A character page in progress for the Steven Spielberg film Lincoln.
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The Lincoln Household
Pres. Abraham Lincoln
Played By: Daniel Day-Lewis
The 16th President of the United States.
- Badass Boast: An actual quote, no less."I am the President of the United States, clothed... in immense power! You will procure me those votes."
- Badass Bookworm: War Veteran President leading a nation through a war and fighting for an amendment that will end slavery once and for all along with being very well learned in the written word.
- Beware the Nice Ones: He's soft-spoken and his attitude is very genial. So when he gets mad and starts raising his voice, people listen.
- The Chessmaster: The film greatly shows his cunning nature, subtle political maneuvers and command over just about every situation he was in.
- Cool Old Guy: Very congenial with the young people he interacts with and tells stories that contain moments of awesome and Toilet Humor.
- Curse of The Ancients:"Buzzard's guts, man."
- Deadpan Snarker: This is Abraham Lincoln after all.
- Lincoln goes to see Bilbo to give him his walking papers on the eve of the Thirteenth Amendment being passed. Bilbo has been operating in a manner that keeps him completely disassociated from the President to avoid the appearance of corruption. So when Lincoln finally shows his face, they greet each other thusly:
Bilbo: 'Well, I'll be fucked.
Lincoln: I wouldn't bet against it. - Determinator: He knows the odds of passing the 13th Amendment are stacked against him. Doesn't faze him one bit.
- Disease Bleach: Like most presidents, the job prematurely ages him. In his case, it aged him a lot.Grant: By outward appearance, you're 10 years older than you were a year ago.Lincoln: Some weariness has bit at my bones.
- A Father to His Men: While Congress may have a cold attitude towards him, it's clear Lincoln loves and is loved by his Union soldiers.
- Gentle Giant: 6'4" (still large for the average 21st century male) and very soft-spoken
- Good Is Not Soft: Wants to abolish slavery and is a genial guy...but he's not afraid to yell, deceive, or bend the rules for the greater good.
- Guile Hero: Passing the 13th Amendment certainly took a lot of cleverness on his part.
- Henpecked Husband: Described seriously by Robert and semi-seriously by Mary Todd herself, in that Lincoln doesn't want Robert to go to war mostly because he dreads how Mary Todd will respond.
- Large and in Charge: The 6'4" Lincoln towers over everyone else. Day-Lewis' height (6'1") is exaggerated somewhat by the camera angles.
- Messy Hair: "My last barber hanged himself. Left me his scissors in his will."
- Nice Guy: Characterized by his unassuming kindness, in contrast to his more pragmatic Cabinet.
- Our Presidents Are Different: President Personable and President Iron. Lincoln is very friendly and personable with soldiers and servants, but firm and serious with lawmakers and diplomats.
- Rambling Old Man Monologue: Lincoln has a habit of breaking into anecdotes that sometimes don't have any relevance to the topic at hand. Other times they're quite calculated to produce an effect.
- Signature Headgear: He has that famous tall hat.
- Troll: There are hints that Lincoln tells his stories to exasperate his advisers (especially Edwin Stanton) as much as to make them think.
- The Unfettered: Lincoln is absolutely determined to pass the amendment, and doesn't hesitate to: use bribery (technically 'patronage jobs') to convert representatives to his side, exploit the emergency powers that the Constitution has given him, and even lie to congress about being in peace talks with the Confederacy.
- Vocal Dissonance: For such a large and commanding man, Lincoln's voice is remarkably soft-spoken and gentle. Truth in Television as it's quite accurate to the real man.
First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln
Played By: Sally Field
The First Lady and Lincoln's wife.
- Affectionate Nickname: Her husband calls her Molly.
- Broken Bird: Mary has suffered the loss of two children, worries about her husband's safety, and fears (sadly, quite correctly) that history will remember her as a crazy woman who ruined Lincoln's happiness.
