todd lincoln had this bond and was very close and mary todd lincoln would take elizabeth with her on trips around the country and of course being a seamstress at halt because mary todd lincoln was a real close horse and loved to buy clothes wherever she went sometimes exceeding the budget that she was supposed to hold to. but, another interesting thing i found that mary todd lincoln was such a trusted elizabeth ackley so much she confided in her assessment three blunt and candid of her husband's cabinet and as generals very much down on general grant, mary todd thought he was what she called a butcher because of the battles he got in the soldiers involved in and then as time went on as you say, he elizabeth did write about her experiences and this did what is seen as a breach by mary todd lincoln of confidence. it really wasn't anything like we would think of today as a tell-all book but it did give insight into the white house and i think mary todd lincoln felt that was something elizabeth keckley shouldn't have done. >> host: bdy elizab

when lincoln dies, when lincoln gets assassinated the first person mary looks for is elizabeth. both of them had lost children, the lincolns lost a son while they were in the white house, and during that same period or elizabeth had lost her son in the war. so they bonded at several different levels. and then after the war when mary lincoln -- similar to dolly madison -- was on really hard times, and this was in the era when after you become president you become a gazillionaire like now. if you didn't come in rich, you weren't necessarily going to get rich coming out of it. so mary lincoln actually had really hard times, and elizabeth was there for her quite a bit of the way. elizabeth also wrote a book, some of which created strains between her and mary lincoln because mary felt that there were too much personal information that was put into the book. now, the other thing about elizabeth was that the relationship with the lincolns, she also was very instrumental in organizing and mobilizing people who had left the plantations, basically escaped from slavery during the war and wh

lincoln had this bond. and it was very close. and maryodd lincoln would take elizabeth with her on trips around the country. of course, being a seamstress, it helped because mary todd lincoln was a real clothes horse, and she loved to buy clothes wherever she went. sometimes exceeding the budget that she was supposed to hold to. but another interesting thing i found that mary todd lincoln was would confide in her, her assessment very blunt and candid of her husband's cabinet, his generals. very much town on general grant -- very much down on general grant, mary todd felt he was a butcher because of the battles he got his soldiers involved in. and then as time went on, as you say, elizabeth did write about her experiences, and this did -- was seen as a breach by mary todd lincoln of confidences. it really wasn't anything like we would think of today as a house, and i think mary todd lincoln felt that was something elizabeth should not have done. >> host: but elizabeth died in poverty. >> guest: right. >> host: the book that she wrote was p

todd lincoln had this bond. and was very close. mary todd lincoln would take elizabeth keckley with her on trips around the country. of course, being a seamstress, it helps because mary todd lincoln was a real close horse and sheila taking close with her. but another interesting thing i found that mary todd lincoln was, trusted elizabeth keckley so much would confide in her assessment, very blunt and candid of her husband's cabinet and his generals, very much down on general grant, felt that he was what she called a butcher, the battles of the soldiers he got involved in. and then as timely on, as you say, elizabeth keckley did write about her expenses and this did was seen as a breach by mary todd lincoln of conference but it wasn't anything like you think of today as a tell-all book but it did give some insight into the white house and i think mary todd lincoln felt that was something that elizabeth keckley should not have done. >> but elizabeth keckley died in poverty. the book that she wrote was probably one of the few ways she had

todd lincoln had this bond, and it was very close, and mary todd lincoln would take elizabeth keckley with her on trips and around the country of course being a seamstress, it helped because mary todd lincoln was a real close horse and looked to my clothes sometimes exceeding the budget she was supposed to hold to, but another interesting thing i found that trusted that she would confide in her assessment very blunt and candid of her husband's cabinet, as generals, very much down on general grant, mary todd thought she was with the call a butcher and the soldiers involved, and then as time went on as you say, elizabeth keckley did write about her experiences, and this was seen as a breach by mary todd lincoln of confidence as it really wasn't anything like we would think of today as a tell-all book but it did give some insight into the white house and i think mary todd lincoln felt that was something elizabeth keckley shouldn't have done. >> host: elizabeth keckley died in poverty. the book she wrote was probably one of the few ways she had of

, and hannibal hamlin and their children, not mary's children with hamlin, mary's children with lincoln, william and tad come through on the regularly scheduled train and their menaced by a crowd and lincoln didn't seem too concerned about it. he was worried about himself and he wanted mary to know he was safe. it was a very strange episode. i looked at it very carefully. i looked at the threat level. i spoke to assassination experts like ed steers, who i know you know, and they believe that the plot was real. that there was a man who was hired to stab him in the vestibule, a very narrow vestibule and they would create a commotion and the police were diverted. discretion was part of valor and he had to get to washington. >> even paranoids have real enemies and he was going to a cottage a few years later and a bullet goes through his hat. ultimately a plot got him. so it's not as if they were -- >> a plot hatched in baltimore. >> yes. >> and he's leaving town with a stack of threats, stabbings and a stack of offers of protections. my favorite is from a man whose name i've forgotten. it's

