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b"Abraham Lincoln was apparently one of those men who regarded \\u201cconnubial bliss\\u201d as an untenable fantasy. During the Civil War, he pardoned a Union soldier who had deserted the army to return home to wed his sweetheart. As the president signed a document sparing the soldier's life, Lincoln said: \\u201cI want to punish the young man\\u2014probably in less than a year he will wish I had withheld the pardon.\\u201d

To discuss the incredibly story marriage between Abraham and Mary Lincoln is Michael Burlingame, author of the book An American Marriage. We discuss why Lincoln had good reason to regret his marriage to Mary Todd. His revealing narrative shows that, as First Lady, Mary Lincoln accepted bribes and kickbacks, sold permits and pardons, engaged in extortion, and peddled influence. The reader comes to learn that Lincoln wed Mary Todd because, in all likelihood, she seduced him and then insisted that he protect her honor. Perhaps surprisingly, the 5\\u20192\\u201d Mrs. Lincoln often physically abused her 6\\u20194\\u201d husband, as well as her children and servants; she humiliated her husband in public; she caused him, as president, to fear that she would disgrace him publicly.

Unlike her husband, she was not profoundly opposed to slavery and hardly qualifies as the \\u201cardent abolitionist\\u201d that some historians have portrayed. While she provided a useful stimulus to his ambition, she often \\u201ccrushed his spirit,\\u201d as his law partner put it. In the end, Lincoln may not have had as successful a presidency as he did\\u2014where he showed a preternatural ability to deal with difficult people\\u2014if he had not had so much practice at home."