...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...
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...The end of the Civil War presented a unique crossroads for the war torn United States. How would the North and South reunite? At the helm, there was a moderate politician and a reflective thinker – President Abraham Lincoln. One of the greatest statesmen of all time, Lincoln advocated a lenient stance, envisioning a “restoration” whereby the southern states would pledge allegiance and reenter the Union under the Constitution. Lincoln proved to be a great negotiator and worked successfully during the war to join opposing sides to unite behind the Emancipation Proclamation and passage of the 13th Amendment. Lincoln appealed to the common man and was revered by many of his era. One of his greatest admirers was poet Walt Whitman who penned his famous poem “Captain, My Captain” as a tribute to Lincoln and, according to Reynolds in Lincoln and Whitman, called Lincoln “the greatest, best, most characteristic,...
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...many Americans think of Abraham Lincoln, they think first of all, as the president who freed the slaves. He is immortalized as the "Great Emancipator," and widely regarded as a champion of black freedom who supported social equality of the races, and who fought the American Civil War (1861-1865) to free the slaves. In actuality, Abraham Lincoln did not fight the Civil War to free the slaves. He fought it to save the Union. He did not agree with slavery and one of the good things that came out of the Union being saved was the abolishment of slavery. (Gienapp, 2002). (Jenness, 2007). Abraham Lincoln was a self made man that rose mythically from humble beginnings to national greatness. He began life as a farm boy. He did not come from a family who believed in education. Despite this, Abraham Lincoln read books and done whatever he could to educate himself. He was a man that believed in honesty and caring for other people. After learning many lessons in life and climbing the ladder of success, his fine qualities landed him as the United States of America’s 16th President. He was successful in doing many great things for people and his community and eventually the United States. (Gienapp, 2002). (Jenness, 2007). He was embarrassed of his family background. He came from a poor family that was farmers. His life as a farm boy was spent doing chores, such as hauling water and chopping wood, and helping in the fields. His mother died when Abraham Lincoln was 9. His father...
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...Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation is one of the most revered documents in United States history. In its time, the document effectively freed the slaves but also marked the first step in creating an America with racial equality. Therefore, because of its significance in shaping the ideals of the United States, many people assume that future leaders of the nation would view the Emancipation Proclamation in the same way. However, in looking at speeches made by Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Barack Obama during some of the most notable time periods in United States history, it becomes evident that presidents did not approach Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in the same way. Instead, circumstances surrounding each particular administration...
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...The Civil War was the bloodiest war in American history. For four years it slogged on, and when it was finished there was much jubilation. On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, his wife, Major Henry Rathbone and his date Clara Harris attended Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre in downtown Washington D.C. However, their revelry was cut short when famous actor John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln and escaped from Ford’s Theatre. For 12 days, manhunters were searching for the most wanted man in America. The 12 day manhunt culminated at the Garrett farm in Northern Virginia with a fiery barn that was an inferno, a dead assassin who was at his prime in life, and a grieving nation left to heal its wounds. John Wilkes Booth committed the...
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...Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 close to Hodgenville, Kentucky. His family moved to Indiana in 1816. When Lincoln was ten his mother died from poisoned milk. His father remarried the next year to Sarah Bush Johnston. Abraham liked her very much and even later recalled her "his angel mother. (Encarta)" Abraham had less than one year of formal education during his life. He was self-educated and taught himself how to read and write. When he was not in school, he worked on the frontier farm clearing out forests with his axe. When Abraham Lincoln was 21 he and his family moved to Illinois. There he worked on a farm growing corn. But more importantly here was where he gave his first political speech. In 1830, the same year his family moved to Illinois, he went to a political rally and was convinced to talk for a candidate on his behalf. According to a witness there, Lincoln "was frightened but got warmed up and made the best speech of the day. (Encarta)." Abraham Lincoln's political career started in the spring of 1832 by running for a seat in the Illinois' House of Representatives. However an unusual turn of events happened a month after he announced he was running. The store he was working at went bankrupt and he lost his job. Very shortly thereafter Native Americans rebelled and the governor of Illinois asked for volunteers to help put this down to which Lincoln promptly volunteered for. He never experienced actual combat, but during his 3 month time period he served...
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...The Undefined Reconstruction When thinking about the era of Reconstruction after the Civil War what comes to mind? It is known as a period of rebuilding and piecing together broken parts. In this case, America was broken into two parts and needed fixing. The question is did Reconstruction succeed in doing so? Some may say that the Reconstruction was a failure and didn't actually put an end to slavery and still left the country divided. Others may say that it still took a step towards the right direction and fixed issues. When we assess the outcomes, the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment would now take a step towards ending slavery and giving African American the rights they deserved. However many groups like the KKK arose because of this and White...
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... 1863, the 3rd year of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to abolish slavery in the following states: Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. This proclamation stated that anyone who owned slaves was required to release...
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...thought this war would be a short war, but it lasted 4 years. This war was the Civil War and it is an important event in history. Many people say the civil war was over states rights, but a majority of people say it was over slavery. Slavery was said to be the #1 conflict between the North and the South in the 1860’s (Guelzo 1). People from the North were being used as slaves in the south. The south liked/ wanted slaves, but the North did not agree, which is why the country was divided (Luce 1). Fifteen out of 34 of the states were slave states...
