ry that "none took up her duties under more difficult circumstances, none was so consistently criticized, none so vulnerable to criticism" (Turner 77). The people in Washington D.C. didn?t pay very much attention to her, only writing mean letters about ?the southern lady in the White House? (79). The rejection by the media was hard for her to cope with because she had always been treated well, especially being raised in a socially accepted family. " She had to find a way of proving that she was a well-bred, Intelligent and sophisticated woman, loyal to her husband and her country, and more than qualified for the demanding role that history had thrust upon her" (79). The First Lady also wanted to prove that she knew about politics.In February of 1862, the Lincoln?s third child, Willie, became very ill. His illness was very hard on Mary. There was no medicine at the time of his illness, so Mary sat by his bed and watched him get worse. It was also painful for the President because there was nothing he could do. On February 20, 1862, Willie died. Mrs. Lincoln lost all control. She was very miserable and maybe suffered a mild nervous breakdown. She refused to enter the room where Willie died. She was also depressed and lonely for some time and didn?t go to any social events for over a year. Lincoln was concerned about her and threatened to put her in an insane asylum if she didn?t get over her grieving. It took Mary over a year to get over Willie?s death. Eventually she returned to her outgoing self, keeping any feelings of grief inside. She was now more involved with the war than she ever had been. She was brave enough to visit the wounded at the local hospitals, bringing flowers and stuff from the White House. Ironically, Mary didn?t receive any recognition for this. Not only did she visit the hospitals, she also told her opinion more freely to her husband (Barton 331). Mary wasn?t afraid anymore to tell Lincoln what s...
