Abraham Lincoln (25 page)

As for the peephole in the state-box door, nobody saw Booth bore it or chip the plaster from the frame of the outer door. But circumstantial evidence points to Booth, since an iron-handled gimlet was found in his room at the National Hotel after the assassination. Authorities assume that he used this instrument to fix the outer door and to make the peephole, then scraping it clean with a small knife. Booth had such free access to Ford's, was so well known to the people there, that he could easily have made his preparations without attracting attention. See Luthin,
Real Lincoln
, 627-28, and DeWitt,
Assassination of Lincoln
, 42, a volume based on contemporary testimony and official records and reports.

The chief government witness against Booth's accomplices, Louis J. Weichmann, whose
True History of the Assassination
was only recently published, contended that the facts indicate that somebody involved in the assassination plot was in the state box earlier that day, boring the hole in question, making the mortise in the outer door frame, and leaving a wooden bar for Booth to insert into it and thus to lock out people from the auditorium.

In 1963, however, a National Park Service pamphlet,
Restoration of Ford's Theater, An Historic Structures Report
, hurled new evidence into the peephole controversy. The pamphlet quoted Frank Ford, son of theater-owner Harry Ford, who wrote in 1962 that workmen acting on his father's instructions had made the hole, so that the guard that night could peer through at the President without disturbing him. People can believe that if they want to. But I am suspicious of hearsay evidence offered almost a century after the event. Therefore I am inclined not to accept Frank Ford's claim until it can be substantiated by contemporary evidence.

2: A
FTERMATH

My sources for Booth's death, diary, and body are Bryan,
Great American Myth
, 228-314; Turner,
Beware the People Weeping
, 74-75, 100-24; Luthin,
Real Lincoln
, 665-71; and William Hanchett,
The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies
(Urbana, Ill., 1983). The quotations “Well, my brave boys” and “Tell my mother” are from Bryan,
Great American Myth
, 264, 265; the quotation “There was nothing in the diary” from Turner,
Beware the People Weeping
, 75; the quotation “God Almighty ordered” from Mitgang,
Lincoln, A Press Portrait
, 476; the quotation “Abe has gone to answer” from the Chattanooga
Daily Rebel
as reprinted in the Philadelphia
Evening Bulletin
, May 10, 1865.

The best analysis of the conspiracy trials is Turner,
Beware the People Weeping
, 138-52. See also Turner, “What Type of Trial?”
Papers of the Abraham Lincoln Association
, 4:29-50. The Surratt quotation is from Weichmann,
True History
, 431; the quotation “it was ‘a name in history'” from Luthin,
Real Lincoln
, 612; the Lamon quotation is from his
Recollections of Abraham Lincoln, 1847-1865
(Chicago, 1895), 262, 272. See also James W. Clarke,
American Assassins: The Darker Side of Politics
(Princeton, N.J., 1982).

3: S
TANTON

For the various theories, consult Hanchett,
The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies
.

On the lecture circuit and in the classroom, I am repeatedly asked about Stanton's connection with the assassination. “Did he engineer it?” “Was he involved?” The Stanton thesis began with Otto Eisenschiml,
Why Was Lincoln Murdered?
(Boston, 1937) and
In the Shadow of Lincoln's Death
(New York, 1940). See the excellent critiques in William Hanchett, “The Eisenschiml Thesis,”
Civil War History
, 25 (Sept., 1979): 197-217, and Turner,
Beware the People Weeping
, 6-9. The Sunn Classic motion picture came out in 1977, as did its paperback,
The Lincoln Conspiracy
, written by David Balsiger, Sunn's “Director of Research Development,” and Charles E. Sellier, Jr., “Senior Vice President of Production.” For scholarly exposés of this atrocious work, see William C. Davis, “Behind the Lines: Caveat Emptor” and “Behind the Lines: ‘The Lincoln Conspiracy'—Hoax?,”
Civil War Times Illustrated
(Aug. and Sept., 1977), 33-37, 47-49; and Turner,
Beware the People Weeping
, 13-16.

