?
LINCOLN
Yes, sir. The vegetables are in the house.
EXT. BANKS OF THE OHIO RIVER – DAY
Lincoln has built a small flatboat. TWO MEN arrive in carriages with trunks. They see Lincoln’s flatboat and approach him.
FIRST MAN
Who owns this?
LINCOLN
I do.
FIRST MAN
Will you take us and our trunks
out to the steamer?
LINCOLN
Certainly.
Lincoln helps the two men load their trunks onto his boat and sculls them out to the steamer. He lifts the heavy trunks onto the steamer, and the two men board. The steamer begins to move again.
LINCOLN (Shouting)
You have forgotten to pay me.
Each man takes a silver half-dollar from his pocket and throws it onto Lincoln’s boat. Lincoln picks them up and is amazed at the money he made.
INT. LINCOLN LOG CABIN – LATE AFTERNOON
While Mrs. Lincoln cooks, Thomas and his son talk.
THOMAS LINCOLN
Did you spend time in court today?
LINCOLN
Ever since I was acquitted
for ferrying people to steamers without a license,
I have been attending courtrooms around here.
Mr. Gentry has fitted out a boat
with a stock of grain and meat
to trade in New Orleans.
He wants to hire me as bow hand
to go with his son Allen,
and he is offering eight dollars a month
with free passage on the steamer back.
THOMAS LINCOLN
We need your work here, Abe.
LINCOLN
Indiana law says that the earnings
of a minor under twenty-one
have to be given to the parents.
THOMAS LINCOLN
I s’pose I could manage without you.
Be careful in New Orleans.
Super:
Mississippi River
April, 1828
Lincoln and ALLEN GENTRY bring the flatboat to the shore.
ALLEN GENTRY
We passed Baton Rouge.
Let’s put in here for the night.
EXT. MISSISSIPPI RIVER BANK – NIGHT
Lincoln and Allen are asleep as a gang of MARAUDING NEGROES come on the boat with hickory clubs to plunder the cargo. Lincoln and Allen wake up, and Lincoln wrestles with one of the Negroes and gets his club. He begins hitting the Negroes, and they flee. Lincoln and Allen chase after them until they have left the area. Allen is bleeding, and Lincoln is bruised.
LINCOLN
Are you all right, Allen?
ALLEN GENTRY
I think so.
I guess they are runaway slaves.
LINCOLN
They must be very desperate.
INT. LINCOLN LOG CABIN – EVENING
Super:
1829
The Lincoln family is talking after dinner. JOHN JOHNSTON is Mrs. Lincoln’s son by her previous marriage.
MRS. LINCOLN
Abe, when your sister Sarah
married Aaron Grigsby,
you wrote fine verses for their wedding song
about Adam and Eve;
but what is this I hear
about “The Chronicles of Reuben”?
LINCOLN
You know I was upset when Sarah died.
If they had a doctor for the birth,
she might have survived.
When Reuben and Charles Grigsby got married,
they did not invite me to the wedding.
So I wrote a satire about two brothers
who get married at the same time;
but the waiters send them to the wrong rooms,
and they find themselves in bed
with each other’s wife.
Reuben and I have had a good laugh over it.
JOHN JOHNSTON
I remember when I was fighting William Grigsby,
and Abe intervened because I was losing.
He shouted, “I am the big buck of this lick!”
Abe was too big for Grigsby,
and he did not want to fight him
unless it was with pistols.
LINCOLN
But I said, “I am not going to
fool away my life on a single shot.”
MRS. LINCOLN
That was wise, Abe.
INT. LINCOLN LOG CABIN – WINTER DAY
DENNIS HANKS is talking with the Lincolns.
DENNIS HANKS
The milk-sickness is going around again.
LINCOLN
My mother died of that.
DENNIS HANKS
My brother John has written to me
that he has found good opportunities
in Macon County, Illinois.
Why don’t we all move there?
THOMAS LINCOLN
I have moved four times,
and I’m ready to go again.
MRS. LINCOLN
Under the circumstances, I think it is wise.
EXT. ROAD BY A STREAM CROSSING – DAY
Super:
March 1830
The Lincoln party of thirteen includes Mrs. Lincoln’s two daughters who are married to Dennis Hanks and LEVI HALL. After they have crossed an icy stream, they see that the dog has just now caught up with them but cannot cross and yelps.
THOMAS LINCOLN
I am not going to turn the oxen around
to ford that stream again.
DENNIS HANKS
I think we should move on.
LEVI HALL
I agree.
MRS. LINCOLN
I guess we’ll have to leave her behind.
LINCOLN
I’ll get her.
Lincoln takes off his shoes and socks, wades across the stream, picks up the aggravated dog, and carries her across the stream.
MRS. LINCOLN
Abe always did have a fondness for animals.
He stopped other boys
from putting hot coals on the backs of turtles.
THOMAS LINCOLN
After he shot a turkey when he was eight,
I could never get him to go hunting with me.
When Lincoln puts the shivering dog down on land, she prances around happily.
EXT. LINCOLN FARM – DAY
Lincoln splits rails and builds a fence on their new land.
INT. LINCOLN CABIN – DAY
The Lincolns are surviving on boiled corn and pounded meal during the cold winter.
MRS. LINCOLN
This has been a hard winter.
We’re coming up to your 21st birthday, Abe.
THOMAS LINCOLN
Are you hankering to leave us for the town life?
LINCOLN
I do like books and am interested in the law.
THOMAS LINCOLN
I know you’re free to go, Abe;
but will you give us one more year of work
to get the farming going?
LINCOLN
I s’pose I do owe you that much anyway.
EXT. SANGAMON RIVER BY A MILL-DAM – DAY
Super:
New Salem
April 19, 1831
The new flatboat of DENTON OFFUT approaches the mill-dam as Lincoln, JOHN HANKS, and John Johnston try to steer it.
OFFUT
Be careful now as you go
and don’t damage the boat you built for me.
The flatboat gets stuck on the dam, and people from New Salem come down to watch.
DISSOLVE TO:
Another boat has been brought to help them free the flatboat. Lincoln bores a hole in the end so that the water can drain out when the lower end is lifted.
LINCOLN
That oughtta do it.
OFFUT
That hole was a good idea, Abe.
Now move our cargo back.
They begin transferring the stock, including hogs, back onto the flatboat.
Super:
New Orleans
Spring 1831
Lincoln, Offut, and Johnston are walking and observing the scene. They see Negroes in chains and being whipped. In a slave market plantation owners are examining a mulatto girl who is about to be auctioned, pinching her flesh.
AUCTIONEER
What am I bid for this girl?
Who will start at $100?
A plantation owner raises his hand, and the bidding proceeds.
LINCOLN
By God, let’s get away from this.
I just do not understand
how people can do that.
They walk away.
OFFUT
They do it to make money.
LINCOLN
Yes, off the labor of others.
My pap had to leave Kentucky
because so many slaves were brought there
that white workers could not compete.
EXT. LINCOLN CABIN – SUMMER MORNING
Lincoln is saying goodbye to his parents and has a bundle of clothes and books.
LINCOLN
Goodbye, Mama and Pap.
I don’t know when I’ll see you next.
THOMAS LINCOLN
Thanks for helping me get the crops in.
MRS. LINCOLN
Please come and visit us, Abe.
Lincoln picks up his bundle and waves as he walks away.
EXT. NEW SALEM – DAY
Super:
New Salem
Lincoln has arrived at a small hamlet with about fifteen cabins. He sees a small crowd by one cabin.
LINCOLN
I am new here. What is going on?
BYSTANDER
Today is election day. Can you write?
LINCOLN
I can make a few rabbit tracks on paper.
MENTOR GRAHAM hears this and comes out.
MENTOR GRAHAM
I am Mentor Graham, the school-teacher.
Our election clerk, John McNeil, is ill.
Will you help me register the votes?
LINCOLN
Sure, it will give me a chance
to learn some of your names.
INT. OFFUT’S LOG-HOUSE STORE – DAY
Super:
September 1831
Lincoln is working for Offut as a clerk.
OFFUT
Well, Abe, we built this cabin.
Now I hope we get some customers.
BILL CLARY comes rushing in with some rough followers.
BILL CLARY
Offut, what’s this about you saying
some young buck is the strongest man?
