A Connecticut congressman has a bone to pick with Steven Spielberg over his 12 time Oscar nominated film, "Lincoln." On Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney wrote the multiple Academy Award-winning director a letter explaining that his movie included a factual error and suggested that the inaccuracy be corrected before the film is released on DVD.
The fallacy occurred in a scene in which two Connecticut congressmen vote against the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which outlawed slavery. After watching "Lincoln" over the weekend, Courtney said he found the scene to be troubling and questioned its accuracy. "'Wow. Connecticut voted against abolishing slavery?'" Courtney said he heard audience members ask. "I obviously had the same reaction. It was really bugging me."
After researching the 13th Amendment, the House Rep says he found the opposite to be true and that Connecticut congressman actually supported the abolishment of slavery. The Congressional Research Service also confirmed that all four Connecticut congressmen backed the amendment in a January 1865 vote.
"How could congressmen from Connecticut -- a state that supported President Lincoln and lost thousands of her sons fighting against slavery on the Union side of the Civil War -- have been on the wrong side of history?" wrote Courtney in his letter.
According to CSMonitor.com, a spokesman for the producers of the Dreamworks Pictures film, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Since opening, "Lincoln" has earned more than $170 million at the box office and it stars Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln and Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens. Both actors are up for Academy Awards this year.
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