My profile of Stanton draws from the following sources: the quotations “Stanton, you have been,” “stern face,” and “My chief” from Thomas and Hyman,
Stanton
, 354, 41, 378; the quotation “the outer crust” and “Folks come up here” from Bryan,
Great American Myth
, 129, 130; the quotation “Did Stanton call me a fool?” from Thomas, “Lincoln's Humor,”
Papers of the Abraham Lincoln Association
, 3:40; Stanton's letters to Lincoln in Lincoln,
CW
, 8:373-74, 375, 384-85; the quotation “he would have you court-martialed” from Thomas and Hyman,
Stanton
, 394-95; the quotation “warnings that appeared” from John G. Nicolay and John Hay, “Abraham Lincoln: A History of the Fourteenth of April,”
Century Magazine
, 39 (1890): 431; Weichmann's warning and the quotations “undimmed praise,” “through all that night,” “I knew it was only” from Turner,
Beware the People Weeping
, 69-72, 55, 56, 63; the quotation “I recall the kindness” from Thomas and Hyman,
Stanton
, 638. Turner's chapter on Stanton in
Beware the People Weeping
is an excellent scholarly exoneration. See also Mark Neely, Jr., “Vindication,”
Lincoln Lore
(May, 1982).

4: W
ITHOUT
H
IM

My profile of Mary is based on the works of Randall and the Turners, cited in the text. See also David Donald, “Herndon and Mrs. Lincoln,” in Donald,
Lincoln Reconsidered
, 37-56; Mary Elizabeth Massey, “Mary Todd Lincoln,”
American History Illustrated
(May, 1975), 4-9, 44-48; and Elizabeth Keckley,
Behind the Scenes
(reprint ed., New York, 1968), along with my appraisal of it in
Our Fiery Trial
, 139.

The quotation “We must both” is from Turners,
Mary Todd Lincoln
, 218; the quotation “felt so unwilling” from Milton H. Shutes,
Lincoln and the Doctors: A Medical Study of the Life of Abraham Lincoln
(New York, 1933), 132-34; the quotation “Oh, my God” from Howard H. Peckham, “James Turner's Account of Lincoln's Death,”
Abraham Lincoln Quarterly
(Dec., 1942), 176-83; the quotations “Day by day,” “had nothing,” “
grateful
nation,” “This is the return,” “dirty dog,” “not worth, living for,” “she wolf,” “I pray for death,” “
the colored
historian,” “womanly nature” from Turners,
Mary Todd Lincoln
, 257, 238, 304, 413-14, 416, 440, 472, 474; the quotation “small cheerless” from Randall,
Mary Lincoln
, 417; the quotation “murmuring word” and Mary's description of Tad from Turners,
Mary Todd Lincoln
, 573, 250-51, 523, 590; the quotations “I feel that there is no life” and “O Robert” from Randall,
Mary Lincoln
, 425, 431; and Mary's letter to Robert in Turners,
Mary Todd Lincoln
, 615-16.

abolitionists, abolition movement

Lincoln pressured by

Lincoln's early efforts in

see also
emancipation; Emancipation Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln
(Sandburg)

critical acclaim won by

Prairie Years

War Years

Whitman's influence on

alcoholism, Lincoln's views on

American party (Know-Nothing party)

Anderson, Jack

Antietam, battle of (1862)

Appomattox, surrender at (1865)

Arkansas, reconstruction in

Army of the Potomac

Burnside as commander of

Hooker as commander of

McClellan as commander of

Meade as commander of

Arnold, Samuel

Ashley, James

assassination of Lincoln,
see
Lincoln assassination

Atchison, David R.

Atzerodt, George

death sentence of

 

Baker, Edward

Baltimore, Md

Booth's reception in

Bancroft, George

Behind the Scenes
(Keckley)

Bell, John

Benét, Stephen Vincent

Bennett, Lerone, Jr.

