Whenever Jack joined the choir invisible, he was given a solemn funeral.

As if this weren’t bad enough, the boy’s pet goat, Nannie, just loved his flowers. On one occasion, Tad ate every last strawberry that the poor man was cultivating for a White House dinner party. This brings us to John Watt, presidential horticulturist. Jack would then get dragged outside and shot, courtesy of Tad’s model cannon. For such gross incompetence, the punishment was always a court martial followed by execution “at sunrise.” Whenever Tad or Willie gave Jack a military assignment, he screwed it up: they’d either catch him sleeping on the job or, worse, abandoning his post. It all started when New York’s Sanitary Commission gave Tad a handsome doll wearing Union regalia, whom he named “Jack.” Apparently, the toy could have made better career choices. And one of their favorite pastimes nearly pushed the White House gardener to his breaking point. But as wild as they could be, Lincoln’s kids were seldom disciplined.Īfter our 16 th president was sworn in, Willie and Tad ran roughshod over his staff. “They would take down the books, throw pencils in the spittoon, empty ash buckets, coal ashes, inkstands, papers, and letters, put them in a pile and then dance on the pile,” Herndon vented. Lincoln let Willie and Tad convert his Springfield office into their own anarchic playground.

Indeed, William Herndon-the statesman’s own law partner-spoke for many when he called the boys “ notorious hellions.” Yet, others found their antics less than amusing. To hear him tell it, Willie and Thomas “Tad” Lincoln were harmless little mischief-makers. More often than not, he reveled in his children’s escapades-even those that drove other grownups crazy.

For a far less historically accurate and dignified version, you may prefer Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, opening in June.Honest Abe was many things, but a strict, no-nonsense father wasn’t one of them. It's been a long time since Spielberg has given us riveting historical drama (note: I've yet to see War Horse), but if anyone can give us the definitive Abraham Lincoln, it's Daniel Day-Lewis. Plot: A biography of America's sixteenth President that focuses on his last few months alive, specifically Union victory in the Civil War and the abolition of slavery.ĭomestic Box Office Prediction: $75 million Grant), David Strathairn (William Seward), Tim Blake Nelson (Richard Schell), Bruce McGill (Edwin Stanton), David Costabile (James Ashley), Gloria Reuben (Elizabeth Keckley), Hal Holbrook (Francis Preston Blair), Joseph Cross (John Hay), Gulliver McGrath (Tad Lincoln) Hutchins), John Hawkes (Robert Latham), Lee Pace (Fernando Wood), Jared Harris (Ulysses S. Theatrical Release Date: December 2012 / Expected Rating: PG-13 / Studio: Disney/DreamWorksĭirector: Steven Spielberg / Writers: Doris Kearns Goodwin (book Team of Rivals) Tony Kushner (screenplay) John Logan, Paul Webb (original screenplay)Ĭast: Daniel Day-Lewis (Abraham Lincoln), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Robert Todd Lincoln), Tommy Lee Jones (Thaddeus Stevens), Jackie Earle Haley (Alexander Stephens), Hal Holbrook (Francis Preston Blair), James Spader (WN Bilbo), Sally Field (Mary Todd Lincoln), Walton Goggins (Wells A.

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