The figures you mention account for the life span of all people at that time, including children who die very young. Nowadays, very few children die, at least compared to that time.
To illustrate this, look at this link: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005140.html
What that shows is that in 1850, all people born then averaged 38.3 years*. However, if you survived until you were 10, you then had a life expectancy of 58. If you survived to be 20, you would expect to live to 60, etc..
Of course, the imagery does not necessitate that there be large populations of very long aged people. They only needed one.
* drat, I wasn't paying close enough attention, that figure is just for white males.. The post still stands, though.
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marvel88
16 years ago
Since the first time I've seen the film, I thought it was a very moving sentiment to show what Lincoln meant to all people, regardless of color.
"I know you're in there, Fagerstrom!"-Conan O'Brien
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bbmaps
16 years ago
Absolutely true, and very likely that if that elderly Black man was not born a slave, his parents certainly were.
Another fact lost on modern audiences about that scene was the racism commonplace in Washington, D.C. at the time, which most definitely involved the Lincoln Memorial. The very same year this film was released, the great, Black opera singer Marion Anderson was refused permission to sing at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Through the intercession of Eleanor Roosevelt, Anderson sang that Easter Sunday concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. This was another reason that it was the centerpiece of Dr. Martin Luther King's March on Washington and "I have a dream" speech. Marion Anderson was there to sing again, too.
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