Documentary Sheds Light on Abraham Lincoln’s Home Life

The producers of a new video documentary scheduled to air tonight on the pre-presidential family life of Abraham Lincoln are attempting to shed new light on his relations with his controversial wife, Mary.

The film, scheduled tonight at 8 on KCET and other public television channels in connection with the observance of Lincoln’s birthday, is designed to give a unique view of the years the Lincolns lived in Springfield.

“Everybody sees Lincoln as the great emancipator in the Civil War, but we forget he lived 16 normal years as a politician and lawyer. He was a young, ambitious, middle-class professional,” said J. Michael Lennon, executive producer of the documentary.

The film, which covers the years of 1844 to 1860, is called “The Lincolns of Springfield, Illinois.” “You get a very evocative sense of what their home was like--the children, domestic problems and challenges,” Lennon said. “You see the vivid colors, the restored furnishings, the restored wallpapers. It ends with Lincoln’s farewell speech in Springfield.”

The film also focuses on the life of Mary Todd Lincoln during a time that she was a mother with a husband who was working long hours. It disputes some earlier writings about the volatility of her personality.