Podcast

Lincoln's Assassination: Moments of Crisis

Ep. 201707
78 minute listen

What were John Wilkes Booth's motives in assassinating President Lincoln?

TAH.org continued its Saturday Webinar series on November 18th, 2017, looking deeply at the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. A far larger, more complex, and more ambitious plot than many people understand it to be, John Wilkes Booth’s attempt to ‘decapitate’ the leadership of the United States government shook both North and South, creating immediate and lasting political, legal, and cultural waves, shaping what became post-war Reconstruction and the years beyond. In addition to a lively discussion of the plot itself and its immediate and longer-term impacts, the panelists suggested James Swanson’s Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer for those interested in further reading about the assassination itself.

Next up