American Queen

[Gencor]

(10-29-2014 06:31 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Ah, Genna, I think you and I are going to be kindred spirits! I had fallen for the "traditional" history of bad-mouthing Kate Chase because I had not taken the time to study her from any viewpoint other than what we read about in her relationship with Mary Lincoln. I happen to think that Mrs. Lincoln has been maligned more than necessary by male historians, so I was easily prepared to dislike Kate.

After reading American Queen, I came away with the feeling that Kate was far superior to Mrs. Lincoln in many ways. She had the fortitude, education, and emotional control that any woman in politics should have -- and what (except for education) Mrs. Lincoln lacked. Frankly, I think Kate would have been a far better political candidate than either her father or her twerp of a husband! She had innate political skills.

Despite her strength, she doesn't come across as the self-centered Scarlett O'Hara of her day either. She spent her life working for men she loved and got kicked in the teeth by them. The chapter about how she had to escape with her children from the prison of her own home is as heart-wrenching as it gets.

If Mary Todd and Kate Chase had both grown up in the same town and attended the same boarding school, I bet they would have been good friends. If only Kate could have counseled Mrs. Lincoln later in life on how to maintain her dignity...

Yes, Verge, we are kindred. So nice to post with you.

I have done so much research on Kate that I feel that historians have all been very unfair to this remarkable woman. Down through all the history written and rewritten and copied and recopied, they have all done the same thing. They have told Sprague's story, not Kate's. Oller has done a good job of introducing to everyone the real Kate, but there is just so much more. Yes, I do agree that she was lightyears ahead of Mrs. Lincoln. Mrs. Lincoln didn't have the natural "feel" for what it took to live and be in the kind of power that it required to truly be a President's wife. I had great empathy for Mary Todd but I never felt that she was the best advisor or supporter of Mr. Lincoln and yet I also felt that Mr. Lincoln was not only destined to be our Civil War President but was truly the best person for that job.

Kate, rather than William or Salmon, if the time for women would not have been so restrictive, would have been a much better candidate for the Senate. I also believe that Kate, Salmon, Mary Todd and President Lincoln were all exactly what and who they needed to be, at that time. I just view William as a spoiler, a sort of jinx of fate.

The beauty of Kate's life versus the downfall of William Sprague was, to me, her real story. He lost everything and ended up with no power and no money and was reduced to serving in Narragansett as something as lowly as a city council president, to which they voted him out after a second term and the suicide of his son. Oddly, he was wholly under the control of his horrible wife and her horrible sister. They reminded me of the "Gabor" sisters! LOL.

Kate, on the other hand, raised her daughters and never lost her power. While she may not have had money, one letter, one note, could move power like no other. Lincoln was not the only president who trusted her advice and judgement and I believe to this day that was her biggest connection to Mr. Conkling. She could be objective where Mrs. Lincoln could never master that. It was Mrs Lincoln's biggest downfall.

Frankly, I believe that Mrs. Lincoln may have felt that Kate was her competition, but I don't think that Kate felt that Mrs. Lincoln was any competition for her at all. But more, I believe that she just always felt that she could do it better and she probably would have, if she would have had the chance.

Just as I have come to the conclusion that historians only copied the tabloid press to record Kate's history, I hold them responsible for totally missing the point about this fabulous woman in our history. They let William Sprague define Kate and it wasn't until she filed for her divorce that they even had a window into the real life of horror that he led her into that marriage. They judged her. That was so wrong!

This was a woman who aspired for success and was prepared to handle it. Its just sad that the men in her life were not. I am amazed at the strength and strong state of mind that it must have taken for her to move forward after living under the abuse and constraints of an idiot like William Sprague and the insistence of her father to take such abuse. She raised her girls and grieved her son and never complained. It was her life and she was going to do what she could. I have come to admire this woman of our history so much and her example is for women of every age. I am just amazed that it has taken this long to learn the real truth of her story.

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(10-30-2014 04:30 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(10-30-2014 12:59 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  All I read about Kate Chase and her father implied or explicitly suggested she was the striving engine behind his career and the one who "made" him. Do you think the same, Laurie and Genna?

I'm not sure that Kate "made" her father a politician, but I think she was the person with the talent and drive to help him achieve greatness when he lacked the same qualities.

Roger, I do not remember reading about Kate and Lincoln dancing together in 1859, but I'll go back and check. I do remember that one thing Mary Lincoln never forgave her for was turning the tables on her.

Mary invited Kate to meet with her - meaning in the White House. Kate reversed the situation by responding to the effect that she (Kate) would be happy to entertain Mrs. Lincoln AT HER HOUSE!

I think I would take insult at that...

I received a very nice email at work from the author of American Queen, Mr. Oller, thanking me for my kind words about his book on this forum.

The ambition was on the part of her father. While it wasn't spoken of, most women of Kate's era were all ambitious for their husbands, in one way or another. As I have stated, I don't think that Kate viewed Mrs. Lincoln in the same way that Mrs. Lincoln viewed Kate Chase. Mrs. Lincoln had other problems that really had nothing to do with Kate Chase. To be fair, I think that Kate sensed that Mrs. Lincoln was not well meaning with her invitation and so she reacted accordingly. However, I don't think that Kate meant it in any arrogant manner but rather to return to Mrs. Lincoln what she felt Mrs. Lincoln's real message was to her. Mrs. Lincoln was very aware of the political ambitions of Salmon Chase but unlike Mrs. Lincoln, President Lincoln handled Salmon with a very fine kid glove that Mrs. Lincoln really just didn't know how to put to use herself. Kate did. Mrs. Lincoln was on the attack from the start. It left Kate with an offense instead of a defense. Kate was very bright that way. Kate knew what it meant to cultivate power and powerful people and she set about the business of doing just that. Mrs. Lincoln, who was really in a position of power, just didn't understand how to make that work for her, the way that Kate did.

Kate strong minded, intelligent and capable. She did what had to be done and she had an unbelievable strength of will.

Mrs. Lincoln and Kate Chase were two very different women with two very different mind sets. Under different circumstances, I believe that they could have been great friends and supportive political women.