I agree he does deserve to be remembered for his remarkable life . Thank you for sharing this very interesting information. I had never heard this before . Take care & God bless .❤
His father would have been so proud of him. It's a shame he's not better known for all his own accomplishments. Thank you for sharing this extraordinary man's life story.
@@josephhewes7081 Pretty much...like most big people. They're rich because their great, great, great, great grandpappy did something...or because they have a really nice rear end.
@@josephhewes7081 Agreed, but he also showed courage, i.e. wanting to fight in the civil war (he wanted to be in the actual front, but the staff position was a compromise since his father, as commander in chief could negate him entrance into the union army altogether), and he showed great personal fortitude, considering that his father was assassinated, his three brothers had died, and his mother went insane. I mean, most people, no matter how famous their last name, DON'T recover from that wholly or partially, but he did.
I’m so glad you touched on the story where he was saved by Booth’s older brother who was the most famous actor at the time. I heard it somewhere else but can’t remember where. It was such an interesting story that I started telling people and then got nervous that maybe I remembered wrong or something since I couldn’t remember where I heard it, but now I know that I got the facts correct. Still an incredible story
What a wonderful report of a man who didn't waste his life, not living in his father's shadow, but doing what he wanted. I'm a Canadian and I found this very interesting and inspirational. Thank you.
How in the world did the highly accomplished son of one of our most famous Presidents manage to fly so far under the radar of history?! An amazing history lesson! And on top of that, how did it take me this long to come across this channel?! New sub.
Even the brightest star pales in comparison to a supernova. Hard to live up to your father when your father was, quite literally, the man who saved the country.
@@wmpetroff2307 I think John Hays mentioned in asides that Robert spent much more time with his father than he says he did but chose to have his actual role air-brushed out of the historical picture. Of course he felt enormous guilt that he literally slept through the assassination. Gore Vidal, who wrote a historical novel about Lincoln, Make him an into,mate of John Hays. They were the same age.
I once visited Robert Lincolns Home up in Manchester, Vermont and even bought some peonies from his estate which I brought back home and planted in my garden and now enjoy each year.
I’m so glad to hear a more balanced summary of Robert Lincoln’s life! Rarely do I see him written about as if he was anything more than a disappointment compared to his father, even while his accomplishments were duly acknowledged. All things considered, he was a man of considerable merit who led a remarkable life!
Excellent information! I understand that he was instrumental in President Lincoln’s casket becoming encased in concrete as the body had been attempted to be stolen a time or two. Thank you for sharing your love of history!!
and I wonder what would have happened around reconstruction after the civil war, had Lincoln not been killed and been able to serve out his second term.
Quite informative!! I had read that he and his mother did not get along and that he had her institutionalized at one point. I wish that he could have treated her more kindly!! She had seen three of her four sons die in childhood (the youngest, Tad, lived to be about seventeen,) plus she was sitting beside her husband when he was shot!! I don't know if I could have handled all those tragedies!! Plus, her mother died when she was only six. She had several siblings already, when her father brought a new stepmother into the home. This woman resented Mary and her siblings! Then she had I think six or seven kids by Mary's father, so the house was full! Mary left as a teenager and went to live with an older sister. I read that she was an "Hysteric" and very, very neurotic. While living in the White House, she loved to hold seances in hopes of seeing her dead sons, then after her husband was killed she really got heavily involved in them! And she had crossed swords with important men in the government while First Lady, to the point that they deliberately held up her "widow's pension" for years out of spite for the way she had mistreated them, and wound up having to sell much of her clothing just to afford the necessities - like food for herself and Tad, and rent! So she had a very hard life! I wish that Robert had been able to treat her with more respect and kindness!!
Not sure if that would've been the case. He might have been proud of his success, but Robert became a wealthy industry mogul who crushed unions and reveled in high society - not exactly the kind of values or policies that Abraham Lincoln espoused. In any case, Robert's been said to be more Mary Todd than Abe, for better or worse.
@The Vinyl Music Life I agree that there are pros & cons to Unions. A badly broken system governing collective bargaining has eroded unions and worker power more broadly, contributing to both the suffering during the pandemic and the extreme economic inequality exacerbated by the pandemic. In spite of efforts to push policy reforms, the U.S. entered the COVID-19 pandemic with a weak system of labor protections. As a result, working people, particularly low-wage workers-who are disproportionately women and workers of color-have largely borne the costs of the pandemic. While providing the “essential” services we rely on, many of these workers have been forced to work without protective gear; many have no access to paid sick leave; and when workers have spoken up about health and safety concerns, they have been fired. Unions would be an unnecessary counterbalance or voice of the working class if Corporate leaders were equally concerned with pleasing the engine or workforce of their business as they are with shareholder appeasement.
I've got two big toes and they break right through my best socks! He's so compelling describing the stories he chooses to tell us! How he can keep it to a quarter of an hour is beyond me! His enthusiasm shows his love for "untold" or "forgotten" pieces of history, however obscure they may be to the "general" public. 10-Q H.G.!
JFK, was Murdered by a conspiracy of his own V.P. Lyndon B. Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover, C.I.A. agent Geo. H. W. BUSH, & others. @ The Original now Hidden 13th Amendment.
To everyone in this comment group. Sorry I didn't respond earlier from past comments. I revisited this report and how the History Guy made this true tale intriguing. Respect to you all
Great video. I’ve toured his home and Pullman Car in Mass. I have a photograph like the one behind you of my Uncle Lonnie Preston Smith’s platoon when he did basic training before he shipped off to Europe during WWI. He was at Verdun during the great battle. Terrible battle. I also have the flag my great great grandparents flew in their window until he returned. His sister, my great aunt Carrie Mae McDonald, who drove until she was 100 and lived to be 110, had the picture in her house and I’d always admired it. When she asked me, “Joe is there anything in this house you might want after I’m gone?” all I could think of was that picture. It’s hanging beside my bed and is my favorite physical possession. I know the world is going to lose all of this history but I appreciate the ones like you that are keeping it alive as long as possible. Again, great video. Keep up the good work
Robert had a pretty tragic life. He was always somewhat estranged from the rest of his family, but he still loved them and cared about them (and he was the only son of the Lincolns to survive to adulthood). The brother that would've been his playmate, Edward, died in infancy. During Lincoln's White House years, Robert was somewhat estranged from his father, because Lincoln had always been on the run with work during Robert's childhood, and Robert was away at Harvard while Lincoln was in office. Just as Robert and his father were starting to rise above it, and bond, Lincoln was assassinated, leaving Robert at age 22, the primary caretaker for his mother and his surviving younger brother, Tad. In the following years, Robert essentially took care of, but remained estranged from Tad, as the two brothers had a 10-year age gap, and were bipolar opposites in personality. Just as the age gap was starting to close, and Tad started to mature, Robert was prepared to rise to the occasion of being the loving supportive older brother, but then, Tad got sick and died. Robert became estranged to the breaking point with his mother when her mental instability pushed him to commit her to a private sanitarium. Although she was released soon after, they never fully reconciled. Robert later had to bury his own son at a young age, and found himself unwittingly around for the assassinations of both James Garfield and William McKinley, and his whole life, he always felt he was living in the shadow of his father. (Oh, and did I mention, about a year before Lincoln's assassinated, Robert was nearly killed, but was saved by, of all people, famous actor Edwin Thomas Booth, older brother of John Wilkes Booth. And Edwin's life story was just as tragic as Robert's)
Agreed, for as famous as his last name was and how many doors it opened, it took amazing mental fortitude to continue onwards, having to deal with that much personal death and tragedy over and over and over again.
Robert Todd Lincoln was named after his maternal grandfather, Mary Lincoln's father. People who met Robert Lincoln said he looked more like his mother Mary anyway than he did his father Abraham Lincoln.
