“Unearthed from Oblivion: The Forgotten Silent Film That Reveals a Surprising Side of Lincoln”
Preserving The Heart Of Lincoln For Future Generations
The Heart of Lincoln tells the story of Abraham Lincoln, as well as the larger story of the American Civil War. Aiming to show the difficult decisions faced by the president, one of its storylines concerns a young Union soldier who deserted to visit his dying mother — and then faced execution.
Historic Films GreenportA dialogue card from The Heart of Lincoln.
“Lincoln had to sign the death warrant,” Lauro explained. “And the film portrays how difficult it was for him to do that, because he saw each one of these situations as an individual tragedy. He realized what was going on with these soldiers in this war. This is the way that he was portrayed by the Ford brothers. Ultimately, he refuses to sign it – that is the heart of Lincoln.”
Released just 50 years after the Civil War ended, the film thus told a story that many Americans would have inherently recognized. Even those who did not live through the Civil War would have recognized the tragedy of the conflict, one in which an estimated 600,000 Americans died.
Public DomainAbraham Lincoln with General George B. McClellan at Antietam, Maryland on October 3, 1862.
The Heart Of Lincoln was a passion project for Ford, an American history buff and and one of Hollywood’s first generation of filmmakers. In addition to The Heart of Lincoln he and his brother John also produced thematically-similar films like When Lincoln Paid (1913), The Battle of Bull Run (1913), The Heart of Maryland (1915), and Young Mr. Lincoln (1939).
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