When the topic comes to presidential assassins, most people will not use the word amusing and assassins in the same sentence; however; Dan Danbom, a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, proved otherwise and stated that Vowell has succeeded in creating a “humorous” historical context by writing “I can confidently say that Sarah Vowel’s Assassination Vacation is the most amusing book you’ll read this year about presidential assassinations” (Danbom). Sarah Vowel’s purpose of Assassination Vacation is to allow readers to have a look at both sides of history to shed light on the assassins, to reanimate moments lost to history, and to make her book more interesting by using her unique style of writing; although she fails miserably by adding in too much humor and too many personal opinions, she was successful by examining the motive of the assassins, giving analysis to allow readers to look at past and present events, and by using her interesting style of writing to engage readers to continue reading the story.
In Assassination Vacation, Vowell is successful for her attempt to shed lights on the assassins by examining the motive of the assassins. Most people would straight ahead consider assassinating a president as bad; however, what about tyrants? John Wilkes Booth, the assassination of President Lincoln, shouted “Sic simper tyrannis” ( Vowell 71) after he jumped from the Presidents box to the stage---obviously proving that Lincoln is a tyrant in his mind. When Lincoln gave the speech on reconstruction, Booth said to Powell, “That means nigger citizenship. Now, by god, I will put him through. That will be the last speech he will ever make” (Vowell 30). Lincoln was obviously performing the acts and setting laws that Booth doesn’t like, just like how tyrants may set rules that are unreasonable to most. Vowell also succeeds by examining the motives of Charles J. Guiteau, the man who was responsible for Garfield’s death. Vowell examined the motives of Guiteau and thought that he was insane when she said “Where did Guiteau get his insane notions” (Vowell 170) because the reason that he killed Garfield was because God told him to; however, Vowell also looked at Guiteau’s side and talked about Garfield being “the victim of his own party rhetoric of exaggerating a Democratic victory into a matter of life and death” (Vowell 170). Looking at both side of the assassination gives
Most Americans know John Wilkes Booth as the assassin of Abraham Lincoln- shot at a play at Ford’s Theater on April 14th, 1865. However, the names of the conspirators that surrounded Wilkes Booth are relatively unknown, especially that of Mary Surratt. Mary Surratt, a mother and boardinghouse proprietor, was arrested and tried for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln along with her son, John Surratt. Pleas from her family, lawyer, and fellow conspirators did not allow her to escape her fate, and she was hanged for her crimes on July 7th, 1865. Even from the scaffold, Lewis Powell, another conspirator condemned to die, cried, “Mrs. Surratt is innocent. She doesn't deserve to die with the rest of us.” So who was this woman, and most importantly, what role did she really play in the assassination of the President of the United States? Was she simply blindly aiding her son and thus innocent, as claimed by Lewis Powell, or did she have a more involved role in the plot? Mary Surratt opened up her home to conspirators and ended up paying the price for her decision.
“ Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer”, was written by James L. Swanson, a dedicated Lincoln scholar and attorney. He details in his book the incredible escape of John Wilkes Booth’s from authorities, with immaculate descriptions of little-known facts in the case of Lincoln’s Killer. Swanson’s nonfiction book dives into actual pieces of literature written at the time of Lincoln’s assassination by individuals who actually took part in the real-life drama, including John Wilkes Booth himself.April 14, 1865 is a day of infamy in United States history,it is the day that John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln. Swanson delves deep into the minds of Booth and his accomplices , analyzing their every move. Booth flees the scene of the crime with Davey Herold, who has been a willing participant in Booth's secret plots to kill Secretary of State William Seward, Abraham Lincoln, and Vice President Andrew Johnson.
