Hey Fellows,
I can say with what I believe to be certainty that Jefferson Davis would have never approved of a plot to kill Lincoln.While some Confederate agents may have known about Booth's ideas ,I don't think the government supported this murder.There was one of Booth's close friends who was arrested and executed.Booth appealed to Lincoln but the man was executed just the same.That gave Booth added personal incentive to committ his act and to hate Lincoln.I view Booth as a murderer but I feel pity for the guy.I truly think he thought he would be heralded as a hero for killing this tyrant who trampled all over the Constitution like Brutus.I disdain Lincoln but I regret that he was murdered and thus became this great American martyr.I feel sorry for Lincoln too but had I seen some of Sherman's destructiveness I have no idea how that would've affected my thinking.I'm too Christian to murder I think, but I may have smacked Abe around and asked for forgiveness later.
Sergeant.
I'm with you in that Davis had nothing to do with it, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that he didn't think about it. If he did think about it he would likely have concluded that (a) it was not gentlemanly and (b) if there were an official CSA involvement, the rigors of reconstruction would be pattycakes compared to what would happen.
Booth was a fool. He believed his action would make him a hero. Instead, he extinguished the best friend the Confederacy would have had after its capitulation. He couldn't have anticipated that result, but he ensured it.
Regards,
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
What about the radical republicans such as Sen. Zachariah Chandler and Sec. of War Stanton? Wouldn't they have more to gain by getting Lincoln out of the way, ensuring that the reconstruction would be as harsh as possible. David Balsiger and Charles E. Sellier Jr. claim in their book The Lincoln Conspiracy that the 30 pages that went missing from Booth's diary contained the names of approximately 70 federal officials. Additionally, they also state that the 30 pages resurfaced in the home of a Stanton descendent. Since Lincoln's Secret service head, Col. was poisoned via arsenic laced beer delivered to him by a war dept employee it would credence to their theory. Your thoughts?
Respectfully,
Matt
Granted, there is much to be studied and carved and probed. If anyone has some concrete evidence of such a conspiracy, I'll consider it. Meanwhile, the CIA arranged Kennedy's assassination.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
Ole,
Normally I'm not one for conspiracy theories either, but the radical republican possibility is not tenuous enough to toss aside. that bunch is one of the few groups in the country at that point who would be better off with Lincoln dead. Who else would have the authority to interefere with the Washington security to ensure every route, but the one Booth was on was shut down.
Respectfully,
Matt
Many groups would benefit, or can be perceived as benefiting from the death of any president. That doesn't mean that they tried to kill him.
I think that the question of Booth's route has been answered. I'm too lazy to look it up now. Isn't there a good book called the "Lincoln Conspiracies?"
The ultimate responsibility for the Lincoln assassination was the slave oligarchy that promised the South easy victory.
Wow, whitworth !! But did they actually assist Booth to pull the trigger, Booth's own delusions and gullibilities aside? And have you voted?
__________________ 'It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag'
First post - I might as well make it a controversial one spelling out (very) speculative conspiracies behind Lincoln's assassination and the Civil War in general!
1) Elements still loyal to the Crown - such as the Tories, have always been involved to varying degrees in U.S. politics since the Revolutionary War. The rapid rise of the U.S. frightened Old World powers/financial interests - who were still eyeing the (South) American sphere for influence/colonization. It was thought that this growing U.S. threat could be averted/slowed by inciting a sectional war using two major themes - slavery and tariff/taxes which would irreconciably divide North and South in a very costly civil war. Tory elements above and below the Mason Dixon line assisted in fomenting furvor for/against these issues until Civil War was inevitable.
2) Lincoln (who I do not support in general as I feel he could have used his great linguistic/reasoning skills to attempt to de-fuse the conflict - and his record on unconstitutional measures is not modest) was behoden to Northern industrial interests who were also stoked on these tariff issues also and were ready to promote war. Both North and South were used by these financial interests in a "divide and conquer" way - both fell deterministically for the plan envisaged (by these Crown/European interests backing the likes of the Tories).
3) Lincoln and the Northern elite went a bit too far (in their being stoked to conflict) and one of the biggest transgressions was Lincoln's efforts at controlling money/banking, and ultimately printing "greenbacks". This spelled doom (for Lincoln)and was a much graver threat (than a united, growing more powerful U.S. but naive to the "magic" of money creation/control) to these Crown/financial control interests, thus sealing his fate in their eyes. No one messes with their monopoly on money creation/control. Some speculate JFK was killed for the exact same reason (anyone ever hear of Kennedy silver certificates - which depicted "U.S. Treasury Note" instead of "Federal Reserve Note")
Anyway, there is some scant evidence for some of this but admittedly there is much speculation (reading between the lines) also. I figured I'd make my first post a memorable one! Call me "lunatic fringe" or "conspiracy nut" if you like, I'm just open to all angles at historical events - I seek to be honest/truthful/reasonable in that quest.
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!! But did they actually assist Booth to pull the trigger, Booth's own delusions and gullibilities aside? And have you voted?
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