January 21, 2025 • 10 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, The Civil War was over, the city of Washington was in celebration and President Lincoln's life was about to take a happy and hopeful turn. His short, happy life was thwarted by John Wilkes Booth. Lee Habeeb tells the story live you've never heard it told before.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American stories up next, The short,
happy life of Abraham Lincoln his final days. By all accounts,
good Friday, just two days before Easter on April fourteenth,
eighteen sixty five, was the happiest day of President Abraham
(00:30):
Lincoln's life. It had most certainly been the happiest few
weeks of his life, according to James Swanson, author of
the New York Times bestseller Manhunt, the twelve Day Chase
for Lincoln's killer. Here is what Swanson wrote. Lincoln had
won the war. Richmond fell on April third, Lee surrendered
(00:53):
on April ninth, and Lincoln gave his final speech from
the White House grounds the evening of April eleven, the
night before the night Lincoln was shot by his assassin.
Local newspapers reported it being the most beautiful night in
the history of Washington, as the city celebrated the ending
of the bloodiest and costliest war ever fought on American soil. Fireworks, flares,
(01:19):
and other sources of every imaginable variety illuminated the evening
sky again. James Swanson, one of the papers, said that
the Capital Dome was so beautiful that night that it
looked like a second moon had descended upon the earth
as a sign of God's favor for the Union and
(01:40):
for the victory. The very next morning, an idyllic spring
morning on April fourteen, Lincoln met his son, who'd been
working for General George Meade, and then he met with
his cabinet. A rare visitor joined that last meeting Lincoln
would ever hold with his staff, none other than General
(02:00):
Ulysses S.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Grant.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
They discussed affairs of state, and things ended with Lincoln
sharing a dream he'd had the night before. In it,
he was at the head of a mysterious vessel moving
towards a distant shore.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
He was alone.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Lincoln added that whenever he had that dream, and he'd
had it many times before during the war, something of
critical importance transpired. I'm convinced something of major significance is
about to happen, Lincoln told his men. When the meeting ended,
he and his bride, Mary, took a carriage ride to
(02:39):
enjoy the open air and talk about matters of the heart.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Here again is James Swanson. During that ride, Lincoln.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Told her he knew they'd been very unhappy ever since
the death of their eleven year old son Willie in
the White House in eighteen sixty two. The death count
in the Civil War over six hundred thousand, had taken
its toll on Lincoln two. It had been a crushing
burden on him, and the two of them had grown
(03:09):
apart during the war for so many reasons. He told Mary,
we must be happy again. Mary even wrote a note
later that day about her husband's rejuvenated spirit. You alarm me,
she said, because I have never seen you this happy
since just before the death of our child. Just two
(03:30):
days before Easter, the day Christians around the world celebrate
the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Lincoln had experienced a resurrection
of his own. That night, he and Mary attended Our
American Cousin, a popular comedy of the day by British
playwright Tom Taylor. The couple arrived at Ford's Theater thirty
(03:52):
minutes late, and the play was stopped immediately as the
band rose and played Hail to the Chief went wild.
They were celebrating their great leader. They were also celebrating
the end of a terrible war. They too had borne
the heavy burden of the greatest conflict on American soil.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
They too had the feeling of being reborn.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
That moment may well have been the happiest of Lincoln's life.
On the day that marked a new and happy beginning
to Lincoln's life and the nation's John Wilkes, Booth was
plotting to make it the president's last Here's James Swanson
on Booth. The twenty six year old was one of
(04:39):
the most popular actors in America. Exceedingly handsome and athletic.
Women and men would stop in the street to watch
him as he passed. Generous, vain, funny, egomaniacal, politically motivated
to be a lover of the South, and a supporter
of slavery who once said slavery is the best thing
(05:00):
that ever happened to.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
The black man.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
On the day Lincoln gave his last speech from the
White House, Crowns Both was present, seated not far from him.
When Lincoln spoke to the adoring crowd about giving blacks
the right to vote. Both turned to a Confederate sympathizer
he knew well and said, that's the last speech he'll
ever give. It turns out Booth had considered killing Lincoln before.
(05:29):
At the president's second inaugural address, he sat a mere
fifty feet from the man he hated. Here's James Wanson
getting drunk at a bar. Shortly after that, Booth pounded
his fist on the table and said to a friend,
what an excellent chance I had to kill the President
(05:50):
on inauguration day. He was almost as close to me
as you are now. Then came the catalyst that drove
Booth into action. While visiting Ford's Theater midday to pick
up his mail, a woman told the actor that Lincoln
was attending the play that night. That, according to James Swanson,
(06:11):
set off the imaginary clock counting down in Booth's head.
What motivated one of the leading actors of his day
to do such a thing again, James Swanson, Lincoln was
an American caesar. To Booth, he wanted to punish Lincoln
the tyrant. He hoped to change history, and of course
(06:33):
he wanted eternal fame. He had it in his lifetime.
But Booth wanted to be immortalized as a Southerner and
ultimately an American patriot. The rest of the story, what
Herman Melville called that bloody, awful night, is embedded in
the American memory. The details of the assassination, notwithstanding what
(06:58):
Booth did that night was what James Swanson called a
new art form performance assassination. Woth wasn't on a suicide mission.
