April 11th 1865
Some twelve thousand voters in the heretofore slave-state of Louisiana have sworn allegiance to the Union,
assumed to be the rightful political power of the State, held elections, organized a State government,
adopted a free-state constitution, giving the benefit of public schools equally to black and white, and
empowering the Legislature to confer the elective franchise upon the colored man. Their Legislature has
already voted to ratify the constitutional amendment recently passed by Congress, abolishing slavery
throughout the nation. These twelve thousand persons are thus fully committed to the Union, and to
perpetual freedom in the state--committed to the very things, and nearly all the things the nation wants--and
they ask the nations recognition and it's assistance to make good their committal. Now, if we reject, and
spurn them, we do our utmost to disorganize and disperse them. We in effect say to the white men "You are
worthless, or worse--we will neither help you, nor be helped by you." To the blacks we say "This cup of
liberty which these, your old masters, hold to your lips, we will dash from you, and leave you to the chances
of gathering the spilled and scattered contents in some vague and undefined when, where, and how." If this
course, discouraging and paralyzing both white and black, has any tendency to bring Louisiana into proper
practical relations with the Union, I have, so far, been unable to perceive it. If, on the contrary, we recognize,
and sustain the new government of Louisiana the converse of all this is made true. We encourage the
hearts, and nerve the arms of the twelve thousand to adhere to their work, and argue for it, and proselyte for
it, and fight for it, and feed it, and grow it, and ripen it to a complete success. The colored man too, in seeing
all united for him, is inspired with vigilance, and energy, and daring, to the same end. Grant that he desires
the elective franchise, will he not attain it sooner by saving the already advanced steps toward it, than by
running backward over them? Concede that the new government of Louisiana is only to what it should be as
the egg is to the fowl, we shall sooner have the fowl by hatching the egg than by smashing it? Again, if we
reject Louisiana, we also reject one vote in favor of the proposed amendment to the national Constitution. To
meet this proposition, it has been argued that no more than three fourths of those States which have not
attempted secession are necessary to validly ratify the amendment. I do not commit myself against this,
further than to say that such a ratification would be questionable, and sure to be persistently questioned;
while a ratification by three-fourths of all the States would be unquestioned and unquestionable
Some twelve thousand voters in the heretofore slave-state of Louisiana have sworn allegiance to the Union,
assumed to be the rightful political power of the State, held elections, organized a State government,
adopted a free-state constitution, giving the benefit of public schools equally to black and white, and
empowering the Legislature to confer the elective franchise upon the colored man. Their Legislature has
already voted to ratify the constitutional amendment recently passed by Congress, abolishing slavery
throughout the nation. These twelve thousand persons are thus fully committed to the Union, and to
perpetual freedom in the state--committed to the very things, and nearly all the things the nation wants--and
they ask the nations recognition and it's assistance to make good their committal. Now, if we reject, and
spurn them, we do our utmost to disorganize and disperse them. We in effect say to the white men "You are
worthless, or worse--we will neither help you, nor be helped by you." To the blacks we say "This cup of
liberty which these, your old masters, hold to your lips, we will dash from you, and leave you to the chances
of gathering the spilled and scattered contents in some vague and undefined when, where, and how." If this
course, discouraging and paralyzing both white and black, has any tendency to bring Louisiana into proper
practical relations with the Union, I have, so far, been unable to perceive it. If, on the contrary, we recognize,
and sustain the new government of Louisiana the converse of all this is made true. We encourage the
hearts, and nerve the arms of the twelve thousand to adhere to their work, and argue for it, and proselyte for
it, and fight for it, and feed it, and grow it, and ripen it to a complete success. The colored man too, in seeing
all united for him, is inspired with vigilance, and energy, and daring, to the same end. Grant that he desires
the elective franchise, will he not attain it sooner by saving the already advanced steps toward it, than by
running backward over them? Concede that the new government of Louisiana is only to what it should be as
the egg is to the fowl, we shall sooner have the fowl by hatching the egg than by smashing it? Again, if we
reject Louisiana, we also reject one vote in favor of the proposed amendment to the national Constitution. To
meet this proposition, it has been argued that no more than three fourths of those States which have not
attempted secession are necessary to validly ratify the amendment. I do not commit myself against this,
further than to say that such a ratification would be questionable, and sure to be persistently questioned;
while a ratification by three-fourths of all the States would be unquestioned and unquestionable
A man was once shot and killed for suggesting that Blacks should vote. Yesterday we elected an African American to the Presidency. It's going to take a little more than tinypic to dampen my spirits.On April 11, Booth was in the crowd that heard Lincoln speaking outside the White House and became infuriated when he heard the president suggest that certain freed slaves should be given the right to vote. In Booth's opinion, it was bad enough that Lincoln planned to free the slaves; it was against God's will that blacks should be able to read and to vote. He summoned his co-conspirators and angrily told them that he now planned to assassinate Lincoln.
When they learned that Lincoln and General Grant would be attending Ford's Theater on April 14, Good Friday, they unanimously decided that would be the night to kill both the President and his leading military officer.
Although the conspirators learned later that day that General Grant had changed his plans and would not be attending the play, Booth insisted that they would follow through with the plan to assassinate Lincoln at the theater. Atzerodt was assigned to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson in his quarters at the Kirkwood House; Powell and Herold would murder Secretary of State William Seward. All the murders were to take place at 10:15 that night.
After he had fortified himself with a drink at nearby saloon, Booth entered the front of Ford's Theater around 10:07 and began to make his way toward the box where the Lincolns were sitting with Clara Harris and Henry Rathbone. Audience laughter at the comedy Our American Cousin helped to conceal the sound of Booth's opening the door to the box. Lincoln's bodyguard, John Parker of the Metropolitan Police Force, had momentarily left his post, so Booth faced no resistance as he withdrew his single-shot derringer and fired point-blank at the back of Lincoln's head. When Rathbone rose to struggle with him, Booth stabbed him in the arm with a hunting knife.
Booth jumped the approximately eleven feet to the stage and snapped the fibula in his left leg just above the ankle. Brandishing his knife and shouting, "Sic semper tyrannis" (Thus always to tyrants), Booth limped across the stage in front of over a thousand shocked audience members and made his way to the horse that awaited him out the back door.
President Lincoln never regained consciousness and died at 7:22 on the morning of April 15. Powell managed to stab Secretary of State Seward, but did not kill him. Atzerodt did not follow through on his assignment to assassinate Vice President Johnson. Booth had his broken leg set and splinted by Dr. Samuel Mudd, then, in the company of Herold, headed for refuge in the South.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
