Thomas Lincoln, the president’s father, ordered his son to work hard around his farm and sent him to neighboring farms to earn money for the family. He berated his son for reading.

The son did not invite his father to his wedding to Mary Todd Lincoln, and he he did not attend his father’s funeral or pay for a headstone for his father’s grave.

Unlike his father, the president was a loving, involved father who reveled in playing with his sons and sought the best educations for them.