Lincoln's Last Days

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In their book, Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever, Bill O’Reilly and Dwight Jon Zimmerman provide the readers with information on how Lincoln’s prayer for the Union and the South to become one again led to a disastrous blow to the United States of America. Lincoln prepared many speeches for the “divided” free North and the slaveholding South. Lincoln’s speeches were primarily meant to stop the Southern states from seceding from the Union. Many families were greatly affected by the Civil War, along with individuals like Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. Mary Todd Lincoln’s relatives were fighting for the Confederacy, which led to Lincoln putting more effort and strength into his armies in order for …show more content…
Once the Union had defeated the South, a crowd of about 2,000 people showed up on the lawn of the White House demanding a speech from Lincoln. Lincoln had not prepared for a speech after winning the war and he did not even have any thoughts about what he would want to say to the crowd. After thinking about it while he heard the chants of “Speech”, he yelled down to the large group of people and told them to come back the next night for a speech. Going on during this time, John Wilkes Booth, the son of Junius Brutus Booth, was by himself at a shooting range. John Wilkes Booth lived in a large chaotic household that caused him to not be brought up the best way in life. Booth was on his own most of the time and no one was there looking out for him, which is shown by, “Booth’s hatred for Lincoln, and his deep belief in the institution of slavery, fused into rage after the president issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863” (O’Reilly/Zimmerman 64). John Wilkes Booth was dissatisfied with everything Lincoln was doing as president, which led to Booth creating a plan to assassinate the 16th President of the United States of America. The “soon-to-be-assassin” had come up with a strategy to murder the president, but would face many consequences. Booth did not see the consequences as something to worry about, as all he wanted was freedom. The murder of

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