Just like this video, you make a lot of great points but you also have quite a few errors. 1. Robert was never estranged from his brothers or father. 2. Robert actually was close to his father. He started the rumor of scarcely seeing him to get people to stop bothering him. Every single day he had upwards of 100 people asking him to provide information on his father. 3. Robert was 21, not 22, when he became head of the family after his father’s murder. 4. There is no such term as “bipolar opposites”. Robert and Tad were not polar opposites in personality. There was a lot of overlap in characteristics. 5. All of Robert’s life he was a loving brother to Tad. After the assassination, he was like a second father to him. 6. Robert did not become estranged from his mother until the insanity trial in 1875. She greatly benefitted from her 4 months there. They did fully reconcile about a year before her death. 7. Bibliography: Emerson, Jason “Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln” (2012) Goff, John S. “Robert Todd Lincoln: A Man in His Own Right” (1968) Keckley, Elizabeth “Behind the Scenes or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House” (1868) Randall, Ruth Painter “Lincoln’s Sons” (1955)
Such a fascinating history, indeed, with Robert Todd Lincoln. While I was aware of his presence during Lee's surrender to Grant, I was NOT aware of his association with Garfield and McKinley! What an incredible life he led. Thanks so much for these videos that you produce. I get so much out of your efforts.
David Wolf,.after the McKinley assassination, he was know to have that he would NEVER AGAIN visit a sitting president due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He, also, considered himself a jinx to presidents.✌✌✌✌
The summer home of Robert T. Lincoln still stands in Manchester, Vermont and is open to the general public to visit. I had the pleasure of visiting it and it remains, right down to the furniture, in the same condition it was during Lincoln's time. Obviously, there are many reproductions in the home. The name of his estate is "Hildene" and if your a history buff you will enjoy visit.
Joe Candela - he built Hildene to be a family estate, but regrettably, none of his children had children themselves. His portion of the family died out
@@nancyayers6355 I have go there some time. When Lincoln bought the home it originally was 1 floor house he put 2 extensions on it. One going back and another going up (second story).
Thank you for this valuable bit of education. Yes, Mr Lincoln does deserve recognition. And I especially like that he was rescued by Mr Booth. I'm glad it did something good for Mr Booth's heart, as well.
Extremely interesting vignette! I had no idea how accomplished Robert Todd Lincoln became in his lifetime. One of the only things I'd known about him was the fact that his life had once been saved by Edwin Booth. Thank you for this!
Fascinating. So many times we hear of children in the same situation who never get out of the shadow of their famous parent(s), often times with tragic consequences. Thanks!!
Awesome! If you had been my history teacher in school, I would have paid more attention but then on the other hand, they never taught this kind of history in school but should have! I too love history and you have an amazing way of how you present it, makes it very interesting! Thanks for posting this video, thoroughly enjoyed it!
@@greyghostscsa394 Any hard feelings there? Lincoln was just a simple man, who played a very important role in America's history. Now we have Antifa and other communist/fascist groups and CRT who want to not only erase the Legacy of Lincoln, but that of the Confederate South as well. Seems to be working. Statues and other Dixie memorabilia of General Robert E Lee and other brave Confederate souls are being erased more and more from the public eye. Doesn't seem to fit their agenda or narrative, so they want to rewrite and usurp actual history.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Patriots stand strong. PS: I had kin who fought on both sides. I stand for an United America. The Republic, for Which it Stands, One Nation, Under GOD, Indivisible and Justice for All.
My daughter and I visited his home in Vermont this past summer. It was beautiful and they had lots of pictures of the Lincoln family. We even got to see President Lincoln’s stove top hat under glass display. Beautiful gardens too.
This is such a fascinating story. I never knew any of this information. He deserves to be mentioned ... his life in History Books. The “Booth’s Story” and the “Assassinations” that he witnessed ... WOW. He had a life like no other that’s for sure.
I have loved your program for several years. And loved history since the fifth grade. Im 83 and history is still no. I WITH ME. No one presents history as you do. You have an exciting voice. Never go away. Take care my friend.
We visited Robert Todd Lincoln's home in Vermont, Hildene. We. were struck by its beauty and his organization. He had a room with various drawers for things. The house was on a plateau near. Manchester. The home was beautiful in its simplicity. Thank you for the story of his life.
The more of your videos I watch, the more I am astonished at what history goes by without people knowing about it. Thank you for this wonderful trail through time.
I love History too. Abraham Lincoln's youngest son 'Thomas "Tad" Lincoln, lived to age 18. William, 'Willie' died at sge 11. It hurts my heart at what Mary Todd Lincoln, the mom went through. Losing three of her children as well as her husband. It's tragic. Robert Lincoln certainly lived up to his father's good name. Thanks for sharing.
Robert Todd Lincoln did wonder if he was star crossed ( or what the exact term ) in his personal life as he outlived 3 of his brothers and one of his own children ( plus dealing with the health problems of his mother ). Also he was at the location where President Garfield and President McKinley were shot. He later told Theodore Roosevelt not to have him in his presence less he put the deadly curse on Roosevelt. My great grandfather knew him well personally and joined him for golf with friends at Robert Lincoln's summer home in Manchester, Vt.
While committing his mother...taking away her right to decide what was best for her. Who got him into Harvard? His rail-splitting father, who overcame enormous obstacles to become a professional man -- the ultimate professional man.
@@ALANRLEAKE Oh, how COOL! 🙂 During his lifetime, did your great grandfather ever talk or write about Robert Todd Lincoln - for instance, did he ask him about his father? I LOVE history; there's always something fascinating to be learned from it. Until just now, I had never been sure if any of Pres. Lincoln's children lived to adulthood.
I have always loved Robert Todd Lincoln's life story. I already knew many things about him just via passive reading. I have always wanted to know more details, because his is the story of a very successful man. Why not read about him and take inspiration; makes sense, right? This was an excellent synopsis of his accomplishments. Thank you, History Guy!!
“Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln” by Jason Emerson is an excellent book. Unfortunately, it's obvious that this channel did not bother to read it. This video has several errors, many critical. “Robert Todd Lincoln: A Man in His Own Right” by John S. Goff is another great book, it's like the Cliff Notes version of Emerson's book. “Lincoln’s Sons” by Ruth Painter Randall is also good.
Loved this episode. Thank-you for it. Totally agree about Robert’s life & accomplishments. He deserves to be remembered for his greatness. Did not know he was there when the Lincoln Memorial was presented. I hope he felt some honor for them building a unbelievable monument to the probably our greatest President. Such a shame he really had no “life” with his father.
History has forgotten many children of former Presidents. These children need to be remembered in the annals of history. Thank you for your history of Robert Todd Lincoln.
Wow I just found this and I am feeling blessed to have learned about Robert Todd Lincoln's great success in life and the totally strange coincident moments of his life.
I consider myself an amateur historian. A hobbyist, but after listening to this, just an amateur. Truly great stuff. Feltonesque in fascinating fine points of history.
...wait Lincolns son had met and bumped into John Wilkes booths brother???? There really are some unseen forces at work. He even saw assisinations of others...wow!
I heard all this about Robert except I did not know he was at Robert Lee's surrender. But yes, he seemed to have a very interesting life for sure. Lincoln does not have immediate family but he does have cousins that are still alive today.
If you call having your life saved by someone “meeting and bumping into” someone. I agree though. The incident is quite poetic. Serendipity of a sort. Thank goodness things like this occur during such trying times. It seems a balance is being struck.
Loved the story of Edwin Booth rescuing Robert. My dad’s mother, Ruth Booth Unklesbay was a great niece to the Booth brothers. I remember my dad and his brother discussing the Booth dueling pistols, in which one killed Mr. Lincoln. I wish I had listened closer as a child! My father was born 1910 so you can see his mother easily fit the time era. Love history!