He had an actual escape plan. What he really wanted,
Swanson noted, was to be seen and celebrate.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Again. Here's James Swanson when.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
He crept to the President's box and shot Lincoln and
jumped to the stage of Ford's theater. Wuth wasn't wearing
a disguise, He hadn't shaved his mustache. He did nothing
to conceal himself when he turned to the audience and
faced them and cried out the state motto of Virginia.
(07:41):
That motto, sick semper tyrannus is a Latin phrase meaning
thus always to tyrants. Those words were followed by the
last words Booth ever uttered on an American stage, the
South is avenged. As he left the stage, alted to himself,
and only few people heard it, I have done it.
(08:07):
Booth then escaped to the back of the theater, jumped
on his waiting horse, and rode off into the night.
The largest man hunting American history ensued. Booth was found
twelve days later outside of Port Royal, Virginia, trapped in
a tobacco barn. The cavalry set the building on fire
to force him out. When he reached for his rifle
(08:29):
and headed for the door, Sergeant Boston Corbett pulled his
pistol and fired only once, striking Booth in the neck
and severing his spine. He would die within hours, a slow,
miserable death. Back at Ford's Theater, on Good Friday, America's
beloved president lay dying in his box. He was attended
(08:52):
by three doctors, who had concluded quickly that the wound
was mortal and that the theater was simply not an
appropriate place for a man like him to die. So
those men carried him from his box, down the stairs
and into the street, looking for a place to make
the President of the United States as comfortable as he
(09:14):
possibly could be and the few hours of life he
had left to live. A person staying at the Peterson House,
just across the street from Ford's Theater, was quick to help.
The doctors rushed Lincoln in and took him directly to
the back of the bedroom, where he died the next morning,
on April fifteenth. As he died that night, a light,
(09:38):
cold rain began to fall over Washington. It was as
if the very heavens wept at the loss of our
beloved President. Thus ended the short happy life of the
Great Emancipator Abraham Lincoln. The opening stanza of Walt whitman
(10:00):
epic poem, When Lilacs last in the dooryard bloomed, captured
the nation's grief in Way's mere prose.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Could not.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
When lilacs last in the dooryard bloomed, and the great
star early drooped in the western sky in the night,
I mourned, and yet shall mourn with ever returning spring,
ever returning spring.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Trinity.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Sure to me you bring lilac blooming, perennial and drooping
star in the west, and thought of him.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
I love
Speaker 1 (10:39):
The short happy life of President Abraham Lincoln, his final
days here on our American stories.
And we continue with our American stories up next, The short,
happy life of Abraham Lincoln his final days. By all accounts,
good Friday, just two days before Easter on April fourteenth,
eighteen sixty five, was the happiest day of President Abraham
(00:30):
Lincoln's life. It had most certainly been the happiest few
weeks of his life, according to James Swanson, author of
the New York Times bestseller Manhunt, the twelve Day Chase
for Lincoln's killer. Here is what Swanson wrote. Lincoln had
won the war. Richmond fell on April third, Lee surrendered
(00:53):
on April ninth, and Lincoln gave his final speech from
the White House grounds the evening of April eleven, the
night before the night Lincoln was shot by his assassin.
Local newspapers reported it being the most beautiful night in
the history of Washington, as the city celebrated the ending
of the bloodiest and costliest war ever fought on American soil. Fireworks, flares,
(01:19):
and other sources of every imaginable variety illuminated the evening
sky again. James Swanson, one of the papers, said that
the Capital Dome was so beautiful that night that it
looked like a second moon had descended upon the earth
as a sign of God's favor for the Union and
(01:40):
for the victory. The very next morning, an idyllic spring
morning on April fourteen, Lincoln met his son, who'd been
working for General George Meade, and then he met with
his cabinet. A rare visitor joined that last meeting Lincoln
would ever hold with his staff, none other than General
(02:00):
Ulysses S.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Grant.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
They discussed affairs of state, and things ended with Lincoln
sharing a dream he'd had the night before. In it,
he was at the head of a mysterious vessel moving
towards a distant shore.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
He was alone.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Lincoln added that whenever he had that dream, and he'd
had it many times before during the war, something of
critical importance transpired. I'm convinced something of major significance is
about to happen, Lincoln told his men. When the meeting ended,
he and his bride, Mary, took a carriage ride to
(02:39):
enjoy the open air and talk about matters of the heart.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Here again is James Swanson. During that ride, Lincoln.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Told her he knew they'd been very unhappy ever since
the death of their eleven year old son Willie in
the White House in eighteen sixty two. The death count
in the Civil War over six hundred thousand, had taken
its toll on Lincoln two. It had been a crushing
burden on him, and the two of them had grown
(03:09):
apart during the war for so many reasons. He told Mary,
we must be happy again. Mary even wrote a note
later that day about her husband's rejuvenated spirit. You alarm me,
she said, because I have never seen you this happy
since just before the death of our child. Just two
(03:30):
days before Easter, the day Christians around the world celebrate
the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Lincoln had experienced a resurrection
of his own. That night, he and Mary attended Our
American Cousin, a popular comedy of the day by British
playwright Tom Taylor. The couple arrived at Ford's Theater thirty
(03:52):
minutes late, and the play was stopped immediately as the
band rose and played Hail to the Chief went wild.
