Adapted from Gore Vidal's best-seller, this biopic chronicles Abraham Lincoln's (Sam Waterston) life, beginning with his inauguration and ending with his assassination. After taking office, Lincoln faces one of the most tumultuous times in U.S. history, what with the Civil War, dissent in his cabinet and his decision to draft the Emancipation Proclamation. All the while, he must deal with his wife's (Mary Tyler Moore) deteriorating mental state.