In Killing Lincoln, author Bill O’Reilly scribed in vivid detail the account of events beginning weeks before the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the days immediately following it. O’Reilly used elements like cliffhangers to show the suspense and drama that surrounded this event. Also, he used the timeline of the story to influence how it was perceived. The book utilized the exaggeration of Lincoln’s personal struggles and his own thoughts about how he must have felt at the time. Essentially, Killing Lincoln used the supposed thoughts of all of the main characters in order to promote drama and give some insight into the personal thoughts of people in that time period. Throughout his novel, O’Reilly took a major advantage of turning …show more content…
The main reason for the beginning of the Civil War focused on the slavery that infested the southern states. The North was against all forms of slavery and other different practices present in the South. The war drug on for a seemingly infinite amount of time under President Lincoln and his administration as a whole,as well as the president of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis. Although these two men made all of the most significant and pressing choices, the two men in charge on the battlefields, and perhaps a greater rivalry than the opposing presidents, were Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. …show more content…
Booth was additionally a Confederate follower and had built a secret hatred of Lincoln and all of the Union. Booth chose to partake in an elaborate plot that involved abducting Lincoln and holding him as a hostage until the Confederacy was restored to it’s glory, as he saw it. As Booth became more and more obsessed with this plan, so did his deep hatred for Lincoln. Booth eventually came to the conclusion that abduction was insufficient, and that he needed to kill Lincoln to do his duty. Although, Lincoln was not the only target, Booth had additionally devised plans to remove others from the top of the U.S. government, such as Vice President Andrew Johnson, General Grant, and Seward. However, the only assassination that ultimately was a success was Lincoln’s. Booth's plot to kill all of the officials was complex, and to him depended on all of the assassinations taking place at the exact same time. Booth would kill Lincoln at Ford's Theater, and if the opportunity was presented, he would kill General Grant, but Grant was not present at the theater that night, thanks to his wife. Also, Seward survived the stabbing given to him by Powell, and Atzerodt got extremely drunk and never even showed up to kill Johnson, who would have been an easy
This is when we first learn about John Wilkes Booth’s strong hatred for Abraham Lincoln. On April 3rd, Richmond fell to the Union, prompting the Confederate surrender on April 9th, ending the civil war and sending Booth into a downward spiral of depression. He blamed Lincoln for all of his troubles, making him hate him even more. So, after hearing about President Lincoln’s plans to attend the showing of “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s theater on the night of April 15th, Booth created a plan to kill the president. Booth called upon some childhood friends to help him carry out his plan; David Herold, Lewis Powell, George Atzerodt, John Surratt Jr., Samuel Arnold, and Michael O’Laughlen.
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.
What facts did you learn from reading this nonfiction or biography? How does this nonfiction/biography compare to others that you have read? Explain. “Killing Lincoln” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard is a fascinating and in depth read. It thoroughly explains the details leading up to the event of Lincoln’s assassination and the event itself that changed America forever.
No matter how many news reports and newspapers people scour through, there is always a better chance than not that key information is missed because of a biased article writer. Through reading the book, Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, no side is left out, and while Swanson is a writer from the North, he manages to cover the entire story of Booth’s manhunt, including the many hidden facts as well as the motive behind Booth’s attack. Through primary sources and other documents, the text is quite informative, and therefore is a must read for anyone and everyone. It does matter if people read this book, because it reveals so much more than what most people know, about this horrific incident. Every day, manhunts and assassinations take place around the
The book Lincoln 's Men by Daniel Mark Epstein tells the story of President Abraham Lincoln and his secretaries, John Nicolay and John Hay. However, it also tells the story of William Stoddard, the lesser known secretary of the three for the President. This book show how important these three men were to Lincoln, as well as how close the President was to each of them personally. Hay and Nicolay were so closed to Lincoln, that they lived inside the White House. But, what’s memorable of this story is how Nicolay and Hay have followed Lincoln from the very beginning, starting from Illinois all the way to Washington DC.
