Term Papers on Mary Todd Lincoln

Term Paper Title	Mary Todd Lincoln
# of Words	1736
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	6.94

Mary Todd Lincoln

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 f...

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