Hey guys! It’s Mallory with jskstories.com and I’m here to help you see the stories in history. I teach you about historical moments so you can write about them in a way that’s fun and engaging, helping all of us to explore history at a deeper level, and discover and tell untold stories!
Today we are going to be talking about Mary Todd Lincoln.
Mary Todd Lincoln was married to Abraham Lincoln and therefore was the 16th First Lady of the United States of America.
Quick side note: The first ladies of the United States are all totally fascinating and tend to be overshadowed by their husbands in history books, so if you are ever looking for inspiration, DEFINITELY look them up.
OKAY! Mary Todd Lincoln. Here we go.
Mary Todd Lincoln grew up in Kentucky in a large family that was extremely well off. As she grew up and began to engage in courtships, she was actually first courted by Stephen A. Douglas.
What’s interesting about that is Stephen A. Douglas was Abe Lincoln’s longtime political rival, so that makes the fact that he courted Mary Todd first even more fascinating.
If you know the musical Hamilton, think about if Aaron Burr had courted Eliza before Hamilton, would have added a whole new dynamic, right?
Mary spent her time running a household and a family while her husband worked to pursue political aspirations and a law career.
Often, Mary was left alone for months while Lincoln did his job as a lawyer.
When Lincoln was elected President in 1860, Mary Todd’s responsibilities tripled as well as social and family pressures. Along with these responsibilities came becoming the leader of social events for the public and other politicians.
Mary threw balls and parties in an effort to support her husband and bring unity to the country.
If you guys remember, it was during Lincoln’s presidency that the Civil War was happening. So, Mary was in the White House at a stressful time for the country.
Many of her family members did not support what Lincoln was doing, and even fought on the side of the Confederacy, in other words, the southern states that were strongly against abolishing slavery.
Despite her family’s frustration with Lincoln’s ideals, Mary supported Lincoln and what he was doing and did what she felt was right.
Now, in 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated with Mary by his side. It is after this that she honored his legacy the best she could.
This is where we get the most information about Mary herself. After her husband’s passing, Mary really struggled with depression, and what many people called “insanity”. She pretty much went down in the history books as someone who went crazy for many years.
But, there had to have been so much more to her, right? This is where you come in.
Find nuggets about her and take something from this video and imagine what more there might have been to her.
I gave you some facts, but you can take them and be totally creative and just imagine what Mary was like.
Now don’t try and pass it off as fact! Remember, we are using history to get our creative juices flowing, but we are still doing a whole lot of imagining.
That all being said…
What characters do we have here?
Obviously Mary, and her husband Abe Lincoln.
They have several sons, and Mary has an extensive extended family.
Stephen A. Douglas, who courted Mary and was a rival to Lincoln.
And everyone who worked in the white house and interacted with her on a regular basis.
Feel free to research more about any of these people for further inspiration.
There have been stories written about Mary Todd Lincoln speculating a lot of different things about her, even some written by her personal dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley, that Mary was not happy about.
Just because there are stories already written, doesn’t mean that there aren’t still stories left untold- including those we create in our imaginations.
Remember, we are using history to spark our imaginations, but the stories we tell here don’t have to be exactly as it happened if you don’t want them to be.
So, what ideas for stories do we have here?
I am most intrigued by a story about a potential love triangle, (because I’m a sucker for romance), between Mary, Stephen Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln.
Maybe you write more about Mary’s relationship with her dressmaker, Elizabeth.
Perhaps about the times Mary lost a child and the toll that took on her.
And along those lines of grief, Mary’s reactions and struggles after losing her husband.
You can go anywhere with this, but in case you are stuck on ideas, let me give you a writing prompt to get you started.
I’m going to give you the beginnings of a story, and then you get to continue it or finish it.
Ready? Here we go.
Mary Lincoln is hosting a party at which she hears someone say, “Abraham Lincoln is a good man, but his ideals are going to ruin this country.” They turn to see her behind them. What conversation follows?
I love this prompt. Feel free to just write! Don’t worry about getting it right, just write!
Anyway, that’s all for this week. Make sure you send us what you come up with with the link in the description below. See you later!