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Killing Lincoln Book Review The mystery of how John Wilkes Booth pulled off the most influential and notorious assassinations in history is revealed in Killing Lincoln. The author of this book, Bill O’Reilly, built up the plot of the story through vivid historical details and pieced them together like a thriller. He tries to explain all of what happened on one of the most interesting and sad days in American history. Many conspiracies and Civil War ideals are on full display in the book. I agree with most of O’Reilly’s ideas but there are some that I am not really sure about because of his point of view like many of the conspiracy theories. Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly was a very compelling read which described the Civil War, lives of the conspirators, and the eventual assassination of the sixteenth president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln. The book begins with an in-depth explanation of what happened in the latter stages of the Civil War. Major battles like Sayler’s Creek, High Bridge and Richmond are described through detailed language. For instance, at High Bridge, “Each man wages his own individual battle with a ferocity only a life-and-death situation can bring. Bullets pierce eyes. Screams and curses fill the air. The grassy plain runs blood red.” (page 61). All of these iconic Civil War battles led up to the Confederate surrender at the Appomattox Courthouse and the inescapable rebuilding of a new nation Abraham Lincoln had to deal with. Next, John Wilkes Booth is introduced and his pro-Confederate motives are made clear. His conspiracy to kill the president is described and his co-conspirators like Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt who also attempted to kill Secretary of State Seward a... ... middle of paper ... ...o to do something that protects the country and to get revenge on a traitor who betrayed the country. Overall, Killing Lincoln was very successful in getting the point across that the assassination of Abraham Lincoln was not just an impulsive decision by a radical southerner. It was a long, drawn-out process that was being planned for months after the Civil War had ended. Works Cited "American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. . "Bill O'Reilly Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. . O'Reilly, Bill, and Martin Dugard. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever. New York: Henry Holt and, 2011. Print.
The book opens with a Confederate spy as he made his way through the Union lines on the night of June 29, 1863 toward Confederate General Robert E. Lee bearing news of the Army of the Potomac as they crossed paths in the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The days after follow the various Union and Confederate regiments as they regained their wits about them after the previous Battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Marching onward toward Gettysburg, where the most deciding battle of the Civil War would take place.
leading up to and surrounding President Abraham Lincoln’s death. The purpose of this book is to
This story was not only riveting, but also one that kept me on my heels for almost the entire time that I was reading it. Stephen B. Oates, a prize-winning author of thirteen books and more then seventy articles, is currently a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Some of his best novels have been 'With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln,'; 'Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King. Jr.,'; and 'Rip Ford's Texas.'; His writing is riveting as well as courageous. His willingness to get to such length to capture the mind of the reader and hold them in suspense has earned him several awards throughout his lustrous career. Some of the awards that Oates has received are the Christopher Award and the Barondess/Lincoln Award of the New York Civil War Round Table. His work has gained worldwide notoriety and is currently translated in four different languages: French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.
When the Civil War erupted, Wilkes was in his early twenties- still very young and naïve. Booth’s family mostly supported the Union. On the other hand, Booth was a supporter of the Confederates. As a child, his father’s farm had been operated by slaves, which influenced his views on the subject of the Confederates. Malicious and harmful emotions and opinions materialized from the war that led Booth to start creating schemes against President Lincoln. By 1864, at age 26, he created a plan to keep Lincoln hostage and planned to release him only if the Confederates in the war were freed. The plan began to crumble, so Booth decided to reach out to others who felt the same as he did. He met with several conspirators. The most crucial meeting was when Booth and a few others met at a woman named Mary Surratt’s boarding house in Washington D.C. to come up with a ne...