Birth of a Nation, The

black Americans:

Booth's views on

in Civil War

colonization of

“Emancipator” myth attacked by

Lincoln revered by

Lincoln's jokes about

Lincoln's pre-Civil War views on

Lincoln's treatment of

refugee system for

voting rights of

see also
emancipation; Emancipation Proclamation; slaves, slavery

“Black Easter” (April 16, 1865)

Black Hawk Indian War (1832)

Booth, Asia

Booth, Edwin

Booth, John Wilkes

appearance of

death and burial of

diary of

family background of

injury of

kidnaping plot of

at large

motive of

murder plot of

southern sympathies of

Booth, Junius, Jr.

Booth, “Junius the Elder,”

Bradwell, Myra and James

Breckinridge, John

Bright, John

Brooks, Preston

Brown, John

Bryan, George S.

Buell, Don Carlos

Bull Run:

first battle of (1861)

second battle of (1862)

Burnside, Ambrose E.

Butler, Benjamin F.

 

Calhoun, John C.

Cameron, Simon

Chancellorsville campaign (1863)

Chandler, Zachariah

Charleston
Mercury

Charleston (Ill) speech (1858)

Chase, Salmon

civil-rights movement

Civil War, U.S.

black role in

black views on

Booth's views on

British role in

as defining experience in Lincoln's presidency

emergency measures in

as Judgment Day

Lincoln's battlefront visits in

Lincoln's evolution during

Lincoln's marital tensions in

Lincoln's peace offer in

Lincoln's severe measures in

Lincoln's views on

Mary Lincoln's role in

military arrests in

military strategy in

peace movement in

roots of countermyth in

Sandburg's views on

southerners' views on

start of

Union blockade in

world dimension of

see also
Emancipation Proclamation; Union army;
specific battles

Clark, William T.

Clay, Henry

Cobden, Richard

colonization, black

Lincoln's abandonment of

Commager, Henry Steele

Confederacy:

British relations with

collapse of

establishment of

Mary Lincoln and

Confederate army, McClellan's paranoia about

Confederate Army of Tennessee

confiscation act, second

Congress, U.S.

conscription authorized by

Lincoln's Message to (1864)

Lincoln's relationship with

Republican control of

slavery issue in

see also
House of Representatives, U.S; Senate, U.S.

Constitution, U.S.

Lincoln and

slavery and

as whites-only charter

Cooper Union, Lincoln's speech at (1860)

Corbett, Boston

Crane, C. B.

Cummings, Alexander

Current, Richard N.

 

Davis, David

Davis, Jefferson

Declaration of Independence, U.S.

proslavery apologists and

Delaware, as slave state

Democrats, Democratic party

antiwar

Civil War and

in election of 1860

in election of 1864

reconstruction and

Thirteenth Amendment and

Department of the Ohio:

Buell as commander of

Rosecrans as commander of

Dixon, Thomas, Jr.

Donald, David

Douglas, Stephen A.

Kansas-Nebraska Act and

Lincoln's debates with

Lincoln's views on

Douglass, Frederick

as visitor to White House

Dred Scott decision (1857)

Dugger, Ronnie

 

Ebony
magazine

Edwards, Elizabeth and Ninian

election of 1858

election of 1860

election of 1862

election of 1864

Ellsworth, Elmer

emancipation

foreign policy linked to

Lincoln pressured toward

Lincoln's early views on

Lincoln's gradual, compensated program for

Lincoln's rejection of, at onset of Civil War

as military necessity

Emancipation Day (January 1)

Emancipation Proclamation

black views on

Democratic opposition to

as liberation of Lincoln

personal effect on Lincoln of

preliminary

reconstruction and

as revolutionary measure

signing of

southern views on

timing of

equality

racial

 

Farewell Address (Washington)

Fehrenbacher, Don E.