OFFUT
I will bet five dollars that
Abe here can win a wrestling match
against anyone around here.
BILL CLARY
I’ll take that bet.
Come on outside and face Jack Armstrong.
EXT. BY OFFUT’S LOG-HOUSE STORE – DAY
A crowd has formed a circle, and inside it Lincoln and JACK ARMSTRONG are wrestling. They seem evenly matched as neither can throw the other.
BILL CLARY
Throw him any way you can, Jack.
Armstrong uses his leg to trip Lincoln and make him fall under Armstrong. They both stand up and dust themselves off.
LINCOLN
You got me down,
but I don’t know if using a leg counts.
Jack, let’s quit.
I can’t throw you, and you can’t throw me.
Or I’ll fight you anyway you want.
OFFUT
I don’t think the bet is won.
JACK ARMSTRONG
That depends whether this is
wrastlin’ or scufflin’;
but I’m willing to call it a draw
and buy you a drink.
LINCOLN
I admire your strength and your fairness.
I hope we can be friends.
They shake hands and head for the Clary’s Tavern.
INT. CLARY’S TAVERN – DAY
Jack Armstrong, Lincoln, and others are standing by the bar.
JACK ARMSTRONG
What d’ya want, Abe?
LINCOLN
Sarsaparilla. I don’t like liquor.
JACK ARMSTRONG
Do you mind if we drink whiskey?
LINCOLN
Would it make any difference if I did?
JACK ARMSTRONG (Laughing)
No. We’re the Clary Grove boys,
and you’re the first man around here
I couldn’t lick.
INT. GRAHAM’S CABIN – DAY
Lincoln, Mentor Graham, and JOHN MCNEIL are talking.
LINCOLN
I am thinking of running
for the Illinois Assembly.
GRAHAM
So you want to enter politics.
I thought you were a Whig?
LINCOLN
I am proud to be a Clay man.
GRAHAM
You know, most of the folks around here
are Jackson Democrats.
MCNEIL
You have many friends in New Salem
who will vote for you,
but what about the rest of Sangamon County?
LINCOLN
I thought I could write out my policies
in a letter and send it to the Sangamo Journal.
GRAHAM
That’s an idea.
What are your policies, Abe?
LINCOLN
I favor improving the Sangamo River
in order to help shipping.
I object to usury and exorbitant rates of interest,
and I think a law could limit them.
I support education so that every man can learn
to read the scriptures, histories, and other books.
Most of all I aim for justice.
If I discover my opinions to be erroneous,
I shall be ready to renounce them.
MCNEIL
Those sound all right, Abe.
You could also print it as a handbill.
I will be glad to help you with the writing.
INT. OFFUT’S STORE – DAY
Lincoln is reading a newspaper on the counter while Offut is relaxing in a rocking chair.
LINCOLN
It says here that on April 6
Chief Black Hawk crossed the Mississippi
into Illinois with five hundred Sac warriors.
OFFUT
But last year didn’t he admit he sold that land?
LINCOLN
He claims their land was not sold.
Governor Reynolds has called for
a thousand mounted volunteers.
Since you’re closing up this store soon,
I think I’ll volunteer.
OFFUT
Maybe it will help your political career.
People know you are honest, Abe,
walking several miles to return a few cents
when you made an error.
EXT. A FIELD NEAR RICHLAND – DAY
Super:
April 7, 1832
Lincoln, Jack Armstrong, and the Clary Grove boys meet with other volunteers.
JACK ARMSTRONG
We want you to be captain, Abe.
LINCOLN
The mill-owner Kirkpatrick
thinks he should be captain.
I used to work for him,
and once he refused to pay me two dollars
for some heavy work I did for him.
DISSOLVE TO:
A RECRUITING OFFICER makes an announcement to the gathered volunteers.
RECRUITING OFFICER
Kirkpatrick and Lincoln have been
nominated for captain.
They are to stand facing me,
and you men vote
by lining up behind your choice.
The Clary Grove boys quickly line up behind Lincoln and urge others to join them. About two-thirds of the volunteers line up behind Lincoln.
LINCOLN
Thank you for your confidence.
I appoint Jack Armstrong as first sergeant.
I don’t want to find anyone drunk.
LOUD VOLUNTEER
Go to hell!
Lincoln and Armstrong look at each other in astonishment and amusement.
EXT. ARMY CAMP – AFTERNOON
Lincoln is talking with Jack Armstrong and others.
LINCOLN
Thanks to the drinking in this outfit,
I have been ordered to wear
this wooden sword for two days.
JACK ARMSTRONG
You can outwrestle anyone, Abe,
but there is this Thompson
who wants to challenge you.
LORENZO DOW THOMPSON approaches, and Lincoln accepts his challenge. Thompson gets Lincoln in a crotch hoist and throws him down.
LINCOLN
Boys, this is the strongest man
I ever fought.
They wrestle again, and Lincoln goes down, pulling Thompson with him.
JACK ARMSTRONG
That was a foul, a dog-fall.
LINCOLN
Boys, give up your bets.
If this man has not thrown me fairly, he could.
EXT. ARMY CAMP – DAY
A tired and hungry INDIAN wanders into the camp. Some SOLDIERS see him and quickly surround him. Lincoln sees the commotion and intervenes.
FIRST SOLDIER
Look, an Indian; let’s kill him!
LINCOLN
Wait just a minute.
Even barbarians would not kill a prisoner.
It must not be done.
SECOND SOLDIER
Make an example of him.
We volunteered to kill Indians,
and we have yet to kill one.
The Indian takes a letter from the folds of his blanket and hands it to Lincoln.
LINCOLN
This letter from General Cass recommends him
because of his faithful service to whites.
THIRD SOLDIER
That letter could be a forgery,
and he could be a spy.
FIRST SOLDIER
You are a coward if you don’t punish him.
OTHER SOLDIERS
Yeah!
LINCOLN
Try me.
Come on and fight me
if you think I am a coward.
None of the soldiers move, and then they walk away.
LINCOLN (Cont'd.)
Quartermaster Kirkpatrick,
make sure this Indian ally is properly fed.
EXT. ON A TRAIL IN THE WOODS – DAY
Lincoln walks as JOHN T. STUART rides a horse beside him.
LINCOLN
Now that the war is over,
I guess someone was in a hurry to get home.
STUART
They still shouldn’t have stolen your horse.
LINCOLN
Enrolling for two months as a private
was a good idea, John,
especially since there wasn’t
much danger of being killed.
STUART
If you want to study law, Abe,
I can loan you some books
when I get back to Springfield.
LINCOLN
That would be great.
EXT. PAPPSVILLE TOWN SQUARE – DAY
Super:
Pappsville
August 1832
A rowdy crowd has gathered, and Lincoln replaces the auctioneer by standing on a box to speak. He sees fighting in part of the crowd and goes over to stop it.
LINCOLN
Hold on, gentlemen.
We’re having an election
so we can resolve our conflicts
without fisticuffs.
Some continue to fight. Lincoln grabs one of them by his collar and the seat of his pants and then throws him several feet. Lincoln walks back to the box and begins his speech.
LINCOLN (Cont’d.)
Fellow citizens,
I presume you all know who I am.
I am humble Abraham Lincoln.
I have been solicited by many friends
to become a candidate for the Legislature.
My politics are short and sweet,
like the old woman’s dance.
I am in favor of a national bank,
the internal improvement system,
and a high protective tariff.
These are my sentiments and political principles.
If elected, I shall be thankful;
if beaten, I can do as I have been doing—
work for a living.
Lincoln steps down and begins shaking hands with his friends in the crowd.
INT. BERRY AND LINCOLN’S STORE – DAY
Berry is relaxing with a bottle of whiskey and is drunk while Lincoln reads a newspaper at the counter. JAMES RUTLEDGE comes in with news.
JAMES RUTLEDGE
Abe, the Clary Grove boys
have ransacked Radford’s store,
and he has sold it to William Greene.
Now Greene is offering you a good bargain,
and I’ll sell you my merchandise too.
LINCOLN
That would leave Hill’s store
as our only competitor.
What do you think, Mr. Berry?
BERRY
Whatever you say, Abe.
LINCOLN
We don’t have any money,
but we can give you a note.
JAMES RUTLEDGE
I’ll tell Mr. Greene to come over.