Thank you "History Guy" from this "History Buff". I am a 68-yo retired engineer, but often entertained the idea of getting a PhD in History just for the love of it😊
I read a lot about Abraham and his family over my long life. I felt so much pity for that family that couldn’t escape tragedy. In the end I really felt more sorry for Robert because of the situation with his mother.
I very much enjoyed your history lesson on Robert Todd. I agree not enough is known of his accomplishments. I love history but sorry to say i have not read enough about Robert Lincoln. Now I will. Thank you!
@@wlouise1960 he has no accommodations though. He locked up his mom in an asylum and totally abondoned her. His success was given to his privilege and his name.
You may inherit a name but your accomplishments are your own. As for his mother and her mental illness, unless you have dealt with it you don’t understand how it can devastate a family. Today we have other options not afforded people back in Victorian times.
Tragedy lol. Lincoln caused 600,000 battle field deathsthen add the men with injuries that worse than death,and add in all the widows and orphans. He ruined about two million lives. Without a care in the world-Yeah me and my family going to the theatre gonna have a good time who cares about the lives i ruined ha ha. He was a total dirtbag, married a crazy because no decent women would have had him. No consideration for anybody or anything. Nobody was surprised but him when his second term ended early. The SOB deserved exactly what he got. He was worthless that's why John Frederick Parker was his body guard that night at Ford's Theatre. Well, Parker didn't waste his time at the theatre. He went to the nearest tavern to get drunk and boogie woogie dance with the local harlots. That's exactly what I would have done. It's documentedthat a few days later Mary Todd started yelling at him. Why would anybody care about her? ABe and Mary Todd didn't give a damn about anybody else. It's called KARMA! The best part is Parker was fired three years later, YEAH 3 YEARS for making a real mistake. He got caught sleeping on duty. He made a real mistake in 1868 and lost the job. The fascination with this murdering amoral scumbag is baffling. No man in history has done more to earn his fate than lincoln.
There have been several done over the years. "Young Mr. Lincoln", (Henry Fonda 1939) and "Abe Lincoln in Illinois (Raymond Massey 1940) considered among the best.
What I would like to know is who are the 73 dolts who didn't like this presentation? How can you know where you are, if you don't know where you came from? Better yet; how can you know where you are going, if you don't know where you are? Understanding history is fundamental!
People dislike videos for all kinds of reasons. Maybe they didn't like the video quality or the sound quality. It's better to look at the amount of people who gave it thumbs up, and compare it. More than 12,000 people liked the video and only 120 disliked it. That's only 1%.
Skip Russell how does this have anything to do with politics, or democrats specifically? Please keep your whataboutism to yourself when trying to put everyone on the internet into a single box mentally
I've been an artist all my working life, and a keen student of the Civil War. A photo of Edwin Booth hangs just above my desk here in the studio. It hangs there for Booth's recognition of the uncertainty of an artist's life. He'd quote from 'The Gods of all the arts": "I shall give you hunger and pain and sleepless nights, but also a joy and satisfaction known to few, and glimpses of the good life. Of these, you will not have continually, and of their coming and going, you shall not be foretold." I've read of Booth helping Robert Lincoln off the train tracks amidst a bustling crowd, and have often wondered how both men regarded that chance brush with fate they shared years before the assassination...
Abraham Lincoln may have had acromegaly and as such his features would have been altered by such. it would have affected any resemblence of father and son.
Upon futher reading although it's plausible that Lincoln suffered from a mild case of acromegaly as evidenced by his long thin jaw he may have had some other issue. Marfa's syndrome is another possibility as it is noted by long thin arms and legs with an average length torso which Lincoln most definitly possessed. However. he most likely had Endocrine neoplasia that causes similar symptoms. Whatever the case we will never know for sure, but it did affect his physical apperance and would change him in a way that made him look different and so Robert Todd would never have resembled his famous father. One last note; Lincoln had long powerful arms with a very muscular back and shoulders. Necessary hard work gave him an extremely powerful physique; born a long thin baby he developed into a 6'4" powerfully built but very slim man weighing probably less than 180 pounds. ( His father was 5'10" and his mother was 5'8" tall. She was of the Hanks family and Tom Hanks can claim her and Lincoln as his forebearers.)
My grandmother told we children about her trips to the park in Washington, D.C. when Mr. Lincoln would be at the park. He played with the children, including my grandmother on occasion.
I remember hearing the stories about how he had been present during Garfield’s assassination and was saved from the train by Edwin Booth. So fascinating.
I am not sure what you mean by "accomplished". RTL benefited from his father's status as President as well, I'm sure, from the sympathy people felt for him after the assassination. His acceptance to Harvard, appointment to the military as an officer, and all his remaining positions smack of cronyism and favoritism. RTL was NOT self-made like his father.
@@jimcactus9265 Once a son leaves home it's up to him to make the right choices leading to success. However, looking at the Hunter Biden situation, I do agree with you that some sons of famous fathers have undeserved success handed to them. but Hunter Biden and Robert Lincoln are on the opposite ends of the presidents' sons spectrum.
A glimpse of your passion for history in this video, and I am amazed and delighted! Please don't stop! Your presentations are always entertaining, enlightening, and informative! Thank you!
Imagine all the changes that Robert Tod Lincoln saw during his lifetime. He witnessed the change from the horse-drawn carriage to automobile and to aircraft. He saw the change from relatively small, wooden, sail-powered battleships to the modern, steel hull warships with giant, rifled artillery. When he died, man was only 43 years away from walking on the moon. Now, changes are proceeding exponentially, think of all the things that you will have witnessed during your lifetime.
DrDread - You and I think alike. I'm always rewinding and fast forwarding the lives of relatively famous people and those who never made the books. I was a history teacher for 30 years and believe me it was more a passion than a job or career. Have you seen the TH-cam videos that show photographs of the last survivors of Washington's Continental Army? The camera didn't appear until around 1840, so these veterans are well on in age when their pictures were taken. One is even wearing his tricorn! I have always wished both still and moving pictures had been invented long before they were - it would be extraordinarily special to see actual photos of people such as Martin Luther, King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I and George Washington.
I started in nursing in 1979 & regularly worked with people 90yo+, one being 104 yo. Some of them suffered from various dementias, but some were still pretty sharp in the noggin. Great history from people who went through it. One of my patients was a vaudeville comedienne in the 1910s, another was a Broadway actress. One of the JFK administration higher ups who was a patient showed me photos of himself playing football with the Kennedy men, boating with Jacqueline, attending meetings in the Oval Office, etc. He actually had an engraved invitation to dinner at the WH that was scheduled for several days after JFK was supposed to return from Dallas - very cool. I took care of a man who was very prominent in the Civil Rights Movement. Amazing people!
DrDrea Robert Lincoln and my great grandfather or born and died in the same year and I always wondered about all that changed they obviously saw during their lifetimes both were born in the 1840s and probably went to their graves in an automobile hearse
Great snippet on Robert Todd Lincoln! You're right, "History Guy." He is quite underrated! He DEFINITELY does deserve to be thought of as more than his father's son!!!
Kuddos to you HG, for mentioning how Edwin Booth had most likely saved Richard's life. That incident very likely proved to be a world of difference for Mr. Booth's well being. I'd read about that years ago and personally believe the coincidence had some divine intervention involved to make that happen. As usual...thank you for excellence in your works.
