Final freedom : the Civil War, the abolition of slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment

If you are curious as to how faithful the film Lincoln was to the actual Congressional battles over the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, this is the book to read. Vorenberg covers all the details and more about how Lincoln got the Congress to take what was an extraordinary step: amending the Constitution to abolish slavery. Prior to 1865, the Constitution was considered so sacred and unchangeable, some in Congress argued that amending the Constitution was unconstitutional.