Lesson Plans Lincoln, Mary


Lincoln, Mary
As Our Nation Grows, the Flag Marches Westward
The westward growth of the American nation during Mary Lincoln’s life was exceptional.  As the major symbol of our nation, the flag, kept up with the changing borders.
Skill: Elementary School     Category: Law, Politics and Govt

Lincoln, Mary
Habits that Keep You Healthy: Wash Your Hands!
Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln had four children—only one of them lived to maturity.  Diseases spread rapidly and took many lives.  One of the challenges in staying alive was avoiding infection.  At the time, there were very few medications.  Those who survived were either lucky or increased their odds of survival by practicing good hygiene.
Skill: Elementary School     Category: First Ladies' Lives

Lincoln, Mary
Lincoln and the Game of Baseball
President Lincoln was fond of playing a baseball-like game that was about half-way between Rounders and Cricket.  It's been recorded that he was often found playing with the children on the White House lawn.  Mary Todd also enjoyed watching her husband and children play.
Skill: Elementary School     Category: Sports and Popular Culture

Lincoln, Mary
Riding the Underground Railroad
Mary Todd Lincoln was First Lady during what was perhaps the most dificult period in American history, the Civil War.  Before the war, which essentially ended slavery, overburdened slaves longed for freedom.  Fearful of being caught and severely punished by abusive slave owners, slaves either remained as property or made the daring trek North, to Canada, so they could be free from bondage.  This lesson places students within the Underground Railroad and allows them to role-play various characters so they can understand what it may have been like during this time.
Skill: Elementary School     Category: Religion, Social Issues and Reform

Lincoln, Mary
A Civil War Gazette
Mary Todd Lincoln lived both during the time when national stresses and strains built up to the Civil War and during the time when the aftermath of the War changed the United States forever.  She personally experienced many of these strains, especially when she was accused of favoring the South because her relatives were Confederate sympathizers.  She was, however, always a supporter of emancipation.
Skill: Middle School     Category: Law, Politics and Govt

Lincoln, Mary
Inventing America
Abraham Lincoln was the only president to be granted a patent, so Mary Todd Lincoln undoubtedly was familiar with the ideas and processes of invention.  Even without such events going on in her own house, she was certainly aware that the time in which she was living was a momentous period, filled with a steady stream of new inventions that literally “invented” a new America—both in agriculture and in industry.  

Lincoln, Mary
Main Street, U.S.A.
Mary Todd Lincoln spent most of her life in two small towns which are now large cities: Lexington, Kentucky and Springfield, Illinois.  During her lifetime, small towns were commonplace, as was the economy that thrived in small towns.
Skill: Middle School     Category: Economics, Discovery and Daily Life

Lincoln, Mary
The Rise of Native American Reservations
Skill: Middle School     Category: Religion, Social Issues and Reform

Lincoln, Mary
Battlefield Medicine in the Civil War: Advances Despite the Horror
The Civil War was a defining event in American history from many different perspectives.  However, for the soldier on either side, all that mattered was staying alivelong enough to go home when it was over.  However, the War was fought with weapons that had been improved upon since the Revolutionary War; yet, medical practice had not advanced greatly. 

Lincoln, Mary
“Remember the Ladies…” Creating a Time Capsule on the Women’s Rights Movement"
Mary Todd Lincoln lived in a period deeply entrenched in the Women’s Rights Movement.  The focus of this lesson is the transition for legal rights for women.
Skill: High School/College     Category: First Ladies' Lives

Lincoln, Mary
Railroads and the Great Race to Span the Continent
The railroad was the main form of mass transportation when Mary Todd Lincoln was First Lady.  Before the advent of the train, people were limited in the speed, distance, and convenience they could travel throughout the U.S.  The Lincolns were able to travel back and forth from Washington D.C. to Springfield, Illinois (where the Lincolns resided before the Presidency).  Ironically, after Lincoln was assassinated, his body was transported back to Springfield via approximately the same route used to travel to D.C.

First Ladies




Age Groups