LINCOLN
I was just reading here
President Jackson’s proclamation
in response to John C. Calhoun’s address
in favor of South Carolina’s
Ordinance of Nullification.
This part here is emphasized.
Jackson proclaimed, “I consider, then,
the power to annul a law of the United States
assumed by one state,
incompatible with the existence of the Union,
contradicted expressly by
the letter of the Constitution,
unauthorized by its spirit,
inconsistent with every principle
on which it was founded,
and destructive of the object
for which it was formed.”
EXT. WOODS NEAR NEW SALEM – DAY
Lincoln is splitting rails. POLLARD SIMMONS approaches and hails Lincoln.
SIMMONS
Abe, I want to talk to you.
Lincoln stops his work, and they sit on a log.
LINCOLN
What’s on your mind, Pollard?
SIMMONS
John Calhoun sent me to ask you
if you would be his deputy surveyor.
LINCOLN
Is this local Calhoun a Jackson man?
SIMMONS
Yes, he is a Democrat.
LINCOLN
Then why would he appoint me?
You know, I was defeated in the election.
I came in eighth with 657 votes.
SIMMONS
Yes, but you got almost every vote
in New Salem where people know you.
LINCOLN
I don’t know anything about surveying.
SIMMONS
Why don’t you go to Springfield
and talk to him?
LINCOLN
I think I’ll do that.
INT. GRAHAM’S CABIN – EVENING
Lincoln is studying books on surveying while Graham is also reading.
LINCOLN
Calhoun assured me that
he would not interfere with my political beliefs
as long as I did a good job.
GRAHAM
When I told you about a grammar book,
you walked six miles the next day to borrow it.
Then you mastered grammar so quickly
that you said you were ready
to take up another science.
How is your studying of surveying going?
LINCOLN
These books are explaining it pretty well,
but learning trigonometry, logarithms,
and other technical details is new to me.
GRAHAM
My mathematics is not that good, Abe.
You’re on your own with those.
LINCOLN
I am determined to learn how to do this.
GRAHAM
I guess that means
the lamp will be burning all night again.
Goodnight, Abe.
INT. BERRY AND LINCOLN’S STORE – DAY
Lincoln is reading a book when JAMES SHORT comes in.
JAMES SHORT
How are you doing, Abe?
LINCOLN
Not so well.
Berry died from drinking
and left me $1,100 in debts for the store.
I told the creditors that
if they would leave me alone,
I would pay them when I could;
but Van Bergen brought a suit against me
and took my horse and surveying equipment.
JAMES SHORT
That’s what I’ve come to tell you.
I went to the auction and bought ‘em all back
for you for only $120.
LINCOLN
I am grateful, Jim, and I will pay you back.
I am making three dollars a day now
on the surveying work.
JAMES SHORT
I trust you, Abe.
I heard how you lent your horse to Chandler
so that he could get to the land office
in Springfield to buy a small tract of land.
INT. HILL’S STORE – DAY
SAMUEL HILL and Lincoln are sitting by the fire reading.
LINCOLN
Sam, I appreciate your letting me
work in your store so that
I can pay down my debt.
HILL
How do you like being postmaster, Abe?
I quit because I did not like delivering letters.
LINCOLN
It suits me fine.
I like to get out and meet people,
and I can read all the newspapers.
HILL
You are a natural politician, Abe.
LINCOLN
What do you think of my essay on religion?
HILL
I see you have been influenced
by Tom Paine’s Age of Reason.
Don’t you believe in the Bible anymore?
LINCOLN
I am trying to think for myself.
In the law we question testimony
that is merely hearsay.
Most of what is in the Bible is based
on traditions that are not evidence at all
but what has been passed along from what
people who were not there have said.
Did evil come into the world
because of a talking snake?
Did Mary or Jesus ever claim
that she was a virgin when he was born?
HILL
Those are difficult questions, Abe.
What do you think?
LINCOLN
I cannot believe that a loving God
would damn many souls
to burn in hell for all eternity.
I don’t really know if our souls
will live on after our body dies;
but I think that if they do,
eventually they will be reunited with God.
HILL
Do you aim to publish this, Abe?
LINCOLN
I am thinking about it.
HILL
Do you realize that this
could end your political career?
People will not vote for someone
who challenges their religious beliefs.
I think we should burn it.
LINCOLN
I am just trying to help people
to think more clearly.
HILL
You can believe what you want, Abe;
but when you try to change
the beliefs of others, they will react.
I guess you have to decide
if you want to be a lawyer
who is known as a radical
or a politician who gets things done.
Your work laying out towns
as a surveyor shows me that you
want to make practical improvements.
LINCOLN
But I lost my first election.
HILL
You did well locally.
I have heard that Judge Bowling Green
and other Democrats want you
to be their candidate this year.
Most men in Illinois support Jackson.
If you run on local issues
and do not emphasize that
you are a Whig and a Clay man
and do not discuss the national bank,
tariffs, and other national issues,
I think you would win.
LINCOLN
How should I campaign then?
HILL
You are good at making friends, Abe.
Just introduce yourself and tell them
how you would like to make things better
here in Sangamon County.
You don’t have to burn this yourself.
I’ll do it for you; just say the word.
LINCOLN
All right, Sam, throw it in the fire.
Hill throws the essay into the stove. They are silent for a moment.
HILL
You know my partner John McNeil
is courting Ann Rutledge now.
LINCOLN
I thought you wanted to marry her.
HILL
She turned me down.
LINCOLN
Since I have been boarding at the Rutledges,
I have gotten to know her.
She is very pretty and smart too.
John McNeil (MCNAMAR) comes in.
HILL
Here is my partner now.
MCNEIL
Abe, will you draw up a legal paper for me?
I am purchasing some land.
LINCOLN
Certainly, John.
MCNEIL
I want you to use my real name,
which is McNamar.
I have not been using that name
so that my impoverished family in New York
will not find me.
I have almost raised enough money now
to return to New York.
Then I can help them move here.
HILL
Have you told Ann Rutledge
about your real name?
MCNAMAR
I intend to tell her before I leave.
We are engaged to be married.
EXT. FARM AT HARVEST TIME – DAY
Lincoln is talking with a group of farmers who are resting from their work.
LINCOLN
I aim to serve you as best I can
if I am elected.
FIRST FARMER
Maybe you would like to
help us with this harvest.
LINCOLN
Which scythe can I use?
SECOND FARMER
Here, try this one.
He hands Lincoln the tool, and Lincoln begins using it in the field.
FIRST FARMER
I never saw a politician
who could swing a scythe like that.
Super:
August 1834
Lincoln approaches his friend COLEMAN SMOOT in the field.
LINCOLN
Coleman, did you vote for me?
SMOOT
You bet I did.
LINCOLN
I was one of four candidates who won;
only Dawson got fourteen more votes.
I want to buy some clothes and fix myself up.
Will you loan me two hundred dollars?
SMOOT
Sure, Abe; let’s go into the cabin.
INT. ASSEMBLY HALL IN VANDALIA – DAY
The session is ending, and John Stuart talks with fellow member Lincoln who wears a new suit of jeans.
STUART
You did all right here, Abe.
When are you going to borrow my books
and start studying law seriously?
LINCOLN
I’m ready now, John. I’ve got the bug.
EXT. RUTLEDGE CABIN – DAY
Lincoln knocks on the door. James Rutledge answers the door.
LINCOLN
I have a letter here for Ann.
ANN RUTLEDGE comes outside and walks with Lincoln.
ANN
Hello, Abe. Shall we walk?
He takes off his hat, takes her letter out of his hat, and hands it to her.
LINCOLN
I think this is the one you’ve been waiting for.
It’s from McNamar in Ohio.
ANN
Ohio? Why would he be there?
Ann opens the letter and begins reading it.
LINCOLN
I don’t mean to intrude.
ANN
It’s all right, Abe.
You are a good friend.
John writes that he has been sick.
He has not even got back to New York yet.
Thanks for bringing the letter, Abe.
LINCOLN
You’re welcome; any time, Ann.
EXT. OPEN LAND – DAY
Lincoln is wearing pants that are covered with buckskin while he is surveying and is being assisted by Jack Armstrong.
LINCOLN
Jack, your wife Hannah did a great job
sewing this buckskin onto my pants
so that I will not get burrs
and stickers in my legs.
