“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . . . shall exist within the United States.”

—13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The movie Lincoln (2012) recounts how President Abraham Lincoln succeeded in getting slavery abolished through passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Lincoln had very little time to get the bill approved by Congress. Support for the amendment was almost entirely based on the assumption that it would end the Civil War: if the slaves were freed, it would end the confederacy’s cause. However, emissaries from the South were coming to Washington, D.C., to propose peace. If a truce were struck prior to the amendment passing, the reason many congressmen had for supporting the amendment would be lost. Lincoln set about getting the needed votes.

Several skills possessed by Lincoln—brought to life by the actor Daniel Day-Lewis—empowered him to prevail. For instance, Lincoln was deeply self-reflective and believed strongly in sharing one’s inner reflections and feelings with others. As he noted, “The inclination to exchange thoughts with one another is probably an original impulse of our nature—If I be in pain, I wish to let you know it . . . and my pleasurable emotions also, I wish to communicate to, and share with you.”¹ Second, he felt great empathy toward African Americans and recognized how passage of the amendment would end their suffering. As Lincoln described in the movie (and in real life), “Abolishing slavery settles the fate for the millions now in bondage—and the unborn millions to come.”

But perhaps most important, Lincoln accurately perceived how others saw him and tailored his communication accordingly. This allowed him to achieve maximum impact in advocating his cause. In the climactic scene of the film, Lincoln meets with a group of congressmen and learns that he is still several votes short. Perceiving that they will be more responsive if he pulls rank on them, he works that into his message: “We are stepped out upon the world stage, now, with the fate of human dignity in our hands. Blood has been spilled to afford us this moment—now, now, now! I am President of the United States, clothed with immense power, and I expect you to procure these votes. I leave it to you to determine how it shall be done.” Within days the votes were found, and on January 31, 1865, the bill passed the House. Slavery in the United States was illegal.

More than 150 years ago, a deeply self-reflective president harnessed the power of perception to persuade Congress to abolish slavery. In doing so, he fulfilled the promise made in his speech at Gettysburg two years earlier: “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.”

The movie Lincoln shows how Abraham Lincoln used communication to pass the 13th Amendment. He achieved this through his knowledge of self, willingness to share his feelings with others, accurate perception, empathy, and ability to adapt his communication. By combining a strong sense of self with accurate perceptions, you can set the stage for successful communication in your own life. In this chapter, you’ll learn: