so fact number one, there was no such person named mary todd lincoln. until her sister anne was born he was mary anne and after that plain mary. when she arrived in springfield, nlds he was ms. todd, molly, pet name. when she married abraham she man in november, she was mrs. lincoln. she signed all of her correspondence mrs. lincoln. she took the lincoln name and she never gave it another thought. she was mary lincoln until she died. i suppose the feminist historians started this mary todd lincoln thing to save her from domestic obscurity, but it is historically inaccurate and it drives me bananas every time i hear it, so please just call her mary lincoln or mrs. lincoln. that's what she would have wanted and you and i will get along better if you do too. fact number two, the lincoln marriage was a companionable one. mary todd lincoln and abraham lincoln. mary and abraham were looking to a spouse that would share interests with them and have similar perspectives as they did. both mary and abraham loved poetry. they loved reading and books. they liked chi

there was no such person named mary todd lincoln. born,her sister and was she was marianne, and after that, she was just plain mary. when she arrived in illinois, she was miss todd, mary todd, or molly, and that name it. when she married abraham lincoln on november 4, 1842, she became mary lincoln. she called her mary lincoln, mrs. lincoln, mrs. abraham lincoln. she signed all of her correspondence mary lincoln, mrs. lincoln, mrs. abraham lincoln, or ml. of 19 century women, she took the lincoln name, and she never gave it another thought. she was mary lincoln until she died. i suppose that feminist historians started this mary todd lincoln thing in an effort, i guess, to rescue her from domestic of security or something. but it is historically inaccurate, and it drives me bananas. every time i hear it. so please, just call her mary lincoln, or mrs. lincoln. she would have wanted. and you and i will get along so much better if you do. [laughter] number two, fact the lincoln marriage was a companionable one. very todd and abraham linco

mary lincoln, or mrs. lincoln. fact number two, the lincoln marriage was a companionable one. very todd and abraham lincoln recorded in the parlor of mary's sister's house in springfield, in the context of an emerging new ideal in 19 century marriage -- companionship. mary and abraham were looking to a spouse that was share interests with them and have similar perspectives as they did. they liked children, and they loved partisan politics. and they had a very large circle of political friends in common. a significant romantic backdrop for the couple, and other couples in springville as well. and they were likely in love and talking about marriage by december of 1840. unlike their parents, mary and abraham saw marriage as something beyond an economic union. they aspire to find love and friendship as well. marital expectations were greatly heightened for the generation of americans. this is a very important context in which they suffered their famous lovers break up in january 1841. it was also their shared interest, their enthusiasm for politics that reunited the couple in the summer of

i think what you are saying about mary todd lincoln and the different parts of her personality all of this is very much on target. ms. mcdermott: thank you. no question, i got off easy. [applause] to join the conversation like us on facebook. this year c-span is touring cities across the country exploring american history. a look at our recent visit to montgomery alabama. watch american history tv all weekend every weekend. alabama state capitol is a very old and historic facility. from the civil war to civil rights. most historical capitals in the united states. with a six pointed star here. marking where jefferson davis become the first and only president of the confederate states of america. jefferson davis didn't stand on the daughters of the confederacy had the star cut and placed here. the capital was here until may 20, 1861. hundred and four years later dr. king led the voting rights march to the same place. stood at hisace first inaugural address. i trust thece: gauntlet before the feet of tyranny. now.gation segregation tomorrow. segregation forever. [applause] >> three histo

there was no such person named mary todd lincoln. born,her sister and was she was marianne, and after that, she was just plain mary. when she arrived in illinois, she was miss todd, mary todd, or molly, and that name it. when she married abraham lincoln on november 4, 1842, she became mary lincoln. she called her mary lincoln, mrs. lincoln, mrs. abraham lincoln. she signed all of her correspondence mary lincoln, mrs. lincoln, mrs. abraham lincoln, or ml. of 19 century women, she took the lincoln name, and she never gave it another thought. she was mary lincoln until she died. i suppose that feminist historians started this mary todd lincoln thing in an effort, i guess, to rescue her from domestic of security or something. but it is historically inaccurate, and it drives me bananas. every time i hear it. so please, just call her mary lincoln, or mrs. lincoln. she would have wanted. and you and i will get along so much better if you do. [laughter] number two, fact the lincoln marriage was a companionable one. very todd and abraham linco

>> that would be mary todd lincoln. our caller made the same mistake. but nancy did consult an astrologer after ronald reagan was shot. she did so because she was desperate for anything, anything she could have. she did not have much to control of the schedule, so she consulted an astrologer. this came out in don's book, and that came out. it was a mild embarrassment. many people thought that she was so traumatized that if she wanted to consult astrologer she was well within her rights. >> jordan is in pennsylvania. hi, jordan. >> my grandmother has the same birth day as nancy reagan. she was born july 6, 1920. she was one of my favorite first ladies. did her mother live to be almost 100 when she was in the white house? >> i do not remember. >> do remember if she was around for the inauguration? >> 1921 was actually her birth date. sorry to pop your balloon there. >> i am looking it up. >> this helps us with the transition from the ge years, to politics, and ultimately, to the governorship of california. did nancy personally like politics, or did she le

i wanted to say my wife's great grandmother was a cousin of mary todd lincoln, so i've been married for some 60 years and lived with a todd descendant. >> is todd still the way they were then. >> my mother-in-law was a unique example of some of the same behavior and some of the very good qualities and some of the other qualities. >> like all of us. >> she died on the cusp of her 96th birthday. i knew she was senile when she was 95 because she started treating me right. i think what you're saying about the different parts of mary lincoln's personality is very much on target. >> no question. i got off easy. thanks. [ applause ] >>> the media teaches us that the democrats and republicans are supposed to be at odds with each other, and i think that people need to recognize that we need to be respectful towards each other and we need to recognize that senators are respectful towards each other and that will be more conducive to getting more policy done. >> the truth is these people, these people that we see on television, on c-span, are real people. when we saw president obama, perhaps the t