JACK ARMSTRONG
We are glad to help you, Abe.
Our kids just love to play with you,
and you know Hannah would do
anything for you.
EXT. WOODS – LATE AFTERNOON
Lincoln and Ann are walking arm in arm.
ANN
I hate the gossip of the women in the town.
LINCOLN
They think McNamar abandoned you
and imagine why he changed his name.
ANN
It has been so long since I received a letter.
LINCOLN
You know I love you, Ann.
I am poor and not much to look at,
but will you marry me?
ANN
You are very kind, Abe.
I have grown to love you,
but I made a commitment to John.
LINCOLN
How long are you going to wait?
ANN
I have been thinking about this,
and I do want to marry you.
Since you want me to wait
until you are a lawyer,
will you wait until John returns
so that I can ask him
to release me from my promise?
LINCOLN
Yes, I can be patient.
I love you so much.
ANN
I want to attend the new
female academy in Jacksonville,
and you could go to a college there.
LINCOLN
I would have to leave
for the legislative sessions,
but I think that could be arranged.
Ann, you make me very happy.
Lincoln gently kisses her.
EXT. WOODS NEAR THE RUTLEDGE FARM – DAY
Lincoln and Ann are sitting in the shade. She has just read a letter.
ANN
Abe, this heat is really getting to me.
Now this letter!
John is coming soon with his entire family.
I think he is expecting to marry me.
LINCOLN
But didn’t you write to him
that you and I are engaged?
ANN
I did, but you know how some men are.
I think he still believes I am in love with him.
LINCOLN
Are you, Ann? He was your first love.
ANN
No, Abe, I want to marry you.
I could not go back to him now.
Super:
August 1835
Lincoln is visiting the Rutledge family.
JAMES RUTLEDGE
She is very sick,
but Ann will see you now.
Lincoln goes into the bedroom where Ann is suffering from a high fever.
LINCOLN
My dearest Ann, how are you?
ANN
I feel very weak, Abe.
LINCOLN
I was ill too, but I am better now.
You’ll get better too.
ANN
I don’t think so.
LINCOLN
I brought you some Peruvian bark,
boneset tea, jalap, and calomel.
They helped me.
You must fight this thing.
ANN
I love you, Abe.
Will you pray for me?
LINCOLN
Yes I will, Ann, with all my heart.
EXT. CONCORD CEMETERY – DAY
People are leaving after Ann Rutledge’s funeral, but Lincoln remains by her grave weeping.
INT. BOWLING GREEN’S HOUSE – EVENING
BOWLING GREEN and his wife NANCY GREEN try to console Lincoln, who is deeply mourning.
BOWLING GREEN
We understand your grief, Abe,
and you may have been studying too hard.
Dr. Allen says you need rest.
LINCOLN
I stopped carrying my pocket knife
so that I won’t be tempted to hurt myself.
NANCY GREEN
We are happy to have you
stay with us for a while, Abe.
If you don’t mind,
I will give you some tasks to do.
LINCOLN
Whatever you say.
NANCY GREEN
You can help us with the corn husking.
LINCOLN
It’s stormy tonight.
I can’t bear to think of her out there alone.
The rain must not beat on her grave.
EXT. CONCORD CEMETERY – DAY
Lincoln is laying next to Ann Rutledge’s grave with his arm over the mound.
INT. ASSEMBLY HALL IN VANDALIA – DAY
Super:
Vandalia
January 7, 1836
Lincoln is speaking during the legislative session.
LINCOLN
I favor the construction
of the Illinois and Michigan Canal,
and I support the state bank.
We should allow the state to enter
up to five hundred thousand acres
of government land on credit
to finance internal improvements.
INT. SPRINGFIELD COURTHOUSE – DAY
Lincoln is making a speech to an enthusiastic crowd that applauds at the end of each sentence.
LINCOLN
I go for sharing the privileges
of the government to all
who assist in bearing its burdens.
Consequently I go for admitting
all whites to the right of suffrage,
who pay taxes or bear arms,
by no means excluding females.
If elected, I shall consider the whole people
of Sangamon my constituents,
those who oppose as well as
those who support me.
While acting as your representative,
I shall be governed by your will
on all subjects upon which I have
the means of knowing what your will is;
and upon all others I shall do
what my own judgment teaches me
will best advance your interests.
Whether elected or not,
I go for distributing the proceeds of the sales
of the public lands to the several states,
to enable our state in common with others
to dig canals and construct railroads
without borrowing money
and paying interest on it.
If alive on the first Monday in November,
I shall vote for Hugh L. White for President.
VOCAL MAN
What about the charge by Colonel Allen
that he has withheld facts
about you and Ninian Edwards
that could destroy your prospects?
LINCOLN
I have written to Colonel Allen that
it would be an injustice to the public
not to divulge them.
It is evident that I have the confidence
of the people of Sangamon County.
If I have done anything,
either by design or misadventure,
which if known would subject me
to forfeiture of that confidence,
he that knows of that thing and conceals it
is a traitor to his country’s interest.
He has not replied to my letter.
As Lincoln steps down from the platform, the audience begins to leave. Then elderly lawyer GEORGE FORQUER mounts the platform and begins to speak.
FORQUER
I ask to be heard.
This young man needs to be taken down.
Lincoln stands to the side with folded arms listening.
DISSOLVE TO:
Lincoln is responding to Forquer’s speech.
LINCOLN
It is for you, fellow citizens,
not for me to say whether I am up or down.
The gentleman has seen fit
to allude to my being a young man;
but he forgets that I am older in years
than I am in the tricks and trade of politicians.
I desire to live,
and I desire place and distinction;
but I would rather die now than,
like the gentleman, live to see the day
that I would change my politics for an office
worth three thousand dollars a year,
and then feel compelled to erect
a lightning rod to protect a guilty conscience
from an offended God.
Someone shouts out, and the crowd takes up the chant.
CROWD
Hurrah for Mr. Lincoln!
Hurrah for Mr. Lincoln!
INT. ASSEMBLY HALL IN VANDALIA – DAY
Super:
August 1836
Lincoln and the other eight representatives of Sangamon County enter the building together and are called the “Long Nine” Whigs because they average more than six feet in height. They are Lincoln, NINIAN EDWARDS, JOHN DAWSON, ANDREW MCCORMICK, DAN STONE, WILLIAM ELKIN, ROBERT WILSON, and Senators JOB FLETCHER and ARCHER HERNDON. They are greeted by Democrat STEPHEN DOUGLAS, who is only five feet tall.
DOUGLAS
So these are the famous “Long Nine” Whigs
elected from Sangamon County.
Welcome, gentleman.
LINCOLN
And you must be Stephen A. Douglas,
a Democrat elected by the convention system.
I am pleased to meet you,
whom some call the “Little Giant.”
DOUGLAS
Likewise, Mr. Lincoln.
INT. VANDALIA TAVERN ROOM – DAY
The Long Nine are meeting privately to discuss political strategy.
LINCOLN
We are agreed then that our first priority
is to remove the capital
from here in Vandalia to Springfield,
and we also favor internal improvements.
Thus I recommend that we vote for
the building of canals, railroads, and new roads
in order to gain support from other counties.
EDWARDS
To do this we must authorize
ten million dollars in loans.
INT. ASSEMBLY HALL IN VANDALIA – DAY
JOHN J. HARDIN is speaking to the Assembly.
HARDIN
Governor Ford has complained that
the whole state has been
“bought up and bribed to approve
the most senseless and disastrous policy
which ever crippled the energies
of a growing country.”
Yet this legislature is on the verge
of over-riding his veto.
I predict that this excessive borrowing
will not be sustained
and that this entire internal improvement
scheme will collapse.
LINCOLN
Mr. Speaker, I demand the ayes and noes.
SPEAKER
If there is no objection,
all those in favor of the omnibus bill
will stand and be counted.
The Long Nine stand enthusiastically, but Douglas rises with great reluctance. Sixty-two have approved, and twenty-two opposed.
INT. LINCOLN’S ROOM IN VANDALIA – DAY
Dan Stone is conferring with Lincoln.
STONE
Abe, now that the joint session has passed
the bill removing the capital to Springfield,
I am ready to sign your resolution
which challenges what the legislature passed
disapproving of abolition societies
while affirming the rights of slaveholders.