I love your history programs! I think the surrender of Lee to Grant has another story to tell. As I recall, being a Native American myself, Ely Parker, a Native American on Grant's staff, wrote the surrender out for Lee to sign. It also hit me that Parker knew what it felt like to surrender to the Federal Army, and so he had empathy for Lee's position. Again, thank you for your program's. They're delightful, entertaining, and educational. Be well, safe, and happy. Kiasax Phillips
Robert Todd Lincoln was NOT born poor. Abraham Lincoln was a very successful attorney. And good for him, Lincoln had a brilliant mind and a soft heart.Has this historian ever visited the Lincoln home in Springfield, Ill?
Tom Powers who lived in Kensington NH came to our school to tell us about meeting Robert Todd Lincoln when I was a young child in the early 60s we were fortunate to have Tom in town.
History's Forrest Gump. No one in American history has ever been close to such a direct part of multiple world changing events. He was witness to Lee's surrender, Garfield's assasination, and proximate to 2 other (out of the 4) presidential assasinations. Unbelievable, but true.
@@StanSwan You would be surprised how many people have grandfather's that far back. I do genealogy and a 72 year old man I work with, grandfather was born in 1864. I am 60 and my own grandfather was born in 1884, so it is possible to have a grandfather going back even further (considering that is from 2 trees I have worked on).
I opened this recommendation because I honestly knew nothing about Robert Lincoln, and I thought I should. The only thing I knew was that he was the only son of the president who lived to adulthood. He was quite a statesman. I will need to spend some time researching further.
I highly recommend these books: Emerson, Jason: "Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln" (2012) Goff, John S: "Robert Todd Lincoln: A Man in His Own Right" (1968) Randall, Ruth Painter: "Lincoln’s Sons" (1955)
great enthusiasm! I learned something! My father was a great Lincoln-phile, and it touched me as a child when he told me about Willy's death. Made me a history lover too. Thanks!
He was the son that was supposed to "replace" the other son, Edward who died at 3 of tuberculosis. Lincoln, as well as Mary were virtually inconsolable after they lost Willey, in 1862, At the age of 12.
I hate how we never got any super early video interviews with Todd before he passed away. I would've loved to hear someone who was at the courthouse describe the surrender of Lee and his army.
I have his father's autograph. My great, great, great grandfather was a law student at Harvard and got it in his head to write every member of congress a letter asking for advice running for public office. 37 responded including Lincoln in 1848, ironically no one from is own state responded. So My father inherited the letter in 1955 and I inherited it in 1976. Alas my 3rd great grandfather lost interest in politics after that.
Thanks, HG, for this leap across Robert's life events. Be interesting to learn more about the *man*. Fate seemed to have arranged that the Lincoln line would die out. Robert must have been quite damaged with his brothers dying, his father murdered, his mother going stark ravers, then President Garfield killed and *then* President McKinley being shot down. And that was in only the first half of his life. Remarkable that he pushed on.
His mother did not go stark Ravers you lose three sons and then your husband (or in your case your wife) She was terrified of going on and Robert showed no empathy as far as I am concerned.
Edwin Booth saving Robert Todd Lincoln. I never knew about that and the coincidence stopped me breathing for a moment. (Never knew about RTL other than he had existed!) Actually, as soon as I saw the photograph, I recognized Booth and was halfway out of my chair in astonishment with your revealing words. ("No!!") Wow. Also considered the greatest Prince Hamlet of that century. Prince Hamlet....
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European the really. Africans colcher go back million years we steal got 🍈 power is the people. Around god love
Wow he looks like raymond burr
This guy should have a movie
Post USA Civil War technology advanced beyond what his father Abraham
imagined but fought for believing something beyond his age would accomplish.
I agree he does deserve to be remembered for his remarkable life . Thank you for sharing this very interesting information. I had never heard this before . Take care & God bless .❤
".......he deserves to be remembered as more than just his father's son." Thanks to you good sir, he will.
I'm sorry, this is just TH-cam, not "The Tonight Show".
His father would have been so proud of him. It's a shame he's not better known for all his own accomplishments. Thank you for sharing this extraordinary man's life story.
His own accomplishments were due 100 percent because of his last name.
@@josephhewes7081 Pretty much...like most big people. They're rich because their great, great, great, great grandpappy did something...or because they have a really nice rear end.
@@josephhewes7081 Agreed, but he also showed courage, i.e. wanting to fight in the civil war (he wanted to be in the actual front, but the staff position was a compromise since his father, as commander in chief could negate him entrance into the union army altogether), and he showed great personal fortitude, considering that his father was assassinated, his three brothers had died, and his mother went insane. I mean, most people, no matter how famous their last name, DON'T recover from that wholly or partially, but he did.
he himself said that those who appointed him to those positions didnt want him. They wanted Abraham Lincolns son
I’m so glad you touched on the story where he was saved by Booth’s older brother who was the most famous actor at the time. I heard it somewhere else but can’t remember where. It was such an interesting story that I started telling people and then got nervous that maybe I remembered wrong or something since I couldn’t remember where I heard it, but now I know that I got the facts correct. Still an incredible story
What a wonderful report of a man who didn't waste his life, not living in his father's shadow, but doing what he wanted. I'm a Canadian and I found this very interesting and inspirational. Thank you.
How in the world did the highly accomplished son of one of our most famous Presidents manage to fly so far under the radar of history?! An amazing history lesson! And on top of that, how did it take me this long to come across this channel?! New sub.
We learned about him in school
He didn’t accomplish anything of merit.
Even the brightest star pales in comparison to a supernova. Hard to live up to your father when your father was, quite literally, the man who saved the country.
@@jessez1866 That is a matter of opinion. Did you know RTL personally?
@@wmpetroff2307 I think John Hays mentioned in asides that Robert spent much more time with his father than he says he did but chose to have his actual role air-brushed out of the historical picture. Of course he felt enormous guilt that he literally slept through the assassination. Gore Vidal, who wrote a historical novel about Lincoln, Make him an into,mate of John Hays. They were the same age.
This is history worth knowing and remembering.
I once visited Robert Lincolns Home up in Manchester, Vermont and even bought some peonies from his estate which I brought back home and planted in my garden and now enjoy each year.
Nice
I bought an LP record of the organ at Hildene in 1990. I still have it.
We went there too, beautiful❣️
The organ was very impressive. Sounded wonderful.
I also visited his estate about 25 years ago.
I’m so glad to hear a more balanced summary of Robert Lincoln’s life! Rarely do I see him written about as if he was anything more than a disappointment compared to his father, even while his accomplishments were duly acknowledged. All things considered, he was a man of considerable merit who led a remarkable life!
So much of the history of that times is so distorted by historians that followed and is still being distorted .
when your father is president, you don't have much choice except to be a relative disappointment.
Excellent information! I understand that he was instrumental in President Lincoln’s casket becoming encased in concrete as the body had been attempted to be stolen a time or two. Thank you for sharing your love of history!!
I'm sure that, had President Lincoln lived into old age, he would have been proud of what his son Robert accomplished in his life.
TRUE
No one
Indeed
From what I've read, Abraham deeply loved his son. I'm sure he was proud of him all of his life.
and I wonder what would have happened around reconstruction after the civil war, had Lincoln not been killed and been able to serve out his second term.
Excellent video. I never knew anything about Robert Todd Lincoln...no mention in American history classes at school.
Not missing much.
What school did you go to? Damn.
Hmmm, I must have had the precursor to The History Guy in junior high school.
good video, but caption springing up is quite annoying.
