Theories of Lincoln’s Assassination
There are numerous theories about Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. One of the theories is the Simple conspiracy theory, which states that John Wilkes Booth and his small band of co-conspirators planned to kidnap Abraham Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth was considered as a racist and a Southern patriot. Ulysses G. Grant, General of Union’s army suspended the exchange of southern prisoners of war, which led Booth to plan to abduct the President. Booth was considered as the leader of this small group of co-conspirators that included Samuel Arnold, George Atzerodt, David Herold, Michael O'Laughlen, Lewis Powell, John Surratt, and Mary Surratt. The reason behind this plot was that it would have enabled the South to rise up and have a chance for victory in the Civil War. Booth’s and his co-conspirators’ plot was to kidnap Abraham Lincoln, take him to Richmond, and exchange him with Southern prisoners of war. However, when the plan failed, Booth took revenge and began another plot of assassinating Lincoln. Booth also wanted to assassinate the Vice President, Andrew Johnson and the Secretary of State, William H. Seward. Assassinating the top three, powerful figures, Booth knew it would have given a major blow to the government of the United States. Therefore, Booth assigned Lewis Powell to kill William H. Seward and George Atzerodt to kill Andrew Johnson. George Atzerodt backed down and Lewis Powell attacked and injured Seward critically but he was not able to kill him, which failed Booth’s plan again. Booth however, shot Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. John Wilkes Booth and all of his remaining co-conspirators, except for John Surratt were either hanged or sent to prison in Fort Jefferson. Booth considered himself as a hero throughout this entire plot. In his diary, John Wilkes Booth considered himself as Brutus and Lincoln as a tyrant, Julius Caesar. Booth thought that he should be praised for killing Abraham Lincoln just as Brutus was praised for killing Julius Caesar.
Another conspiracy theory is the Eisenschiml’s theory. Otto Eisenschiml researched the assassination of Lincoln and published a book in 1937 called, “Why was Lincoln Murdered”. This theory states that the Secretary of War, Edwin Staton was directly involved in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Staton was against Lincoln’s mild Reconstruction policies and wanted Lincoln out of office. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at the Ford theatre where his wife, Mary Todd and he were watching Our American Cousin. Abraham Lincoln invited Ulysses G. Grant to watch Our American Cousin. Staton believed that if Ulysses G. Grant was there, then Booth would not be able to pass through by the military guards of Grant. Eisenschiml argues that without Ulysses G. Grant, Staton knew Lincoln would be defenseless. Therefore, Staton made an order to modify Ulysses G. Grant’s plans for the evening, which led to the refusal of Abraham Lincoln’s invitation. In the book, “Why Lincoln was Murdered”, Eisenschiml also argues that Staton did not allow Major Thomas T. Eckert to be released from duty because Lincoln asked Thomas T. Eckert to be his bodyguard at Ford Theatre. Staton falsely stated that Eckert had crucial work to do at the War Department’s Telegraph office. Staton’s every move he made after the assassination of Lincoln was suspicious and contained an mysterious motive. Staton deliberately cut out all other escape routes except the route to Washington, which Booth had taken to escape. Staton also did not punish the presidential guard, John P. Parker from leaving Navy Yard Bridge post when Booth had escaped. Eisenschiml argues that Staton had secretly arranged to kill Booth before being brought to his trial. David Balsinger, author of the book The Lincoln Conspiracy, states that a warning was given to the War Department about a plot of assassinating Lincoln but Staton did not take any actions to protect the president. Staton also tore the pages from Booth’s diary to destroy the evidence. These moves by Edwin Staton prove that Staton had something to do with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Out of these two theories, Simple Conspiracy and the Eisenschiml’s Conspiracy theory of Lincoln’s assassination, I believe that the theory of Simple conspiracy was more likely to happen than Eisenschiml’s conspiracy theory. The reason I do not think Eisenschiml’s theory is plausible is because Otto Eisenschiml argued that the conspirators were hooded and shipped off to a place where they could not associate with anyone. This is where this theory collapses because the conspirators had plenty of time to associate with anyone and they were not in fact hooded throughout the entire trial. In addition, Eisenschiml’s theory states that Staton cut out all the other routes except for the one route Booth took. The reason Staton was not able to cut that route is because there were no telegraphic facilities to send a message and only a horseback riding could have sent that message. The horseback riding would have taken a long time which would have given Booth a fine head start. Another reason this theory is implausible is that the co-workers of the president would not kill the president because they had few disagreements. In order to kill the president, it needs to have a better motive and Staton not preferring the Reconstruction policies is not a good motive for assassinating the president. The simple conspiracy theory however, had a better motive: allowing the South to rise and having a chance for the South to win this war. Even in Booth’s diary, he wrote how Abraham Lincoln is a tyrant and he should be killed just as Julius Caesar. This illustrates the characters of a leader in Booth. He also compared himself to Brutus, which demonstrates how Booth believes he is doing the right thing. Booth considering himself as a hero is what every leaders wish for in the society. These points prove that Simple conspiracy theory was more likely to happen than Eisenschiml’s theory.

References http://americanhistory.about.com/od/lincolnsdeath/a/lincolnsdeath_2.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Abraham_Lincoln http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln74.html http://www.cincinnatiskeptics.org/blurbs/vindication-of-stanton.html