Summary Of The Assassination Of Abraham Lincoln

Killing Lincoln is nonfiction work of Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. It takes place during the last crucial battles of the Civil War which also happens to the two weeks leading up unto President Lincoln’s shocking assassination. Through the first part of the book the authors give exhilarating details as Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee partake in the last major battles of the Civil War. O'Reilly and Dugard turn these historic battles into scenes that are interesting and thrilling. Along with receiving an insight to the battle plans of the Confederate and Union generals, the readers is given quotes that soldiers would later write about this vicious war.

First, Abraham Lincoln wasn’t a fan of slavery. He thought that slavery should be abolished. According to document 5 it says “Abraham Lincoln, who had declared “Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free…”. Lincoln also thought that it should be “Free Speech, Free Homes, and Free Territory”. He thought that blacks should have the right to talk in public and blacks should own their own homes and property. Lincoln wanted all blacks to be free and didn't want racism.

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most well known presidents in the history of the United States of America. He as thought to be the man who led this great country through the toughest times it had to encounter. His determination to get the United States through the Civil War is one of the best things that have ever happened for this country. Lincoln’s argument about the relationship between slavery, the Constitution, and the Union changed throughout the Civil War. Lincoln’s view of the purpose of the war was to save the Union because of the southern states seceding from the Union. However, the argument changed to the war being about slavery because of Fredrick Douglass’s speeches and the Confederates surrendering at

John Wilkes Booth may think that he did the right thing for the southerner, however people from the north had different point of views and by that misfortune called him out for what he has done. The Chasing Lincoln's Killer, by James L. Swanson stated the quest of what John Wilkes Booth received and the task that he needs to be done is not a easy nor an impossible job, but the outcome of the event will be macabre. Although John Wilkes Booth is doing the greater good for the south, the assassination that John Wilkes Booth did will not be forgotten. Consequently, the assassination is what some people would hoped for.

Early on in Lincoln’s political career he “expressed his devotion to the cause of protectionist tariffs, taxpayer subsidies for railroads and other corporations, and the nationalization of the money supply” (2). According to Lincoln, “the constitution stood in the way of his political ambitions” (3). If you cannot already tell, Lincoln seemed maybe he did not really care for the constitution or people like he said he did. He did not care to have equality between the races and wanted to put all the blacks in one place besides the United States. We should all be treated equally but Lincoln did not feel this way. Lincoln’s primary agenda for a Civil War was not to end slavery but to save the Union (8).

History class to many falls as a boring lesson, memorizing facts nobody will use in life. The day America got it’s independence, the dates of the end of World War 1 and 2. These facts may seem useless, but behind each one, their is a story with so many valiant people, a story with people who must be forever condemned, and facts that we can always use. In the book, Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, written by James L. Swanson, there is one such story about the death of Abraham Lincoln and the manhunt that followed. What is really important about this story is that there are heroes, who should be remembered, and attackers whose actions must always be condemned. Most importantly, this book shows how many people worked together in order to catch the escapees

“With malice towards none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as god gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nations wounds; to care for him who shall borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphaned child-to do all which may be achieved and cherished a just and a lasting peace among ourselves, and with all other nations”-Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (Great Documents of America 19).

John Wilkes Booth, born May 10, 1838, was an actor who performed throughout the country in many plays. He was the lead in some of William Shakespeare's most famous works. Additionally, he was a racist and Southern sympathizer during the Civil War. He hated Abraham Lincoln who represented everything Booth was against. Booth blamed Lincoln for all the South's ills. He wanted revenge.

Davis claimed that he was not happy that Lincoln had been assassinated even though one man claimed he was. Lincoln was fair to the South and was respected in the North. His successor did not respect the South like Lincoln did and the people of the North did not respect him. Reconstruction would have been much smoother if Lincoln was still president. He would have been fair and treated them as equals while Lincoln’s successor Andrew Johnson vetoed crucial bills. Lincoln would have handled reconstruction better, and the South would have benefited from it. So there was no reason for Davis to want Lincoln to be dead. The next document is a letter from Carl Schurz to a newspaper about the mindset the people of Savanna Georgia have. He stated that

The United States would not be the same today if Abraham Lincoln was never assassinated on the unfortunate night of April 14, 1865. His killer, John Wilkes Booth, had a strong resent for the Union that subsequently caused a dramatic shift in history. This hatred was caused by many factors, such as his background and where he grew up, his lust for power and fame, and his mental illness. John Wilkes Booth, a master assassinator and conspirator, hoped to strengthen the confederacy by killing Abraham Lincoln. However, this murder created an even stronger opposition to the South than ever before.

Just image oneself spending a nice evening at the theater, laughing with friends and then shots erupt and screams breakout, well that’s exactly what happened when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. No warning, not even a hint of what was to come of Lincoln, if only he had known maybe things would be different and maybe the world would have ended up in a different place.

Sadly, Lincoln was killed due to the belief of Booth that “Lincoln was going to over throw the constitution and destroy the south he loved.” (Booths reason for assassination) This was most likely caused by the fact that Booth was an open confederate sympathizer during the war. It was also thought that the guards were not doing their jobs at the theatre and that they allowed Booth to sneak by and shoot Lincoln in the head with a 44 caliber derringer pistol. Recently after Lincoln’s death it was found that co-conspirators were involved in Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s

In Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever O’Reilly and Dugard explain what happens when Lincoln becomes president. They tell all the events leading up to his assassination, and who was involved. The book is showing, even though we think we know history we really do not know the whole story. The horrible story will blow people’s minds. The two authors have multiple books; for example, “Killing Reagan” and “Killing Kennedy.” O’Reilly and Dugard books are mostly about assassination, someone or something last day. Bill O’Reilly studied broadcast journalism at Boston University. He also attended Marist College and studied history. O’Reilly had several television shows. He currently lives in New York where he works at

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States of America. He was elected into presidency on November 6, 1860. Many of the southern states were unsupportive of Lincoln becoming president because he had run on an anti-slavery platform. Lincoln being elected into presidency caused states such as South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas to split from the Union. In his inaugural address Lincoln proclaimed it was his duty to maintain the Union; a month later the Civil War began. Although Lincoln did many great things for our country, his vital role in the Civil War is what most likely lead to his assassination.

American Experience presents The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, from Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Barak Goodman. This film interviews some of the nation’s best scholars, including several writers and historians, who recount the known facts of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865. The film was very interesting and conveys the story from the beginning starting with murderer John Wilkes Booth, a young energetic, happy kid who grew upon his family farm in Maryland and followed his family’s footsteps into acting. But he had big shoes to fill trying to follow the greatness of his family who were famous theatrical actors. His acting was not very good as he began but he eventually became