Quite informative!! I had read that he and his mother did not get along and that he had her institutionalized at one point. I wish that he could have treated her more kindly!! She had seen three of her four sons die in childhood (the youngest, Tad, lived to be about seventeen,) plus she was sitting beside her husband when he was shot!! I don't know if I could have handled all those tragedies!! Plus, her mother died when she was only six. She had several siblings already, when her father brought a new stepmother into the home. This woman resented Mary and her siblings! Then she had I think six or seven kids by Mary's father, so the house was full! Mary left as a teenager and went to live with an older sister. I read that she was an "Hysteric" and very, very neurotic. While living in the White House, she loved to hold seances in hopes of seeing her dead sons, then after her husband was killed she really got heavily involved in them! And she had crossed swords with important men in the government while First Lady, to the point that they deliberately held up her "widow's pension" for years out of spite for the way she had mistreated them, and wound up having to sell much of her clothing just to afford the necessities - like food for herself and Tad, and rent! So she had a very hard life! I wish that Robert had been able to treat her with more respect and kindness!!
An excellent overview of someone who always lived in the shadow of his father. Yet should be known, respected and remembered for his own shadow.
Robert was an amazing man. His father would have been proud of him.
Not sure if that would've been the case. He might have been proud of his success, but Robert became a wealthy industry mogul who crushed unions and reveled in high society - not exactly the kind of values or policies that Abraham Lincoln espoused. In any case, Robert's been said to be more Mary Todd than Abe, for better or worse.
Thank God for trains 💞💞💞 I love the railroad.
Robert Lincoln loved Golf. He played with Taft. The Book, A Giant in the Shadows, is fabulous about his life.
One has to wonder, if Robert had been alert and with Abe, maybe Booth would not have succeeded with his evil deed.
@The Vinyl Music Life I agree that there are pros & cons to Unions.
A badly broken system governing collective bargaining has eroded unions and worker power more broadly, contributing to both the suffering during the pandemic and the extreme economic inequality exacerbated by the pandemic. In spite of efforts to push policy reforms, the U.S. entered the COVID-19 pandemic with a weak system of labor protections. As a result, working people, particularly low-wage workers-who are disproportionately women and workers of color-have largely borne the costs of the pandemic. While providing the “essential” services we rely on, many of these workers have been forced to work without protective gear; many have no access to paid sick leave; and when workers have spoken up about health and safety concerns, they have been fired. Unions would be an unnecessary counterbalance or voice of the working class if Corporate leaders were equally concerned with pleasing the engine or workforce of their business as they are with shareholder appeasement.
To the "History Guy." This was a fantastic report. I only have two thumbs, and they both go up.
Thumbs up!!!!!!
I've got two big toes and they break right through my best socks! He's so compelling describing the stories he chooses to tell us! How he can keep it to a quarter of an hour is beyond me! His enthusiasm shows his love for "untold" or "forgotten" pieces of history, however obscure they may be to the "general" public. 10-Q H.G.!
JFK, was Murdered by a conspiracy of his own V.P. Lyndon B. Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover, C.I.A. agent Geo. H. W. BUSH, & others.
@ The Original now Hidden 13th Amendment.
I too only have two thumbs.... :(
To everyone in this comment group. Sorry I didn't respond earlier from past comments. I revisited this report and how the History Guy made this true tale intriguing. Respect to you all
Great video. I’ve toured his home and Pullman Car in Mass. I have a photograph like the one behind you of my Uncle Lonnie Preston Smith’s platoon when he did basic training before he shipped off to Europe during WWI. He was at Verdun during the great battle. Terrible battle. I also have the flag my great great grandparents flew in their window until he returned. His sister, my great aunt Carrie Mae McDonald, who drove until she was 100 and lived to be 110, had the picture in her house and I’d always admired it. When she asked me, “Joe is there anything in this house you might want after I’m gone?” all I could think of was that picture. It’s hanging beside my bed and is my favorite physical possession. I know the world is going to lose all of this history but I appreciate the ones like you that are keeping it alive as long as possible. Again, great video. Keep up the good work
Fascinating! I am not a history buff, but you make history come alive! Your degree is well-deserved...
Robert had a pretty tragic life. He was always somewhat estranged from the rest of his family, but he still loved them and cared about them (and he was the only son of the Lincolns to survive to adulthood). The brother that would've been his playmate, Edward, died in infancy. During Lincoln's White House years, Robert was somewhat estranged from his father, because Lincoln had always been on the run with work during Robert's childhood, and Robert was away at Harvard while Lincoln was in office. Just as Robert and his father were starting to rise above it, and bond, Lincoln was assassinated, leaving Robert at age 22, the primary caretaker for his mother and his surviving younger brother, Tad. In the following years, Robert essentially took care of, but remained estranged from Tad, as the two brothers had a 10-year age gap, and were bipolar opposites in personality. Just as the age gap was starting to close, and Tad started to mature, Robert was prepared to rise to the occasion of being the loving supportive older brother, but then, Tad got sick and died. Robert became estranged to the breaking point with his mother when her mental instability pushed him to commit her to a private sanitarium. Although she was released soon after, they never fully reconciled. Robert later had to bury his own son at a young age, and found himself unwittingly around for the assassinations of both James Garfield and William McKinley, and his whole life, he always felt he was living in the shadow of his father. (Oh, and did I mention, about a year before Lincoln's assassinated, Robert was nearly killed, but was saved by, of all people, famous actor Edwin Thomas Booth, older brother of John Wilkes Booth. And Edwin's life story was just as tragic as Robert's)
Agreed, for as famous as his last name was and how many doors it opened, it took amazing mental fortitude to continue onwards, having to deal with that much personal death and tragedy over and over and over again.
Robert Todd Lincoln was named after his maternal grandfather, Mary Lincoln's father. People who met Robert Lincoln said he looked more like his mother Mary anyway than he did his father Abraham Lincoln.
Just like this video, you make a lot of great points but you also have quite a few errors.
1. Robert was never estranged from his brothers or father.
2. Robert actually was close to his father. He started the rumor of scarcely seeing him to get people to stop bothering him. Every single day he had upwards of 100 people asking him to provide information on his father.
3. Robert was 21, not 22, when he became head of the family after his father’s murder.
4. There is no such term as “bipolar opposites”. Robert and Tad were not polar opposites in personality. There was a lot of overlap in characteristics.
5. All of Robert’s life he was a loving brother to Tad. After the assassination, he was like a second father to him.
6. Robert did not become estranged from his mother until the insanity trial in 1875. She greatly benefitted from her 4 months there. They did fully reconcile about a year before her death.
7. Bibliography:
Emerson, Jason “Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln” (2012)
Goff, John S. “Robert Todd Lincoln: A Man in His Own Right” (1968)
Keckley, Elizabeth “Behind the Scenes or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House” (1868)
Randall, Ruth Painter “Lincoln’s Sons” (1955)
Such a fascinating history, indeed, with Robert Todd Lincoln. While I was aware of his presence during Lee's surrender to Grant, I was NOT aware of his association with Garfield and McKinley! What an incredible life he led. Thanks so much for these videos that you produce. I get so much out of your efforts.
David Wolf,.after the McKinley assassination, he was know to have that he would NEVER AGAIN visit a sitting president due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He, also, considered himself a jinx to presidents.✌✌✌✌
Would you want his life or Teddy Kennedy's? I will take his.
Robert Todd Lincoln was named after his mom Mary Lincoln's father Robert Todd. Abraham Lincoln's father was named Thomas.
The summer home of Robert T. Lincoln still stands in Manchester, Vermont and is open to the general public to visit. I had the pleasure of visiting it and it remains, right down to the furniture, in the same condition it was during Lincoln's time. Obviously, there are many reproductions in the home. The name of his estate is "Hildene" and if your a history buff you will enjoy visit.
Joe Candela - he built Hildene to be a family estate, but regrettably, none of his children had children themselves. His portion of the family died out
I visited Hildene and learned a lot there.
There are also public tours of the Lincoln home in Springfield, IL!! You can see the actual toys the boys played with, including a little tricycle!!
