Chasing Lincoln's Killer Analysis

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,” Martin Luther Kink Jr. once said. This applies to the Civil War especially. The three works, Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson, Killing Lincoln produced by National Geographic, and the excerpt from The Plot to Kill Lincoln by Karen Zeinhert all use the imagery of light and darkness when talking about Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, and the Civil War in general, though they do not all elaborate on all of the conspirators involved.

Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America is a biography that tells the life and success of Abraham Lincoln. At the beginning it talks about his life and how rough he grew up. As Lincoln grew up he wanted to learn to read and write because he was ashamed that his father couldn 't. Lincoln learning to read and write was a key factor to help him win the election and become as successful as he was. Even as a young child Lincoln claims to naturally be anti-salvory ( page 281). This is important to his stand point during the war. The book is broken down into thirds. The first third of the book talks in depth and detail about his early life. The second third of the book goes into the presidency stage, elections, office, and the obstacles headed his way. The last part of the book talks about the war and the choices Lincoln had to make.

“Atzerodt had doubts about his assignment. He would not do it, he said,” (Swanson 27) writes James L. Swanson in his novel Chasing Lincoln’s Killer. George Atzerodt was a slow-witted German member of Booth’s band of conspirators. He enjoyed clothes, food, and fame as provided by John Wilkes Booth, and was involved in the inner Conspiracy, although he refused to take any actions. He was condemned an active conspirator by authorities and hanged for his alleged crimes. It was only due to the suspension of the right of habeas corpus, in “Lincoln and the Writ of Liberty”, that prevented Atzerodt from being brought to court to determine if he was being legally held. Atzerodt did not have any chance to prove himself innocent, and was immediately arrested

Chapter 1 of Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson is about the assassination plan of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth. This assassination plan had strengths and weaknesses. John Wilkes Booth was a twenty-six year old actor who was a strong, loyal, and passionate confederate. Booth and his conspirators had a mission to take down some of the top leaders of the United States of America - the President Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Johnson, and U.S Secretary of State William Seward. In assessing this plan, which is similar to any other assassination plan, it includes good and bad situations with conspirators, location/time, and also weapons.

Abraham Lincoln was one of America’s greatest presidents .Knowed to the world as the “Great emancipator”, Abraham Lincoln left a legacy behind. As the 16th president Lincoln managed to save the nation, he took the first step towards abolishing slavery, allowed blacks to join the military, gave his world famous Gettysburg speech, and many more. To many people Abraham Lincoln was a hero, to others he was a man with a questionable motive.

Famous writer Maya Angelou once said, “Don't let the incidents which take place in life bring you low. And certainly don't whine. You can be brought low, that's OK, but dont be reduced by them. Just say, 'That's life.” People, like Elie wiesel and Abraham Lincoln are heroes who tried to make the world a better place. Without knowing these two men left a big mark on the world by not letting the so called “villains” stop them. Yet, many people think there mark was only left because of the villains who tried to take them down. Although Night and Killing lincoln share a different setting the common theme and conflict are similar.

History has a tendency to be biased. Always told from the apparent side of the ‘good’. From the British being the bad guys in the Revolutionary War, to the idea, that terrorism raised because of the War in Iraq, the media, as well as other sources, tends to be biased towards the side that we, as humans, are more likely to be able to relate with. However, the untold side of the story is always the one with more facts, and it is the one that is truly the key to figure out motive. The book, Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, written by James Swanson is one, such text that reports how the man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, created his plan and the manhunt that followed. What may seem like a heinous crime to us was a glorious crime

This theory explained Abraham Lincoln's devastating pre-assassination on 1865. After Many attempts to kidnap Lincoln but failed to work out until the Confederacy surrendered to the North. The well-known stage performing artist John Wilkes Booth thought the president was determined to destroy the constitution, and he turned to the thoughts of assassination. This theory focused on how Booth and co-conspirators come up with their changes plans of murdering the president and two of his possible successors, Booth and his co-conspirators hoped to throw the U.S. government into disarray. Looking back with the abduction plot established, the question remains, who was really behind and included in the death of the

Affairs affect people in different ways, but no one could imagine an affair destroying their ability to psychologically function. The “killings” by Andre Dubus is a shocking story about a killer named Richard who murders frank the man having an affair with his wife, who is his pride and joy. Riveted with murder and passion the author revels the characteristics of Richard Strout’s in the “killings” as a psychological obsessive and controlling person; these traits effect his emotions and behaviors throughout the story.

John Wilkes Booth was a well-known actor of his time, a supporter of slavery and the southern Confederacy during the Civil War, as well as an assassin who carried out the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14th, 1865. He has had a pretty big impact on history which holds importance’s to how history played out due to his actions. It was because of his strong beliefs of slavery at the time that led to most of his actions at the time. This was a time of confusion among most as to the rights and wrongs of slavery and the place of black people in the United States otherwise. It was Booth’s belief that African Americans were lucky to be in the United States, even if it was in bondage because they didn’t really belong here any other

President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on the evening of April 14, 1865 at a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D. C. He was accompanied by his wife, Mary Lincoln, and Major Henry Rathbone and Miss Clara Harris, his future fiancee; the Lincoln’s were in a relatively good mood having ended the civil war. The four sat together in a private balcony box. The murderer, John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor of that play, hated Lincoln’s reforms. At around 10:00 pm, when the play was ending, Booth had walked past Major Henry Rathbone and shot Lincoln in the head. He then cut Rathbone’s arm and lept off to the stage, protecting himself and fleeing from the crime scene. The nation grew in a state of shock to realize that their president was dead.

After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the question of whether or not this was a conspiracy of one person or a bigger plan amongst others comes to question. While most reports will say that John Wilkes Booth acted out with a select few people in the planning and killing of President Abraham Lincoln, there are contradicting theories that say there were other people involved including those in government positions. This paper examines three theories of research that could point out that this was much more than a simple conspiracy of John Wilkes Booth, to include the theory of Vice President Andrew Johnson was involved in planning the killing and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton was the mastermind behind the planned assassination.

The most notoriously infamous assassination in the history of America happened in April on the fourteenth day, in the year of 1865, which was also on a Good Friday. President Lincoln was shot and killed with a derringer by John Wilkes Booth. Booth came from one of the most well-known acting families in America at the time. He was an excellent actor, tall and good looking man who was very much into and apart of southern independence. He hated the black people and looked at Lincoln as dictator. Booth murdered Lincoln after many attempts to kidnap him went sour.

There are many different books that tell the story of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. One such book is Killing Lincoln, written by Bill O’Reilly. This book is not only about the assassination of President Lincoln, but it’s about the end of the Civil War too. O’Reilly’s Killing Lincoln has many strengths and weaknesses, overall, it’s a good book.

As Booth began his bold escape, the fate of Abraham Lincoln was unknown. According to “Abraham,” Charles Leale heard the pistol fire and Mary’s scream, so the twenty-three year old doctor sprinted towards the wounded President . When Leale reached Lincoln, the young doctor saw the physical condition of the President. “He found the president slumped in his chair, paralyzed and struggling to breath” (History.com). “Assassination” states that the doctor reacted quickly by ripping the President’s shirt open for a physical examination, but Leale could not find the bullet wound. With that diagnosis, the focus shifted from saving the President to moving him out of Ford’s Theater (2009). “Abraham” states that Lincoln was transported to a home across the street and placed in a bed. Lincoln’s Vice President, Cabinet, and friends assembled in the house. When the Surgeon General arrived at the home, he said that Lincoln would not survive the night. Now, all of those who had come to see the President could only wait for his death. The moment of