Most people know the story of how President Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theater. He was shot in the head by the now infamous, John Wilkes Booth, who then fled the theater, riding a horse south into the former confederate states. He was eventually found and shot, ending a long search. Most people, however, don’t realize how badly he wanted to commit the act. The most important theme in James Swanson’s Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, is that by having extremely strong feelings or very fond beliefs towards a cause, you may end up doing something risky or even insane just to support that cause; which he proves to have been relevant even in the mid-1800’s. Throughout the novel, James Swanson uses John Wilkes Booth’s characterization, especially …show more content…
Immediately after John Wilkes Booth shoots Lincoln and jumps off of the balcony, a single person listens to the cries from the box to chase Booth. This man was extremely brave to chase Booth, considering that he was the only person in the theater to try to stop the assassin, and that Booth still had a knife. His determination and drive after hearing the cries in the presidential box were enough to make him commit to the crazy action of trying to stop a man with a knife, without having a weapon himself; and even almost succeeding at stopping the president’s assassin. Also, at the end of the search for Booth, the Union soldiers try to get Booth out of the barn he’s staying in by burning it. Their motivation to capture this man was so intense that they even risked killing him just so that they could get him out of the barn. The Union thought at the time that Booth was a confederate spy, so to them, they risked losing valuable information about their enemy, simply to complete their mission. That shows true commitment to their cause. During the manhunt for Lincoln’s assassin, many people did many crazy things just to try and capture Booth, proving that Swanson’s theme was relevant during the
Chasing Lincolns killer by James L Swanson. This story talks about the event and death of Abraham lincoln. John Wilkes Booth, the main person that killed and shot Lincoln .He hated Lincoln, and previously tried to kidnap him.
Brandon Smith Mr.Dittmar 12/14/2014 American History Book Report #2 “Killing Lincoln” Killing Lincoln is a very good easy to read historical book. I already knew some about when Lincoln was shot and how he died but this book put in so much more little details that any other thing I have gotten information from. I feel like Bill O'Rreilly did a very good job writing this book. I really like the way that it was wrote using the time and different days for the chapters. That helped give the book some detail and helped me understand what was going on in the book and when important scenes were easier to understand.
This book is about Lincoln’s assassination in 1865. The person guilty of assassinating Lincoln was John Wilks Booth. John Wilkes Booth was part of a family of celebrated actresses, but he was not known for that. He was known as the person that killed President Lincoln. What some did not know was that John was a racist and did not like that the war was over and the slaves were going to be free.
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
Name: Gisselle Ramirez Who done it? One event that devastated many. In the historical non-fiction book Chasing Lincoln’s killer by James L.. Swanson, Booth has many accomplices. An accomplice is a person who helps another commit a crime, which in this case it’s Samuel Mudd and Mary Surratt who had helped John Wilkes Booth assassinate Lincoln at Ford’s Theater.
It’s important to note that the United State’s first and only civil war was fought during Lincoln’s presidency and that he held a controversial stance at the time on the subject of slavery. When Lincoln died, on one hand many people mourned him, but on the other people rejoiced Lincolns assassination at the same time. It’s strange for someone that lives in the year 2017 that someone would be happy that President Lincoln was assassinated. He stood up for so many right and just standpoints. Wasn’t it a tragedy that Lincoln was murdered in cold blood?
Five days after the Confederacy’s surrender, John Wilkes Booth had successfully killed one of the most influential presidents in American history to do what he believed would redeem power to the southern states. Booth’s main goal was to tear down the Union’s government by taking down their leader and his successors, but the original plan did not involve the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Historian Christopher Hammer explained in his article "Booth's Reason for Assassination", the former actor had created a group of co conspirators and designed "a ploy on March 17 to capture Lincoln as he traveled in his carriage [and had] collapsed when the president changed his itinerary—and several of Booth’s conspirators ultimately left the group.” (Teaching History). Since the failed capture of the president, Booth hatred towards Lincoln grew after hearing the president’s goal to officially abolish slavery in his Second Presidential
“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).
“The sergeant and Augustus wrestled Powell into the hall and into the bright gaslight,”(Swanson 57). Because of the heroic actions of the Sergeant, Augustus, and Frederick(another son), Powell did not manage to come close enough to plunge a knife into Seward. Without the menacing fight posed by these people, Powell would have most definitely assassinated Secretary of State Powell, in turn causing more pandemonium in the country- enough that a Confederate takeover may have been possible. In addition to these warriors at the Seward residence, another faction of people whose acts must be remembered are the faction of Manhunters. These men devoted all their time for 12 days using clues and all sorts of wacky leads in order to trace down Booth.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,” Martin Luther Kink Jr. once said. This applies to the Civil War especially. The three works, Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson, Killing Lincoln produced by National Geographic, and the excerpt from The Plot to Kill Lincoln by Karen Zeinhert all use the imagery of light and darkness when talking about Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, and the Civil War in general, though they do not all elaborate on all of the conspirators involved.
Careful not to cut too deep into Booth's soft flesh.” Also, Dr. Samuel Mudd knew Booth before, so he knows that Booth killed Lincoln but still helps him run.
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.
To Kill A Mockingbird Literary Analysis Throughout To Kill A MockingBird, by Harper Lee there are many acts of courage. This is shown in Atticus Finch, Jem Finch, and Boo Radley. Atticus shows the most courage in the book but all three of these characters show true courage in some way, shape, or form. Boo Radley showed a lot of courage, but he was not in the storyline as much as Atticus. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, courage is defined as standing up for people and doing what’s right.
As stated here, "But he also wanted to initiate the uneasy task of bringing the all but defeated South back into the new, more improved Union" ("Abraham Lincoln Biography"). The South hardly had any stamina left. They were hanging on, but barely. Nothing was going to help them. Booth shooting Lincoln didn't help, because even though the South hadn't admitted defeat, they had done everything but.
My candid view of Hunter S. Thompson as a person and a writer brings to mind two words i.e expression and arrangement. He articulately expresses his thoughts verbally via writing passionately. Moreso, may I be permitted to say I psychologically see him as a free thinker. James Boylan’s statement ‘’Here is the frenzied Dr Thompson…’’ (CJR March/April 2001 - Book Reports).