Many of us were taught Mary Lincoln was a spendthrift, a little crazy, and a drag on her husband’s greatness. We’ll challenge all that with journalist Lois Romano, who’s written a new biography of Abraham Lincoln's wife.

“I think once a narrative is formed, it’s really hard to shake it,” Romano told The 21st Show. “And her narrative was written 150 years ago, and it was written by men who just couldn’t stand her. And they projected onto her things that just weren’t there.”

The book is called “An Inconvenient Widow: The Torment, Trial, and Triumph of Mary Todd Lincoln.”
 

Illinois in the 1800s looked far different from today. Most of our state was covered with grasses, trees, and flowers perfectly adapted to the local climate and soil conditions. Those same plants from an early and pre-settled Illinois are now at the heart of a new project designed to restore a piece of that heritage.

State of Change 2025 looks at efforts to retain existing prairie in Illinois, as well as strategies to restore some areas to a more natural state.

Why do we think the wife of Abraham Lincoln was crazy? Some historians are saying that maybe it’s time for a reprisal of the way talk about her. One such historian joined us to talk about her findings. 

On the 21st: As Illinois celebrates President  Abraham Lincoln’s 208th birthday, we talked to people who have made it their life’s work to present Abraham Lincoln in classrooms, at libraries, on stage, even at birthday parties. Plus, we spoke with food historian Rae Eighmey about her book, “Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen: A Culinary View of Lincoln’s Life and Times.”