LINCOLN
You know that supporting abolitionists
can be political suicide in Illinois
because so many here are from Kentucky.
STONE
Yes, that’s the sad fact.
Because I have been elected
as a judge of the Galena circuit,
I am retiring from politics
and am not seeking re-election.
Tell me again what your resolution says.
LINCOLN
It condemns slavery as injustice and bad policy
while recognizing that abolitionist doctrines
increase rather than abate its evils.
We acknowledge that the Congress
has no constitutional power to interfere
with slavery in the states
but affirm that it could abolish slavery
in the District of Columbia
if people in the district request it.
STONE
I will sign that resolution.
LINCOLN
You are the only man in the Assembly
who has joined with me on this.
INT. SPEED’S STORE IN SPRINGFIELD – DAY
Super:
Springfield
April 1837
Lincoln comes in carrying his worldly possessions in two saddlebags and puts them on the counter. JOSHUA SPEED is behind the counter and greets him.
SPEED
Good morning, sir.
LINCOLN
Good morning.
My name is Abraham Lincoln.
In March I received a license to practice law,
and I will be working with John T. Stuart
in his office above the courtroom.
I don’t have much money,
but I need a place to sleep.
JOSHUA SPEED
I am Joshua Speed.
Aren’t you one of the Long Nine
who got Springfield named the capital?
LINCOLN
Yes, people have urged me to move here.
How much would the furniture
for a single bedstead cost me?
Speed writes down some figures on paper.
SPEED
I would say seventeen dollars in all.
LINCOLN
It is probably cheap enough,
but I have not the money to pay.
If you will credit me until Christmas,
and my experiment here
as a lawyer is a success,
I will pay you then.
If I fail, I may never pay you at all.
SPEED
Since such a small debt
seems to affect you so deeply,
I think I can suggest a plan by which
you will be able to attain your end
without incurring any debt.
I have a very large room
and a very large double bed in it,
which you are perfectly welcome
to share with me if you choose.
LINCOLN
Where is your room?
SPEED
Upstairs.
Speed points to the stairs. Lincoln quickly picks up his saddle bags and bounds up the stairs. A moment later he comes down without them.
LINCOLN
Well, Speed, I’m moved.
INT. LYCEUM IN SPRINGFIELD – DAY
Super:
January 27, 1838
Lincoln is addressing a large audience.
LINCOLN
We, the American people, find ourselves
in the peaceful possession
of the fairest portion of the earth
as regards extent of territory,
fertility of soil, and salubrity of climate.
We find ourselves under the government
of a system of political institutions,
conducing more essentially to the ends
of civil and religious liberty
than any of which history tells us.
They are a legacy bequeathed us by a once hardy,
brave, and patriotic race of ancestors.
They established a political edifice
of liberty and equal rights,
and it is our duty to transmit it.
I do not believe we are threatened
by a danger from abroad.
If destruction be our lot,
we must be its author.
As a nation of freemen,
we must live through all time
or die by suicide.
I am concerned about the disregard for law
that is increasing in this country
and a growing disposition to substitute
the wild and furious passions
for the sober judgment of courts of justice.
To deny this would be a violation of truth
and an insult to our intelligence.
Accounts of outrages committed by mobs
form the every-day news of the times.
They have pervaded the country
from New England to Louisiana.
In Mississippi a process of hanging went on
from gamblers to Negroes
to white citizens and strangers
until the dead were hanging from trees
like the native Spanish moss.
In St. Louis a mulatto freeman was seized
and burned to death.
Such are the effects of mob law.
When perpetrators of such acts go unpunished,
the lawless in spirit are encouraged
to become lawless in practice.
While good men, who desire
to abide by the laws
see their property destroyed,
their families insulted,
and their lives endangered,
become disgusted with a Government
that offers them no protection.
Thus by the operation of the mobocratic spirit
the strongest bulwark of any government
may be broken down and destroyed—
I mean the attachment of the people.
Whenever the vicious portion of population
shall be permitted to gather
in bands of hundreds and thousands
and burn churches,
ravage and rob provision stores,
throw printing presses into rivers,
shoot editors,
and hang and burn obnoxious persons
at pleasure and with impunity,
then this Government cannot last.
The question is
“How shall we fortify against this?”
The answer is simple.
Let every American, every lover of liberty,
swear by the blood of the Revolution
never to violate in the least particular
the laws of the country
and never to tolerate
their violation by others.
Let reverence for the laws
be breathed by every mother.
Let it be taught in schools,
in seminaries, and in colleges.
Let it be written in books,
preached from the pulpit,
proclaimed in legislative halls,
and enforced in courts of justice.
In short let it become
the political religion of the nation.
Let me not be understood as saying
there are no bad laws
nor that grievances may not arise,
for the redress of which,
no legal provisions have been made.
But there is no grievance that is
a fit object of redress by mob law.
The success of our experiment
has demonstrated the practical truth
of the proposition that the people
are capable of governing themselves.
Let the proud fabric of freedom
rest upon a rock;
and as truly as has been said
of the only greater institution,
“the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
INT. ASSEMBLY HALL IN VANDALIA – DAY
The Assembly is in session, and the CLERK reads the results of a vote.
CLERK
In the vote for Speaker of the House
the Democrat Ewing has received 43 votes,
and the Whig Lincoln received 38 votes.
DISSOLVE TO:
Lincoln is making a presentation.
LINCOLN
Mr. Speaker, the Committee of Finance
proposes that the general Government
buy lands for twenty-five cents an acre.
Then the state can sell the land for $1.25
to help fund the Internal Improvements.
Low prices for land hurt the settlers
because they enable speculators
to purchase too much land.
INT. STUART LAW OFFICE – DAY
Stuart and Lincoln are talking.
LINCOLN
Congratulations John on defeating
Stephen Douglas for the US Congress,
even if it was by only 36 votes.
STUART
Douglas has charged fraud in the voting
and has challenged me
to submit the dispute to a new election.
Naturally I have declined.
LINCOLN
I will write a letter to various Whig editors
in your Congressional district,
and I will get other prominent Whigs to sign it.
INT. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN SPRINGFIELD – DAY
The Illinois Assembly is temporarily meeting in a church in the new capital.
ARCHIBALD WILLIAMS
The state debt now amounts to $10,000,000
with $600,000 annual interest.
The total annual revenues are only $200,000,
leaving an annual deficit of $400,000.
Taxes have been heavily increased to pay
for the ordinary expenses of the Government.
The annual revenue of the United States
is more than $25,000,000.
So to protect the people from ruinous taxation
the Whigs propose that the federal government
distribute to the states
the proceeds from the sale of public lands.
INT. BALL IN SPRINGFIELD – EVENING
Super:
December 1839
Lincoln is watching MARY TODD, and during a dance he walks over to her.
LINCOLN
Miss Todd, I want to dance with you
in the worst way.
MARY TODD
I am delighted to meet you, Mr. Lincoln.
She walks with him to the dance floor, and he dances awkwardly with her. The difference in their heights is about a foot, and they have difficulty making eye contact. At the end of the dance they walk back to where Mary was standing before.
LINCOLN
Thank you.
MARY TODD
You were true to your word, Mr. Lincoln.
You did dance with me “in the worst way.”
He laughs and walks away.
INT. SPRINGFIELD COURTHOUSE – EVENING
Super:
March 16, 1840
A large audience has gathered for a debate, and Edward Baker is speaking.
BAKER
Wherever there is a land office
there is a paper to defend
the corruption of office.
JOHN WEBER shouts from the audience.
JOHN WEBER
This is an attack on my brother!
Pull him down!
Some men in the audience get up and move toward the platform to get at Baker. Then from a trapdoor in the ceiling the long body of Lincoln descends and drops to the platform. He waves his arms for silence and picks up a water pitcher, threatening to use it on the head of anyone who takes hold of Baker.
LINCOLN
Hold on, Gentlemen!
This is the land of free speech.
Mr. Baker has a right to speak
and ought to be heard.
I am here to protect him,
and no man shall take him from this stand
if I can prevent it.
The men go back to their seats, and Baker resumes his speech.
BAKER
As I was saying …
INT. SPRINGFIELD COURTHOUSE – EVENING
A smaller audience has gathered for the debate.
LINCOLN
I am the last speaker in this debate,
and it is embarrassing to me
because on the previous evenings
the audience was much larger.