April 14, 1865 was one of the most shocking days in American history. Only 5 days after the end of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, our then President was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer. Lincoln was watching a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. when Booth managed to get in Lincoln’s private box and fired a single-shot to the back of Lincoln’s head. When talking about Lincoln’s assassination you always hear Booth being mentioned, but what people don’t usually know is that there was a female participant. Mary Surratt, a Confederate sympathizer, was the only female participant in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. Her and Booth, along with other conspirators which included her son John Surratt, met in her boardinghouse to plan Lincoln’s assassination. Kate Clifford Larson’s book, The Assassin’s Accomplice, tells the riveting story of the scheme to assassinate Abraham Lincoln through the eyes of Mary Surratt and her life story. Larson holds two degrees from Simmons College, an MBA from Northeastern University, and a doctorate in history from the University of New Hampshire. She part time teaches history at
Without any question, most people have a very clear and distinct picture of John Wilkes Booth a in their minds. It is April 1865, the night president Lincoln decides to take a much-needed night off, to attend a stage play. Before anyone knows it a lunatic third-rate actor creeps into Lincoln's box at Ford's theater and kills the president. Leaping to the stage, he runs past a confused audience and flees into the night, only to suffer a coward’s death Selma asset some two weeks later. From the very moment that Booth pulled the trigger, the victors of the Civil War had a new enemy on their hands, and a good concept of whom they were dealing with. A close examination of the facts, however, paint a different view of Booth, a picture that is far less black and white, but a picture with many shades of gray.
One motivation was that he thought he was doing something good for his country. John Wilkes Booth believed that he did the right thing for his country and was willing to take the punishment for it. In Booth’s last diary entry he says, “I struck for my country and that alone.” When Booth said this he means that was big reason he killed Lincoln. In conclusion,
Abraham Lincoln shouldn’t have been assassinated because he led the United States through the Civil War. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, “America will not be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedom, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” this proves Lincoln wanted to be strong and fight for the United States. Lincoln did not want his people to lose their strength or
The day John Wilkes Booth heard of the Presidents soon to be appearance at the ford theater, he was excited. Mr. Booth had not liked this president because he was with the union. John Booth started to plan the assassination immediately. Mr. Booth wasn’t alone in this plan, he had companions to assassinate the secretary of state too. Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt, all attempted assassinations the night of April 14, 1865, but only John Wilkes Booth succeeded shooting the president in the back of the head. The others were to kill the secretary of state, William H. Seward, which failed because his family put up a fight.
“Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally”. Abraham Lincoln helped end slavery by enforcing the 13th amendment better known as the Abolition Of Slavery. Abraham Lincoln helped americans whenever he could for example; gave speeches to motivate citizens and keep their heads straight. However people thought he was the cause of the reason of the civil war. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was unjust, because he helped abolish slavery, he try to help america whenever he could however; people thought he was the main cause of the Civil War.
Killing Lincoln tells of the historical events of March Fourth, 1865, when Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated for his second term as the President of the United States, through July Seventh, the day those who were tied to the conspiracy that killed Lincoln were prosecuted and hung. The time between these dates contained some of the most important moments that paved the way for American history. These included the Union victory of the Civil War over the Confederates, Lincoln’s plan for peace and unity, and John Wilkes Booth’s passion for the Confederacy and hatred for Lincoln - which led to the planning and execution of an assassination so bold that it would forever change the course of history. The novel also details Booth’s escape and the aftermath
On April 14, 1865 President Lincoln was shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth in Ford’s Theatre in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. John Wilkes Booth was a Confederate sympathizer and was very upset about the Union victory five days prior to this very dark day in this nation’s history. Booth had been cooperating with the rebels in small ways through the duration of the war, and later planned to kidnap the president. He gathered some people that respected him and he knew would follow him and he planned it all out; his plan was a suicide mission and most of his men wouldn’t go through with it because they valued their lives and thought that Booth could be their leader, but they were not going to let him end their
Abraham Lincoln’s assassination was unjust because John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln because of a difference in political views. Abraham Lincoln believed that every man was created equal, thus freeing all slaves; however, Booth believed African-Americans were merely property. “Booth was an open Confederate sympathizer...A supporter of slavery, Booth believed that Lincoln was determined to overthrow the Constitution and to destroy his beloved
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
Abraham Lincoln's assassination was an historical American tragedy. However, a conspiracy followed behind the assassination of Lincoln, which led to an elaborate plot to assassinate others government officials and led to multiple executions. Lincoln`s assassination was just the beginning of Johns Wilkes Booth`s plan which involved many other conspirators. President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination was part of a larger conspiracy, sought out by a group of people, lead by John Wilkes Booth who had motive and a plan to kill other government officials, as seen in many sources.