In the century and a half since it happened, populist history has largely boiled down the assassination of Abraham Lincoln to the story of a single perpetrator: John Wilkes Booth
But in his appearance at the Camden County Historical Society, Lincoln scholar Hugh Boyle made clear that the real story is a sprawling epic.
It involves a gang of Confederate operatives and sympathizers that first plotted to kidnap the President and, when that failed, decided to murder not only him, but the Vice President and Secretary of State as well. Their goal was to decapitate and destabilize the federal government in hopes of forcing a settlement to the war that would avoid the South's total defeat. In the end, they managed to kill Lincoln and seriously injure Secretary of State William Seward.Four executed
The gang leader -- 27-year-old John Wilkes Booth -- was tracked down and shot to death by Union soldiers in Virginia. Eight others were convicted of being conspirators with Booth. Four were sentenced to death and hung, including the first woman ever executed by the U.S. government. The other four we...........click the sos to continue readin..
Siapakah John Wilkes Booth?Mengapakah dia membunuh Abe Lincoln?
Mari kita kembali ke tahun 1865.Pada malam 14 April,di sebuah melodrama Our American Cousin di Ford's Theatre di Washington,kelihatan Abraham Lincoln,presiden Amerika ke 16 di balai yang disediakan khas untuknya.Hadir bersama ialah General dan Mrs. Grant (telah keluar) serta Miss Clara Harris dan tunangnya,Major Henry R. Rathbone yang baru sahaja mengambil tempat mereka.Kira-kira pukul 10.30 malam,seorang pelakon,John Wilkes Booth telah memasuki balai Lincoln dan mendekati Lincoln dari arah belakang tanpa disedari oleh tetamu yang lain.
Booth telah menembak Lincoln di kepala.Booth melompat dari atas pentas dan menjerit "Sic Semper Tyrannis" satu cogankata Virginia yang bermaksud "Thus ever to tyrants".Booth cuba melarikan diri tetapi tertangkap dan *''mati'' 12 hari kemudiannya ketika cuba untuk menentang penahanannya....(*mengikur teori konspirasi dia tidak mati sebenar dan tetapi di tukar dengan org lain dan di seludupkan ke england.)