Mary Todd Lincoln Essay, Research Paper
Mary Ann Todd Lincoln, wife of the sixteenth President of the United States,
was born December 13, 1818, in Lexington, Kentucky to Robert and Eliza Parker
Todd. She was raised in a wealthy, yet dysfunctional family. She was well
educated as a child, but needed more attention while growing up.Mary had a lot
of problems as a Southern woman during the Civil War. Many people disliked her
and people often criticized her actions while she was in the White House. Her
problems began early in her life. She had five brothers and sisters and was not
given all of the attention she needed. This was difficult because she had a
short temper and demanded a lot of attention. When Mary was four her baby
brother died. She didn?t know what exactly happened, but she still showed that
she was hurt by his death. Two years later when Mary was six years old her
mother died. Eliza Parker Todd was only 31 years old when she died and she left
her husband Robert with six children to look after. Eliza’s death was extremely
hard for Mary because she was just starting to get close to her mom. After just
a year, her dad married Betsy Humphreys. Robert and Betsy were married on
November 1, 1826. Betsy had eight children, giving them a total of 14 children
to care for. This many children made it hard for Robert and Betsy to properly
care for their children. Eliza’s children were not fond of Betsy and she did not
care much for them either. Those children watched out for each other and
Elizabeth, Mary’s oldest sister, took on her mother?s role. Mary started to
become more independent just like her older sisters.Soon the Todd family moved
into a new home in Lexington, which was yet another difficult change for Mary.
Mary found an escape from the family problems in 1836. She was 18, and had
completed boarding school and was now leaving home. Her two sisters, Elizabeth
and Frances, had already moved to Springfield, Illinois. Mary visited her
sisters often and in 1839 moved to Springfield to live with Frances and her
husband, William Wallace (Baker 79).After spending some time in Springfield,
Mary started to look for a husband. It’s been said that "social affairs
became critical episodes for women in their twenties, who soon must marry or be
old maids" (82). The fear of being an old maid caused her to attend many
social events where she met many guys. Mary’s brother-in-law, Edward, and her
cousin, John Todd Stuart, both had government positions. They helped her meet
her future husband, Abraham Lincoln, who at the time was a delegate in the state
legislature.Mary and Abraham were two very different people, and their meeting
was anything but love at first sight (83). In 1840, their relationship was going
well and there was talk of marriage. A year later they both were having doubts
and they broke things off for a while. Mary was scared that she was going to
marry the wrong guy. Because in the 1800?s, one you were married that was it.
Even if the love was no more, the marriage stayed. Lincoln had also. As the son
of a farmer, he was worried financially, thinking he might not be able to
support her. The break up was hard for both of them, especially Mary
"…Mary Todd was caught in a female dilemma between girlish sociability
and wifely withdrawal…"(92). The two got back together in 1842, after
having a difficult time away from each other. In fact, three days after the
election in November of 1842, Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln got married. The
Lincoln?s’ marriage was not centered on love but on politics. Their
relationship was more of a friendship with random signs of affection.. Mary
provided Lincoln with children, friendship, and domestic, economic and political
support (131). Mary used her background to teach Lincoln how to dress and proper
manners to help him be successful politically. Politics were important in the
Lincoln?s’ lives. While Lincoln gave speeches and introduced bills, Mary also
got involved in politics. However, she was not interested in the political
issues but the fame she got with the issues. She was always willing to help her
husband if she was recognized in return (134).They had three children by 1850,
Robert, Edward and William. Tad, their fourth son, was born in 1853. Mrs.
