Transcript The Plot - OS X Server

The Plot to Assassinate
Lincoln
Mr. Phipps
U.S. History
Background: The Shooter
John Wilkes Booth
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Born May, 10 1838 in Bel Air,
Maryland--a Southern city
Began interest in theatrics in 1855 at
the Charles Street Theater in Baltimore
Booth became a common actor at the
theater
In September 1858 Booth moved to
Richmond, Virginia to act at the
Marshall Theater
At Richmond, Booth became
accustomed and sympathized to the
southern politics
Booth never joined the Confederate
army but did smuggle medical supplies
from the North during the Civil War
The Victim
Abraham Lincoln
 Born on February 12, 1809 in
Hardin County, Kentucky
 In 1842, he married Mary Todd
a women from Lexington,
Kentucky
 In 1847, Lincoln was elected to
the House of Representatives
 In 1856, he went to the ran
against Stephen A. Douglas in
a losing effort to get to the U.S
Senate as a Republican
 In 1860, he ran for President
against Stephen Douglas and
won the election
The Beginning
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The Plot: Summer 1864
Booth developed plans to give the
Confederates an advantage in the
war
 Planned to kidnap Lincoln with a
group of friends
 Wanted to hold Lincoln for ransom
to free Confederate POWs
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Co-conspirators included Samuel
Arnold, Michael O’Laughlen, John
Surratt, Lewis Powell, George
Atzerodt and David Harold with the
help of Dr. Samuel Mudd
Booth would use John Surratt’s wife
Mary Surratt’s boarding house to
hold his meetings about his plans
First Attempt
On January 18, 1865 Booth learned that
Lincoln was expected to attend a play at
Ford’s Theater
 Booth assembled his conspirators and
waited in the back of the theater
 Lincoln didn’t show to the theater, forcing
Booth to wait for another time
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Second Attempt
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March 17, 1865: Booth
learned that Lincoln
would attend a play for
the Union troops at
Campbell Hospital
Booth, again, assembled
the group to wait on the
road to kidnap Lincoln
Lincoln did not show
again and the group
became angry at Booth
Lincoln’s Second Inauguration:
A change of plans
March 4, 1865: Lincoln’s
Inaugural address
 Booth and his conspirators
were in the crowd listening
 Booth became outraged
when Lincoln told about
his Emancipation
Proclamation and decided
there that he must
assassinate Lincoln
April 14, 1865
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Booth went into the Ford
Theater on the morning of
April 14, 1865 and learned that
Lincoln would attend the play
“Our American Cousin”
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Booth planned that night to kill
Lincoln
Booth also gave instructions to
his conspirators
Atzerodt was to kill vicepresident Andrew Johnson
 Powell was to kill Secretary of
State William Seward along
with Harold
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The End of Lincoln
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At 8:30 Lincoln and his wife arrived at
Ford’s Theater to watch the play
Booth arrived an hour later with a
derringer and a hunting knife, after having
a drink at a saloon next door
Booth entered Ford’s Theater at 10:07,
ascending the backstage stairs to Lincoln’s
booth
Lincoln’s bodyguard was momentarily
absent
Booth moved into the room
At 10:15. Booth pointed the gun at
Lincoln’s head and fired
Henry Rathbone, a friend of Lincoln’s,
tried to take Booth down, but got stabbed
in the arm
Booth jumped 11 feet to the stage,
snapping his fibula and yelling “Sic
Semper Tyrannis” or “As Always to
Tyrannts”
Booth, then, escaped out the back door
and fled the city
The Conspirators
Atzerodt never made an attempt at killing Johnson
Powell stabbed Seward, but did not kill him
 The conspirators met in Maryland and went to Dr. Mudd’s
house to hide
 From there they traveled south and stopped at Garrett’s
farm in Port Royal Virginia, were federal authorities
caught them
 On the morning of April 16, 1865 Booth and Harold were
trapped by federal troops
 Harold gave up, but Booth refused to come out
 Federal troops set the barn on fire, forcing Booth out
 Booth, however, remained in the barn until he was shot
to death
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Lincoln Dead
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Lincoln pronounced
dead on April 15, 1865
at 7:22 a.m. from a
GSW to the head
V.P. Andrew Johnson
immediately replaced
as president
The South, under
Reconstruction,
allowed to re-enter the
Union
Work Citied
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Booths Assassination of Lincoln
http://home.att.net/-rjnorton/Lincoln75.html
Abraham Lincoln
http://www.civilwarhome.com/lincolnbio.html
Abraham Lincoln Bio
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/a
l16.html
Lincolns Assassination
www.angelfire.com/my/abrahamlincoln/Assassin
ation.html