You have heard from the Democrats
Douglas, Lamborn, and Calhoun
on why they think that
President Van Buren’s Sub-Treasury scheme
is better than the National Bank
that served us so well for so many years
until it was challenged by President Jackson.
Logan and Baker have spoken for the Whigs.
As to the Sub-Treasury I lay down
the following propositions, to wit:
First, it will injuriously affect the community
by its operation on the circulating medium.
Second, it will be a more expensive fiscal agent.
Third, it will be a less secure
depository of the public money.
The Bank by loaning money to individuals
kept money almost constantly in circulation,
but the Sub-Treasury hoards
money in iron boxes and in specie.
That system benefits the few
at the expense of the many.
Also withdrawing specie from circulation
causes distress, ruin, and bankruptcy.
The Bank collected and disbursed revenues
and paid the Government $75,000 annually,
but Van Buren’s plan would cost
at least $60,000 every year.
Through a period of forty years
the National Bank safely kept, transferred,
and disbursed nearly $500,000,000,
and in all that time
the Government did not lose one cent.
The interest of the Sub-Treasurer
is against his duty
while the interest of the Bank
is on the side of its duty.
Under the Sub-Treasury system
much larger sums are to lie in the hands
of individuals for much longer periods
thereby multiplying temptation.
As to the sweeping objection
that the National Bank is unconstitutional,
it has been upheld by votes of the Congress
and by the Supreme Court,
which decides such issues.
If the Bank is unconstitutional,
so is a Sub-Treasury.
Our position is that both are constitutional.
In its first year the Van Buren administration
spent $40,000,000, and for this large amount
Mr. Douglas makes many false excuses.
The great volcano in Washington,
aroused and directed by the evil spirit,
is belching forth the lava of political corruption.
I may be broken by it too,
but bow to it I never will.
I swear eternal fidelity to the just cause,
as I deem it, of the land of my life,
my liberty, and my love.
INT. STUART LAW OFFICE – DAY
Lincoln hands Stuart some papers.
LINCOLN
Stuart, here is a list of Democrats
who may vote for Harrison
so that you can send them
Whig campaign literature.
STUART
This is great.
LINCOLN
My friend Fithian and I found a way
to embarrass Stephen Douglas
during one of our debates.
I read in Holland’s biography of Van Buren
that he once voted for Negro suffrage.
Fithian wrote a letter to Van Buren
and received a reply confirming it.
During a debate when Douglas denied it,
we produced the letter.
Douglas got so mad
that he snatched the book
and flung it into the crowd.
STUART
Well, Abe, your law career is going well.
You have been riding the circuit
and are now arguing cases
before the Illinois Supreme Court.
LINCOLN
Yes, but this year
I was barely re-elected to the legislature.
STUART
Yes, but you are an elector for Harrison.
How are you getting along
with my cousin, Mary Todd?
LINCOLN
She has a sharp wit and is well educated.
While I was out campaigning,
I wrote her several letters.
Whenever we meet,
I find myself in rapt attention listening to her.
She predicted that her future husband
will become President of the United States.
STUART
That would not surprise me.
You know, Douglas is courting her too.
LINCOLN
Yes, but she grew up knowing Henry Clay,
and she is a dedicated Whig.
I have been seeing her at the Edwards home,
but I don’t think that family likes me
because of my lack of social status.
INT. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN SPRINGFIELD – DAY
The Illinois Assembly is still meeting in the church. Clerk Calhoun reads the results of a vote.
CLERK CALHOUN
For speaker the vote is 46 for Ewing
and 36 for Lincoln.
DISSOLVE TO:
Super:
December 2, 1840
Lincoln is presenting a resolution.
LINCOLN
Resolved, that the committee on education
be instructed to inquire into the expediency
of providing by law for the examination
as to the qualification of persons
offering themselves as school teachers,
that no teacher shall receive
any part of the public school fund
who shall not have successfully
passed such examination.
INT. STUART’S LAW OFFICE – DAY
Lincoln is meeting with Whig legislators.
LINCOLN
If the present legislature
adjourns before Monday,
the State Bank will have to resume
specie payment or forfeit its charter.
WILLIAMS
So what can we do?
LINCOLN
If we can stop adjournment
between this special session
and the regular session
that begins on that Monday, December 7,
then the Bank may be saved from collapse.
CYRUS EDWARDS
But the Democrats have a strong majority now.
LINCOLN
We can prevent a quorum by having the Whigs
leave the hall except for two of us
to call for the ayes and noes.
INT. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN SPRINGFIELD – DAY
The Illinois Assembly is in commotion as all the Whigs leave the hall except Lincoln and JOSEPH GILLESPIE. MCCLERNAND is speaking, and Speaker WILLIAM EWING tries to keep order.
MCCLERNAND
Mr. Speaker, the House should compel
the Whigs to return for the quorum call.
SPEAKER EWING
I order the Officer of the House to do so,
and the doors will be locked
to stop others from leaving.
The Officer goes out.
DISSOLVE TO:
Some ailing Democrats are let in for the vote.
SPEAKER EWING (Cont’d.)
A quorum is now present,
and the Senate resolution to adjourn
will be put to a vote.
All those voting aye will stand.
Lincoln and Gillespie open a window and prepare to climb out.
EXT. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN SPRINGFIELD – DAY
Lincoln stretches his long arms and legs from the second-story window nearly to the ground and lets go. Gillespie jumps out also.
INT. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN SPRINGFIELD – DAY
Speaker Ewing announces the vote.
SPEAKER EWING
The ayes have it,
and the Assembly is adjourned.
INT. SPEED’S STORE - EVENING
Lincoln and Speed are sitting by the fireside talking. Speed has been reading a letter.
LINCOLN
So what do you think of my letter to Mary?
Will you deliver it to her for me?
SPEED
Abe, in this letter you state that
after calm deliberation you have decided
that you do not love her sufficiently
to warrant marrying her.
My God, Lincoln,
this reads like a legal document.
I will not deliver this letter.
LINCOLN
Then I will find someone else to do so.
SPEED
As soon as that letter reaches her hand,
she will have the advantage over you.
In a private conversation
words are misunderstood and unnoticed,
but once you put your words in writing
they stand a living and eternal
monument against you.
Speed throws the letter into the fire.
LINCOLN
What did you do that for?
SPEED
Now if you have the courage of manhood,
go see Mary yourself.
Tell her if you do not love her, the facts,
and that you will not marry her.
Be careful not to say too much,
and then leave at your earliest opportunity.
LINCOLN
That sounds like good advice.
I will do that.
Lincoln stands up, buttons his coat, and goes out. Speed looks at the clock and sees that it is a little after nine.
INT. EDWARDS HOME – EVENING
Lincoln has been giving his explanation to Mary Todd.
LINCOLN
The upshot is that I don’t love you.
Mary bursts into tears, springs up out of her chair, and wrings her hands.
MARY
The deceiver is deceived.
I thought if I could make you
jealous of Stephen Douglas,
then you would ask me to marry you.
Lincoln stands up and starts crying too. He takes Mary in his arms and kisses her.
LINCOLN
Oh, my dear Mary,
I do want to marry you.
MARY
I love you Abe,
and I expect you to keep your promise.
They sit down and continue to talk.
INT. SPEED’S STORE - NIGHT
Speed has stayed up reading by the fire, and the clock shows 11:05. Lincoln comes in.
SPEED
Well, did you do as I told you.
LINCOLN
Yes, I did; but when she started crying,
I took her in my arms and kissed her.
SPEED
And that’s how you broke the engagement?!
You not only acted the fool,
but your conduct was tantamount
to a new engagement,
and in decency you cannot back down now.
LINCOLN
Well, if I’m in again, so be it.
It’s done, and I shall abide by it.
Super:
January 1, 1841
Lincoln and Mary are standing up and quarreling.
MARY
When you were late coming
to escort me to the New Year’s party,
I left without you.
What’s wrong with that?
LINCOLN
But at the party you were
flirting with Edwin Webb.
MARY
I just wanted to have a good time.
LINCOLN
I thought we were engaged.
As far as I am concerned,
our engagement is now off.
I like Matilda Edwards better anyway.
MARY (Stamping her foot)
Then go, and never, never come back!
