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The movie focuses on the key period when Lincoln was trying to pass the 13th Amendment, in early 1865. In 1863, he had issued the proclamation that gave freedom to many African-American slaves. This at the time had been a strategic move designed to undermine the Confederates ability to fight the war at a time when General Robert E Lee was inflicting defeats on the Union army<ref> Goodwin, Doris Kearns Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (London, Simon & Schuster, 2013), p. 113 </ref>. Since then the tide had turned in favour of the Union and by 1865, the Union army under Ulysses S. Grant had Lee practically cornered in Virginia. The victory of the Union was inevitable and Lincoln had saved the Union. However, Lincoln was also deeply alarmed now at this time and it is shown in the movie. He believed that there were many in the Senate and the House of Representatives who wanted to back-track on the Emancipation Act of 1863. There were many senators and congressmen who had sympathies with the white slaving owning class and who were racists and regarded slavery as the natural state of African-Americans. It seemed that with the Union victory that many in the American political establishment could accept the continuation of some form of slavery in the United States <ref> Goodwin, p. 116</ref>. The movie accurately captures Lincoln’s concerns that the Civil War would fail to secure the emancipation of the slaves. This was all correct and it was by no means certain that Lincoln and his followers could secure the necessary votes that would have allowed them to pass into law the prohibition of slavery. This is all very accurate. The motion picture shows Lincoln fighting to secure the passage of the 13th amendment and shows that he faced significant opposition. Traditionally, it was widely believed that the abolition of slavery was inevitable after the Union victory. This was not the case. It was a great struggle to pass the Amendment and only a figure with the prestige of Lincoln could have achieved it. Spielberg captures the scale of the Lincoln’s achievement.