Fifth Amendment

Fitzhugh, George

Ford, Harry

Ford's Theater (Washington, D.C.)

death of American innocence in

location of

museum in

restoration of

Fort Sumter, battle of (1861)

Franklin, John Hope

freedom

black struggle for

requirements of

see also
emancipation; Emancipation Proclamation

Frye, Northrop

 

Garrett, Richard H.

Gentry, Matthew

Georgia, Sherman's march through

“Georgia pen,”

Gettysburg, battle of (1863)

Gettysburg Address (Lincoln)

government:

Lincoln's views on

in Louisiana

reconstruction and

Grant, Ulysses S.

“Great American Myth, The,”

Great Britain, Civil War and

Greeley, Horace

Lincoln's “open” letter to

Green Mountain Cemetery (Baltimore)

Griffith, D. W.

Grigsby, William.

 

habeas corpus, Lincoln's suspension of

Hahn, Michael

Halleck, Henry

Hamlin, Hannibal

Hanchett, William

Handlin, Oscar and Lilian

Hanks, Nancy,
see
Lincoln, Nancy Hanks

Harding, Vincent

Harpers Ferry, Va., Brown's raid in

Harris, Clara

Hawk, Harry

Hayne, Paul Hamilton

Herndon, William H.

as Lincoln's legal partner

Mary Lincoln hated by

Herndon's Lincoln
(Herndon)

Herold, Davy

death sentence of

at large

Hill, Henry Bertram

history, myth vs.

Holland, Josiah Gilbert

Holt, Joseph

Hooker, Joseph

House of Representatives, U.S.

 

Illinois legislature
n

Lincoln's career in

Illinois Supreme Court

intermarriage

 

Jefferson, Thomas

Johnson, Andrew

trial of Booth's cohorts and

Johnson, Lyndon B.

Johnston, Joseph E.

 

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Kaplan, Justin

Keckley, Elizabeth

Kennedy, John F.

Kennedy, X. J.

Kentucky:

as slave state

Union army in

King, Martin Luther, Jr.

Know-Nothing party (American party)

Knox, William

Ku Klux Klan

Kunhardt, Philip B.

 

Lamon, Ward Hill

Leaves of Grass
(Whitman)

Lee, Robert E.

in second invasion of North

Lester, Julius

liberty,
see
freedom

Life of Abraham Lincoln, The
(Holland)

Lincoln
(Masters)

Lincoln, Abraham:

abduction plots and

alleged syphilis of

as alleged arch villain

as alleged dictator

as alleged slaveowner

as alleged white chief and honky

ambition of

American ideals embodied in

appearance of

assassination of,
see
Lincoln assassination

assassination threats and

autobiography of

bawdy stories of

as best President

class insecurity of

conversational style of

correspondence of

death as obsession of

depressions of

dictatorship and

early political career of

economic beliefs of

education of

estate of

family background of

as Father Abraham

as folk hero

as Great Emancipator

historical, meaning of

historic and missionary vision of

honesty of

humanitarian views of

inauguration of

insanity feared by

jokes and humor of

language loved by

last speech of

legacy of

legal work of

logical and analytical side of

love affairs of

as Man of the People

as martyr-saint

as military strategist

as minority President

as moderate

moods of

mysticism of

nationalism of

nickname of

as orator

paternity of

poetry of

political defeats of

political idol of

political shrewdness of

religious skepticism of

secretive nature of

speeches of

superstitiousness of

as teetotaler

tolerance of

wealth of

wisdom of

writing style of

Lincoln, Eddie (son)

Lincoln, Mary (granddaughter)

Lincoln, Mary Todd (wife)

alleged Confederate links of

appearance of

breakdown of

in Chicago

committed to sanitarium

correspondence of

courtship of

debts of

European travels of

extravagance of

as First Lady

at Ford's Theater

government pension of

health problems of

Herndon's views on

jealousies of

Lincoln influenced by

Lincoln's death and