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What Is The Theme Of The 12 Day Chase For Lincoln's Killer

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The most notoriously infamous assassination in the history of America happened in April on the fourteenth day, in the year of 1865, which was also on a Good Friday. President Lincoln was shot and killed with a derringer by John Wilkes Booth. Booth came from one of the most well-known acting families in America at the time. He was an excellent actor, tall and good looking man who was very much into and apart of southern independence. He hated the black people and looked at Lincoln as dictator. Booth murdered Lincoln after many attempts to kidnap him went sour. In the beginning of his book, Swanson leaves “A Note to the Reader” message to the readers in which he states that “this is a true story” and that all the text in quotation marks are …show more content…

The author’s reason for writing this book was to vividly reflect on President Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth, and how this manhunt led The Union Cavalry and troops on a manhunt chase that lasted twelve long devastated days. Swanson believes that the murder of President Lincoln, Booth, was a raciest and a murderer who killed one of the greatest Americans who ever lived. Swanson believes that the people think of Booth as an anti-hero, a tragic young flawed actor who thought he was serving his cause but Booth shortly became America’s most …show more content…

Booth’s relationship with David Herold, and the determined revenge on Secretary of War Edwin McMasters Stanton, the bizarre part of that Dr. Samuel Mudd played in this conspiracy, are all acknowledge with an important prose in the book. Towards the end of the twelve days manhunt chase, Swanson talks in great detail hour by hour of how Booth was eventually captured in Virginia. It becomes fascinating during the final moment of Booth’s life. As Booth lay there dying, he socializes with his captors. The way Swanson addresses this moment in the book will have the reader right there on the front porch with Booth, the captors, and the soldiers. At this moment in the book, Swanson does not precisely empathize with Booth. Swanson states that “Booth is not celebrated for the murder, but he has in some ways been forgiven for

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The book Chasing Lincoln’s Killer tells a mysterious story about John Wilkes Booth’s expedition as he tries to escape the soldiers trying to find him. James L. Swanson tell an informational adventure story about how Booth attempted to escape his search. The whole book talked about Booth’s escape journey including his capture. On the night before Lincoln’s assassination Booth could not sleep knowing what he was about to try to accomplish. The final hours that he spent not being the most wanted man in America was at a bar.

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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.

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Ellis uses simple terms and straightforward organization of the main topics in the book for easy understanding and clarity. This source is very valuable because it has extensive research that includes reviewing hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, interviewing many of the characters in the story, recording his own memories, including drawing a floor plan of Adams' office where the murder took place. This sources limitation comes down to Ellis profession. The book has gained recognition from the state of Florida as a valuable source; however, Ellis is not a professional historian. Because he created the book out of personal interest, his focus is different than a

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Chasing Lincoln's Killer Analysis

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

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Killing Lincoln, by Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard, highlights the backstory behind one of America’s most famous assassinations: the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Within the book’s pages, O’Reilly and Dugard delve into the details involving the ending of the Civil War and the meticulous planning done by John Wilkes Booth in order to assassinate the President. What makes this novel most compelling is the incredible attention to small details that O’Reilly and Dugard make sure are included in the book. The book fully validates O’Reilly in the beginning of the book where he writes “the story you are about to read is true and truly shocking” (O’Reilly 1).

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History class to many falls as a just another boring lesson, memorizing facts you will never use. The year America got it’s independence, the dates of the end of World War 1 and 2- all forgotten by the time you graduate. These facts may seem useless, but behind each one, their is a story with so many valiant people, a story with people who must be forever condemned, and facts that we can always use. In the book, Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, written by James L. Swanson, there is one such story about the death of Abraham Lincoln and the manhunt that followed. What is really important about this story is that the attackers of this night always be condemned, as well as to note the amazing effort of our country coming together with tips.

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