On this day in 1862, William Wallace Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln, died aged eleven. Known as ‘Willie’, he died due to illness which was most likely typhoid fever. His brother Tad also became ill, but later recovered, though the illness greatly troubled his family, who feared they would lose another son. Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd were deeply affected by Willie’s death, with President Lincoln not returning to work for three weeks and Mary Todd being so distraught that her husband feared for her sanity. His son’s death occurred in the midst of Lincoln’s presidency, and in the second year of the American Civil War that was prompted by the election of the anti-slavery Republican Lincoln. Despite these personal setbacks, Lincoln successfully oversaw the Union’s victory in the Civil War and the abolition of slavery - leading to him being known as the ‘great emancipator’.
“My poor boy. He was too good for this earth. God has called him home. I know that he is much better off in heaven, but then we loved him so. It is hard, hard to have him die!” - Lincoln upon his son’s death
ca. 1860s, [tintype of an anti-Lincoln propaganda doll]
“A political tintype which makes a strong anti-Lincoln commentary on the issue of slavery. We see a very rare example of a white doll with a black Lincoln doll pinned to her dress. We have to believe this was a Southern photographer making a statement although it could also be a Southern sympathizer from the North. The proportions of the white doll are also a curiosity as it is extremely long in length and maybe a reference to Lincoln’s long lanky build.”
Today is the 150th Anniversary Of Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address.
The Library Of Congress has brought together the handwritten copy he sent to the printer (l) & the one he read from live ® for the first time since 1959.
![ca. 1860s, [tintype of an anti-Lincoln propaganda doll] “A political tintype which makes a strong an](https://64.media.tumblr.com/51a412c656c2380866da1df36d3e25d5/tumblr_np9vbqrB8K1qa51rdo1_1280.jpg "ca. 1860s, [tintype of an anti-Lincoln propaganda doll] “A political tintype which makes a strong an")
