Plot Summary Of 'Our American Cousin'
Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln walked into the presidential booth late at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. on Good Friday, April 14, 1865. They sat next to two of their friends, Henry Rathbone and his fiancé, Clara Harris. The four of them and the audience watched “Our American Cousin” in the theatre. Oh, how unaware they all were of their unknown companion as they laughed at the humour in the performance! Abraham Lincoln smiled proudly as he watched, relieved that the union was one again. Four years of that dreadful Civil War and now he finally was able to relax. John Wilkes Booth, a very well known stage-actor, waited silently and patiently behind the presidential booth, a single-shot .44 caliber derringer in his hand. The …show more content…
And Lincoln fell forward, a bullet in the back of his head. The audience was unaware that their president was severely injured until Mary Todd Lincoln’s screams told them. Henry Rathbone attacked John Wilkes Booth, seeking revenge. John Wilkes Booth fought back, injuring Henry Rathbone in the process of escape. He jumped from the high booth, falling into the audience and breaking his left ankle. “Sic semper tyrannis! The South is avenged!” John Wilkes said as he ran. The audience looked around confused. They realized their president was shot and on death row. Some shouted, “Stop that man!” While others shouted, “Murderer!” The guards rushed into Ford’s Theatre, some attending to Lincoln while others ran after John Wilkes Booth. But he was already gone. John Wilkes Booth had planned his escape. He had his horse waiting in the back. John got onto his horse and trotted away. He was later joined by his partners. They trotted on and on, reaching a doctor to heal Booth’s ankle. The city screamed in chaos. “The President was shot!” “No, The Secretary of State was
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