- The Baby Trap: She implies in a heated argument that Lincoln always perceived that she forced him into a marriage by becoming pregnant and that he resents their oldest son as embodying his frustration. Lincoln insists that that's not true.
- Despair Event Horizon: All but crossed with the heartbreak of Outliving One's Offspring, made all the more traumatic as she was at a party on the day her son died and that she later held Willie in her arms as he died. Sadly she would cross it when she lost Abraham and Tad.
- The Fashionista: She doesn't take a page from Godey's Ladies Book (the Vogue magazine of the era)....she takes the whole library and is primped in the laces and ruffles of the mid-Victorian Era.I must dress in costly materials. The people scrutinize every article I wear with critical curiosity. - Mary, quoted in the book Behind the Scenes by her friend Elizabeth Keckley.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Mary Todd and Lincoln bitterly argue at points. He also threatens to put her into the madhouse. But on their final coach ride they are loving and joyful with Lincoln scoffing at ignorant historians declaring she made him miserable.
- One Head Taller: The real Mary Todd Lincoln was 5'2, more than a foot shorter than her husband. Sally Field is of the same height.
- Pimped-Out Dress: The corseted waists, the flounces, the ruffles, the patterns, and the crinolines which were all popular during that era.
- Mary was a good sewer, and may have made some of those outfits herself.
- Red Oni: Very high strung, fragile, and prone to outbursts in contrast with her friend and dressmaker Lizzy.
Robert Todd Lincoln
Played By: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Lincoln's eldest son. He's just come back to revisit his family, but hopes soon to enlist in the Union army.
- Determinator: Just like his dad, he is determined to do that right thing. In this case, it's enlisting despite his parents' protests.
- Rear Echelon Soldier: Abraham gives in to Robert's demand that he be allowed to enlist, but uses his connections to ensure his college-educated son gets an officer's commission on Grant's staff, keeping Robert as far away from front-line combat as is possible while still serving in the Army.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Inverted. It's a lot harder to enlist in the army when your father who forbids it is Commander in Chief.
- The Unfavorite: Mrs. Lincoln thinks Abe sees Robert as this, while Abe suggests that Mrs. Lincoln sees Tad as this. (The film depicts their true feelings towards their sons as much more complex.)
Willie Lincoln
Lincoln's middle son who died during his presidency.
- The Ghost: He died three years prior to the events depicted in the film.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Everyone clearly adored Willie, as the entire Lincoln family is devastated by his death. Tad longingly says he wants to see him drowsily.
Tad Lincoln
Played By: Gulliver McGrath
Lincoln's youngest son.
- Artistic License – History: The real Tad had a quite severe speech impediment when he was a child but underwent speech therapy to correct it as a teenager. It was so severe that only his family and tutors could understand him when he spoke but this isn't present in the film.
- Break the Cutie: When he hears his father has been shot, Tad screams in grief.
- Cheerful Child: Son of the President, plays with official maps, rides a goat pulled carriage through the White House who is a goodhearted and playful boy.
- Constantly Curious: He's very curious about slavery, even examining plate images of whipped and beaten slaves. His mother worries this will traumatize him.
- Innocently Insensitive: Out of childish curiosity, he asks some of the black employees of the White House, like Slade and Keckley, if they were ever slaves in the past and if they were beaten, without realizing it can be a touchy topic. Luckily they both understand.
- Sleep Cute: He's introduced asleep on the floor, and his dad curls up with him.
Elizabeth Keckley
Played By: Gloria Reuben
- Blue Oni: Very calm and collected in contrast with her boss and friend Mary.
- The Fashionista: Who else is responsible for Mary's Pimped-Out Dress ensembles?note
- Trying Not to Cry: Her eyes glaze as she listens to Congressmen ridicule the notion of ending slavery and espouse utter hatred of Black people. She has to leave when Thaddeus Stevens states that he only believes in equality under the law and not racial equality.
