Lincoln and the Thirteenth Amendment

               In the movie Lincoln, the president faces many difficulties when trying to ratify the thirteenth amendment.  Many people of the time period had issues with the proposal of the amendment because they were racist.  The majority of the public did not want African Americans to have the right to vote, which they believed would eventually happen if the amendment were to be passed.  Americans were also worried about losing their jobs to African Americans.  Lincoln had trouble passing the amendment because he needed two thirds for the majority and most of the house wasn't republican.  He also needed democratic support.  There  were many complications as to how the war would end and most of the people who wanted the amendment to pass only wanted this because Lincoln made it seem like this was the only way for the war to end.  Lincoln used his implied powers, which were slightly corrupt, to help the amendment pass.  Lincoln offers future jobs, such as post master and mayor, to the lame duck democrats as a bribe to gain their support in the ratification of the thirteenth amendment.  The president was also corrupt due to the fact that he lied about upcoming peace talks.  He wanted peace to be reliant of the ratification of this amendment.  Lincoln obviously thought that getting this amendment passed was of the utmost importance.  A vital effect of the amendment passing for Lincoln would be all of the votes he would receive from the African American population.  Lincoln was planning on running for another term as president and knew that if he passed this amendment, he would gain an abundance of votes for the next election.