Back at the White House, the assassination unhinged the president's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, who was hardly an icon of stability in the first place. Never popular, she's probably the least beloved first lady of all time.
History hasn't been kind to her, especially considering that she ended up being committed. But last year's "The Last Lincolns: The Rise & Fall of a Great American Family," by Charles Lachman, casts her in a sympathetic light and throws a withering gaze at a more deserving villain – her son Robert.
There were a few more Lincoln descendents to come, but none managed to show signs of greatness. They were mired in scandal and eccentricity, becoming a "symbol for dishonor and decadence" while never bothering to appreciate you-know-who.
We don't have to make that same mistake. The credit goes to historians who keep finding fresh ways to understand the man in the stovepipe hat.
Randy Dotinga is a frequent Monitor contributor.