- The real Elizabeth Keckley
was an extraordinary woman whose life deserves its own awesome film.
William Slade
Played By: Stephen McKinley-Henderson
- The Driver: Drives the carriages for the Lincoln family.
- Nice Guy: Very congenial, good-humored, and gentle.
- Old Retainer: Worked with Abe for a long time.
Lincoln's Cabinet
William Seward
Played By: David Strathairn
Lincoln's Secretary of State.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Seward was the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, whose popularity was upset by Lincoln. Lincoln recruited him to the cabinet, and he has become his most loyal subordinate.
- The Good Chancellor: He frequently and vocally disagrees with how Lincoln does things, but throws himself into fulfilling the president's wishes by any means necessary.
- The Lancer: To Lincoln.
- The Reliable One: Of the Cabinet members, Seward is the one working closest with Lincoln during the struggle to get the amendment passed. Although even he gets frustrated coping with Lincoln's juggling act between pushing the amendment and considering meeting with the Confederate peace commission.
- What the Hell, Hero?: He is not happy when he learns Lincoln arranged to meet with a Confederate Peace Commission without consulting him first.
Edwin Stanton
Played By: Bruce McGill
The Secretary of War.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Stanton has no patience for Lincoln's jokes, but when the news of the latest battle is wired in, he and the President hold hands.
- The Comically Serious: Fusses over the burnt edge of a military map and positively storms out of the room when Lincoln starts to tell another of his stories.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Lincoln begins his Ethan Allen story during the assault on Ft. Fisher.
John Usher
Played By: Dakin Matthews
Lincoln's Secretary of the Interior.
- Token Evil Teammate: Basically his role amounts to bickering with other cabinet members and complain about Lincoln's plans to abolish slavery.
Gideon Welles
Played By: Grainger Hines
Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy.- Father Neptune: Lincoln even calls him this. Truth in Television!
House of Representatives
Thaddeus Stevens
Played By: Tommy Lee Jones
Leader of the Radical Republicans and a Representative from Pennsylvania
- Arch-Enemy: Stevens absolutely despises George Pendleton.
- Ascended Extra: Thaddeus Stevens is mentioned all of four times in Team of Rivals, but in the movie he is one of the most prominent characters.
- Brutal Honesty: He doesn't mince his words on anything, be it his goals, his complete disinterest in the opinions of others or his withering disdain for his opponents.
- Cool Old Guy: He's in his later years (the real Steven was in his early seventies at the time of the events) and a passionate man who wants full equality for black people and has a razor sharp wit to boot.
- Deadpan Snarker: Big time. Hardly a conversation passes where he doesn't have at least one cutting remark about those around him. Then again, it's Tommy Lee Jones. It would be weird if he wasn't this.
- Determinator: Stevens himself admits that he will do or say anything to abolish slavery.
- Dodgy Toupee: He wears a wig and is completely bald underneath (the real Stevens suffered from Alopecia before it was known and went bald as a young man). Unlike most examples, he doesn't hide that it's a wig, even quipping to Lincoln that "he looks worse without it". The real Stevens even had a famous moment where a young woman asked for a lock of his hair and he pulled off his wig and told her "here, madam. You may have it all", much to her shock and his amusement.
- Good Is Not Nice: Stevens is a stubborn obstinate jerk who doesn't give a damn bout what "the people" want or about upsetting those around him. He is also a merciless fighter for freedom and justice for all people.
- Handicapped Badass: Has a club foot and walks with a cane, yet is known as the "Tyrant of the House".
- Hot-Blooded: He's very passionate about abolishing slavery and doesn't give a damn
- I Did What I Had to Do: Stevens goes against his principles to claim that he only wants equality under the law, not total racial equality, in order to get the 13th Amendment passed... but blunted the alienation of the ardent abolitionists that such a declaration would incur by verbally eviscerating George Pendleton for cornering him for it
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Most of his conversations are peppered with insults to the whoever he's currently addressing. He's also a strong believer in racial equality who is willing to do whatever it will take to abolish slavery.
