Achasing Lincoln's Killer Analysis

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In chapter 1 of ¨Chasing Lincoln's Killer¨ by James L. Swanson it talks about Booth putting together a team of conspirators and planning the assassination of Abraham Lincoln , vice president Johnson, and the secretary of state Seward. This plan has both strength and weakness in terms of conspirators, weapons, and location. Booth`s choice of conspirators was both strength and weaknesses. Some of Booth's choices were gonna help and some were not up to the job. On pg.27 paragraph 2 it states that ¨Lewis Powell would murder secretary of state Seward.¨ It also says ¨Seward was certain to be in his bed this night recovering from a serious carriage accident.¨ What this means is while Seward is recovering from his injury Powell will murder him at…show more content…
On pg.16 paragraph 3 it states ¨first, the weapons, Booth chose as his primary weapon a.44 caliber, single shot, muzzle loading pistol manufactured by Henry Deringer of Philadelphia. WHat this means is Booth wants to use a gun to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. But the pistol is only a single shot gun. This is not an advantage because you only have one chance to shoot. On pg. 16 paragraph 3 it also says that ¨it was a small, short barreled, pocket-size handgun designed for concealment, not combat. What this means is the gun can be hidden and nobody will see it. This is an advantage because you can easily sneak in somewhere with it. On pg. 20 on paragraph 3 it states ¨hen if he missed, or failed to kill the president, he would turn to his back up weapon, Rio Grande Camp Knife sharp, a handsome and extremely sharp type of bowie knife.¨ This means that if he missed Lincoln when he shot the gun he would kill him with the knife. The an advantage because if the gun does not work out he has a back up plan. In conclusion choosing two weapons for the assassination was a bad and good idea. Booth should have chosen a better gun. But for all this to happen you need an exact

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