Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of Abraham Lincoln, was an American first lady from 1861 to 1865. Born on December 13, 1818, in Lexington, Kentucky, she was the daughter of a banker and an upper-class Southern housewife. She was the wife of Abraham Lincoln’s lawyer, Abraham Lincoln, and had four sons.
From 1842 to 1860, Mary served as the wife, household manager, and mother to four sons. She also actively supported Lincoln’s political career by offering advice and hosting events. Mary’s main homemaking interest was cooking, particularly making sweets. Her cookbooks are now in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential library in Springfield.
Mary had interests in French culture, literature, and fine sewing. She also acted as the White House social coordinator, throwing lavish balls and redecorating the White House at great expense. She actively supported Lincoln’s political career, offering advice and hosting events. When Lincoln learned that he had won the election, Mary Lincoln reportedly said “cats”.
Mary’s life and legacy are wrapped in controversy, with observers and historians scrutinizing her actions and attitude for over a century. She was happy and energetic in her youth but suffered subsequent ill health and personal tragedies. She supported the war effort by visiting hospitals and comforting the troops. She occasionally traveled to battlefields with Abraham to boost morale.
Despite her strong desire to be the first lady, Mary’s marriage to Abraham Lincoln was her best chance of marrying a future president.
📹 “An American Marriage: The Untold Story of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd”
Author & Historian Michael Burlingame reveals the tragic story of Abraham Lincoln’s marriage to Mary Todd.
What did Mary Todd Lincoln do?
Mary Ann Todd Lincoln was the wife of Abraham Lincoln and served as First Lady from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. She was known for her vivacious, impulsive personality and witty, sarcastic speeches. Born to Eliza Parker and Robert Smith Todd, she lost her mother before the age of seven and experienced a desolate childhood. Despite being part of the aristocracy of Lexington, she had a high-spirited social life and a sound private education. Mary’s life brought both happiness and tragedy.
What did lincon do?
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, declaring slavery free. He warned the South of civil war and vowed to preserve, protect, and defend the government. Lincoln believed secession was illegal and used force to defend Federal law and the Union. When Confederate batteries forced Fort Sumter’s surrender, he called for 75, 000 volunteers. Four more slave states joined the Confederacy, but four remained within the Union, marking the beginning of the Civil War.
What were Lincoln’s hobbies?
Lincoln was a sociable individual who derived pleasure from a variety of pastimes, including reading, engaging in idle conversation, playing chess, attending theatrical performances, and composing poetry. He was not inclined to engage in hunting or group games; instead, he preferred to engage in conversation with his friends, Mary and Tad Lincoln. He was particularly fond of recounting anecdotes and engaging in idle chatter with them, a pastime he enjoyed especially during carriage rides around the city. He exhibited a preference for avoiding structured events and group games.
What was Abraham Lincoln’s favorite food?
President Lincoln had a varied diet, which included apples, nuts, cheese, crackers, chicken fricassee with biscuits, and oyster stew. Lincoln’s preferred dessert was apple pie, and he also consumed fruits, nuts, cheese, and crackers.
What things did Abraham Lincoln do?
As President, Lincoln established the Republican Party and reunified northern Democrats for the Union. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, declaring slavery free. He also addressed the Civil War’s larger issue by dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg, pledging to ensure the nation’s freedom and government of the people. Lincoln won re-election in 1864, as Union military triumphs marked the end of the war. He was flexible and generous in his peace planning, encouraging Southerners to join the Union in a swift reunion.
What happened to Lincoln’s kids?
Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd had four sons, but only one survived to manhood. The eldest, Robert Todd Lincoln, served as secretary of war under President James A. Garfield, Minister to the Court of St. James, and president of the Pullman company. He died a multimillionaire in 1926. Robert Todd Lincoln and Mary Todd had three children: Abraham Lincoln II, who died at 16; Mary, who married Charles Bradley Isham in 1891; and Lincoln Isham, who died in 1971.
Jessie, the youngest of Lincoln’s grandchildren, eloped in 1897 with Warren Beckwith, and they had two children: Mary Lincoln Beckwith, who died in 1975, and Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, born in 1904.
Did Abraham Lincoln have a pet?
During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, cats were occasional presidential pets, with Abraham Lincoln enjoying the company of cats. His wife, Mary Lincoln, stated that Lincoln’s hobby was “cats”. Lincoln left his dog Fido at home after winning the presidency, which led to Secretary of State William Seward giving Lincoln two cats named Tabby and Dixie, believed to be the first cats to live at the White House. Lincoln allegedly remarked that Dixie was smarter than members of his cabinet and pleased him more.
In 1878, American consul in Bangkok, David Sickels, gifted a rare Siamese cat to President Rutherford B. Hayes and First Lady Lucy Hayes. Siam became the first Siamese cat in the United States, arriving in early 1879 and becoming the pet of daughter Fanny Hays. However, the cat became ill nine months after its arrival and died at the White House. A taxidermist was notified to preserve Siam, but no record exists about where the cat ended up.
What is Abraham Lincoln’s favorite toy?
Abraham Lincoln was a passionate child who enjoyed playing various sports, including wrestling, running races, and throwing quoits. Education was crucial to him, but he had limited access to school due to living on the frontier. He attended a “blab” school, where students read their lessons out loud due to lack of writing supplies. He learned everything by reading on his own, with books being scarce on the frontier.
Abraham Lincoln’s family did not own slaves, but there were over 1000 slaves in his county. From a young age, he was against slavery. As an adult, he wrote a letter stating that if slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. In 1858, Lincoln was the Republican candidate for the Senate, with Democratic candidate Stephen A. Douglas, who held famous debates over the issue of slavery.