- And he really loves his common-law wife.
- Knight in Sour Armor: He's a cantankerous cynic who makes no effort to hide his disdain for most of the people around him and in the country but he's genuinely committed to ending slavery and giving black people full equality, regardless of how hated it might make him. He best sums himself as up as "someone who has fought long and hard for the good of the people without caring much for any of them".
- Malicious Misnaming: After inviting Alexander Coffroth into his office with "Canfrey!", he addresses him in passing as "Coughdrop" and "Coughsnot", before making it clear that he knows the man's name but absolutely does not care.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Stevens was born and raised in Vermont, moved to Pennsylvania as a young lawyer, and represented a district around Lancaster, PA, but Tommy Lee Jones makes no effort at all to cover his famous Texas accent.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: His views on racial equality and strong desire to make it a reality make him come across as this to the majority of white characters in the film. To the pro-slavery congressmen, of course, he's not well-intentioned at all.
Lydia Hamilton Smith
Played By: S. Epatha Merkerson
Thaddeus Stevens' partner. We see her only at the end where Stevens presents her with the 13th Amendment document and listens to her reading it over and over in bed. The real Lydia Smith was what was known at the time as a "free woman of color". In the film, Stevens gripes about having to say she's his housekeeper; in Real Life their relationship was known to many. She was an independent businesswoman and real estate owner-manager.
Fernando Wood
Played By: Lee Pace
Copperhead Democrat representative of New York and the 13th Amendment's most outspoken opponent. The real Wood was a career politician who was Mayor of NYC when Lincoln was first elected. He had been a big supporter of the Union and Lincoln, but was known as an opportunist who would take whichever side worked to his best advantage.
- The Dragon: He's the Democratic Party's best orator and weapon against the amendment, but he largely takes his instructions from Pendleton.
- Large Ham: Most likely intentional, as his job is to drum up opposition to the amendment.
George H. Pendleton
Played By: Peter McRobbie
Democrat representative from Ohio and chief opponent of the 13th Amendment.
- Age Lift: During the time period in which the film is set, Pendleton was only 39 years old. In the film, he is portrayed by Peter McRobbie, who was 69 years old at the time of the film's release.
- Big Bad: In a manner of speaking. As the de facto leader of the Democratic opposition to the 13th Amendment, he's the biggest obstacle in the way of its passage.
- Large Ham: More subdued than Wood, but still has his moments. Especially his epic "How dare you!" in response to one of Stevens' harangues.
- The Rival: To Stevens. Half of the latter's comments on the House floor are usually insults thrown at his direction.
Schuyler Colfax
Played By: Bill Raymond
The Speaker of the House.
- Historical Hero Upgrade: Colfax became notorious as U.S. Grant's Vice President, for being the central figure of the scandals that nearly broke his administration. During the passage of the Amendment, however, he steps out of his normal role to cast what turns out to be one of the two deciding votes.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: As befits the Speaker's role. He still takes the extraordinary effort to vote on the Amendment himself, tossing aside custom, if only because of the momentous occasion.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Related to the above, while it generally was a rule that Speakers have adhered to before and since, Colfax was also a member of the Radical caucus, and was known to have supported black equality.
James Ashley
Played By: David Costabile
- Manly Tears: When the Amendment is passed, he sheds tears of joy.
- Nervous Wreck: His job as floor manager for the 13th Amendment is clearly getting to him. He constantly seems on the verge of an ulcer from the stress of it. His Manly Tears when passage is secured were well earned.
Asa Vintner Litton
Played By: Stephen Spinella
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Of the Radical Republicans, he's the least personally sympathetic since all he does is complain without being even remotely helpful to the cause, but after the vote passes, like Ashley, he sheds Manly Tears in celebration and seems to genuinely believe in full equality of the races.
- The Conscience: Acts this way towards Stevens, though really Stevens doesn't want or need his guidance.
