ipl-logo

Chasing Lincoln's Killer Book Report

698 Words3 Pages

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. April 14, 1865 their plan was struck into action. John Wilkes booth had made his preparations for the attack, he had an escape route, a backup plan, his weapon, he knew where the president was going to sit, he knew secret tunnels and passageways in Ford’s theater, and he had his horse ready. All he needed was the president. Meanwhile at the Secretary’s house Lewis Powell and David Herold had arrived and waited for the perfect time to attack. When they saw no guards around Lewis Powell, disguised as a messenger, went up to the Secretary of State’s house and rang the doorbell. The Secretary’s servant answered the door and tried to recieve the package from Lewis, but …show more content…

David Herold surrendered because he thought he didn’t do anything wrong, while John Wilkes Booth wanted an honorable death. The Union troop lit the barn on fire, but John Wilkes Booth would rather burn alive than surrender. The fire illuminated the inside of the barn to where they could see John Wilkes Booth. There one of the soldiers, Boston Corbett, shot and killed John Wilkes

Show More
Related
1463 Words | 6 Pages

The book that I decided to read for my quarter book report was Manhunt, The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson. I chose this book because I thought it would be interesting to learn about how they actually tracked down Abraham Lincoln’s killer after he was assassinated. Manhunt went into a lot of detail about how Lincoln’s killer, John Wilkes Booth, was found. The story started off on the morning of March 4th, 1865, which was the morning of Abraham Lincoln’s second inauguration.

Read More
109 Words | 1 Pages

After a series of correspondence between General Ulysses S Grant and Robert E Lee, they agreed to meet On April 9th, 1865, both Grant and Lee met at the Appomattox Court House to discuss the terms of surrender Grant and Lee remembered each other from the Mexican - American war Around four in the afternoon, General Lee officially surrendered Upon the surrender, General Grant allowed the Confederate soldiers to retain some freedoms He allowed them to keep their sidearms, horses, and other items He also allowed them to return to their homes under probation News of the surrender took time to travel to the rest of the Confederate soldiers

Read More
554 Words | 3 Pages

The two men, and their secretaries, were taken prisoner by Charles Wilkes. They were arrested for traveling to the British when not given permission. The pair was transported to Boston and imprisoned at Fort Warren. This was a victory for the Northern side of the war, as they thought provoking Britian would bring a reaction out from them.

Read More
182 Words | 1 Pages

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

Read More
378 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
2098 Words | 9 Pages

Booth was focused on getting away as fast as possible. Booth and Herold headed to Dr. Samuel A. Mudd’s house. Booth was unable to walk because of his injured leg, so Herold went to knock on Mudd’s door. Mudd recognized Herold, Mudd was okay with helping kidnap the President, he was however not okay with being a part of the assassination.

Read More
1030 Words | 5 Pages

He could not devote all of his time and attention to the manhunt, for he still had a war to fight in, so he hired a good friend of his, Colonel Lafayette Baker, to come down from New York to help with the investigation. On April 20th, Jones saw the Calvary ride out of town and thought that it was the best time for Booth and Herold to cross the Potomac into Virginia. Virginia, unlike Maryland, was Confederate territory, so the farther South they went, the safer they would be. Jones supplied Booth and Herold with a boat and supplies and told them which way to row it.

Read More
1842 Words | 8 Pages

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

Read More
323 Words | 2 Pages

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

Read More
308 Words | 2 Pages

It was April 9, 1865 and Robert E. Lee is meeting Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox Courthouse. The Civil War was winding down and the Confederate troops were dwindling. Their supplies were almost gone and almost all hope was lost for the Confederate States of America. The Union forces outnumbered them almost 3 to 1. Lee knew that now the best thing to do was to surrender his troops.

Read More
1790 Words | 8 Pages

O’Reilly introduces John Wilkes Booth as the mastermind behind the President Lincoln assassination. John Wilkes Booth was a well-known popular stage actor from Maryland. He starred in many different shows that people, such as the president, would attend. After the Civil War the Union supporters from the North celebrated day and night. The people were excited that they had won the war, except John Wilkes Booth.

Read More
1510 Words | 7 Pages

Lee had surrendered southern forces and the government of the Confederacy crumbled, there were southern sympathizers who still refused to back down. They would not accept the war won victory of the North. Among these was a Maryland native and famed actor, John Wilkes Booth, who had developed numerous plans during the war to kidnap Lincoln and his advisors and hold them as bargaining chips. The end of the war did not end Booth’s plan, it only strengthened and modified it. He blamed Lincoln for all that had befallen the south and conspired with a group of friends to kill Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, Secretary of State William Seward and General Ulysses S. Grant on April 14, 1865.

Read More
601 Words | 3 Pages

John Wilkes Booth made many mistakes in carrying out his plan. Greatness comes after success, and that's why so many people fail exactly like Booth did- they work for glory instead of

Read More
519 Words | 3 Pages

“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).

Read More
1084 Words | 5 Pages

Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth who supported the Confederacy even though they lost the American Civil war to the Union. Booth murdered Lincoln while he was watching a play at Ford’s Theatre. The murder was similar because there were apparently several co-conspiritors who helped Booth plan the assassination. Both of

Read More

More about Chasing Lincoln's Killer Book Report

Related Topics

Open Document