lincoln. kid you discover anything in your -- did you discover anything in your research on mary todd lincoln's research? >> well, he met with -- the question had to do with women's influence. well, i guess the first place to start is with his wife. mary todd was a -- one of the things i hi is unfortunate in much of the lincoln literature is that the more you elevate lincoln onto a pedestal, there must be somebody else that dragged down, and it seems like it's his wife who plays that role in so much of the literature. she was a troubled person. i mean, two of her children died young. her husband was shot sitting next to her in the theater, that's kind of traumatic, you know? but they, from my opinion, had a perfectly fine marriage, and she was the daughter of a slave owner, of course. she was a politically active and aware individual. her father was a prominent figure in kentucky politics. and her father was like henry clay, a kind of critic of slavery, although he owned slaves. and mary todd supported lincoln's views and even though she had relatives who fought for the south, you know, i think

time he was actually brought in by mary todd lincoln to address the presence of body as he was killed, almost like an undertaker would today. and it was an amazingly close relationship that had not been fully clarified and i hope i have taken some steps in doing that. he's a very important figure in history of the white house. i just wish we knew more about him. >> host: you've done such a fabless job with this book. it's fully intriguing and as i said can i was jealous when literature bibliography that you got to read all of those phenomenal book. this is a great addition to the body of knowledge about presence and african-americans and something was important for us to take a look at. thank you so very much for this phenomenal work. >> guest: thank you so much. .. >> now david brooks looks at how our unconscious mind shifts are character, intelligence, and biases. this is just under an hour. >> it is a great pleasure to be here. more or less in my hometown. i went to the high-school about 13 miles west of here, and so it is always good to be back home in this area. because i know ph

lincoln. and sally fields as his wife, mary. >>> for some, it's the end of the world as we know it. abc has announced the cancellation of "all my children" and "one life to live." this comes to us from wesh2 news in orlando. a woman had no clue what she was in for when she boarded a f private plane. and then she saw his proposal. she gladly accepted turning that into a flight that those guys would never forget. >> something to live up to. shoo it would have been good if she had a par are achute and when she was jumping out she said no. >> this is early today. just your first stop of the day on your nbc staz. >>> zookeepers in spain are caring for one baby as if he were their own. baby boo, a 9-month-old orangutan made his first appearance yesterday. he's the first to be born at the zoo in 20 years. but he's an orphan after losing his mom to lung disease after giving birth. cute. >>> one couple is a match made on the dance floor. it was love at first sight for franz when he first asked katrina to dance. they waltzed into wedding bliss. they are now celebrating their 75th he's 100 yea

lincoln. o'neil held a private viewing. seen tipping their hat to history, d.c. housewives mary ammonds and supreme court artist. we've got more pictures from their collection online at my blog oh my goff. you'll find a link to that on my morning show page. you can send me your good news on facebook. >> it sounds pretty cool. >> more information online. >> very good. no foolin', we're happy to say! welcome to 9news now at 6:00 a.m. it is friday, april 1st, april fools day. >> we didn't win the big megaball. that's why we're all here. glad you're here with us, too. angie goff, be back with traffic in a moment. >> anny hong is in for howard

lincoln was shot at ford's theater in washington. he died the next morning.z1ywñu the assassin, john wilkes booth, had not worked alone. he and his accomplices plotted and skeemd at the boarding house of maryat, just blocks from the theater. weeks later, sarat and seven other alleged conspirators were tried before a military commission. the normal strictures of american justice did not apply. sarat was convicted and sentenced to hang despite the recommendation of five of the nine members of military commission that she be shown mercy. on july 7, 1865 air, parasol shielding her from the son, sarat and three others were led to the gallows. sheechs the first woman to be executed by the united states government. the story of her trial is the subject of the new film "the conspirator" directed by robert redford, starring robin wright as mary sarat, and james mack voi as frederic aiken, the young union army captain given the task of defending her. here to talk with me about the film are james solman and retired u.s. army colonel fred bork a consultant to the film, who served as chief prosecutor for the military commissions at guantanamo bay, cuba, in 2003 and 2004. james solman, why is this an im

so i think everybody knows about lincoln and john wilkes booth, but few people knew about a story inside of that, adjacent to it and that was the trial of maryistorians didn't know. i thought, that's interesting. a story no one knows. an untold event tied to a story everyone knows about. >> she ran a boarding house and was accused of being a conspirator along with her son and john wilkes booth. she is defended by a northern lawyer who fought in the civil war. frederick aiken, i believe. >> mm-hmm. >> very little is known about him. you didn't have a lot to work with on his character. >> except in his summary in the trial. his last summary was taken verbatim from the document we had transcribed. that was word for word. little known of him. no photographs. he died at 43 years old. he went to the washington post after that failed attempt. but serat, quite a character. >> there is incredible detail from the ken burns film on the civil war that they hanged for five minutes before they died. i'm curious about your political activism is well known. how much more powerful do you think a work of art can be in analyzing not just history but something