(Transition: Now that I have shown a few of the ways the Warren Commission deception of the the assassination I would like to conclude with these statements)
The definition of justified is “having, done for, or marked by a good or legitimate reason.” This is something that the situation lacked. Charles Guiteau had a mental illness driving him to murder James Garfield. This was odd, because Garfield and Guiteau were both Republicans. What mainly drove Guiteau to murder Garfield was his ignorance. Guiteau was expecting a position after Garfield was elected even though Charles Guiteau wasn’t even qualified to hold a position in the government. Without many messages ignored, Charles Guiteau decided to confront James Blaine about the issue and was told never to return. Charles Guiteau was now raged by this confrontation and came up with the idea from his religious beliefs along with his mental illness which was as strong as ever. Guiteau believed from God that shooting Garfield would restore power to the Republican party. This was easy for him to accomplish, because even though president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated only 16 years, 2 months, and 17 days before, the presidents in power still didn’t have any protection in case of an attack. Based on research articles, Charles Guiteau was ready. He was just sitting there gun ready for James Garfield to go onto the train July 2nd,
Assassination is a strong word with a powerful meaning. Assassination is defined as to kill suddenly or secretively, especially a politically prominent person; murder premeditatedly and treacherously. Assassinations and attempts have occurred throughout history. The victim is sometimes aware or unaware about their dangerous situation but is either guarded or unguarded. The assassin must have qualities of being determined, courage and intelligence to make the mission successful. Assassination is a long process of planning. It can take even years just to plan an assassination of a victim. Often times, assassination planning cannot be on paper because it can be evidence. The most common ways of assassination are using weapons, drugs, accidents and explosives. Surprisingly, the most common way of assassination is by gun. There can be many motives for assassination such as jealousy, political or religious ideas, revenge and etc. There are many famous assassinations. The assassination of Julius Caesar is very famous. Julius Caesar was Roman political figure, who was later was made the dictator of Rome, that was assassinated by the Senators.
Assassination has and always will be a hot topic in scandal living circles but in 1865 the topic became even more volatile when Mary Surratt was found to be guilty of conspiring to kill Abraham Lincoln. Surratt, a widow of an abusive husband trying independently support
On November 22, 1963, at 12:30 in the afternoon, President John F. Kennedy was shot at and killed while participating in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. The most important question that arises from this incident is ‘Who killed President John F. Kennedy?’ This is an issue which has been debated by scholars, The Government, and even common people alike. Many people seem to feel that it was a conspiracy, some large cover-up within a cover-up.
While researching the Kennedy assassination there were many articles, saying that the mob was involved in the shooting. The writers were convinced that there was more than one person involved when it came too killing John Kennedy, on that warm sunny day in downtown Dallas. However, while these authors were convinced that there was another party involved, so was the rest of America with eighty percent saying the report was false. The goal of this paper is to bring this topic into the spotlight once more, by connecting the shooting of the president with the mob, and Lee Harvey Oswald.
As you can imagine the assassination of Lincoln greatly influenced the relationship between the north and the south. The assassination soured their relationship, increasing the north’s hate toward the south (The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln pg.51). Even before the north even knew who killed Lincoln, they blamed the south. The north mourned whereas the south was happy (History Engine). In the north, not only whites, but blacks too mourned for their fallen president (History Engine). In the south most were happy, but not all of them (History Engine). Some southerners joined with the north in their sadness and sorrow. The ones who mo...
Talbot, David. "The Assassination: Was It a Conspiracy?: Yes." Time. 169 (7/2/2007): n. page. Print.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States and one of our countries most notable figures in history, was assassinated on April 14, 1865. In today’s society, many believe there are conspiracy theories about almost everything that the government has done, but many do not think that conspiracies could date back as far as mid 1860’s. The discussion of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, the well thought out shooting and escape, and the days that follow are going to be closely examined throughout this paper. Abraham Lincoln was watching Our American Cousin with his wife and two others at Ford’s Theater when John Wilkes Booth, a
A murder which easily occured and left a footprint in history that many historians and essay writers will enjoy to read about, because the factors leading up to it are so interesting and unique, that it cannot be compared to another assassination. Somehow these 2 men involved both had difficult childhoods which set them on pathways which changed their lives forever. Many are unaware of James Garfield himself and how he was the first left handed president. Being one of four presidents assassinated in office, he had the second shortest term of power behind William Henry Harrison, whose term went from March 4th- April 4th 1841 after dying from pneumonia. James Garfield led many of his time in office and will always be remembered as the 20th president in United States
Parissien, Steven. Assassinated!: Assassinations That Shook the World, from Julius Caesar to Lincoln. London: Quercus, 2008. Print.
Kurtz, Michael L. Crime of the century: the Kennedy assassination from a historian's perspective. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 1982.
When choosing an author for my paper, I chose international suspense because I am very interested in foreign relations and the technology of modern day war. I have read stories by Edgar Allen Poe, with suspense and vivid imagery, which reminded me of Clancy's work. I decided to choose Tom Clancy because of his talent to weave such realistic tales of international suspense. Clancy creates the scenes in his books with such detail, it makes the reader feel like he/she is there. My first choice for this paper was Dr. Suess, but because he has passed away, I had to keep looking. I knew very little information about my author before writing this paper. I had read two of his books, but had no real knowledge of his personal life or past history. Tom Clancy, a successful American author of international suspense, has captured his love of military and technology and profitably employed it in the books he writes.