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True Crime History
The Lincoln Assassination Riddle: Revisiting the Crime of the Nineteenth Century
Most Americans are aware that their sixteenth president was mortally wounded by a man named Booth at a Washington theater in April 1865. These are facts that nobody can dispute. However, a closer look at this history-changing catastrophe raises questions that have still not been fully answered. The passing of the 150th anniversary of the United States’ first presidential assassination is an ideal time for students and scholars to consider these questions. The Lincoln Assassination Riddle explores the persistent mysteries of the assassination with contributions from leading experts―Burrus M. Carnahan, Joan L. Chaconas, Michael S. Green, Michael Kauffman, Betsy J. Ownsbey, Edward Steers Jr., Tom Turner, and others―who approach the crime from a variety of perspectives. Each focuses on one controversial or compelling topic―among them the extent of the conspiracy to kill President Lincoln, whether Lincoln can be regarded as a martyr to voting rights, a new analysis of John Wilkes Booth and his relationship with the Confederate government and how it affected the plot, the forensics of Lincoln’s death, and whether modern medicine could have saved the president. Also included are important discussions of Booth’s escape route in southern Maryland and its effects on the assassination. Controversial figures like Louis Weichmann and Mary and John Surratt are profiled and the evidence against them examined. There is little doubt that the assassination of Abraham Lincoln changed the course of American history in ways we are still dealing with today. The course of racial justice in the United States was for- ever altered by Booth’s bullet. This volume will challenge and delight readers who are interested in getting to know everything they can about this epic and tragic event and in untangling the riddle of the Lincoln assassination.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published May 15, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 25, 2017
There are dozens (hundreds?) of books on Abraham Lincoln's assassination, but this one is somewhat unique. Noted historians Frank Williams and Michael Burkhimer bring together fifteen essays, each on a particular facet related in some way to the assassination. While there is the inevitable repetition - each mentions the basic facts of Lincoln's fateful visit to the theater, for example - these are minor.
Michael J. Kline begins with a bit of a preview of the assassination by looking closer at the 1861 Baltimore assassination plot and posing the question: Was Booth involved? Not surprisingly the answer is ambiguous, but Kline lays out his case.
The next chapter begins the focus on the actual 1865 assassination. It is written by one of the foremost experts on the topic, Edward Steers, Jr., who connects the dots between Booth and the Confederacy. Historian Michael Kauffman follows with a chapter on the "guilt by association" of Booth's co-conspirators, though most perhaps were so only in terms of kidnapping Lincoln, not murdering him.
Other chapters take closer looks at Lincoln's wound from a medical point of view, the enigma of Louis Weichmann's testimony, and even the role of Lincoln's view on extending voting rights to African-Americans as a motive. A series of chapters delve into individual conspirators such as Mary Surratt, John Surratt, Jr., and Lewis Powell. Additional chapters look at the unbounded grief of Mary Lincoln and how Robert Lincoln handled his sudden "head-of-the-family" status, including the eventual insanity trial he pursued to reign in his still grief-stricken mother. Final chapters examine the role of the "law of war" in the military tribunal of the conspirators and a summary of how Americans interpreted the assassination over time. This last chapter shows that conspiracies popped up and down over the 150+ years since the event, and that even now widely debunked conspiracy theories get recycled in modern books.
Overall, the book provides surprisingly refreshing insights into such a well-worn topic. Each chapter is succinct and fully loaded with endnote citations. Most of the chapters are well written and easy to follow. For those wanting a different look in an quick-to-read format, this excellent book of essays will fit the bill nicely.
Michael J. Kline begins with a bit of a preview of the assassination by looking closer at the 1861 Baltimore assassination plot and posing the question: Was Booth involved? Not surprisingly the answer is ambiguous, but Kline lays out his case.
The next chapter begins the focus on the actual 1865 assassination. It is written by one of the foremost experts on the topic, Edward Steers, Jr., who connects the dots between Booth and the Confederacy. Historian Michael Kauffman follows with a chapter on the "guilt by association" of Booth's co-conspirators, though most perhaps were so only in terms of kidnapping Lincoln, not murdering him.
Other chapters take closer looks at Lincoln's wound from a medical point of view, the enigma of Louis Weichmann's testimony, and even the role of Lincoln's view on extending voting rights to African-Americans as a motive. A series of chapters delve into individual conspirators such as Mary Surratt, John Surratt, Jr., and Lewis Powell. Additional chapters look at the unbounded grief of Mary Lincoln and how Robert Lincoln handled his sudden "head-of-the-family" status, including the eventual insanity trial he pursued to reign in his still grief-stricken mother. Final chapters examine the role of the "law of war" in the military tribunal of the conspirators and a summary of how Americans interpreted the assassination over time. This last chapter shows that conspiracies popped up and down over the 150+ years since the event, and that even now widely debunked conspiracy theories get recycled in modern books.
Overall, the book provides surprisingly refreshing insights into such a well-worn topic. Each chapter is succinct and fully loaded with endnote citations. Most of the chapters are well written and easy to follow. For those wanting a different look in an quick-to-read format, this excellent book of essays will fit the bill nicely.
October 23, 2017
Reviewed this for the North Carolina Historical Review.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews