rom the white house. she took fruit. she was, indeed serving the role which she thought was a political role. we nolin con did it as well. they didn't go in as a couple. they went in separately and made tear way through the wards. when people came to her to try to publicize it, when someone mentioned it, she wrote to them saying please don't. we do know she was trying to keep that side of her charity. she wanted to be an anonymous donor to the soldiers' cause during that period. that's what i think was her interest at that time. yes? >> mary beth donnelly. i appreciate the opportunity to oh ask a question. >> i'm sorry. the last question. make it a good one. >> i'll try. >> i'm sorry. >> it's broad. i'm thinking of last night's conversation about lincoln on film. what do you think about the portrayal of oh mary lincoln on film. specifically related to spielberg or anything else. do you feel it's been fair? >> well, i do have weaknesses.

i think that i have very strong feelings about ann rutledge on film which i won't share. nevertheless i think mary on film is a really interesting phenomenon. i do believe, for example you could see in the portrait with sam waterston with gore vidal and mary tyler moore trying to show a woman with clear disturbances. i thought that was powerful. but i felt that the recent portrait by sally field which i very much regret didn't earn her her third oscar, was nevertheless such an amazing inhabiting of the role. i think people can have differences of opinion about what were her problem ss. what were her flaws. i think that portrait captured her as a flawed do you thinkynamic,

intense character. she contributed to that in a way that i found amazing. i'm regretful i can't name the actress who portrayed mary todd in "lincoln the vampire slayer." you have to understand that any scholar who has written a biography of harriet tubman and mary lincoln that finds these characters taking guns to gettysburg to save the union is going to welcome this kind of pop cultural fantabulation. thank you so much. [ applause ] >> we'd like to tell you about some of our other american history tv programs. join us every saturday at 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. eastern for a special look at the civil war.

we'll bring you to the battlefields, let you hear from scholars and reenactors and bring you the latest historical forums on the subject. that's programs on the civil war every saturday at 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. eastern here on american history tv on c-span3. >> you have been watching c-span's american history tv. we want to hear from you. follow us on twitter @cspan history. connect with us at facebook.com/cspan history where you can leave comments too. check out the website c-span.org/history. >> new year's day on the c-span networks. here are some of the featured programs. 10:00 a.m. eastern the washington ideas forum. energy conservation with david crane. business magnate t pickens inveb tor dean cayman. the brooklyn history society

holds a conversation on race. then at 8:00 p.m. eastern from the explorers club, apollo vii astronaut walt with cunningham on the first manned space flight. on c-span 2 before noon hector tobar on 33 men buried in a chilean mine. at 3:00 p.m. richard norton smith on the life of nelson rockefeller. former investigative correspondent for cbs news cheryl atkinson on her experiences reporting on the obama administration. new year's day on american history tv on c-span3 . at 10:00 a.m. eastern juanita abernathy on her experiences and the role of women in the civil rights movement. brooklyn college professor benjamin carp on the link between alcohol and politics in prerevolutionary new york city. at 8:00 p.m., cartoonist patrick oliphant draw thes ten presidential caricatures as

david mccullough discuss it is presidents and their memorable qualities. for the complete schedule go to cspan.org. with live coverage of the u.s. house on c-span and the senate on c-span 2, on c-span3 we complement the coverage by showing you the most relevant congressional hearings and public affairs events. on weekends, c-span3 is home to american history tv with programs that tell our nation's story, including six unique series. the civil war's 150th anniversary, visiting battlefields and key events. american artifacts touring museums and historic sites to is see what is revealed about america's past. the best known history writers. the presidency looking at the policies and legacieses of the nation's commanders in chief. lectures in history with top college professors delving into america's past and reel america featuring government and educational films from the 1930s through the '70s.

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