Springfield introduced Lincoln to the social and political elite, most notably Mary Todd, a woman of high education and sharp, piercing political instincts. Their courtship was, in the words of historians, a "tumultuous dance." It was filled with broken engagements, social anxiety, and deep bouts of the "melancholy" that seemed to cling to Lincoln like a shroud.
Their marriage in 1842 was a union of opposites—the refined daughter of a Kentucky slave-owning family and the rough-hewn, self-taught politician from the frontier. Yet, it was in this domestic arena that Lincoln found his most steadfast, if complicated, ally. Mary was his primary political strategist; she believed in his destiny long before he did. Through the birth of their sons, the joys of fatherhood, and the later, devastating tragedies that would test their sanity, Mary remained the anchor of his private life, even as the national storm clouds began to gather, signaling that his life of local law and domesticity was rapidly coming to an end.
The Rail-Splitter’s Path: The Life and Legacy of Abraham Lincoln (Part 2)