Since his death in 1865, Abraham Lincoln has been an iconic American figure depicted, usually favorably or heroically, in many forms. Lincoln has often been portrayed by Hollywood, almost always in a flattering light.[1][2] He has been depicted in a wide range of forms including alternative timelines, animation, documentary, small cameos, and fictionalized interpretations.
Statues
Statues of Abraham Lincoln can be found in the United States and in other countries. In Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, is a 13-foot (4 m) high bronze statue, a gift from the United States, dedicated in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The U.S. received a statue of Benito Juárez in exchange, which is in Washington, D.C. Juárez and Lincoln exchanged friendly letters during the American Civil War. Mexico remembers Lincoln's opposition to the Mexican–American War. (For his part, Juárez refused to aid the Confederacy and jailed those Confederates who sought his help.) There is also a statue in Tijuana, Mexico, showing Lincoln standing and destroying the chains of slavery. There are at least three statues of Lincoln in the United Kingdom—one in Parliament Square in London by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, one in Manchester by George Grey Barnard and another in Edinburgh by George Bissell. There is also a bust of the President at St Andrews Church in Hingham, Norfolk, where Lincoln's ancestors lived. In Havana, Cuba, there is a bust of Abraham Lincoln in the Museum of the Revolution, a small statue of him in front of the Abraham Lincoln School, and a bust of him near the Capitolio. In Quito, Ecuador, a statue of Lincoln can be found in the Plaza Abraham Lincoln. Avenida Abraham Lincoln, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is one of the capital city's most important and trafficked streets. In the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, there is a city named Lincoln.
Shortly after Lincoln's death, hundreds of poems were written on the topic. The historian Stephen B. Oates noted that "never had the nation mourned so over a fallen leader" while the professor William Pannapacker argued "Perhaps no event in American history produced so great an outpouring of verse." Describing Lincoln as a martyr became a "popular sub-genre."[3]
Walt Whitman was fascinated by Lincoln during the Civil War and wrote several poems about him after his death.[4] Whitman's Lincoln poems are:
Lincoln has been portrayed in many films and television shows since 1907.[12][13]
1846
Lincoln himself wrote poetry and at least one piece of fiction loosely based upon one of the murder cases he defended as a young lawyer. In April 1846, The Quincy Whig published Lincoln's short story under the title "A Remarkable Case of Arrest for Murder". The story was republished in March 1952 by Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and retitled "The Trailor Murder Mystery." Lincoln refers to his own unnamed character as "the defense" and "the writer of this".[14]
Late 1800s
In Jules Verne's 1870 novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, a fictitious steam frigate, the Abraham Lincoln, is sent to hunt down the "monster" that has been attacking ships at sea, and is attacked itself. Captain Nemo also has a portrait of Lincoln hanging in his study on board the Nautilus. In the sequel The Mysterious Island, the five shipwrecked Union prisoners name the island which they discover, "Lincoln Island".
The German writer Karl May wrote two stories about Canada Bill Jones: Ein Self-man (1878) and Three carde monte (1879).[15] The narrator meets several times with the young Abraham Lincoln and together they oppose "Kanada-Bill". Both stories have in common the first meeting of the heroes: The narrator finds Lincoln in a forest training to orate.[16]
In 1887, Edward Eggleston published The Graysons, a fictionalized account of a famous murder trial that Abraham Lincoln won in 1858 in central Illinois.[17]
The first motion picture based on Lincoln was 1908 film The Reprieve: An Episode in the Life of Abraham Lincoln. Directed by Van Dyke Brooke, the film shows Lincoln pardoning a sentry who fell asleep on duty, a theme that would be depicted repeatedly in other silent era shorts. This era is also when the first Abraham Lincoln impersonators originated, and the modern idea of what he sounded like is derived from these.[13]
George MacDonald Fraser's 1971 novel Flash for Freedom! features a young Abraham Lincoln at the time that he was a Congressman. Anti-hero narrator and self-confessed cad Harry Flashman describes him as having "the makings of as big a scoundrel as I am myself".
In Sandburg's Lincoln (1974), Hal Holbrook plays the title character.
