ipl-logo

The 12 Day Chase For Lincoln's Killer Summary

1463 Words6 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. 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. He decided that he not only wanted the president dead, but also the Secretary of State, William Seward and the Vice President, Andrew Johnson. Lewis Powell and …show more content…

Then, on the morning of April 25th, Booth spotted union men and told one of the Garrett sons to go upstairs and get his gun which upset him and the rest of his family. Mr. Garrett told Booth and Herold that they must leave but the pair refused. They agreed, however, to stay in the barn for the night and then leave the next morning. Sensing the suspicion of the two men, two of the Garrett sons locked Booth and Herold in the barn and contacted officials, who arrived at about 12:30 am on April 26,

Show More
Related
698 Words | 3 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.

Read More
404 Words | 2 Pages

“When soldiers had not come by his farm that evening, Dr. Mudd relaxed.” This evidence is found in chapter 7 of Chasing Lincoln’s Killers. Finally, If people are relieved that the troops didn't go to their house they are hiding something. Mudd might’ve been scared for his family so he didn’t tell. Again, Dr. Samuel Mudd knew and he still helped by lying to the court and not calling the police, and saying wrong directions.

Read More
782 Words | 4 Pages

“Bang!” “Bang!” I am in the middle of the Revolutionary War! The two novels being compared and contrasted are Two Kinds Of Patriots by Lucy Jane Bledsoe and My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. The topics to be discussed are the religion, politics, and the conflicts.

Read More
1842 Words | 8 Pages

The book is very fast paced and for people unfamiliar with the Lincoln assassination can seem very riveting. The pace is given praise by Brian Odom when he claims that Killing Lincoln is a “fast paced, enthralling narrative that unfolds more like a true-crime” (Odom). The pictures of those involved in these historical events help to clarify and to paint the scene. The maps also help people that are unfamiliar of the geography in and around Washington, understand the layout of the area around the capitol city. Killing Lincoln is quite fast paced and functions well to an audience that is looking to simply familiarize themselves with the events of Lincoln’s death.

Read More
1394 Words | 6 Pages

“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.

Read More
338 Words | 2 Pages

John Wilkes Booth was a famous actor in the 1850’s, who agreed with slavery during the Civil War. John Wilkes Booth killed the president of the United states, Abraham Lincoln in Ford 's theater Washington D.C. in 1865. Booth thought assassinating the president would make the south stronger, but it did not. John Wilkes Booth thought that killing Lincoln would make America a better country (John Wilkes Booth had thought). He was trying to exchange Lincoln 's life for saving his preconceived foundations of the country, but this did not go as planned.

Read More
1617 Words | 7 Pages

To accomplish the perfect assassination Booth must enlist some help, so he calls on some of his coconspirators to help him get the job done. Among Booth’s entourage are Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt, and Mary Surratt. These conspirators believed that their mission was to kidnap the president, but Booth had other plans for them. Blackmail and a lot of convincing made this group of people join Booth’s evil plot against the

Read More
769 Words | 4 Pages

The whole plan to kill Lincoln started with Booth and the conspirators plot to topple the government. Nearly 150 years ago President Abraham Lincoln was viewed as a martyr who ended slavery and preserved the union, he was hated as much as he was loved. A vaunted stage actor, John Wilks Booth

Read More
765 Words | 4 Pages

However, John Wilkes Booth’s plans fell through and so he decided he would settle for assassinating the president, believing he would become a hero to the South and the country as a whole. Then, on April 14, 1865 Lincoln was viewing the British comedy Our American Cousin with his wife, Major Henry Rathbone, Rathbone’s fiancée, and Clara Harris, the prominent daughter of a senator, when Booth approached Lincoln from behind and shot him once in the back of the head and stabbed Rathbone. Next, he jumped onto the stage, breaking his leg and confusing the crowd until Mrs. Lincoln screamed. He then fled and this act created one of the largest manhunts in United States’ history. He was found approximately two weeks later and killed by Union soldiers at the

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
721 Words | 3 Pages

I would recommend this book to someone who is into history and Abraham Lincoln. Growing up I used to think Abraham Lincoln was cool and inspiring. This book has helped me realize who Lincoln was. This book is really good at going into details from every aspect of Lincoln 's life. This book starts from the very beginning to the the very end of Lincoln.

Read More
473 Words | 2 Pages

Many of America's leaders were assassinated such as John F. Kennedy and MLK. The motives to their assassinations were most from disagreements which is the same motive for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On April 14th 1865, John Wilkes, shot and killed Abraham Lincoln at a play at ford Theatre . John Wilkes Booth was born in Maryland and was born in 1838. He lived in the north during the civil War but but yet he still didn’t agree with Abraham Lincoln.

Read More
665 Words | 3 Pages

Lincoln’s death was very coincidental. Booth is most known for killing President Lincoln on April 14, 1865 in Ford’s theater. Of course, the assassination was not without previous attempts, such as the attempted kidnapping of Lincoln. Two years before the time of Lincoln’s death sentence, he had seen Booth in a play at Ford’s theater on November 1863. Lincoln had noticed that the young actor stared at him with a very sharp look, but that couldn’t have prepared him for what was to come.

Read More
1015 Words | 5 Pages

Samuel Arnold, Lewis Payne, George Atzerodt, Samuel Mudd, David Herold, Edward Spangler, Michael O’Laughlin, and Mary Surratt were all arrested and tried for the conspiracy to kill Abraham Lincoln and Secretary Seward. The jury was made up of nine military judges and the defendants were not allowed to see their

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

More about The 12 Day Chase For Lincoln's Killer Summary

Related Topics

Open Document