George Yeaman
Played By: Michael Stuhlbarg
- Big "YES!": Or rather, big AYE!
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: He's portrayed as a very soft-spoken Nice Guy who openly admits to hating slavery. But he's also uneasy about abolishing it and voices opposition to giving black people and women equal rights.
- Grew a Spine: He rather meekly states "my vote ties us" so softly that the clerk has to ask him to speak up. Suddenly, vertebrae align and he exclaims "I said Aye, Mr. MacPherson, AAAAAAYE!" to the jubilation of the proponents and calls of "Traitor" from the opponents. He later expresses pride in his vote when the amendment advocates start singing "Battle Cry of Freedom" in the House chambers after it passes.
- Nice Guy: Very polite in general, especially in comparison to all the other Democrats who staunchly oppose the amendment.
Clay R. Hawkins
Played By: Walton Goggins
- Dirty Coward: Switches his vote depending upon who's threatening him at a given moment. However....
- Grew a Spine: When it's time to vote, he votes yes and he doesn't give a damn if the Democrats shoot him for it.
William Hutton
Played By: David Warshofsky
- Anti-Villain: Admits he's "a prejudiced man," but he has a very personal reason for opposing the Thirteenth Amendment... his brother died in the war. Lincoln recognizes this and doesn't try pressing him overly hard.
Alexander Coffroth
Played By: Boris McGiver
- Butt-Monkey: Stevens displays open contempt towards him, dropping insults and mispronouncing Coffroth's name. Coffroth takes the abuse because it will allow him staying in office.
- Heel–Face Turn: Stevens persuades him to vote for the Thirteenth Amendment and to switch parties from Democrat to Republican (However, Stevens notes he needs to vote FOR the Amendment first as a Democrat, in order to build the impression it was a bipartisan effort).
- Speech Impediment: Has a very pronounced stutter which is Played for Laughs. This is Artistic License – History, as the real Coffroth was considered a gifted orator.
Gang of Three
A trio of lobbyists hired by Seward to buy votes from the Democratic Party.
- Comic Trio: Their antics throughout the film are the source of most of its humor. They have a few Greek Chorus moments during the floor debates.
- Leitmotif: Almost every scene featuring these three is accompanied by a lively bluegrass piece, a marked contrast with the more somber music elsewhere in the film.
- Sleazy Politician: A rare heroic example. They rely on shady backdoor deals in favor of the amendment's passage.
William N. Bilbo
Played By: James Spader
- Ascended Extra: Very little is known about the real Bilbo, so his characterization is almost completely invented.
- Big Eater: He's eating something in most of his scenes and has an ample gut.
- Large Ham: Especially in relation to Schell and Latham, Bilbo is prone to grand gesticulating (such as kicking dirt on a Congressman attempting to shoot him while delivering a Precision F-Strike and messily smashing shellfish with a hammer causing the bits to fly off everywhere).
- The Leader: Of the three, he gets by far the most lines and characterization.
- Precision F-Strike: Gets two (In fact, the only ones in the entire movie).
- Token Enemy Minority: Bilbo was driven out of Tennessee when he decided to side with the Union.
Richard Schell
Played By: Tim Blake Nelson
- Cheshire Cat Grin: When he's lobbying, Schell puts on an absurdly large and phony looking grin.
- Deadpan Snarker: His observations of the Democrats who may be willing to defect to vote for the amendment is filled with dryly snide insults.
Col. Robert Latham
Played By: John Hawkes
- Only Sane Man: Of the trio, Latham is the least likely to be prone to Chewing the Scenery like Bilbo, or making snide one liners like Schell.
Others
Francis Preston Blair
Played By: Hal Holbrook
A founder of the Republican Party and a key advisor to President Lincoln.
- Cool Old Guy: Is in his mid-70s at the time of the film and yet is still spry enough to have influence over both Conservative and Radical Republicans, so much so that Lincoln relies on his support to get the Amendment passed.