In summary, Abraham Lincoln’s childhood was marked by a strong anti-slavery stance, despite not owning slaves. His political career was marked by debates over slavery and the importance of education in shaping his character.
What was Abraham Lincoln’s fun facts?
Abraham Lincoln, born in 1861, was the tallest president at 6 feet, 4 inches, the first to be born outside the original thirteen colonies, and the first president to be photographed at his inauguration, with his assassin John Wilkes Booth standing in close proximity to him.
Did Lincoln love his wife?
The opinions of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd’s marriage have varied widely. Biographer William E. Barton wrote that Lincoln loved his wife passionately, while others believe he did not love her at all. He married Mary Todd because she and her relatives practically compelled him to do so, and he went to the marriage altar muttering that he was going to hell.
Psychobiographer Charles B. Strozier wrote that Lincoln called her “Molly” before the birth of their first son, Robert, and later “Mother” or occasionally “little-woman” or “Puss” or “child-wife”. She found security in his fatherly presence and remembered that “he was never himself” when she was not perfectly well. Lincoln enjoyed Mary’s enthusiasm for fine clothes and seemed proud of her good looks, and she in turn delighted in making herself pretty for him. Her total love for him magnified his public and private virtues and minimized those of his political opponents.
Lincoln and Mary Todd got along tolerably well, but they got along tolerably well unless Mrs. L got the devil in her. Turner R. King contended that Lincoln was a hellion, vexed, and harrowed the soul out of that good man. Thomas Dowling recalled that Mary was a little high strung, but they got along well together.
William H. Herndon wrote that Lincoln never gave vent to his feelings at home and always meekly accepted as final the authority of his wife in all matters of domestic concern. After he yielded to Mrs. Lincoln’s wishes on a small matter in the White House, he told friends: “If you knew how little harm it does me and how much good it does her, you wouldn’t wonder that I am meek”.
Did Mary Lincoln spend a lot of money?
Mary Todd Lincoln, the First Lady of the United States, was a woman who was often overlooked by reporters due to her lavish lifestyle and extravagant spending. Her lavish lifestyle seemed offensive during a time when many American families were struggling financially due to the loss of their husbands, fathers, and sons. When she mourned the death of her son Willie, few Americans offered their sympathy, and she suffered from severe depression.
Despite her grief and the rumormongering, Mary Lincoln rallied and involved herself in the prosecution of the Civil War. She shared military secrets with Abraham Lincoln and encouraged the President to replace General George McClellan. When France’s Prince Bonaparte visited the United States, Mary spoke in perfect French. However, she also became a liability, draining the President’s energy and patience commodities.
Mary’s frivolous expenditures for French wallpaper and china irritated Abraham Lincoln, who referred to them as “flub-a-dubs”. By 1864, her wife was $27, 000 in debt and was sharing political secrets with officials who she pressured for personal loans. Lincoln suffered the embarrassment of Mary’s jealous rages and acquiesced in her change of protocol so that on state occasions the President would escort the First Lady only.
Mary was also criticized in the North for being a Southern spy and censured in the South for betraying “the Cause”. At times, she tried to acquire the salary of an employee who had left the White House, believing she should be compensated for her work. Fortunately, her padding of White House expenses to pay off her enormous personal debt remained a secret during Lincoln’s reelection campaign of 1864.
Despite her accomplishments, Mary Lincoln was also criticized for her own worst enemy, trying to acquire the salary of an employee who had left the White House. She supported the establishment of a female nursing corps and helped women acquire employment in the Treasury and War Departments. Her interest in the abolition of slavery evolved as her friendship with dressmaker Elizabeth Keckley developed, and she became the first hostess to welcome African Americans as guests to the White House.
When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, Mary Lincoln grieved doubly as she lost her beloved husband and her coveted role. She lamented her demotion in station and loss of power, as with those who had come before and those who would follow.
📹 Mary Todd Lincoln Fashion Showcase
… the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum that showcases the style of clothes worn by the President’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.
Mary was literally EXTRADITED to Europe where she lived her final years, she also wrote in her own personal journal that ole’ Abe was not straight and she was jealous of him HOLDING HANDS with another MALE politician in a park. “Lincoln” is not even the real family name, his name was Abraham Springfield, and Springfield Illinois is where his state park birthplace MANSION is located. There is a MYTH that he was born to a “poor family in a Kentucky cabin.” That was just a hunting and fishing retreat that the Illinois family owned, it had NOTHING to do with his real birth and real family.
I respect the Lincoln Library and Museum, for what they’ve achieved concerning the Lincoln legacy.. however, as a historian, and Victorian fashion curator, the dresses made for this event are like nothing that existed at the time. They are purely costume. Made from synthetic materials, and with no regard to actual fashion of the 1860s. This kind of irresponsible presentation to a public who attends because it wants to be educated, is just downright degrading to those of us who work to present history correctly. Shame on the museum for allowing this…for condoning it. I mean no disrespect to Mira Horoszowski, her work as a MODERN designer is beautiful.. This was the wrong person to choose, however, for this purpose. A modern Couture designer, rarely possesses the skills needed, to re-produce period garments. That takes many years of training, and practical experience. There are MANY talented tailors and seamstresses, who could have turned this exhibit from what it is, to something that is actually historical and educational. I, and many of my colleagues, receive informational requests from clients, and amateur researchers about photos of this event, and the dresses made for the exhibit. They are presented to us as research! We have to kindly explain, that nothing they’re looking at, is an accurate representation of historical fashion, when it comes to construction, and fabrics used. How many hours could have been saved, if the museum had done their job in the first place. Please do better in the future.