Lincoln stayed at home with the kids while Abraham was busy with his career. He
was an Illinois representative in the United States Congress. Mary was fine with
staying at home with the children because now they were now living in Washington
D.C. in a boarding house and were close to Lincoln. Mrs. Lincoln was a
"…full-fledged, home-based counselor available for insightful judgements…"
for her husband (Baker 135-136). Mary’s being involved in her career caused her
to lose a lot of her friends. She devoted tons of her time to her children and
her husband, trying to strengthen his reputation. It has been said that
"politics brought them together, politics must remain, from her point of
view a joint enterprise" (136). Lincoln was elected President in 1860. When
he found out he had won the election he ran home yelling, "Mary, Mary we
are elected" (162). Lincoln appreciated her help in all of his political
success. In fact, though Lincoln’s success came mostly because of his leadership
skills, they also came because of his wife’s faith and support. Mary was very
happy by her husband’s election to the presidency; however, she was upset
because for the first time she felt inferior to Lincoln.After Lincoln’s
election, the family started moving into the White House. She had a difficult
time dealing with the inequality of power in the relationship and so she started
to speak her mind, never holding anything back. Often Mary got into trouble
either with her husband or other politicians because of her outspokenness. It
has been said of Mary that "none took up her duties under more difficult
circumstances, none was so consistently criticized, none so vulnerable to
criticism" (Turner 77). The people in Washington D.C. didn?t pay very
much attention to her, only writing mean letters about ?the southern lady in
the White House? (79). The rejection by the media was hard for her to cope
with because she had always been treated well, especially being raised in a
socially accepted family. " She had to find a way of proving that she was a
well-bred, Intelligent and sophisticated woman, loyal to her husband and her
country, and more than qualified for the demanding role that history had thrust
upon her" (79). The First Lady also wanted to prove that she knew about
politics.In February of 1862, the Lincoln?s third child, Willie, became very
ill. His illness was very hard on Mary. There was no medicine at the time of his
illness, so Mary sat by his bed and watched him get worse. It was also painful
for the President because there was nothing he could do. On February 20, 1862,
Willie died. Mrs. Lincoln lost all control. She was very miserable and maybe
suffered a mild nervous breakdown. She refused to enter the room where Willie
died. She was also depressed and lonely for some time and didn?t go to any
social events for over a year. Lincoln was concerned about her and threatened to
put her in an insane asylum if she didn?t get over her grieving. It took Mary
over a year to get over Willie?s death. Eventually she returned to her
outgoing self, keeping any feelings of grief inside. She was now more involved
with the war than she ever had been. She was brave enough to visit the wounded
at the local hospitals, bringing flowers and stuff from the White House.
Ironically, Mary didn?t receive any recognition for this. Not only did she
visit the hospitals, she also told her opinion more freely to her husband
(Barton 331). Mary wasn?t afraid anymore to tell Lincoln what she thought
about his decisions. In fact, she even told him, in front of General Grant and
his wife, that General Ord should be removed from his position. Another major
issue that Mary faced was slavery. When she was little, her family had a lot of
slaves. Coming from a slave-owning family, Mary wanted a few slaves herself.
It’s been said that "her southern sympathies were to an extent responsible
for Lincoln’s hesitation and slow movement toward emancipation" (Barton
335). After living in the north for over twenty years her opinion on slavery
changed. Early in 1862, Mrs. Lincoln took action to convince her husband to free
the Slaves and give them equal. Being a Southerner in the White House, she was
always being accused of treason. Northerners thought that Mary had constant
connections with the South and for protection purposes, she was not allowed to
open her own mail (334). Throughout the entire Civil War, "southerners
scorned her as a traitor to her birth, and citizens loyal to the union suspected
her of treason" (Mary Todd Lincoln, part 6). In 1864, Lincoln was
re-elected. Although the couple grew apart during the last year of the war,
Lincoln noticed their problems and he was able to bring them back together. They
were miserable mostly because the war. This all ended on April 14, 1865, when
Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater, where the couple was
viewing "Our American Cousin" (218). After Lincoln died, Mary?s life
seemed to be over. All her life she had devoted her time to him. Now she didn?t
know if she had anything to live for. She left to live with her oldest son
Robert after her son Tad died July 15, 1871. A few years later, he had his
mother declared insane on May 19, 1875. She was put into a private mental
institution in Batavia, Illinois (Angle 508). She was a patient there for just
over a year, until June 15, 1876 when she was declared sane again. Keeping to
herself, Mary moved to Europe to get away from everyone. She returned in early
1880 after an accident in France. She was mounting a picture above a mantelpiece
when she lost her balance and fell. She had both back and leg injuries. She then
decided to stay in the United States with her sister, Elizabeth. Not long after
she died on July 16, 1882. She died in the same house in which she and Lincoln
had gotten married.Mary Todd Lincoln had an extremely difficult life. The
challenges she faced from growing up in a dysfunctional Southern family affected
many areas of her life. Marrying Abraham Lincoln made problems for her as well
as the demands placed on both of them when he became President. ?As a Southern
woman in the White House during the Civil War Mary was disliked by many and
often criticized? (Turner 78).
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