In "Sex and Violence", a 1975 pilot for The Muppet Show, an Abraham Lincoln Muppet (performed by John Lovelady) appears as part of the Muppet version of Mount Rushmore.
In the Belgian comic series Lucky Luke, Abraham Lincoln appears in a cameo as the president of the United States in the album "Le Fil qui chante" released in 1977 by Morris (artist) and Rene Goscinny (writer). He commissions the construction of the First Transcontinental Telegraph and Lucky Luke volunteers to help. Lincoln re-appears in the comic "Lucky Luke contre Pinkerton" released in 2010 by Achde (artist) and Daniel Pennac and Tonino Benacquista (writers), where he assigns Allan Pinkerton to be his personal guard.
Lincoln impersonator Rex Hamilton was introduced in the opening credits of each episode of Police Squad! shooting back at John Wilkes Booth, though he would not further appear in any episodes.[21]
The 1987 American TV series Amerika displays an America occupied by Soviet troops. Lincoln's image is displayed along Marx's and Lenin's in parades, exemplifying the re-interpretation of American symbols by the new state.
In the sketch comedy series SCTV, Joe Flaherty plays a time-traveler Lincoln going to the past to chase the child John Wilkes Booth through time with a gun to prevent his assassination, repeatedly failing attempts to kill Booth. Catherine O'Hara plays Mrs. Lincoln who asks her time traveler husband where her future is to lead her. When he casually responds "in an insane asylum", she proclaims her foresight ability, responding "I knew it!"
In the Red Dwarf episode "Meltdown", Lincoln (played by Jack Klaff) was featured as a Waxdroid in a theme park planet called Waxworld, where evil waxdroids and good waxdroids are fighting.
In the first installment of Sid Meier's Civilization (1991) Lincoln is featured as the playable leader of the Americans.
In the alternate history short story The Lincoln Train by Maureen F. McHugh, Abraham Lincoln survives his assassination attempt by John Wilkes Booth, but is renders him a vegetable, and incapable of governing the nation. This leads to William H. Seward becoming Acting President and instigating a harsh policy of Reconstruction.
A&E Biography: "Abraham Lincoln - Preserving the Union" (1997)
An Abraham Lincoln robot acts as a defense attorney for African-American children Leon, Kahlil, LaShawn and Pee-Wee in Bebe's Kids (1992).
Lincoln appears in the Animaniacs episode "Four Score and Seven Migraines Ago" (1993), voiced by Peter Renaday. He is assisted in writing the Gettysburg Address by the Warners.
Lincoln appeared as an occasional guest host on Histeria!, especially in two episodes centered on the Civil War. Pepper Mills mistakes him for Lurch from The Addams Family, and one sketch shows the Civil War politics like an episode of Seinfeld, with Lincoln as Jerry and George B. McClellan as George Costanza. In another sketch, Loud Kiddington demands he explain the parts of the Gettysburg Address that he doesn't understand (such as what "four score" means). On Histeria!, Abe acts like Johnny Carson and was voiced by Maurice LaMarche.
In the 1993 film Coneheads, Dan Aykroyd's character dresses as Lincoln for a costume ball, as the President's stovepipe hat effectively covers his cone-shaped head.
In an episode of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show, Abraham Lincoln is portrayed (in an openly historically inaccurate skit) as the man who designed the American flag. Tom Kenny portrayed Lincoln as speaking in a thick New York accent.
In Harry Turtledove's alternate history novel How Few Remain (1997), set in 1881–2, part of the Southern Victory Series, Lincoln is a viewpoint character. As a disgraced former president, he travels to the western territories on a speaking tour, and founds an American socialist movement.
In the DC Comics Elseworld title Superman: A Nation Divided, a reimagining of Superman's origins as coming into his powers during the American Civil War, President Lincoln features heavily. He is first seen reading field reports by General Ulysses S. Grant that describe "Atticus" Kent's special abilities. Lincoln then assumes Grant has been drinking until Kent himself shows up at the White House. After Kent helps win the war, he accompanies Lincoln to the Ford Theater where he prevents John Wilkes Booth's assassination attempt. After this, Lincoln is seen to be one of the most popular presidents in history, serving two full terms.
