Chasing Lincoln's Killer

54 pages • 1 hour read

Chasing Lincoln's Killer

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2009

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PREFACE-CHAPTER 5

Reading Check

1. How many words was President Lincoln’s speech on March 4, 1865?

2. What does Booth show Forbes before entering the theater box?

3. What word did Booth shout in the theater after the assassination?

4. How did Powell leave Seward’s house?

5. How does Sergeant Silas T. Cobb alter the role of the search for Booth?

6. Where do Booth and Howard take refuge?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Summarize the Civil War events that the author discusses between 1861 and 1865. How did these years shape political division in postbellum America?

2. Who is John Wilkes Booth? What are some of his sentiments toward President Lincoln, and how did these sentiments shape his actions during the Civil War?

3. Describe Booth’s initial plan. What elements changed? Which elements went according to plan?

4. Outline the events in the hour before Lincoln’s assassination. How is Booth able to move around the theater with ease?

Describe the aftermath of Booth’s and Powell’s actions in Washington. What are the responses of the civilians who were in the vicinity of both events?

5. Compare and contrast the medical treatment that President Lincoln and Booth received the night of the attacks. Where do both individuals go and which treatments are successful?

Paired Resources

“Ford’s Theatre”

The National Park Service provides an overview, including a variety of classroom resources, about the location where President Lincoln was assassinated.
Connects with the themes American Exceptionalism, Sensationalism, and Celebrity Culture; Chaos, Confusion, and Moral Ambiguity; and Deeply Divided American Politics, “Objectivity,” and Primary Source Material.
Based on the text and the above resource, how has the US government adapted the site of Lincoln’s assassination to an educational facility?

“Montreal’s Confederate Past Revealed”

CBC’s 2023 interview centers on the role that the Canadian city played in the Confederate movement.
Connects with the themes Chaos, Confusion, and Moral Ambiguity and Deeply Divided American Politics, “Objectivity,” and Primary Source Material.
Based on the text and the above resource, how was Canada tied to the Confederate cause? What was the motivation for Canadians regarding this link to American politics?

CHAPTERS 6-11

Reading Check

1. What words of comfort does Stanton say after Lincoln’s death?

2. What memento does Stanton send to Mary Jane Welles?

3. What nickname did people who lived during the attacks on Easter Sunday of 1865 give that day?

4. What does Powell decide to do after meeting the group of soldiers in Mary’s boardinghouse?

5. How many days after the assassination did it take “John Wilkes Booth and David Herold [to] set foot on Virginia soil?” (Chapter 9)

6. What word does Swanson use to describe the manner in which Booth “committed the most daring public murder in American history?”

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who was Captain Samuel Cox? How does he support Booth and Herold in the aftermath of the attacks?

2. Describe the content of the newspapers in the days after President Lincoln’s death. Why was Booth surprised at the paper?

3. By the day of President Lincoln’s funeral, which of the assassins had been caught? Which were still at large?

4. How were Booth and Herold received after crossing the river? What were some of the obstacles they faced on the next stage of their journey?

5. Summarize the events at Garrett’s barn. What was the outcome of the situation?

Paired Resources

“How to Follow John Wilkes Booth’s Escape Route”

Washingtonian’s 2015 article shares the path that Booth took from Washington D.C. across the Potomac River.
Connects with the theme Chaos, Confusion, and Moral Ambiguity.
Based on the text and the above resource, how was Booth affected by the natural landscape of the route? What were some of the obstacles he experienced in the different stages of his escape?

“Thoughts from an Assassin: The Journal of John Wilkes Booth”

The National Park Service shares excerpts from Booth’s journal in the final days before his death.
Connects with the themes American Exceptionalism, Sensationalism, and Celebrity Culture; Chaos, Confusion, and Moral Ambiguity; and Deeply Divided American Politics, “Objectivity,” and Primary Source Material.
Based on the text and the above resource, how does Booth’s journal connect to the way he was perceived after President Lincoln’s assassination?

CHAPTER 12-EPILOGUE

Reading Check

1. Why does Conger ride ahead of the calvary?

2. What happened to the majority of people who were arrested for being accomplices in the assassination plot?

3. Which defendants were sentenced to death by hanging?

4. What notable event regarding Booth happened in 1869?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Where was Booth buried? How does this burial compare to other conspirators?

2. Who were the eight people that Stanton put on trial? Which of these eight people were punished?

3. How does Swanson summarize Booth’s legacy? Does he consider him to be a hero?

Recommended Next Reads

Manhunt by James L. Swanson

Swanson’s 2006 nonfiction account is the text that Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is adapted from.
Shared themes include American Exceptionalism, Sensationalism, and Celebrity Culture; Chaos, Confusion, and Moral Ambiguity; and Deeply Divided American Politics, “Objectivity,” and Primary Source Material.
Shared topics include John Wilkes Booth and the use of primary sources in developing historical narratives.
Manhunt on SuperSummary

The Hitler Assassination Attempts: The Plots, Places and People that Almost Changed History by John Grehan

Grehan’s 2022 account explores the various assassination attempts on the Nazi German dictator.
Shared themes include American Exceptionalism, Sensationalism, and Celebrity Culture and Chaos, Confusion, and Moral Ambiguity.
Shared topics include assassination attempts, political division, and controversial leaders

Reading Questions Answer Key

PREFACE-CHAPTER 5

Reading Check

1. 701 (Prologue)

2. “To this day, no one knows what words they exchanged or what Booth showed him.” (Chapter 2)

