Summary
Abraham Lincoln is, without any doubt, one of the key figures in US history. Thanks to his efforts, America was able to end the Civil War and begin to stabilize itself not only in the domestic but also in the foreign political arena. Of course, one cannot attribute this merit to a single individual, as a considerable number of people helped the President behind this success. However, Abraham Lincoln was in charge and was responsible for everything that was going on. It is unfortunate to know what the fate of the United States would have been if the president had stayed for the rest of his term, as he was the first president to be assassinated (Meltzer & Mensch, 2022). This assassination will go down in history not only as the first of its kind but also as one of the key events that affected the country as a whole.
The Cause of Assassination
To analyze the assassination, it is important to understand the reasons why a few people decided to take such a drastic step. It is known that shortly before the planned assassination, the Civil War ended and the Northern states, led by Abraham Lincoln, has won it. This influenced what policies the United States would pursue, as the primary labor force on which that country’s economy was based, namely enslaved people, was now absent. There was a massive number of people who opposed this process (Beard & Makowicki, 2020). Even though the war is over, the problems remain the same: the nation’s fragmentation. The people of the Southern states were still unwilling to abandon the course already taken despite their defeat. One such dissenter was John Wilkes Booth, the conspirator and leader of the assassination attempt on the president.
The Original Plan
In August 1864, he and his co-conspirators planned not assassination but a kidnapping to be exchanged for prisoners and an agreement to the terms of the Southern politicians, which meant the total surrender of the Northerners. As initially conceived, the plan was to kidnap the president during his trip from the White House and move into the pro-slavery territory, significantly weakening the Union forces. Having secured the support of the people of the various states, told them his plan, and obtained the funding to carry it out, John Wilkes Booth began careful preparations. It took months, and the goal was not to be fulfilled, as the war ended earlier than planned.
The Assassination
In April 1865, Lincoln made a public statement at the White House announcing the Emancipation Proclamation. This news made Brooks furious and he decided that this would be the President’s last speech (Harper’s Weekly, n.d.). Despite the initial plan to kidnap only the leader, it eventually grew to the elimination of prominent Northern leaders, which in addition to the President, included Vice President Andrew Johnson, Secretary of State William H. Seward, and General Ulysses S. Grant. However, the number one target remained the President. On April 14, 1965, Booth entered Ford’s Theatre, where his victim was already located. Stealthily ascending to the president’s box, he shot and fatally wounded Abraham Lincoln (Meltzer & Mensch, 2022). He did not die immediately, but it was evident that Lincoln would not survive the transport to the nearest hospital, so a decision was made to move him to a nearby house, where a doctor would be called. Unfortunately, there was nothing to help him, and on the morning of April 15, 1965, doctors pronounced him dead from a gunshot wound.
Conclusion
As a result of what has happened, it can be said that America is divided into “before” and “after.” With Lincoln’s death, there was a significant change in politics, but it had no effect on winning the war. Although the President was assassinated, which weakened the northern states’ army, it was too late, and the Southern states had already lost the battle. The assassination of such a great man is a crucial point in American history and will be remembered for years to come. Sadly, with Lincoln’s death, his cause took a bit of a back seat as the chief ideologue of black freedom died, and it halted the process of total emancipation from slavery. The image of a martyr who died for his idea, people, and principles was built around the President. He was a great man who deserved a much better death than that.
Explaining the Research Process
In the time spent researching this issue, I gained immense pleasure and a great knowledge base. It is always exciting and informative to delve into the history of one’s country and learn new details. After reading a lot of sources, I was surprised at how many further points can be learned and how superficially the material can be taught in other educational institutions. I put a lot of effort and time into writing this material and finding something interesting to read.
Before this work, I had little interest in the subject of history, as I did not find it the most interesting because of the teaching. However, it turned out that if the topic is fascinating, it can draw in very profoundly and interest me just as much as video games or TV series. The first thing I decided to do was to study the subject in terms of historical videos, and it was my surprise when the issue turned out to be very interesting. In addition to watching a large number of videos on the Lincoln assassination, I also began to look more deeply into the issue of significant points in American history. It was fascinating to learn new material and try to back it up with something fresh and unique that I didn’t know before but am now discovering.
Once I had the necessary material, I realized that it was impossible to stop and started searching for documents of the time, which led me to a detailed description of the Lincoln assassination case. The newspaper I found was dated the year the murder was committed, namely 1865, which made me feel like an archaeologist who had found a great treasure. It was that feeling I enjoyed the most when writing my work, the feeling that I was digging through history and finding something new, some details I hadn’t noticed before.
In the course of my work, I have learned that it is possible to have fun not only with the result but also with searching for materials and reading or watching them. Coming across the book The Lincoln Assassination, I discovered a world of informative facts and exciting events in America at that time, how different those years were from ours, how life was, and how people reacted to one of the most horrific events in American history and what did it mean for them.
References
Beard A.J, & Makowicki D. S. (2020). The Lincoln asassination.
Harper’s Weekly. (n.d.). The asassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Meltzer, B., & Mensch, J. (2022). The Lincoln conspiracy: The secret plot to kill America’s 16th president–and why it failed. Flatiron Books.