Mary Todd Lincoln First Lady Sally Mummey

The narrow and limited confines of the Victorian world could not hold the complexities of Mary Todd Lincoln. In a period when a woman's role was defined by marriage and motherhood, Mrs. Lincoln was considered an equal in the company of well-educated men. With her wits, she battled senators, diplomats, generals, newspapermen, and scholars to a standstill while her brothers fought against the same Union that her husband was so valiantly trying to save. Her ambition and drive, exposed through an outspoken manner, sometimes evoked disdain from her husband's Cabinet and Washington's social elite. These characteristics opened her actions to critiisms of the contemporary press and the scrutiny of later historians who wrote about her with distortion. Only a resolute woman -- with so intense a will -- could have survived such a devastating onslaught.

Through all this, her attitude for survival was:
"What is to be is to be and nothing we can say or do can divert an inexorable fate. But in spite of knowing this, one feels better even after losing if one has had a brave, wholehearted fight to get the better of destiny."

As a living historian, Sally Mummey brings to life the complicated contrasts of the most famous and historically significant First lady. Utilizing lectures and story telling, authentic speeches, and informal and spontaneous dialogue, Miss Mummey relates successfully on a variety of levels to people -- from youngsters to adults -- through her sensitive awareness of the need to communicate with her audience.

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Links to web sites related to this topic:

Battery F escorts Mrs Lincoln on Newport Visit
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Mary Todd Lincoln Research Site