Mary Lincoln and Jackie Kennedy

[Rhatkinson]

I just finished James Swanson's "End of Days" and could not recommend it more highly. As with his Lincoln assassination books "Manhunt" and "Bloody Crimes", he writes very eloquently and informative on the JFK assassination and some of the parallels between the death of Lincoln and Kennedy.

One topic he focuses on is the response of how each widow dealt with their husband's death and funeral. Jackie was very cognizant of the poor reputation that Mary Lincoln earned following Lincoln's death 98 years previously. The contrast between the two First Ladies was night and day. As most here know, Jackie planned JFK's funeral to pattern Lincoln's down to the smallest detail. Unlike Mary, she insisted on not just planning, but participating and being gracious to the mourners who came to honor her husband. After the burial at Arlington Jackie insisted on returning to the White House to great everyone despite her own grief. She felt it was her duty. Contrast that with Mary, who stayed secluded in her room for a month after Lincoln's death and did not even attend his funeral. Jackie left the White House just 10 days after the assassination.

Jackie also put her children's needs over her own, unlike Mary who was too overcome with grief to care for Tad. The day of JFK's funeral happened to be John, Jr.'s 3rd birthday, and Jackie insisted on having the pre-scheduled party for him that afternoon. Just imagine....

There is a letter that Jackie wrote one year after JFK's death that, while Mary never wrote the same words, it am sure she agreed with. It is a beautiful ending paragraph that says:

"...I should have guessed that it would be too much to ask to grow old with him and see our children grow up together. So now, he is a legend when he would have preferred to be a man."

Heath