Lincoln in the White House is a 1939 American biographical short or historical "special" about United States President Abraham Lincoln, highlighting events during his first term of office, from his inaugural speech in 1861 to his delivery of the Gettysburg Address in 1863. Produced by Warner Bros. and directed by William C. McGann, the 21-minute Technicolor film stars Frank McGlynn Sr., a veteran actor who since 1915 had specialized in impersonating Lincoln on both stage and screen.

Plot

The film begins with Lincoln (Frank McGlynn Sr.) delivering part of his presidential inaugural speech in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 1861. The next scene, six weeks later, is in the White House, where the president is talking with his wife Mary (Nana Bryant). Suddenly their young son Tad (Dickie Moore) and Lincoln's assistant John Hay (John Harron) rush in to report that Confederate forces had bombarded Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The president, saddened by the news, kneels with Tad to pray for the nation.