Lincoln rushed the vote of the 13th Amendment so that it could still reap the popular support it gained from being labeled a war measure. In the movie, part of the reason for the rush was the incoming Confederate peace delegation. read more
Lincoln preferred to see abolition codified on the state level, and by early 1864 several states had in fact enacted laws prohibiting slavery. Radical Republicans and abolitionists, however, tried to convince the president that slavery would only be outlawed with an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. read more