@@nancyayers6355 I have go there some time. When Lincoln bought the home it originally was 1 floor house he put 2 extensions on it. One going back and another going up (second story).
@@nancyayers6355 Those boys were wild.
Thank you for this valuable bit of education. Yes, Mr Lincoln does deserve recognition.
And I especially like that he was rescued by Mr Booth. I'm glad it did something good for Mr Booth's heart, as well.
I think it important that he actively avoided trading on his father's name.
Outdoor sheds
Yes. I agree. And I always felt that Edwin Booth must have derived some comfort, solace from having saved Abraham Lincoln's son.
Extremely interesting vignette! I had no idea how accomplished Robert Todd Lincoln became in his lifetime. One of the only things I'd known about him was the fact that his life had once been saved by Edwin Booth. Thank you for this!
Fascinating. So many times we hear of children in the same situation who never get out of the shadow of their famous parent(s), often times with tragic consequences. Thanks!!
Thank you for doing a video of Robert Lincoln! He never gets talked about much and that's a shame!
Awesome! If you had been my history teacher in school, I would have paid more attention but then on the other hand, they never taught this kind of history in school but should have! I too love history and you have an amazing way of how you present it, makes it very interesting! Thanks for posting this video, thoroughly enjoyed it!
Amazing that This man is nearly forgotten. And sad because he should be remembered.
I've always loved Abraham Lincoln. And this report on his son, certainly measures up. Thank you History Guy for your research and obvious devotion😉☺
MRS. Lincoln was a more interesting historical person than her son!! She lived a very tragic life!!
Then you obviously don’t know the real Abraham Lincoln. History has made him out to be a greater man than he actually was.
@@greyghostscsa394 Any hard feelings there? Lincoln was just a simple man, who played a very important role in America's history. Now we have Antifa and other communist/fascist groups and CRT who want to not only erase the Legacy of Lincoln, but that of the Confederate South as well. Seems to be working. Statues and other Dixie memorabilia of General Robert E Lee and other brave Confederate souls are being erased more and more from the public eye. Doesn't seem to fit their agenda or narrative, so they want to rewrite and usurp actual history.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Patriots stand strong. PS: I had kin who fought on both sides. I stand for an United America. The Republic, for Which it Stands, One Nation, Under GOD, Indivisible and Justice for All.
@@greyghostscsa394 We aren't born great. We become as great as the challenges we have to meet to overcome. Yes Lincoln achieved greatness.
My daughter and I visited his home in Vermont this past summer. It was beautiful and they had lots of pictures of the Lincoln family. We even got to see President Lincoln’s stove top hat under glass display. Beautiful gardens too.
It's incredible to note that he was an emotionally stable guy REGARDLESS of his genes and circumstances.
Fortunately, he inherited his father's genes
Robert kept himself together as best he could during crises, watched his father's death agony. A parallel to Jackie Kennedy.
@@frankpaya690 bruh Abraham was just as neurotic as Mary
@@FourScoreSevenYearsAgo Please shoe evidence?
Sorry. 'Show'.
This is such a fascinating story. I never knew any of this information. He deserves to be mentioned ... his life in History Books. The “Booth’s Story” and the “Assassinations” that he witnessed ... WOW. He had a life like no other that’s for sure.
I have loved your program for several years. And loved history since the fifth grade. Im 83 and history is still no. I WITH ME. No one presents history as you do. You have an exciting voice. Never go away. Take care my friend.
Loved this!! You are correct, he certainly deserves to be remembered as more than Presidfent Lincolns son!
I have the personal correspondence between Robert Todd Lincoln and Senators asking him to run for President, amazing documents.
Amazing. How did you come across that?
Why? How? Why have you not published this important material?
Could you post them?
We visited Robert Todd Lincoln's home in Vermont, Hildene. We. were struck by its beauty and his organization. He had a room with various drawers for things. The house was on a plateau near. Manchester. The home was beautiful in its simplicity. Thank you for the story of his life.
The more of your videos I watch, the more I am astonished at what history goes by without people knowing about it. Thank you for this wonderful trail through time.
I too am a history buff; your take on Robert Todd Lincoln was great, and I loved it.
I love History too. Abraham Lincoln's youngest son 'Thomas "Tad" Lincoln, lived to age 18. William, 'Willie' died at sge 11. It hurts my heart at what Mary Todd Lincoln, the mom went through. Losing three of her children as well as her husband. It's tragic. Robert Lincoln certainly lived up to his father's good name. Thanks for sharing.
And Robert Todd Lincoln appears to have been quite modest.
Robert Todd Lincoln did wonder if he was star crossed ( or what the exact term ) in his personal life as he outlived 3 of his brothers and one of his own children ( plus dealing with the health problems of his mother ). Also he was at the location where President Garfield and President McKinley were shot. He later told Theodore Roosevelt not to have him in his presence less he put the deadly curse on Roosevelt.
My great grandfather knew him well personally and joined him for golf with friends at Robert Lincoln's summer home in Manchester, Vt.
Alan Leake
It’s insane what a small world 🌎 we live in.
While committing his mother...taking away her right to decide what was best for her. Who got him into Harvard? His rail-splitting father, who overcame enormous obstacles to become a professional man -- the ultimate professional man.
@@ALANRLEAKE Oh, how COOL! 🙂 During his lifetime, did your great grandfather ever talk or write about Robert Todd Lincoln - for instance, did he ask him about his father? I LOVE history; there's always something fascinating to be learned from it. Until just now, I had never been sure if any of Pres. Lincoln's children lived to adulthood.
@@ALANRLEAKE Avid golfer. Did Robert drive his own Rolls Royce or have a chauffeur ?
I so enjoyed hearing this about Mr. Lincoln, I will be listening for more wonderful stories and bios.
I have always loved Robert Todd Lincoln's life story. I already knew many things about him just via passive reading. I have always wanted to know more details, because his is the story of a very successful man. Why not read about him and take inspiration; makes sense, right? This was an excellent synopsis of his accomplishments. Thank you, History Guy!!
“Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln” by Jason Emerson is an excellent book. Unfortunately, it's obvious that this channel did not bother to read it. This video has several errors, many critical.
“Robert Todd Lincoln: A Man in His Own Right” by John S. Goff is another great book, it's like the Cliff Notes version of Emerson's book.
“Lincoln’s Sons” by Ruth Painter Randall is also good.
Loved this episode. Thank-you for it. Totally agree about Robert’s life & accomplishments. He deserves to be remembered for his greatness. Did not know he was there when the Lincoln Memorial was presented. I hope he felt some honor for them building a unbelievable monument to the probably our greatest President. Such a shame he really had no “life” with his father.
Not a good channel, a GREAT one. Thank You
History has forgotten many children of former Presidents. These children need to be remembered in the annals of history. Thank you for your history of Robert Todd Lincoln.
History guy I can tell this video was done with extra passion. A fine job!
Wow I just found this and I am feeling blessed to have learned about Robert Todd Lincoln's great success in life and the totally strange coincident moments of his life.
Yep we know what we learn in school but in these times you tube brings it in detail
Thank I enjoyed your information and your voice. Can't wait for more.
How wonderful that people get to spend their lives studying history.
An extraordinary story of a largely overlooked historical figure. Thank you for the education
I was so glad to have found and watched this. It was very interesting. I loved President Lincoln!👍❤️
Great to hear about this historically important man .. Thank you.
Robert was a wealthy corporate lawyer and railroad executive, plus ambassador to UK. Met Queen Victoria.
I consider myself an amateur historian. A hobbyist, but after listening to this, just an amateur. Truly great stuff. Feltonesque in fascinating fine points of history.
Feltonesque! I love it. Did you create that? It is a great compliment BTW. 👍
HG, well you did it again! I DOnow know Robert Lincoln as more than just Abe's son! I really had no idea that he was so accomplished!
