Danielle
Civil War Essay
May 21, 2013
Mary Todd Lincoln
By: Danielle
In the late 1850’s and 1860’s the Civil War was starting to brew. It would change the
U.S. forever. There was much controversy over the issue of slavery. The North was really trying
to keep the U.S. together. The South thought they were defending their homeland and way of
life. Finally, Civil War broke out. Mary Todd Lincoln was a well-educated girl who married
Abraham Lincoln, who later became president of the Union. Though things looked tough, Mary
stuck with her husband through the rest of his life.
In Mary’s early life, she was born on December 13th, 1818 to wealthy parents in
Lexington, Kentucky (Suits, 1). In 1825, Mary was six when the tragedy of her mother’s death
hit her. Her father remarried Betsey Humphreys who had nine more children. Mary didn’t get
along with her stepmother well (Santow, 1). Mary went to Madame Mentelle’s private school for
ten years (Suits, 2). She enjoyed acting in school plays and was fluent at French. She had a very
split personality. She was smart and energetic, but had a sense of humor and a hint of sarcasm
(Stevenson, 1).
Mary had a very big family. Her father was merchant, lawyer, and a member of the
Kentucky legislature. Mary’s mother was educated at Shelby Female Academy where she
studied literature, math, geography, and French (Bolotin, 1). Mary was the fourth child of her
parents. She married Abraham Lincoln on November 4, 1842 in the parlor of her sister’s home
(Suits, 1). Mary had four children. Her first child Robert was born in 1843, then Edward in 1846,
then William was born in 1850, then Thomas in 1853 (Bausum, 51). Sadly, all but Robert died
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Danielle
Civil War Essay
May 21, 2013
before reaching adult hood. Edward died at 3 of tuberculosis, William died at 11 of pneumonia
(Bausum, 52). Thomas or “Tad” died at 18 of illness (Bausum, 53). The children always got up
to a lot of mischief in the White House. Thomas even built a fort on top of the White House.
Their father loved to play games and hold contests with his sons (Murphy, 24).
Mary had a tough time during the Civil War. She became the First Lady in 1861
(Stevenson, 2). She was interested in politics, she often spoke about her views, she was very
social, she loved to entertain, and she had difficulty coping with her role as First Lady (Bolotin,
78). Once she arrived in the White House, she resolved immediately to refurnish the shabby, rundown executive mansion. The renovations were finished in October 1861 (Angle, 1). Mary met
Elizabeth Keckley on March 5th, 1861. Elizabeth became her dressmaker (Jones, 7-9). Mary
helped raise money through the Contraband Relief Association founded by Elizabeth for
displaced slaves (Angle, 1). Mary also devoted some time to visiting hospitals during the war;
once she raised one thousand dollars for a Christmas dinner for wounded soldiers. Many
Northerners felt Mary couldn’t be trusted because her family fought for the Confederacy. Her
husband followed her advice with the Emancipation Proclamation that declared slavery illegal
(Stevenson, 2).
Mary’s husband, Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre on April 15, 1865.
Mary couldn’t get herself to attend Lincoln’s funeral. She kept replaying the shooting over and
over again in her mind. Mary blamed herself for encouraging her husband’s political career
(McKittrick, 57). Aside from the share of her husband’s estate, she got an annuity from Congress
of three thousand dollars in 1870 which in 1880 increased to five thousand dollars (Angle, 1).
She first fled to Chicago, then to Germany in 1868 and in the same year she went to England;
Thomas died during the travel from an illness. She returned to the U.S. in 1871. Her son Robert
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Danielle
Civil War Essay
May 21, 2013
initiated an insanity hearing for Mary. She was found insane and put in nearly four months in a
mental hospital in Batavia, Illinois (Stevenson, 2), (Suits, 2). After release from the mental
hospital, she returned to her home where Lincoln had given her the wedding ring engraved,
“Love is Eternal” (Suits, 2). Mary suffered a stroke on the anniversary of her son “Tad’s” death
and died on July 16, 1882 in Springfield, Illinois at her sister’s home (McKittrick, 57), (Suits, 2),
(Angle, 2).
Mary Todd Lincoln is too often remembered for her fights, wild spending, and later
insanity. She is not remembered for her intelligence, kindness, and immense love for her
husband and family. She encouraged her husband’s political career and helped him rise to
presidency. Mary Todd Lincoln was an important woman in history.
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Danielle
Civil War Essay
May 21, 2013
Work Cited
Angle, Paul M. “Lincoln, Mary Todd (1818-1882).” Encyclopedia Americana.
Grolier Online, 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2013
Bausum, Ann. Our Country’s First Ladies. Washington D.C. : National
Geographic, 2007. Print.
Bolotin, Norman. Civil War A to Z. New York: Dutton, 2002. 78-79.
Jones, Lynda. Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker. Washington D.C.: National Geographic,
2009. Print
McKittrick, Rosemary. “Mary Todd Lincoln”. Antiques Collectors Magazine.
115.7 (2010): 57. Primary Search. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.
Murphy, Patricia J. “First Kids.” Appleseeds. 2003. 24-25. Print.
Santow, Linda Norbut. “An Unlikely Pair.” Cobblestone. 15.5 (1994): 9. Primary
Search. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.
Santow, Dan. Mary Todd Lincoln. New York: Children’s Press, 1999. Print.
Stevenson, Keira. Mary Todd Lincoln. Great Neck Publishing. 2005. Digital File.
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