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...world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless." – Abraham Lincoln1 Throughout the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, he managed to accomplish many great things. However, the greatest feat he managed to procure was in 1865, specifically, the Emancipation Proclamation. Even though his life was cut short 7 months prior to the officially ratification of the 13th amendment, he was and will always be known as the driving force behind this movement. 2 "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." (13th Amendment)3 So with the new amendment came a new tide of change. Right? Not according to most Southern states that refused to collaborate with the new adjustment. The question we can pose is “why did race continue to be a fundamental social problem in the United States after the abolition of slavery in 1865?” Throughout the research paper, the answer will hopefully be uncovered along with some others pertaining to how the slaves and slave owners reacted to this new law. After the Emancipation Proclamation, which was ratified on the 13th of December in 1865, the slaves that were rebelling against the Union and were living in the Southern states were freed. The time that passed after the Emancipation Proclamation is known together as the Reconstruction.4 Even...
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...movements” come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time period in America consisting of many leaders, goals and accomplishments. Though, like all things in life, it did come to an end, the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure. When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War. In all respects, Reconstruction was mainly just that. It was a time period of “putting back the pieces”, as people say. It was the point where America attempted to become a full running country once more. This, though, was not an easy task. The memory of massive death was still in the front of everyone’s mind, hardening into resentment and sometimes even hatred. The south was virtually non-existent politically or economically, and searching desperately for a way back in. Along with these things, now living amongst the population were almost four million former slaves, who had no idea how to make a living on their own. They had been freed by the 13th amendment in 1865, and in the future became a great concern to many political leaders. Still, it was no secret that something had to be done. So, as usually happens, political leaders appeared on the stage, each holding their own plan of Reconstruction, each certain their ideas were the correct ones. One of the first people who came up with a blueprint for Reconstruction was the president at the time, Abraham Lincoln. The “Lincoln Plan” was a very open one...
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...In 1861, after decades of tension between the north and the south within the nation over issues including states rights and federal authority, westward expansion and slavery, the nation evolved into a Civil War. The election of Republican Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860 had caused southern states to secede from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. The south felt out-numbered from partisan radical politics. The war between the South and North was a four-year awful and destructive war. After the war had ended in 1865, there were 750,000 soldiers dead from both sides. Slavery was abolished by the thirteenth amendment, the union had won, but the nation was still divided economically, politically and socially. The people, land and property of the South were devastated. Besides the challenge of readmitting the southern states into the union, there were plans made to reconstruct the defeated south. Reconstruction hinged on resolving the political, economic and social issues. The terms that the South had agreed to in order or rejoin the Union had an important impact on both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Republican Party took advantage of the south’s absence from Congress. The Radical Republicans from the north divided the Democratic Party after the victories in the elections of 1860 and 1864. Latter on the south was removed from the Electoral College. Both the Republicans and democratic leaders were fearful that readmitting the South would...
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...The essay below was a very strong essay answering the question about Reconstruction. It was an actual essay (word for word) written by one of the students in class. It received 28.5 points out of 30. This was a great essay; about the only comment I would write was that the thesis in the introduction could have been a little more direct: As a country, America has gone though many political changes throughout her lifetime. Leaders have come and gone, all of them having different objectives and plans for the future. As history takes its course, though, most all of these “revolutionary movements” come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time period in America consisting of many leaders, goals and accomplishments. Though, like all things in life, it did come to an end, the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure. When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War. In all respects, Reconstruction was mainly just that. It was a time period of “putting back the pieces”, as people say. It was the point where America attempted to become a full running country once more. This, though, was not an easy task. The memory of massive death was still in the front of everyone’s mind, hardening into resentment and sometimes even hatred. The south was virtually non-existent politically or economically, and searching desperately for a way back in. Along with these things, now living...
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...The Reconstruction Era As a country, America has gone though many political changes throughout its lifetime. Leaders have come and gone, and all of them have had their own objectives and plans for the future. As history has taken its course, though, almost all of these “revolutionary movements” have come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a violent period that defined the defeated South’s status in the Union and the meaning of freedom for ex-slaves. Though, like many things in life, it did come to an end, and the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure. When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War . In many respects, Reconstruction was a time period of attempted healing and building. It was the point where America attempted to become a full running country once more. This, though, was not an easy task. The memory of massive death was still in the front of everyone’s mind, hardening into resentment and sometimes even hatred. The south was virtually non-existent politically or economically, and searching desperately for a way into the political scene. Along with these things, now living amongst the population were almost four million former slaves, who had no idea how to make a living on their own. The former slaves had been freed by the 13th amendment in 1865, and in the future became a great concern to many political leaders. Still, it was no secret that something...
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...Reconstruction: The Post War Era Lindsay Pone Professor Goldstein History 105 Strayer University 01/30/2013 Reconstruction: The Post Civil War Era Friday April 12, 1861, America embarked into war with its biggest adversary; America! The American Civil War broke out, and what was believed to be a quick battle by the North, turned out to be a long bloody four years and left the country devastated. President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, successfully lead this country through its greatest constitutional, military and moral crisis. Everything he did was in the best interest in preserving this nation to what it is today. If President Lincoln task of preserving the union would have failed, our nation would be a split nation today. All the events of the Civil War are what truly shaped the face of America today. The President knew that if he wanted to preserve this nation as a whole, not only would he have to win the war, but he would have to have a plan in place to immediately fix the nation to help it move forward from war. During his time in the white house and towards the end of the war, when it was evident the North would prevail, he worked on a reconstruction plan to get the South up and moving. During the war, the northern armies had gone through the South destroying everything that would help the south to prevail in the war. The agricultural belt that was the strength of the was nothing more than ashes as...
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