Which First Ladies Have Resembled-Mary Lincoln ?

[Liz Rosenthal]

Yes, Mary was very interested in and knowledgeable about politics. But this did not translate into involvement in any of the political movements of the time - anti-slavery, women's suffrage, public schools, reform of psychiatric institutions. All of her energies, once she and Lincoln were married, were devoted to two things: running a household and acting as an informal political strategist and morale builder for her husband.

While she did express opinions on patronage issues during Lincoln's presidency (I think Sumner's statement that Mary was involved in all patronage had to have been a wild exaggeration), and would demand that Lincoln appoint so-and-so or not appoint so-and-so or fire so-and-so, these things had more to do with Mary's personal indebtedness to various individuals for all the free stuff she was getting and, in other instances, the belief that someone was out to get her husband politically. (She thought that her husband was not savvy regarding people's motivations - whom to trust, whom not to trust - but I think she was absolutely wrong about that. An important reason he succeeded so brilliantly was that he knew exactly how to handle diverse personalities.)

She did behave admirably as First Lady in her visits to thousands of wounded soldiers and in her aid to the freedmen. But I don't remember reading anywhere (yet) that she had her husband's ear on policy matters. In fact, my impression is that their time in the White House was more separate than together.

In a more modern time, Mary might have been more accomplished in her own right. There is no question that she was highly intelligent. However, her biographer, Jean Baker, said numerous times that Mary was not interested in women's rights and was even critical of other women's activities outside the home! I'd say that Mary was a bit conflicted in that regard.

Eva, I know that earlier you asked whether JFK had been concerned about Jacqueline's White House redecorating. I don't know the answer to that, but the differences between the Kennedys and the Lincolns were quite marked. For one thing, the Kennedys were ridiculously wealthy in their own right; ostentation probably was not a concern (someone correct me if I'm wrong), and they brought a huge amount of Hollywood-ish glamour to Washington DC. Also, by the 1960s, the time had likely long passed since anyone questioned the idea of spending on White House upkeep. As a universally-recognized, important symbol of the nation, there was no way that anyone was going to let the White House infrastructure or accoutrements fall into disrepair or neglect.

(05-28-2013 05:38 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Liz, as you said, times were different, and I wonder whether she could have been more actively engaged in politics than she was. When she met A.L. for the first time, she had already been a Whig. D. Donald, in his "Lincoln" biography, says that "At a time when women were not supposed to profess an interest in politics, she openly supported Harrison for President in 1840", and, for sure, she had a share in her husband's way to presidency. And didn't she also try to exercise influence in White House politics at the beginning? She begged for patronage seekers until Stanton stopped her, and according to Sumner, "Mary Lincoln meddled in nearly all patronage affairs of influence and matters of politics". I wouldn't speculate whether her intentions were selfish or if she truly believed to act for the benefit of her husband or the nation, but at least she obviously was willing to influence politics and to be more than just a hostess.