behavior, but let's not forget the election of 1860, when the stephen douglas campaign compared mary todd lincoln unfavorably to a sheep in heat. that's history. that's-- we didn't make this up. that's history. last night donald trump had to answer for that retweet at a town hall, when he was grilled by cnn correspondent and the legolas of cable news, anderson cooper. >> after saying that you were going to spill the beans about heidi cruz, you repeated unflattering picture of her next to a picture of your wife. >> i thought it was a nice picture of heidi. >> come on. >> i thought it was fine. she's a pretty woman. >> you're running for president of the united states. >> excuse me, i didn't start it. >> sir, with all due respect, that's the argument of a 5-year-old. >> i didn't start it. no, it's not. >> the argument of a 5-year-old is "he started it." >> excuse he. you would say that. that's the problem with our country. >> every parent knows a kid who says "he started it." >> excuse me. >> stephen: yeah, excuse me. excuse me, anderson. you would say that. that's the problem, anderson. because, y

you were nominated for an oscar for playing mary todd lincoln. >> yes i was. >> seth: a fantastic film that was. >> thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: and, i have to ask about this. i know -- because you always read about how daniel day-lewis stays in character. >> yes. >> seth: and so he stayed in the character of abraham lincoln, and is it true he would send you text messages as abraham lincoln? >> yes. >> seth: wow. [ light laughter ] >> yes but, i would have done that. i, too, did that. i found that not odd in the slightest bit. >> seth: so, have you done that before? for films? >> i've -- he comes from a different school of acting, but mine is, i come from the actors studio. i trained with lee strasberg, so. i, being female though, and growing up in the era that i did, i always tried to hide the fact that i stayed in character completely and utterly, i talked the same dialect. i lived the same life. but i would hide it, because they would go, "boy, is she weird, let's not hire her again." you know. >> seth: mm-hmm. >> but, you know, i think daniel, bless his heart, he let

i think of mary todd lincoln or something like that.was charming and disarming, but she was distant from the press. she was formidable as first lady, but unlike many first ladies, her influence was not in the service of the political philosophy, but in service of her husband. she did not attend cabinet meetings or testify before congress like rosalyn carter. in him very interested reaching some sort of agreement with the soviet union. she hated raise a gorbachev, and she thought that ronnie and mikael could make a deal. watching those old cold warriors dancing in the moonlight after -- in red square after he signed a treaty. tom: a great effort by mr. hunt on mrs. reagan's passing. the list of influential first ladies does not usually include mrs. reagan, and that is a mistake. she forged a close alliance with secretary of state george shultz . how much was she disliked within the white house combine gekko mich. michael: people were more afraid of her because she was very imperial and she could be very demanding. it was because she want

>> that would be mary todd lincoln. our caller made the same mistake.cy did consult an astrologer after ronald reagan was shot. she did so because she was desperate for anything, anything she could have. she did not have much to control of the schedule, so she consulted an astrologer. this came out in don's book, and that came out. it was a mild embarrassment. many people thought that she was so traumatized that if she wanted to consult astrologer she was well within her rights. >> jordan is in pennsylvania. hi, jordan. >> my grandmother has the same birth day as nancy reagan. she was born july 6, 1920. she was one of my favorite first ladies. did her mother live to be almost 100 when she was in the white house? >> i do not remember. >> do remember if she was around for the inauguration? >> 1921 was actually her birth date. sorry to pop your balloon there. >> i am looking it up. >> this helps us with the transition from the ge years, to politics, and ultimately, to the governorship of california. did nancy personally like politics, or did she learn to l

carl: that would be mary todd lincoln. our caller made the same mistake.id consult an astrologer after ronald reagan was shot. she did so because she was desperate for anything, anything she could have. she did not have much to control of the schedule, so she consulted an astrologer. this came out in don's book, and that came out. he rode a kiss and tell book like bob gates has done. it was a mild embarrassment. many people thought that she was so traumatized that if she wanted to consult astrologer she was well within her rights. susan: we will talk a little bit more about that later on. jordan is in pennsylvania. hi, jordan. >> my grandmother has the same birth day as nancy reagan. she was born july 6, 1920. she was one of my favorite first ladies. did her mother live to be almost 100 when she was in the white house? judy: her mother lived to be elderly, but i do not know how old her mother was when she died. susan: do you remember of she was around for the inauguration? i think she was actually one year older. susan 1921 was actually her : birth date. s

with mary todd that afternoon, said that he believed that on this day the war had ended and that he was happy, happy in ways that he never had been before. i started with that notion of lincoln's happiness. and i want to end with that as well. because despite dark days, lincoln never surrendered hope that the union would be saved. because what was the union itself but hope incarnate. the last best hope of earth. for democracy, for freedom. with the war over he sought to unify the nation, to rebuild it on principles of justice and mercy. he knew there would be significant obstacles, but there had been obstacles to winning the war and those have been overcome. so too with the problem of reconstruction. for all of the sadness he endured, one observer said there is a soft shade of melancholy in his smile and in his eyes. lincoln was at heart an optimist. his final speech sought to define and redefine terms. during the war he offered a plan of reconstruction with the emphasis on "a", a man of reconstruction. as the phrase goes he then put in parenthesis. the phrase was adequate for the rebirth that he designed. not reunion, not restoration, not reconstruction, but the rebirth of th

i think what you are saying about mary todd lincoln and the different parts of her personality all of this is very much on target. ms. mcdermott: thank you. no question, i got off easy. [applause]