In 1998, Scott McCloud wrote and drew the graphic novel The New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln, in which the president seemingly returns to life in the present day; however, it is in fact a disguised Benedict Arnold, working for aliens in a plot to conquer the world. He is unmasked by the true Lincoln, who also returns from the dead.
In 1998, TNT aired The Day Lincoln Was Shot, with Lance Henriksen as Abraham Lincoln and Rob Morrow as John Wilkes Booth. The film is a remake of Ford Star Jubilee: The Day Lincoln Was Shot (1956).
In Gangs of New York (2002), Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis's characters attend a performance of the play Uncle Tom's Cabin in which an actor representing Lincoln is suspended in mid-air (with his body apparently backwards) to address the blackface actors. An audience member interrupts him, as the immigrant audience members begin throwing objects at Lincoln and rioting.
In The Master of Disguise (2002), Pistachio Disguisey's grandfather tells him about the family legacy. In one part of the story, he tells about the Disguiseys helping Lincoln get elected.
Though The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Evil Con Carne are set in modern times, Lincoln (voiced by Peter Renaday) is strangely used to portray the President of the United States in the story's plot. One episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy even features him as Grim's replacement in Billy and Mandy's group of friends.
In the 2004 alternative historymockumentaryC.S.A.: The Confederate States of America, Abraham Lincoln flees after the South wins the war and annexes the northern states. Harriet Tubman attempts to help him flee to Canada in blackface makeup, but they are soon captured. He later declares, "Now I too am a Negro". Lincoln quickly tried for war crimes against the Confederacy and was imprisoned in Fortress Monroe, Virginia while Tubman is executed. In 1866, Lincoln—frail and gaunt from his two-year sentence—is fully pardoned by Confederate PresidentJefferson Davis and exiled to Canada. Lincoln remains until he dies in June 1905 at the age of 96. Shortly before his death, Lincoln laments not having made the Civil War a battle to end slavery.
In the 2006 American Dad! episode "Lincoln Lover", Stan Smith decides to write a one-man play to show his admiration for Lincoln and unwittingly ends up portraying him as a homosexual, attracting the attention of the Log Cabin Republicans.
In an episode of The Venture Bros., the ghost of Lincoln requests the help of Hank and Dean to save the current president from being killed.
In the fourth episode of the 2007 game Sam & Max Save the World, the statue of Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial is converted into a giant robot. He returns in the game's final episode, and becomes a major recurring character in its sequels.
Futurama featured different depictions of Abraham Lincoln:
He is ranked fourth in Electronic Gaming Monthly's list of the top ten video game politicians for his appearance in Fight Club for the PlayStation 2.[22]
In Robot Chicken's first Star Wars special, Lincoln (voiced by Hulk Hogan) is seen as being seated under the Lincoln Memorial, and engages in lightsaber combat with George W. Bush. In "Bionic Cow", Abraham Lincoln (voiced by Seth Green) is doing four score and seven kicks to Robert E. Lee's balls while two Union Soldiers hold Lee.
The Invincible comic book features Lincoln as an alter-ego of the superhero Immortal, who faked his death after his supposed assassination before reappearing in the modern day as a costumed crime-fighter.
In the 2011 director's cut of Gods and Generals based on the book of same name Lincoln was played by Christian Kauffman during a few added scenes, including one where Lincoln watches Macbeth featuring John Wilkes Booth where Booth gives the "Dagger of the Mind" soliloquy while staring intently at Lincoln.
In the 2010-2019 TV show Adventure Time, Abraham Lincoln (voiced by Pendleton Ward) is depicted as the King of Mars in the 2007 short and in the main series episode "Sons of Mars". He is also mentioned in other episodes throughout the series.
Abraham Lincoln appears in the cold opening of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Mitefall", voiced again by Peter Renaday. This version of Abraham Lincoln is from Parallel Universe 5501. While watching "Our American Cousin" with Mary, he is saved from John Wilkes Booth's assassination attempt by a Multiverse-hopping Batman who considers himself a longtime admirer of Abraham Lincoln. When John Wilkes Booth activated his steam-powered armor, Abraham Lincoln helped Batman to defeat John Wilkes Booth. Afterwards, Abraham Lincoln thanked Batman and states that reconstruction of their union can go on unabated. As Mary embraces Abraham Lincoln, Batman quotes "It was an honor to fight by your side President Lincoln." As Batman opens a portal to his next destination, he adds on to his comment "of Parallel Universe 5501" as he enters the portal.
