Thomas Dixon, author of The Clansman (made into D.W. Griffith’s famous Birth of a Nation film), wrote parallel pieces of Abraham Lincoln’s life, and a longer parallel piece of the career of Jefferson Davis. Neither one of these men ran for office with the intention of being war presidents, yet they both were embroiled in sometimes strikingly similar situations. Both brought integrity to their unexpected callings, and the stories show the growth into office that both experienced. These are the stories behind the story, and Dixon appears to be the right person to tell it.