Mary Lincoln's Insanity Case

by Emerson, Jason

• ISBN13: 9780252037078
• ISBN10: 0252037073
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-09-15
• Publisher: Univ of Illinois Pr

Summary

In 1875 Mary Lincoln, the widow of a revered president, was committed to an insane asylum by her son, Robert. The trial that preceded her internment was a subject of keen national interest. The focus of public attention since Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860, Mary Lincoln had attracted plentiful criticism and visible scorn from much of the public, who perceived her as spoiled, a spendthrift, and even too much of a Southern sympathizer. Widespread scrutiny only increased following her husband's assassination in 1865 and her son Tad's death six years later, after which her overwhelming grief led to the increasingly erratic behavior that led to her being committed to a sanitarium. A second trial a year later resulted in her release, but the stigma of insanity stuck. In the years since, questions emerged with new force, as the populace and historians debated whether she had been truly insane and subsequently cured, or if she was the victim of family maneuvering. In this volume, noted Lincoln scholar Jason Emerson provides a documentary history of Mary Lincoln's mental illness and insanity case, evenhandedly presenting every possible primary source on the subject to enable a clearer view of the facts. Beginning with documents from the immediate aftermath of her husband's assassination and ending with reminiscences by friends and family in the mid-twentieth century,Mary Lincoln's Insanity Case: A Documentary Historycompiles more than one hundred letters, dozens of newspaper articles, editorials, and legal documents, and the daily patient progress reports from Bellevue Place Sanitarium during Mary Lincoln's incarceration. Including many materials that have never been previously published, Emerson also collects multiple reminiscences, interviews, and diaries of people who knew Mary Lincoln or were involved in the case, including the first-hand recollection of one of the jurors in the 1875 insanity trial. Suggesting neither accusation nor exoneration of the embattled First Lady,Mary Lincoln's Insanity Case: A Documentary Historygives scholars and history enthusiasts incomparable access to the documents and information crucial to understanding this vexing chapter in American history.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vii
Introduction	p. ix
Editorial Note	p. xvii
April 1865-May 1875	p. 1
Trial of 1875: Newspaper Reports	p. 13
Trial of 1875: Correspondence	p. 42
Thai of 1875: Newspaper Editorials	p. 51
Suicide Attempt	p. 60
May-July 1875	p. 72
August 1875	p. 96
September-December 1875	p. 138
January 1-May 21, 1876	p. 167
Trial of 1876	p. 178
June-September 1876	p. 186
October 1876-June 1882	p. 202
Posthumous	p. 208
Appendix: Abraham Lincoln's Comments on His Wife's Sanity	p. 221
Notes	p. 225
Bibliography	p. 229
Index	p. 233
Illustrations follow page	p. 166
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