They were directed by John M. Stahl and starred Benjamin Chapin, a celebrated Lincoln impersonator, in the title role.

Following the enormous commercial success of D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, the potential of another play related to the American Civil War allowed Chapin to plan an ambitious epic series of films, rather than a single feature.

[4] It initially began shooting at studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey before shifting to Ridgefield Park.

[5] Because he lacked a distributor for his costly production, Chapin premiered the first episode at the Belasco Theater in Washington to coincide with the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson.

[7] Some confusion exists about the credits of the film because Chapin only featured himself in advertising materials acknowledging neither the other actors or the technicians behind the scenes, something that director Stahl strongly objected to.