3. “Freedom!” (Chapter 2)

4. He “calmly trotted away.” (Chapter 3)

5. By allowing him to pass over the bridge out of the city (Chapter 4)

6. Mary Surratt’s tavern (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Swanson briefly outlines the years of the Civil War, identifying the two opposing sides (i.e., the anti-slavery Union army and the pro-slavery Confederate army), and the outcome of the war. In particular, he mentions that although the South officially surrendered to the North in 1865, many Confederate sympathizers continued to champion their cause in the postwar years. (Preface)

2. John Wilkes Booth was a famous actor and Confederate sympathizer who was unhappy with the outcome of the Civil War. He attended many of President Lincoln’s political events, and—as the war came to a close—he vowed that he would assassinate President Lincoln. His dislike was not new, as he had previously hatched many schemes, including a plot to kidnap President Lincoln with other Confederate sympathizers. He also regularly kept in contact with anti-Union conspirators in the city. (Preface)

3. Booth’s initial plan involved a three-way assassination of President Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William H. Seward. While Booth was successful in assassinating Lincoln, Powell was unable to carry out his mission with Seward, and Atzerodt abandoned his mission to kill Vice President Johnson altogether. (Chapter 1)

4. In the hour before the assassination, Booth prepared by placing a getaway horse outside and getting a drink. He allowed plenty of time to enter the theater, and navigated under the stage by a trapdoor. Once he entered the vestibule of Lincoln’s box, Booth was able to approach Lincoln from the rear, shoot him, exit the box with only minor interference from Major Henry Rathbone, land on the stage, and then leave without being stopped. Booth’s fame at the theater allowed him to commit the assassination without drawing too much suspicion from onlookers. (Chapter 2)

5. Swanson notes that both Booth and Powell left behind “blood.” For the Seward family, this meant ensuring the physical health of the survivors, including the attacked Seward, and the mental health of family members like young Fanny. For the onlookers at Ford’s Theatre, this meant that people were outraged, tried to find answers, and searched for the killer. In particular, Dr. Charles Leale’s quick action ensured that President Lincoln did not die immediately. (Chapter 4)

6. With the hopes that President Lincoln could be saved, Dr. Leale and others moved the president across the street to the Petersen boarding house, where doctors used rudimentary treatments to stop the brain bleed and keep President Lincoln alive. During these hours, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton took the necessary precautions of establishing law and order in the city. Similarly, Booth needed medical treatment for his leg, and he visited acquaintance and Confederate sympathizer Dr. Samuel Mudd on the outskirts of the city to treat his leg wound and rest before continuing to ride south. (Chapter 5)

CHAPTERS 6-11

Reading Check

1. “Now he belongs to the angels.” (Chapter 6)

2. A lock of President Lincoln’s hair (Chapter 6)

3. “Black Easter” (Chapter 7)

4. He surrendered. (Chapter 8)

5. 9 days (Chapter 11)

6. He “performed it.” (Chapter 11)

Short Answer

1. After leaving Mudd’s home, Booth and Herold visited Confederate sympathizer Captain Samuel Cox, who shielded the assassins and found them a guide for their journey across the Potomac River. Their guide is Thomas Jones, a Confederate Secret Service agent, who helped Confederate agents sneak across the river. Eager to help the assassins, he prepared them for their journey. (Chapter 7)

2. In the days after Lincoln’s death, Booth was surprised to see that articles painted President Lincoln as a “martyr” as opposed to the controversial figure that he was prior to the assassination. Booth was also concerned that the letter explaining his motives had not been published in any paper. (Chapter 9)

3. By April 19, five days after the assassination, the government was able to capture both Powell and Atzerodt. Booth, Herold, and Surratt were still at large, the latter of which the government believed to be central to the assassination plot and, in order to aid in the speed of the search, the government offered a $100,000 reward. (Chapter 9)

4. Booth and Herold were relieved to finally make it to Virginia; however, they were regarded with suspicion from the various families that took them in. Many of the hosts said that they did not want them to stay long. As a result, the men used the guise that they were Confederate soldiers. (Chapter 11)

5. After a 12-day search, the soldiers of the Sixteenth New York Cavalry were able to corner Booth and Herold sleeping in Garrett’s barn, where the family had locked them in for suspected horse theft. After giving the men some time, Herold left of his own accord while Booth decided to remain in the barn while the soldiers set it on fire. He was prepared to die in the barn, until soldier Corbett shot him, and he was brought outside. He died shortly after. (Chapter 11)

CHAPTERS 12-14

Reading Check

1. He wanted to report the death first and get the reward money. (Chapter 12)

2. They were let go. (Chapter 13)

3. Mary Surratt, David Herold, George Atzerodt, and Lewis Powell (Chapter 14)

4. His body was released to his brother and buried in the family plot in Baltimore, Maryland. (Epilogue)

Short Answer

1. Booth was buried in “a simple crate in an unmarked grave at the Old Arsenal Penitentiary,” the same location of his accomplices. (Chapter 12)

2. The eight people put on trial were Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt, Samuel Arnold, Michael O’Laughlen, Edman Spangler, and Samuel Mudd. (Chapter 13)

3. Swanson argues that other than the assassination plot, “Booth was a failure” as he did not prevent the end of the Civil War or undo the Emancipation Proclamation. In this vein, Swanson asserts that “[t]he real hero is Abraham Lincoln and the principles for which he lived—and died: Freedom and equal rights for all Americans.” (Epilogue)