- To Be Lawful or Good: Blair would rather preserve the Union than free the slaves. He is indignant to learn that Lincoln delayed the peace talks with the Confederacy to buy time for the Amendment first, but eventually is convinced to support Lincoln’s efforts.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Stevens and the Radical Republicans view Blair’s insistence on peace talks with the South as a hamper to their efforts to abolish slavery, both on the grounds of deterring human rights and because it would weaken the Amendment’s political standing if it were learned there are attempts to negotiate with the South and end the war without abolition.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Democrats learn of the peace talks and demand the vote postponed, Blair and his Republicans go along with them. It is thus a very big deal when he hears Lincoln’s carefully worded reply that there are no Confederates in Washington, which Blair knows is avoiding the truth, and agrees to let the vote resume.
- Peace Conference: He's the one who initiates peace negotiations with the Confederates in exchange for his support of the Thirteenth Amendment, and constantly reminds Lincoln of the importance of peace over passing the Amendment.
- The Spock: He contrasts Thaddeus Stevens in being the opposite side of the Republican Party. His priority is ending the war, not freeing slaves, and he presses Lincoln to seek peace with the South first rather than put all efforts in passing the 13th Amendment, concerned that it would escalate the war.
Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant
Played By: Jared Harris
General-in-Chief of the Union Army.
- Bling of War: Averted, as in Real Life. The General prefers a simple uniform at all times, whether in the field, at command HQ or at a peace conference.
- Brutal Honesty: Bluntly tells Stephens and the Confederate delegation that their offer of a negotiated peace is unacceptable. Instead he immediately demands they prepare "terms of surrender."
- The Confidant: Grant is this to Lincoln. Their scene together in Appotamox shows that he is one of the few who truly understands Lincoln as a person, and that they have had discussions about the aftermath of the war.
- Four-Star Badass: The very first four-star general of the United States, in fact.
Alexander Stephens
Played By: Jackie Earle Haley
Vice-President of the Confederacy, leader of the peace committee.
- Affably Evil: Besides his courteous treatment of the black Union soldiers escorting him, he's also very civil towards both Grant and Lincoln, despite the circumstances of their meeting, whereas his colleagues are more snappish and short-tempered.
- Big Bad Friend: To Lincoln, as vaguely alluded to by them being on First-Name Basis during the private negotiations. While it's not mentioned directly, this is Truth in Television. Lincoln and Stephens were both members of the Whig caucus for a time in the House of Representatives, and were frequent dining companions and friends.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: The reason the peace conference fails. Though the Confederacy's on its last legs and slavery is a dead letter, legally and practically, Stephens insists on negotiating as a separate power and then for slavery's retention.
- The Dragon: To the unseen Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
- First-Name Basis: With Lincoln, hinting their friendship from before the War.
- Greater-Scope Villain: He is the face of the Confederacy in the film, whom the war is being fought against, though the primary threat in the movie is anti-emancipation Democrats in the Union.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Stephens coldly points out that for all of Lincoln's platitudes he is a wartime leader who defeated the Confederacy in war, not on an ideological level.
- Token Good Teammate: Despite being a white supremacist who once declared that "Our new government is founded upon [...] the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man", Stephens is respectful to the black Union soldiers he meets even as they're greeting him with Death Glares. The real Alexander Stephens saw the black man as inferior to the white, but did not see that as a reason to denigrate or mistreat black people. He apperantly treated his slaves well enough that many of them stayed as payed servants after the war, and one them even served as a pallbearer at his funeral. Lincoln also addresses him as "Alex", hinting to the fact that they were friends before the war.
- Unflinching Walk: While his fellow Southerners pause in horror upon finding out their escort is made up of black Union soldiers, Alexander calmly keeps walking to the carriage awaiting them and politely talks to the soldiers escorting them.
George Archibald Campbell
Played By: Gregory Itzin