In his book, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever, Bill O’Reilly attempts to explore, in depth, the events leading up to and immediately after the assassination of President Lincoln. As a Television show host, questions arise as to O’Reilly’s qualifications to write such a book. To make up for the insight that he might lack, O’Reilly co-authors the book with Martin Dugard who, having written numerous non-fiction books prior to this one including The Last Voyage of Columbus and Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley & Livingstone, gives the book the qualifications it needs to be credible. In Part One, O’Reilly chronicles the final days of the Civil War as well as Lincoln and Boothe’s movements as the
The Civil War was a battle of great importance to our history of the United States. On April 12th, 1861 this battle broke out between the Union States, North, and the Confederate States, such as the South. The Civil War took place all throughout the United states, and did not come to an end until the Union won the war on May 9, 1856. So, our question of “What caused the Civil War”, comes with three important answers. The three main causes of the Civil War between the North and the South were Economic, Social, and Political differences.
Uncompromising differences between the South (Confederacy) and the North (Union) created a civil war that lasted five years. During this war, Abraham Lincoln was president. His election led to the secession of many Southern states. After refusing to recognize the Confederacy as its own nation, the American Civil War commenced in 1861. The three main causes of the Civil War between the North and the South were industrial and agricultural economies, politics, and slavery.
Booth was a Confederate at heart because he grew up in the south. He was against the Union, President Lincoln, and the ideas they represented. Booth eventually developed a plan to kill President Lincoln, but he couldn’t do it alone. Booth looked all through the Confederate to find help. Eventually, Booth found Lewis Powell, George Atzerodt, David Herold, and Samuel Arnold to help him plan and carry out the conspiracy to assassinate not only President Lincoln, but also attempt to kill Secretary Seward and Vice President Andrew Johnson.
The civil war began in the year of 1861, many historians have established theories for the main cause. Four of the possible theories include, morality and views on slavery, two societies, failure to compromise, states rights and Lincoln's election. Although all of these play a big role in the causes of the civil war, I believe the principle cause of the civil war was, the existence of two societies in the United States beacuse the South wanted to become more independent, had multiple uprisings due to slavery, and had differnt oppions on slavery. America was split into the North and the South, both very diverse. Some might say that the North was very independent and the south was very dependent on the north.
Theory number four states that the killing of Lincoln was because of a little conspiracy of powerful bankers. This is a theory that Lincoln was shot as a result of his monetary policies. Mr. booth would be seen as someone who was hired. To put it in the simplest way Lincoln just needed money to fund the Civil War. There were bankers in Europe that were led by the Rothschilds and they offered him a loan that was at very high interest.
“John” notes that Booth’s family was a renowned acting dynasty at the time of the Civil War. Booth himself was an ardent supporter of slavery with a burning hatred for Abraham Lincoln (Britannica.com). “Assassination,” suggests that Booth’s hatred of Lincoln may have been caused in part Lincoln’s undemocratic practices. The President deemed censorship of speeches and newspapers necessary during the Civil War. Additionally, the President was able to suspend any writ of habeas corpus, which prevented trials from taking place (2009).
James L. Swanson Chasing Lincoln’s Killer 2009 Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is a book about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, a past United States of America president. The introduction of the book is how John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln’s killer, and his accomplices, made a plan to kidnap the American president, but their plan failed. So, John Wilkes Booth and his little gang decide to kill the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary of State in one night. John Wilkes Booth would kill the president at Ford’s theater, His accomplice George Atzerodt would kill the Vice President at the Vice President’s hotel room. Lewis Powell and David Herold would kill the Secretary of State.
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 Civil War was a monumental bloodshed, which was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States, from 1861 to 1865. The primary cause of the war was the Southern states' desire to preserve the institution of slavery, which did not please the beliefs of the North. At the beginning of the Civil War, twenty-two million people lived in the North and 9 million people, which included four million of whom were slaves, lived in the South. The North, led by President Abraham Lincoln and his trusted generals, had more money, more factories, more horses, more railroads, and more food than the south. These advantages made the United States much more powerful than the Confederate States, which ultimately led to Northern victory.