Transcript Chasing Lincoln*s Killer

Understanding the connection between the Civil War and
Slavery and the men who fought both battles
Hero (Good)
Villain (Evil)
 Courage
 Amoral
 Loyalty
 Wicked
 Wisdom
 Cruel
 Responsibility
 Manipulative
 Perseverance
 Malicious in actions
 Abolition
 States Rights vs. Federal authority
 Economic and social differences between the North and the South
 The fight between Slave and Non-Slave State Proponents
 The election of Abraham Lincoln
Southern View
Northern View
 It is a natural state of mankind;
 Slavery (and especially race based
slavery has existed throughout
history.
 The institution was divine, it brought
Christianity to the “heathen” from
across the ocean
 Slaves were well cared for by their
masters
 Slavery maintained the South’s
economy
slavery) denied that all men were
created equal as stated in the
Declaration of Independence. Thus,
slavery was anti-American
 It was morally wrong and, as a
Christian country, America should not
be involved
 The institution of slavery put unlimited
power into the hands of the slaveholder. There were no laws protecting
the slave. A master could treat his
‘property’ with as much cruelty or
benevolence as he saw fit.
States Rights
Federal Authority
 The Confederacy identified with the
 The United States stressed not the
colonies in 1776 emphasizing liberty,
local self-determination, and
independence
 The states are connected but
independent
 Self governance
results of the Revolution—a legacy of
nationhood and founding ideals of
equality.
 Supersedes the states
 Law
 Nullification
If the states had thought that they could not secede, they likely would never
have agreed to the constitution or joined the Union in the first place
South
North
 Agricultural economy
 Industrial economy
 Plantation system dictated social
 City/Urban life dictated social status
status
 Rigid social caste system
 People identified strongly with their
state:
"If Virginia stands by the old Union, so
will I. But, if she secedes…then I will
still follow my native State with my
sword, and if need be with my life.”
~Robert E Lee
 Cultural assimilation
 People identified as “American:”
“I have served my country under the
flag of the Union for more than fifty
years, and as long as God permits me
to live, I will defend that flag with my
sword, even if my native state assails
it.” ~Winfield Scott, 1861
 As the nation grew and new territories were added to the Union as states, the
debate over slavery increased based on whether or not new states should be slave
or free
 Popular Sovereignty
 Compromise of 1850
 Fugitive Slave Act
 Dred Scott Decision
 There were four political parties, each with their own candidate:
 Republicans: Abraham Lincoln opposed slavery’s expansion
 Southern Democrats: John C. Breckenridge supported southern rights
 Constitutional Union: John Bell who remained silent on slavery
 Northern Democrats: Steven A. Douglas who supported “popular sovereignty”
 With four candidates in the field, the voters were very divided and Lincoln
received only 40% of the popular vote and 180 electoral votes. But it was enough to
narrowly win the election.
 When Lincoln won the election, Southern fears that the Republicans would abolish
slavery reached a new peak
Booth
Lincoln
“My love (as things stand today) is for
the South alone. Nor do I deem it a
dishonor in attempting to make for her
a prisoner of this man, to whom she
owes so much of misery”
“A house divided against itself cannot
stand...I do not expect the Union to be
dissolved — I do not expect
the house to fall — but I do expect it
will cease to be divided.”
 Each man is a hero to some and a villain to others
 Each man has been alternately revered and reviled
 How we choose to see them depends on where we stand
 http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/boothdiary.html a
diary entry from Booths diary
 http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/booth.htm an account of Booth’s arrest &
death
 http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln52.html Images
 http://www.nytimes.com/1865/04/21/news/murderer-mr-lincoln-extraordinary-
letter-john-wilkes-booth-proof-that-he.html Letters written by Booth
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLbbi91L0Hc
 http://www.civilwar.org/hallowed-ground-magazine/unpopular-mr-lincoln.html