...wait Lincolns son had met and bumped into John Wilkes booths brother???? There really are some unseen forces at work. He even saw assisinations of others...wow!
I heard all this about Robert except I did not know he was at Robert Lee's surrender. But yes, he seemed to have a very interesting life for sure. Lincoln does not have immediate family but he does have cousins that are still alive today.
And let the creative writing conspiracy theory dreamers loose.
Sounds like an episode of the Twilight Zone.
The Lord works in mysterious ways ...
If you call having your life saved by someone “meeting and bumping into” someone. I agree though. The incident is quite poetic. Serendipity of a sort. Thank goodness things like this occur during such trying times. It seems a balance is being struck.
Nice presentation. He was a good friend of my grandfathers along with Taft and McKinley.
Loved the story of Edwin Booth rescuing Robert. My dad’s mother, Ruth Booth Unklesbay was a great niece to the Booth brothers. I remember my dad and his brother discussing the Booth dueling pistols, in which one killed Mr. Lincoln. I wish I had listened closer as a child! My father was born 1910 so you can see his mother easily fit the time era. Love history!
Thank you "History Guy" from this "History Buff". I am a 68-yo retired engineer, but often entertained the idea of getting a PhD in History just for the love of it😊
Thanks, I think his dad would appreciate you pointing out his son's accomplishments.
Very good info!! Yes he does deserve to be remembered FOR ALL HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS!! 🎩🎩🎩
but...where is the bow tie?
I read a lot about Abraham and his family over my long life. I felt so much pity for that family that couldn’t escape tragedy. In the end I really felt more sorry for Robert because of the situation with his mother.
I very much enjoyed your history lesson on Robert Todd. I agree not enough is known of his accomplishments. I love history but sorry to say i have not read enough about Robert Lincoln. Now I will. Thank you!
@@wlouise1960 he has no accommodations though. He locked up his mom in an asylum and totally abondoned her. His success was given to his privilege and his name.
You may inherit a name but your accomplishments are your own. As for his mother and her mental illness, unless you have dealt with it you don’t understand how it can devastate a family. Today we have other options not afforded people back in Victorian times.
@@chomama1628 Mary Todd was eccentric but did not have mental problems.
Tragedy lol. Lincoln caused 600,000 battle field deathsthen add the men with injuries that worse than death,and add in all the widows and orphans. He ruined about two million lives. Without a care in the world-Yeah me and my family going to the theatre gonna have a good time who cares about the lives i ruined ha ha. He was a total dirtbag, married a crazy because no decent women would have had him. No consideration for anybody or anything. Nobody was surprised but him when his second term ended early. The SOB deserved exactly what he got. He was worthless that's why John Frederick Parker was his body guard that night at Ford's Theatre. Well, Parker didn't waste his time at the theatre. He went to the nearest tavern to get drunk and boogie woogie dance with the local harlots. That's exactly what I would have done. It's documentedthat a few days later Mary Todd started yelling at him. Why would anybody care about her? ABe and Mary Todd didn't give a damn about anybody else. It's called KARMA! The best part is Parker was fired three years later, YEAH 3 YEARS for making a real mistake. He got caught sleeping on duty. He made a real mistake in 1868 and lost the job. The fascination with this murdering amoral scumbag is baffling. No man in history has done more to earn his fate than lincoln.
Thank you History Guy, you make history so interesting and inviting.
Nicely done...especially with human narration, not robotic! Thank you.
Wish you were my history teacher when I was in school 📚
Couldn’t agree more, sir. Should be a movie about him. First time passer by, very impressed with the story. Thanks-- M.
I love your take on history especially almost forgotten industrial history.
I think his life is worthy of a Hollywood movie. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I never knew this piece of history.
There have been several done over the years. "Young Mr. Lincoln", (Henry Fonda 1939) and "Abe Lincoln in Illinois (Raymond Massey 1940) considered among the best.
I have watched this many times and this has to be my favorite video that you have done.
What I would like to know is who are the 73 dolts who didn't like this presentation? How can you know where you are, if you don't know where you came from? Better yet; how can you know where you are going, if you don't know where you are? Understanding history is fundamental!
People dislike videos for all kinds of reasons. Maybe they didn't like the video quality or the sound quality. It's better to look at the amount of people who gave it thumbs up, and compare it. More than 12,000 people liked the video and only 120 disliked it. That's only 1%.
Michael Schroeder history should be one of the most important classes in our schools!
All the morons care about now is how much free shit can I get, And vote to make someone else pays for it. No honor amongst thieves! F-ing Democrats!
Skip Russell how does this have anything to do with politics, or democrats specifically? Please keep your whataboutism to yourself when trying to put everyone on the internet into a single box mentally
@@qzdv Can't handle the truth?
Your talks are great - always harder to get a good, clear message out in less than 10 minutes...and you do it well. Subscribed.
Mr Gwarn Styl
Very interesting, but he speaks a little too fast.
I've been an artist all my working life, and a keen student of the Civil War. A photo of Edwin Booth hangs just above my desk here in the studio. It hangs there for Booth's recognition of the uncertainty of an artist's life. He'd quote from 'The Gods of all the arts": "I shall give you hunger and pain and sleepless nights, but also a joy and satisfaction known to few, and glimpses of the good life. Of these, you will not have continually, and of their coming and going, you shall not be foretold." I've read of Booth helping Robert Lincoln off the train tracks amidst a bustling crowd, and have often wondered how both men regarded that chance brush with fate they shared years before the assassination...
A very great post! I have always wondered about the offspring of Mr. Lincoln and you have answered it. Thank You sir.
Fascinating. He looks absolutely nothing like his Dad!
Binkle Babe Reminds me of Prince Harry..sorta looks like Prince Charles? NOT!
Lincoln said he looked like his mother
Abraham Lincoln may have had acromegaly and as such his features would have been altered by such. it would have affected any resemblence of father and son.
Binkle Babe he looked like his mother Mary Todd.
Upon futher reading although it's plausible that Lincoln suffered from a mild case of acromegaly as evidenced by his long thin jaw he may have had some other issue. Marfa's syndrome is another possibility as it is noted by long thin arms and legs with an average length torso which Lincoln most definitly possessed. However. he most likely had Endocrine neoplasia that causes similar symptoms. Whatever the case we will never know for sure, but it did affect his physical apperance and would change him in a way that made him look different and so Robert Todd would never have resembled his famous father. One last note; Lincoln had long powerful arms with a very muscular back and shoulders. Necessary hard work gave him an extremely powerful physique; born a long thin baby he developed into a 6'4" powerfully built but very slim man weighing probably less than 180 pounds. ( His father was 5'10" and his mother was 5'8" tall. She was of the Hanks family and Tom Hanks can claim her and Lincoln as his forebearers.)
Visited his home in Vermont. I was impressed by his accomplishments and humility
My grandmother told we children about her trips to the park in Washington, D.C. when Mr. Lincoln would be at the park. He played with the children, including my grandmother on occasion.
Wow! That is awesome!. Sure wouldn't happen these days. It's an armed fortress there. Ty for sharing!
He also saved a child from drowning in the Potomac River. I met her when she was 101 (she was born in 1869).
Which Mr. Lincoln? The president? Or one of the others.
@@geoffreyfoster8039 I think she's referring to Robert Todd Lincoln.
@@geoffreyfoster8039 Todd Lincoln
I remember hearing the stories about how he had been present during Garfield’s assassination and was saved from the train by Edwin Booth. So fascinating.
I am not sure what you mean by "accomplished". RTL benefited from his father's status as President as well, I'm sure, from the sympathy people felt for him after the assassination. His acceptance to Harvard, appointment to the military as an officer, and all his remaining positions smack of cronyism and favoritism. RTL was NOT self-made like his father.
