While the early scenes of Lincoln 's life are remarkably accurate , much of the later scenes contain historical inaccuracies . The famous Lincoln-Douglas debates , in addition to the historically accurate topic of the extension of slavery , have been turned into an argument about secession . Lincoln was famously an underdog for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1860 ; in the film it is suggested he is the sole nominee as a result of the Lincoln-Douglas debates . The outbreak of the Civil War seems to be the Union firing on Charleston , South Carolina from Fort Sumter , rather than the other way around . Also , early in hostilities , General Winfield Scott is depicted as being overconfident of a quick victory ( and something of a buffoon ) , when in reality he was one of the voices in the minority claiming the war would be long , costly , and bloody . Lincoln receives a report from the Secret Service that some copperheads in the North have issued threats against him . The Secret Service was not created until two months after Lincoln 's death . Finally , in the climax of the film , Lincoln delivers a conflation of famous words from the Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address at Ford 's Theatre on April 14 , 1865 – just moments before being assassinated . This was Griffith 's second portrayal of Lincoln 's assassination , the first being in '' The Birth of a Nation ''
Republican Presidential nomination
1860 Republican National Convention
Abraham Lincoln (1930 film)