Willie Lincoln and Calvin Coolidge, Jr

[Rob Wick]

Juan, I think you're on to something. It's definitely an interesting question.

I've always held that had Lincoln died in his bed in the 1880s after serving as a country lawyer and possibly a judge in central Illinois, his view of religion would not have been as strong as it was after overseeing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of men and the one death in his family, which I think served to him as a distinct reminder of the young men dying on the battlefield. Lincoln likely used work as many grieving people do, i.e., as an escape from their problems. As for "saving" Lincoln, I'm unsure how you are using the word. If you mean that if Lincoln lost Willie as a private citizen, he would have been so overcome by guilt and permanently distraught to the point of incapacity, I think his grief would have been intense, but as with Eddie, he would have overcome it to continue living. After all, the death of children was common in the 19th century, and parents often expected to lose some. For a child to live into adulthood was rare and uncommon for many. Likely, he would have worked to console Mary, especially after Tad died, but I don't doubt he personally would have overcome it.

I think a pretty strong case can be made that Lincoln would have done that regardless of being president or a respected country lawyer. Having to continue leading the nation surely gave him another outlet to channel his grief, but I'm unsure that "saving" is the right word.

Best
Rob