I just got back from watching the movie Lincoln. I'm no expert on American history, but I thought I knew the civil war pretty well. However, several events from the movie surprised me.

I've looked at several threads asking about the movie, but none of them have asked these questions specifically, so:

• Was there really a secret peace mission from the Confederacy to the Union in 1865? Did it really create a furor in Congress, threatening to kill the Amendment? Did Lincoln really order the delegation stopped outside Washington for several days or weeks? And did Lincoln actually offer to allow the rebel states back into the union, seemingly with no reconstruction at all, as he appeared to in the movie?

• Was the 13th Amendment really only passed by 2 votes and thus only passed due to absent congressmen? Were there really suspicious job offers to lame duck Democrats after the vote? Did it really fail to pass at least once before? And was Lincoln really adamant about passing it before the new Congress met?