In The Lego Movie, Abraham Lincoln (voiced again by Will Forte) is one of the Master Builders. Abraham Lincoln's toy bio states that he lives in a log cabin that he built all by himself, in the middle of a forest that he built all by himself, then cut down, and then rebuilt all by himself again. Abraham Lincoln is among the Master Builders that meet in Cloud Cuckoo Land and to express his disdain towards Emmet where he commented "A house divided against itself... would be better than this!" Then he rode his white rocket chair that contains a large booster at the bottom of the chair, out of the "Dog" in Cloud Cuckoo Land much to the dismay of Emmet. He later joined in the battle against Lord Business and his forces in Bricksburg where his rocket chair carried Michelangelo Buonarroti and William Shakespeare. In the sequel, Lincoln was falling into the black hole during "Armageddon" as he says ¨I had theater tickets tonight!¨ as a reference to John Wilkes Booth assassinating him during the production of "Our American Cousin."
Abraham Lincoln also had a Collectable Minifigure Series containing him. the lego figure itself comes with all parts exclusive to him except his legs. He has a top hat with a neck beard attached, suit and bow tie, black legs, and a piece of paper as an accessory containing his famous speech that says ¨four score and seven years ago¨ in cursive at the top of the accessory in reference to the Gettysburg Address. He was also made a minifigure after the release of the LEGO Movie 2 in 2019, he wears a steampunk style top hat with goggles, an angry face expression, and a hatchet.
Lincoln is featured as central character in the 2015 videogame Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., voiced by Wil Wheaton. This version of the character staged his own assassination, allowing him to disappear from the public eye and concentrate on running the S.T.E.A.M. strike force to combat the impending alien invasion.
Lincoln appears in the season 1 episode "The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln" of the NBC series Timeless, portrayed by Michael Krebs. In that episode, Abraham Lincoln was killed by time-traveler and former NSA asset Garcia Flynn despite Juliet Shakesman's attempt to warn him of an attempt on his life. She does, however, prevent Garcia in also taking out Ulysses S. Grant, who was also present.
The Better Angels, aka, The Green Blade Rises, produced by Terrence Malick, focused on Lincoln's upbringing, showing the events and tragedies that forged him into the man he became.
Lincoln is featured in the 2018 film documentary The Gettysburg Address, voiced by David Morse.
Abraham Lincoln was portrayed by Carel Nel in Grant, a miniseries that aired on the History Channel from May 25, 2020, to May 27, 2020, and a depiction of Lincoln's top General Ulysses S. Grant, who later became president.
UsefulCharts on YouTube featured Abraham Lincoln and his family's history. The video discusses Lincoln's ancestors as well as his descendants.[25]
In the Apple TV+ miniseries Manhunt, Lincoln was portrayed by Hamish Linklater.
In the children's book, My Day with Abe Lincoln, by historian Jonathan W. White, a present-day girl travels back in time and attends school with the young Abe Lincoln and his sister, participating in actual events from Lincoln's childhood.
In the comedic play, Oh, Mary! (launched on Broadway on July 11, 2024), Abraham Lincoln was portrayed by Conrad Ricamora. In this alternate history, while Lincoln deals with the stress of being president following the Civil War, he also struggles with his homosexual urges.
References
^Steven Spielberg, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Tony Kushner, "Mr. Lincoln Goes to Hollywood", Smithsonian (2012) 43#7 pp. 46–53.
^Melvyn Stokes, "Abraham Lincoln and the Movies", American Nineteenth Century History 12 (June 2011), 203–31.
Hiltrop, Marleen, and Sara Polak. "George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo: semiotic explorations of Abraham Lincoln in American cultural memory". Rethinking History 26.4 (2022): 551–568. online
Schwartz, Barry. "Collective Memory and History: How Abraham Lincoln Became a Symbol of Racial Equality." Sociological Quarterly 38.3 (1997): 469–496. online