@@jimcactus9265 Once a son leaves home it's up to him to make the right choices leading to success. However, looking at the Hunter Biden situation, I do agree with you that some sons of famous fathers have undeserved success handed to them. but Hunter Biden and Robert Lincoln are on the opposite ends of the presidents' sons spectrum.
As ALWAYS... OUTSTANDING!!!
A glimpse of your passion for history in this video, and I am amazed and delighted! Please don't stop! Your presentations are always entertaining, enlightening, and informative! Thank you!
Imagine all the changes that Robert Tod Lincoln saw during his lifetime. He witnessed the change from the horse-drawn carriage to automobile and to aircraft. He saw the change from relatively small, wooden, sail-powered battleships to the modern, steel hull warships with giant, rifled artillery. When he died, man was only 43 years away from walking on the moon. Now, changes are proceeding exponentially, think of all the things that you will have witnessed during your lifetime.
DrDread - You and I think alike. I'm always rewinding and fast forwarding the lives of relatively famous people and those who never made the books. I was a history teacher for 30 years and believe me it was more a passion than a job or career. Have you seen the TH-cam videos that show photographs of the last survivors of Washington's Continental Army? The camera didn't appear until around 1840, so these veterans are well on in age when their pictures were taken. One is even wearing his tricorn! I have always wished both still and moving pictures had been invented long before they were - it would be extraordinarily special to see actual photos of people such as Martin Luther, King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I and George Washington.
I started in nursing in 1979 & regularly worked with people 90yo+, one being 104 yo. Some of them suffered from various dementias, but some were still pretty sharp in the noggin. Great history from people who went through it. One of my patients was a vaudeville comedienne in the 1910s, another was a Broadway actress. One of the JFK administration higher ups who was a patient showed me photos of himself playing football with the Kennedy men, boating with Jacqueline, attending meetings in the Oval Office, etc. He actually had an engraved invitation to dinner at the WH that was scheduled for several days after JFK was supposed to return from Dallas - very cool. I took care of a man who was very prominent in the Civil Rights Movement. Amazing people!
DrDrea Robert Lincoln and my great grandfather or born and died in the same year and I always wondered about all that changed they obviously saw during their lifetimes both were born in the 1840s and probably went to their graves in an automobile hearse
This is WOW!!
@Dave Bronstein No, he owned a Lincoln.
Great snippet on Robert Todd Lincoln! You're right, "History Guy." He is quite underrated! He DEFINITELY does deserve to be thought of as more than his father's son!!!
I'm surprised that Robert Lincoln hasn't been more written about nor had a movie made about his life. What an amazing character!
Excellent! You are truly great at teaching and educating history...bravo and thank you!
Fascinating. I can't believe that I never heard of him before. What an amazing life!
Kuddos to you HG, for mentioning how Edwin Booth had most likely saved Richard's life. That incident very likely proved to be a world of difference for Mr. Booth's well being.
I'd read about that years ago and personally believe the coincidence had some divine intervention involved to make that happen.
As usual...thank you for excellence in your works.
Anyone interested in him should be sure and visit Hildene, in Vt. His summer home in the mountains. It's absolutely beautiful.
I love your history programs! I think the surrender of Lee to Grant has another story to tell. As I recall, being a Native American myself, Ely Parker, a Native American on Grant's staff, wrote the surrender out for Lee to sign.
It also hit me that Parker knew what it felt like to surrender to the Federal Army, and so he had empathy for Lee's position.
Again, thank you for your program's. They're delightful, entertaining, and educational. Be well, safe, and happy.
Kiasax Phillips
I love history!!!!! Thank you for the lesson, I didn't know 95% of your lecture. What a great man, Robert Todd Lincoln.
Robert Todd Lincoln was NOT born poor. Abraham Lincoln was a very successful attorney. And good for him, Lincoln had a brilliant mind and a soft heart.Has this historian ever visited the Lincoln home in Springfield, Ill?
Tom Powers who lived in Kensington NH came to our school to tell us about meeting Robert Todd Lincoln when I was a young child in the early 60s we were fortunate to have Tom in town.
Interesting to think that in his lifetime he saw both the Civil war and WWI,and that my grandfather was also contemporaneous with him.
David Rambo Wow!!
History's Forrest Gump. No one in American history has ever been close to such a direct part of multiple world changing events. He was witness to Lee's surrender, Garfield's assasination, and proximate to 2 other (out of the 4) presidential assasinations. Unbelievable, but true.
You mean great great grandfather. Mine served in the Civil war and died in the 1920s.
@@StanSwan You would be surprised how many people have grandfather's that far back. I do genealogy and a 72 year old man I work with, grandfather was born in 1864. I am 60 and my own grandfather was born in 1884, so it is possible to have a grandfather going back even further (considering that is from 2 trees I have worked on).
@@IowaKim
My family tended to have children later than was common back then. Having children at 13 was common years ago.
Really enjoyed the info on Lincoln's son. Truly inspirational bio.
Every time I watch any of your videos I can say I learned something new. Thank you.
I opened this recommendation because I honestly knew nothing about Robert Lincoln, and I thought I should. The only thing I knew was that he was the only son of the president who lived to adulthood. He was quite a statesman. I will need to spend some time researching further.
I highly recommend these books:
Emerson, Jason: "Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln" (2012)
Goff, John S: "Robert Todd Lincoln: A Man in His Own Right" (1968)
Randall, Ruth Painter: "Lincoln’s Sons" (1955)
great enthusiasm! I learned something! My father was a great Lincoln-phile, and it touched me as a child when he told me about Willy's death. Made me a history lover too. Thanks!
He was the son that was supposed to "replace" the other son, Edward who died at 3 of tuberculosis. Lincoln, as well as Mary were virtually inconsolable after they lost Willey, in 1862, At the age of 12.
I hate how we never got any super early video interviews with Todd before he passed away. I would've loved to hear someone who was at the courthouse describe the surrender of Lee and his army.
Your fascinating to listen to, maybe cause your so into it and the passion shows, Great presentation!!
You're not Your.
This was one of your best. Thanks so much for what you do.
Glad I found your channel. I’ve been intrigued with the Lincoln family, but more so with Robert Todd Lincoln.
So interesting and informative. A neighbor of mine had Robert's autograph.
I have his father's autograph. My great, great, great grandfather was a law student at Harvard and got it in his head to write every member of congress a letter asking for advice running for public office. 37 responded including Lincoln in 1848, ironically no one from is own state responded. So My father inherited the letter in 1955 and I inherited it in 1976. Alas my 3rd great grandfather lost interest in politics after that.
Thanks, HG, for this leap across Robert's life events. Be interesting to learn more about the *man*. Fate seemed to have arranged that the Lincoln line would die out.
Robert must have been quite damaged with his brothers dying, his father murdered, his mother going stark ravers, then President Garfield killed and *then* President McKinley being shot down. And that was in only the first half of his life. Remarkable that he pushed on.
Try a crazy mother, do you think....
Imagine how Mary Todd Lincoln suffered in her lifetime as well.
His mother did not go stark Ravers you lose three sons and then your husband (or in your case your wife) She was terrified of going on and Robert showed no empathy as far as I am concerned.
Edwin Booth saving Robert Todd Lincoln. I never knew about that and the coincidence stopped me breathing for a moment. (Never knew about RTL other than he had existed!) Actually, as soon as I saw the photograph, I recognized Booth and was halfway out of my chair in astonishment with your revealing words. ("No!!") Wow. Also considered the greatest Prince Hamlet of that century. Prince Hamlet....
Thankyou, History Guy, for all of your excellent videos. Love them.