INT. SPEED’S UPPER ROOM – DAY
Lincoln is resting in bed, and Speed talks with him.
SPEED
Can I get you anything, Abe?
LINCOLN
No, I just need to rest.
I have broken off my engagement to Mary.
Also the Democrats are planning to create
five more places on the Illinois Supreme Court
so that they can reverse the Whig decisions,
and there is nothing we can do to stop them.
I can’t bring myself to go to the Assembly.
SPEED
Well, you campaigned for the Whig Harrison,
and he was elected President of the United States
even if he failed to carry Illinois.
LINCOLN
Yes, but now the Democrats
dominate the state legislature.
SPEED
I sold this store on the first of January.
I am going to Louisville,
and I would like you
to come with me for a rest.
It will do you good to get away.
LINCOLN
I will consider it, Speed.
I think I can stay with the Butlers
where I have been boarding.
INT. BUTLER’S HOME – EVENING
Lincoln is dining with WILLIAM BUTLER, his young wife MRS. BUTLER, and her 16-year-old sister SARAH RICKARD.
LINCOLN
I have been enjoying your cooking
for some time, Mrs. Butler,
and it is kind of you folks to take me in
now that Speed has moved.
I hope you don’t think me ungrateful
if I don’t eat too much tonight.
SARAH RICKARD
You are usually quite amusing, Abe,
but you seem to be in one
of your melancholy moods now.
LINCOLN
I think I will visit Dr. Henry.
INT. DR. HENRY’S OFFICE – DAY
DR. HENRY has been examining Lincoln.
DR. HENRY
I think you have the strongest case
of melancholia I have seen.
Your humor and storytelling does offer relief,
but they also mask your deeper depression.
I will tell you this:
Mary Todd does love you,
and she has said that
she wants to marry for love.
So your lack of financial resources
and social standing may not be
obstacles in that regard.
LINCOLN
I feel bad and don’t want to marry her,
but I feel guilty because
I have not kept my promise.
I consider the ability to keep my word
the greatest gem in my character.
DR. HENRY
I will talk with Mary.
If she really loves you,
she will release you from your promise.
LINCOLN
Thank you.
Dr. Henry, I am concerned that
you are planning to leave Springfield.
If I could persuade John Stuart
to appoint you postmaster here,
would you stay in Springfield?
DR. HENRY
Yes, I think I would.
LINCOLN
Then I will write to him on your behalf
because I need your help.
INT. BEDROOM IN THE BUTLER’S HOME – DAY
Lincoln is laying in bed, and Mrs. Butler comes in.
MRS. BUTLER
Now, Abraham, what is the matter?
Tell me all about it?
LINCOLN
Mrs. Butler, it would just kill me
to marry Mary Todd.
EXT. BUTLER’S BACKYARD – DAY
Lincoln is talking with Sarah Rickard.
LINCOLN
My sister’s name was Sarah,
but she died in childbirth.
You are a most charming Sarah.
You know that in the Bible
Sarah became Abraham’s wife.
SARAH RICKARD
That was a long time ago.
LINCOLN
What do you say, Sarah?
Would you marry a fool like me?
SARAH RICKARD
Oh, Mr. Lincoln, I’m not yet seventeen
and too young to think of marrying yet.
INT. SPEED HOME NEAR LOUISVILLE – DAY
Super:
Louisville
Summer 1841
Lincoln is a houseguest and is talking with Joshua Speed and his mother LUCY SPEED.
JOSHUA SPEED
Ma, do you know what Abe did for me today?
LUCY SPEED
What?
JOSHUA SPEED
I have been trying to court Fanny Henning,
but her uncle always wants to talk politics
and never leaves us alone.
So today I took Abe along,
and by pretending to be a Democrat
he was able to get her uncle
into an argument and draw him aside.
That enabled me to propose to Fanny,
and she has accepted me.
LUCY SPEED
How wonderful, Joshua!
We’ve been hoping that
you would be feeling better, Abe.
LINCOLN
This visit to Kentucky has been a tonic to me.
Lucy Speed hands a Bible to Lincoln.
LUCY SPEED
Here, Abe, I want you to have this Oxford Bible.
Reading the Bible has been a great comfort to me,
and I believe it would be for you too.
LINCOLN
This is a very kind gift.
I will treasure it.
INT. 2ND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH – NOON
Super:
February 22, 1842
Lincoln is addressing the Washington Temperance Society in Springfield.
LINCOLN
Although the Temperance cause
has been in progress for near twenty years,
it is apparent to all
that it is just now being crowned
with a degree of success hitherto unparalleled.
The preacher, it is said,
advocates temperance because he is a fanatic
and desires union of Church and state,
the lawyer from his pride
and vanity of hearing himself speak,
and the hired agent for his salary.
But when one who has long been known
as a victim of intemperance
bursts the fetters that have bound him
and appears before his neighbors
clothed in his right mind,
a redeemed specimen of long lost humanity,
and stands up with tears of joy
trembling in eyes to tell
of the miseries once endured,
now to be endured no more forever,
of his once naked and starving children
now clad and fed comfortably,
of a wife long weighed down with woe,
weeping, and a broken heart
now restored to health, happiness,
and renewed affection,
and how easily it all is done,
once it is resolved to be done,
however simple his language,
there is a logic and an eloquence in it
that few with human feelings can resist.
When the conduct of men
is designed to be influenced,
persuasion, kind unassuming persuasion,
should ever be adopted.
It is an old and a true maxim,
that a drop of honey catches more flies
than a gallon of gall.
So with men.
If you would win a man to your cause,
first convince him that
you are his sincere friend.
Therein is a drop of honey
that catches his heart,
which, say what he will,
is the great high road to his reason,
and which, when once gained,
you will find but little trouble
in convincing his judgment
of the justice of your cause,
if indeed that cause really is a just one.
Happy day, when, all appetites controlled,
all passions subdued, all matters subjected,
mind, all conquering mind,
shall live and move the monarch of the world.
Glorious consummation!
Hail fall of fury! Reign of reason, all hail!
And when the victory shall be complete—
when there shall be neither a slave
nor a drunkard on the earth—
how proud the title of that land,
which may truly claim to be the birthplace
and the cradle of both those revolutions
that shall have ended in that victory.
How nobly distinguished that people,
who shall have planted
and nurtured to maturity
both the political and moral freedom
of their species.
INT. HOME OF SIMEON FRANCIS – DAY
MRS. FRANCIS has just let Lincoln in the front door.
LINCOLN
Good afternoon, Mrs. Francis.
Dr. Henry urged me to visit you today.
As he is walking into the main room, he sees that Mary Todd is there with her friend JULIA JAYNE.
MRS. FRANCIS
I know that you two have not talked
to each other for a year and a half,
but Dr. Henry and I thought that
perhaps our home could be a neutral ground
where you could meet.
Please, be friends again.
Julia, will you help me in the kitchen?
Mrs. Francis and Julia leave Lincoln and Mary alone in the living room. Lincoln walks up to Mary and gently takes her hands. Then they sit down.
MARY
Julia invited me here today.
I think it is a conspiracy.
LINCOLN
Yes, Dr. Henry urged me very strongly.
I did not know that you would be here.
MARY
Would you have come if you had known?
LINCOLN
Probably not.
MARY
Then you have been avoiding me, Mr. Lincoln.
LINCOLN
Molly—may I call you Molly?
MARY
Yes, please do.
LINCOLN
I am not good at this, Molly,
but I must admit that
I do enjoy your conversation.
You are the most intelligent
and political woman I have met.
MARY
Then maybe it is destiny
that is bringing us together.
I see a great potential in you, Mr. Lincoln,
and I would like to help you
to fulfill your greater calling.
LINCOLN
As editor of the Sangamon Journal,
Simeon Francis is a close political ally,
and so maybe they would let us meet here
which would be more private
than at the Edwards home where you reside.
MARY
Yes, Mrs. Francis has offered their home
as a place where we can meet
without others knowing about it.
INT. SANGAMO JOURNAL OFFICE – DAY
Lincoln hands an article to the editor SIMEON FRANCIS.
LINCOLN
Mr. Francis, I signed this article “Rebecca,”
and I want it to be published anonymously.
I think that James Shields’ reaction to
the failing of the State Banks is outrageous.