They were celebrating their great leader. They were also celebrating
the end of a terrible war. They too had borne
the heavy burden of the greatest conflict on American soil.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
They too had the feeling of being reborn.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
That moment may well have been the happiest of Lincoln's life.
On the day that marked a new and happy beginning
to Lincoln's life and the nation's John Wilkes, Booth was
plotting to make it the president's last Here's James Swanson
on Booth. The twenty six year old was one of
(04:39):
the most popular actors in America. Exceedingly handsome and athletic.
Women and men would stop in the street to watch
him as he passed. Generous, vain, funny, egomaniacal, politically motivated
to be a lover of the South, and a supporter
of slavery who once said slavery is the best thing
(05:00):
that ever happened to.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
The black man.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
On the day Lincoln gave his last speech from the
White House, Crowns Both was present, seated not far from him.
When Lincoln spoke to the adoring crowd about giving blacks
the right to vote. Both turned to a Confederate sympathizer
he knew well and said, that's the last speech he'll
ever give. It turns out Booth had considered killing Lincoln before.
(05:29):
At the president's second inaugural address, he sat a mere
fifty feet from the man he hated. Here's James Wanson
getting drunk at a bar. Shortly after that, Booth pounded
his fist on the table and said to a friend,
what an excellent chance I had to kill the President
(05:50):
on inauguration day. He was almost as close to me
as you are now. Then came the catalyst that drove
Booth into action. While visiting Ford's Theater midday to pick
up his mail, a woman told the actor that Lincoln
was attending the play that night. That, according to James Swanson,
(06:11):
set off the imaginary clock counting down in Booth's head.
What motivated one of the leading actors of his day
to do such a thing again, James Swanson, Lincoln was
an American caesar. To Booth, he wanted to punish Lincoln
the tyrant. He hoped to change history, and of course
(06:33):
he wanted eternal fame. He had it in his lifetime.
But Booth wanted to be immortalized as a Southerner and
ultimately an American patriot. The rest of the story, what
Herman Melville called that bloody, awful night, is embedded in
the American memory. The details of the assassination, notwithstanding what
(06:58):
Booth did that night was what James Swanson called a
new art form performance assassination. Woth wasn't on a suicide mission.
He had an actual escape plan. What he really wanted,
Swanson noted, was to be seen and celebrate.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Again. Here's James Swanson when.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
He crept to the President's box and shot Lincoln and
jumped to the stage of Ford's theater. Wuth wasn't wearing
a disguise, He hadn't shaved his mustache. He did nothing
to conceal himself when he turned to the audience and
faced them and cried out the state motto of Virginia.
(07:41):
That motto, sick semper tyrannus is a Latin phrase meaning
thus always to tyrants. Those words were followed by the
last words Booth ever uttered on an American stage, the
South is avenged. As he left the stage, alted to himself,
and only few people heard it, I have done it.
(08:07):
Booth then escaped to the back of the theater, jumped
on his waiting horse, and rode off into the night.
The largest man hunting American history ensued. Booth was found
twelve days later outside of Port Royal, Virginia, trapped in
a tobacco barn. The cavalry set the building on fire
to force him out. When he reached for his rifle
(08:29):
and headed for the door, Sergeant Boston Corbett pulled his
pistol and fired only once, striking Booth in the neck
and severing his spine. He would die within hours, a slow,
miserable death. Back at Ford's Theater, on Good Friday, America's
beloved president lay dying in his box. He was attended
(08:52):
by three doctors, who had concluded quickly that the wound
was mortal and that the theater was simply not an
appropriate place for a man like him to die. So
those men carried him from his box, down the stairs
and into the street, looking for a place to make
the President of the United States as comfortable as he
(09:14):
possibly could be and the few hours of life he
had left to live. A person staying at the Peterson House,
just across the street from Ford's Theater, was quick to help.
The doctors rushed Lincoln in and took him directly to
the back of the bedroom, where he died the next morning,
on April fifteenth. As he died that night, a light,
(09:38):
cold rain began to fall over Washington. It was as
if the very heavens wept at the loss of our
beloved President. Thus ended the short happy life of the
Great Emancipator Abraham Lincoln. The opening stanza of Walt whitman
(10:00):
epic poem, When Lilacs last in the dooryard bloomed, captured
the nation's grief in Way's mere prose.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Could not.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
When lilacs last in the dooryard bloomed, and the great
star early drooped in the western sky in the night,
I mourned, and yet shall mourn with ever returning spring,
ever returning spring.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Trinity.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Sure to me you bring lilac blooming, perennial and drooping
star in the west, and thought of him.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
I love
Speaker 1 (10:39):
The short happy life of President Abraham Lincoln, his final
days here on our American stories.
Host
Lee Habeeb
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.