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American Experience
PBS

S13E07: Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided (1): Ambition

American Experience · Season 13
Aired 19 Feb 2001 at 1:00am (UTC)
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Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided (1): Ambition

Synopsis

Parts 1 and 2 of a six-part chronicle of the Abraham Lincoln-Mary Todd relationship begins with their childhoods and courtship. He, of course, was born into poverty; she, however, grew up in luxury, the daughter of a Kentucky banker and slave owner. (Several of her brothers would die fighting for the South in the Civil War.) While he was something of a rube when they met, she was the opposite, polished and refined. Yet they shared something in common: a love of politics. The marriage of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln proves to be a tempestuous affair accented by her temper, his depression and their political ambitions. Included: his elections to the U.S. House of Representatives and, later, the presidency.

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