SIMEON FRANCIS
Yes, making everyone pay their taxes
without using paper money
makes it hard on everyone.
LINCOLN
Except for the state officials
who will then be paid in silver.
INT. HOME OF SIMEON FRANCIS – DAY
Lincoln and Mary are talking.
MARY
Oh, Abe, I just loved your “Rebecca” letter
castigating James Shields.
Julia and I have been working on
another “Rebecca” letter that is even more fun.
LINCOLN
Be careful, Mary.
You know that Shields has already
asked Francis who wrote the “Rebecca” letters,
and he may challenge me to a duel.
MARY
Oh, I have Rebecca respond to that.
She says she fights only with “broomsticks
or hot water or a shovel full of coals.”
INT. SANGAMO JOURNAL OFFICE – DAY
Lincoln and Simeon Francis are talking.
SIMEON FRANCIS
Shields called upon me and asked me
who wrote the “Rebecca” letters.
I requested a day to reflect on the matter.
What do you think I should say?
LINCOLN
I will tell Shields myself that I am responsible
for all the “Rebecca” letters.
SIMEON FRANCIS
But, Abe, you only wrote the first one,
and not the one with the personal attacks.
LINCOLN
Yes, but I feel I must shield
Mary and Julia from Mr. Shields.
If he wants to demand satisfaction,
let it be from me.
INT. SANGAMO JOURNAL OFFICE – DAY
GENERAL JOHN WHITESIDE is talking with Simeon Francis.
WHITESIDE
Mr. Shields sent me to find out
who wrote the “Rebecca” letters.
SIMEON FRANCIS
Mr. Lincoln claims responsibility for them.
WHITESIDE
Can you tell me where I can find Mr. Lincoln?
SIMEON FRANCIS
I believe he is riding the circuit
and has gone to Tremont.
EXT. TREMONT INN – DAY
JAMES SHIELDS and Whiteside have arrived on horseback and dismount.
WHITESIDE
Mr. Shields,
I will deliver your note to Mr. Lincoln.
SHIELDS
Please tell him that as State Auditor
I do not want any trouble in Springfield;
but I have been the object of slander,
vituperation, and personal abuse
which I cannot submit to.
INT. TREMONT INN – DUSK
DR. ELIAS MERRYMAN and William Butler have called upon General Whiteside and Shields.
MERRYMAN
Mr. Lincoln has asked me
to give you this note and to inform you
that he will not respond to any notes
until Mr. Shields has inquired
if Lincoln is the author of the letters
and unless Mr. Shields points out
what is offensive to him in them.
Mr. Lincoln is wholly opposed to dueling
and will do anything to avoid it
that does not degrade him;
but if his honor is at stake,
he suggests cavalry broad swords
with these specific conditions.
Merryman hands them a paper.
EXT. RIVER BANK IN MISSOURI – NOON
Super:
Missouri
September 22, 1842
Shields and Lincoln are prepared with broad swords for the duel with Whiteside and Merryman as their seconds. Also present are Butler, ALBERT BLEDSOE, DR. THOMAS HOPE, and William Ewing. A ten-foot plank that is ten inches broad has been fixed on its edge on the ground, and two lines have been drawn parallel to it about six or seven feet away on each side. John Hardin arrives with REVEL ENGLISH. They approach the seconds to try to mediate while Lincoln is sitting on a log and examining a sword.
HARDIN
General Whiteside and Dr. Merryman,
may we have a word with you
to see if we can stop this madness?
WHITESIDES
Certainly.
MERRYMAN
Do you have a suggestion?
HARDIN
Yes, let the whole difficulty be submitted
to four gentlemen to be selected by ourselves,
who shall consider the affair,
and report thereon for your consideration.
Lincoln stands up and with his sword cuts off a twig from a high branch.
DISSOLVE TO:
EWING
We are willing to consider
Mr. Shield’s note withdrawn
if Mr. Lincoln will state that
his letter was written solely for political effect.
LINCOLN
That is what I have been saying.
SHIELDS
I do not agree to that.
LINCOLN
I had no intention of injuring
your personal or private character
or your standing as a man or as a gentleman.
Whiteside confers with Dr. Hope and Ewing.
WHITESIDES
We consider Mr. Lincolns’ apology sufficient,
and we will not sustain Mr. Shields
in any further action.
Whiteside and Merryman step between Lincoln and Shields and take the swords from them.
INT. HOME OF SIMEON FRANCIS – DAY
Lincoln and Mary are talking.
LINCOLN
I did not want to kill Shields.
I had been practicing with the sword,
and I felt sure that I could disarm him.
MARY
The way you set the rules
your long arms gave you a big advantage.
LINCOLN
After our duel was settled peacefully,
Butler said something that offended Shields,
who sent Whiteside
as his friend to challenge him.
Butler through Merryman named rifles
as the weapons at one hundred yards.
Merryman asked me
to deliver a note to Whiteside,
who felt offended and challenged Merryman.
Finally Merryman considered the matter closed.
So no one ended up dueling,
which is a criminal offense in Illinois.
MARY
My goodness,
what a lot of foolish challenging over honor!
LINCOLN
Molly, I was glad to see you
at the wedding in Jacksonville.
My friend Speed went back to Kentucky
and was married a few months ago.
He has been my best friend,
and we are very much alike in that
we both suffer from melancholia.
I tried to encourage him
when he was thinking of getting married,
and he has informed me by letters
how it has made him much happier.
MARY
That is good news.
LINCOLN
Mary, you are the only one
I have ever cared for.
The foolish dueling made me realize
that I need to be more careful.
I don’t think I will write any more
anonymous letters ridiculing politicians.
MARY
I am sorry that Julia and I made it worse.
LINCOLN
Actually the challenge came
before your letter was published.
Let us not talk about the duel anymore.
I would like to settle down and get married.
I am grateful that you released me
from my promise when you did.
MARY
You remember, however, that I kept it open
that the engagement could be renewed.
LINCOLN
Yes, and now I find that
I would like to marry you.
Will you marry me?
MARY
Yes, Mr. Lincoln, I will, with all my heart.
They embrace and kiss.
LINCOLN
I would like it to be soon.
MARY
Yes, I agree, the sooner the better.
INT. EDWARDS HOME – EARLY MORNING
Mary finds her sister ELIZABETH EDWARDS in the kitchen.
MARY
Good morning, Elizabeth.
Mr. Lincoln and I are going
to be married this evening,
and I want you to stand up with me.
ELIZABETH EDWARDS
Today?! Where?
MARY
By Reverend Dresser in his rectory.
ELIZABETH EDWARDS
I shall have to talk with Ninian about that.
I think you should be married here,
but there is so little time
to prepare for our guests.
I guess we’ll have to send out
for gingerbread and beer.
MARY
Well, that will be good enough for plebeians.
EXT. STREET IN SPRINGFIELD – MORNING
Ninian Edwards sees Lincoln walking and calls to him.
EDWARDS
Lincoln, I want to talk with you.
They approach each other.
LINCOLN
What is it?
EDWARDS
I hear that you and Mary Todd
are getting married today at the parsonage.
Because I am the guardian of Mary Todd,
Mrs. Edwards and I would like
to have the wedding at our house.
LINCOLN
If the wedding can proceed today,
that is all right with me.
EDWARDS
Then I will tell Mrs. Edwards to prepare.
Super:
November 4, 1842
About thirty people have gathered for the wedding that is being conducted by REV. CHARLES DRESSER. JUDGE BROWN is standing nearby.
REV. DRESSER
Do you have a ring?
LINCOLN
Yes, sir, this ring is engraved
with the words “Love is eternal.”
REV. DRESSER
The ring symbolizes eternity.
Place the ring halfway on her finger
and say, “With this ring I thee endow
with all my goods and chattels,
lands and tenements.”
LINCOLN
With this ring I thee endow
with all my goods and chattels,
lands and tenements.
JUDGE BROWN
Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty,
Lincoln, the statute fixes all that.
Rev. Dresser struggles to keep from laughing and then continues the service.
REV. DRESSER
Now, Mary, to show that
you freely accept this marriage,
you put the ring all the way on
and say, “With this ring I thee wed.”
MARY
With this ring I thee wed.
REV. DRESSER
I now pronounce you husband and wife.
Lincoln kisses Mary, and then they turn and face their friends and relatives.
The end of Part 1