Killing Lincoln History Report

Killing Lincoln

By TJ Epps

“Killing Lincoln” is a historical thriller written by Bill O’Reilly that explains the events prior to, and after the death, of our beloved 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. Bill O’Reilly first sets the stage in the last days of our great Civil War, which takes place in the beginning of April, 1865. Mr. O’Reilly takes the readers from the civil war, to the killing of Lincoln, to the pursuit of the assassins, to the final hour of John Wilkes Booth’s life. Knowing that there are many Civil War battles and that the assassins of Lincoln fled to many different places, the setting of “Killing Lincoln” varies greatly, ranging from the battle of St. Petersburg, to an old barn shed in the Maryland countryside where John Wilkes Booth and David Harold are sleeping. Ultimately, the book that Bill O’Reilly provides for his readers is about Abraham Lincoln’s death and how it impacted the world. Abraham Lincoln and his death were significant to American history because he abolished slavery, ended the Civil War, and was a godly leader among men. On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln produced the Emancipation Proclamation which stated that “all slaves shall be forever free” signifying the significance of the abolishment of slavery. Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not free one single slave, it certainly made a turning point for the Union side of the war, for now they were fighting for the freedom of a race of people. The Emancipation Proclamation lifted the Union soldiers’ hearts to fight harder than ever before to free the blacks from slavery in the south. Abraham Lincoln ordained the inspiration to abolish slavery forever in America. Even though Abraham Lincoln did not personally cut the chains and shackles off the slaves to set them free, he did start and lead the North the inspiration of abolishing slavery and so he is therefore credited for doing so. Abraham Lincoln had finally ended the Civil war on April 9, 1865 with the surrender of General Robert E. Lee in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. General Ulysses S. Grant’s forces had come to be too much for Lee so he had to surrender to prevent further casualties to his men. Abraham Lincoln had been ordering Grant to press the Confederate forces repeatedly for the last couple of months so when Lincoln finally got the news of the surrender he was relieved. After the four long years of fighting against the south, it was finally over for Mr. Lincoln and slaves were now free. The conclusion of the Civil War with the Union side winning meant that the slaves were free and that there will be a lot of angry southerners, which Abraham Lincoln understood but did not take cautiously on the night he went to Ford’s theater. When you think of Abraham Lincoln, you probably don’t picture a Christian man sitting down and peacefully reading his Bible every morning. Instead you most likely picture a tall, strong man leading the north into battle against the Confederates, but you are utterly mistaken. Everyday day the President sat down in his favorite chair in the exact center of the room to read a verse from scripture to guide him through his day. At a young age, Abe was brought up in a religious home and attended church every Sunday. When Lincoln became an adult he stopped being a churchgoer but held on to his religious habits like reading the Bible. As Lincoln was President, he read the Bible and prayed to God a lot which helped his speeches to the people of America and his judgment for wise decisions. Although people might not have seen that Abraham Lincoln was a godly man during his presidency, people today can look back and see how Lincoln was a devoted follower of God by making smart decisions and influencing the people around him. On the night of April 14, 1865 Abraham Lincoln was shot in the back of the head with a Deringer in Ford’s theater by John Wilkes Booth. For months, Booth was planning just to capture the President and smuggle him to the south, but his plans suddenly changed when the Union won the war. Booth, with the help of David Harold, George Atzerodt, and Lewis Powell, had planned to kill the President, Secretary of State William Seward, General Ulysses S. Grant, and Vice president Andrew Johnson on the Friday of April 14. While John Wilkes Booth succeeded with killing Lincoln, Lewis Powell failed with killing William Seward and the General wasn’t at the theater with the President where Booth had thought he would be so he was spared. Andrew Johnson lucked out when George Atzerodt heard all of the commotion with the death of the President so he got scared and decided to not kill the Vice president. David Harold guided John Wilkes Booth through the Maryland countryside after the shooting of the President and were both heading for escape and freedom. At dawn April 26, 1865, just 12 days after killing the President, John Wilkes Booth was shot in the back of the head while he was resting in a barn by Boston Corbett. The death of Abraham Lincoln was a very tragic event that happened in American history because he did so much while he was alive, abolish slavery, end the Civil War, been a godly leader, and could have done more.