Question Home

Position:Home>History> Planning the Lincoln Assination?


Question: Planning the Lincoln Assination!?
How did the plotters know that Lincoln would attend the play in advance!.!.!.what I mean is Linconln's assination wasn't some random isolated event, it was part of a large conspiracy to assinate many members of govt!. But the whole plot seems to hand on Booth's assination of Liconln, so how did the group ensure this key component would happen, and plan it out in far in advance enough!.Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
John Wilkes Booth was the leader of a group of men that at first conspired to kidnap the President and demand concessions to the Confederate government in the south!. The success of Lincoln and the Union Army in destroying the Confederacy made Booth hate them!.
Booth later revised the plan to include killing Lincoln, the Vice President and the Secretary of State all on the same night to "decapitate" the U!.S!. government!.
Apparently he thought this would be good for the south and even expected to be hailed as a hero for the deed!.

Booth was a resident of the Washington D!.C!. area!. His father was a noted British actor, two of his brothers were actors and John Wilkes Booth was an actor as well!.
It was well known that the President and his wife were regularly in attendance at Ford Theater!.
As a stage actor who performed at the theater Booth used his intimate knowledge of the theater to sneak into the balcony area where Lincoln always sat!. As an actor he didn't seem out of place anywhere in the theater!.
In fact, Booth spent so much time at the theater that his mail was actually delivered there!.

Booth waited for the precise time in the play when he knew the audience would be loudest to sneak up behind the president and shoot him in the head!.
No U!.S!. President had previously been assassinated!.

One of Booth's co-conspirators managed a vicious attack on the entire household of the Secretary of State!. His gun jammed and he used it to bludgeon but his main weapon became a knife!.
He severely wounded the Secretary of State, William Seward but failed to kill him!. Seward was saved by a neck brace he wore from a recent carraige accident,

The man assigned to kill Vice President, Andrew Johnson was too drunk to do the deed and no attack was made!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

John Wilkes Booth had assembled his group in early 1865 with the thought of kidnapping Abraham Lincoln!. However, several kidnapping attempts before Gen!. Robert E!. Lee's surrender fell through when Lincoln did not appear as planned!. Therefore, you need to understand that Wilkes already had a team in place in Washington, that they had been following key members of Lincoln's government for several months, that they knew where these members lived and their daily habits, and that they were ready to strike at a moment's notice!. So, Booth did not just throw together a last-second conspiracy to kill Lincoln, but had a group waiting for the opportunity!.

Secondly, Booth, who was an actor at Ford's Theater, learned about Lincoln's planned visit to see the play Our American Cousin!. Even back then, you had to make plans and get tickets before you could see a play!. So, it is not surprising the Lincoln's planned visit, along with Gen!. Ulysses S!. Grant, would be scuttlebutt among the stage hands and other employees at the theater!.

So, with a group already in place, it wouldn't have been difficult for Booth to quickly position his men and then go after Lincoln!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

John Wilkes Booth was the Brad Pitt of his day: famous, rich, and handsome!. In fact, one magazine of the day named him, "The Handsomest Man in America!." As a famous actor, he would have been privy to all the news of the various theaters all along the Eastern Seaboard!. He certainly would have heard of the president attending a performance of a hit play like "Our American Cousin!."Www@QuestionHome@Com