AL and God

[L Verge]

Eva, you may very well be right that Lincoln loved his other sons more than Robert, but I find that hard to believe. Perhaps it was a more distant type of love given the long times that the father was away from the son during the early bonding years. I just can't imagine the personality of Lincoln being cold to any of his children.

I also base some of my thoughts on the fact that the first-born son in every family is usually the one who is expected to achieve greatness -- or at least is pushed in that direction. In many cases, it is an unspoken given. Societal norms may have pushed Robert into feeling that the burden was on him to become the heir-apparent to his father's reputation - and maybe he didn't like that burden.