The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: America Gets Tested

Believing that Union victory imminent, Booth and his conspirators, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt, decided to assassinate Lincoln, Secretary of State William H. Seward, and Vice President Andrew Johnson. Booth hoped that eliminating the three most important officials in the federal government would revive the Confederate cause.  

Powell and Herold were assigned to kill Seward, while Atzerodt was assigned to kill Johnson. Booth succeeded in killing Lincoln, but Powell only managed to wound Seward, while Atzerodt got inebriated and never targeted Johnson. Booth fled into Maryland after shooting Lincoln and rendezvoused with Herold; Booth was fatally shot after refusing to surrender; Powell, Herold, and Atzerodt were hanged in July 1865. What about Mary Surratt? We’ll dig deep into the claim that Surratt an alleged co-conspirator and, the first woman to be executed by the US Federal government was innocent. 

We’ll also explore Jay Winik’s April 1865: The Month That Saved America, which argues that the Civil War’s final month was a pivotal moment that preserved the nation. Through events such as the fall of Richmond, Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, and the plot to overthrow the government, the book shows how a series of near disasters helped shape a stronger Union. 

Oak Dowling, JD, is a retired attorney with 43 years of practice. He’s a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison Law School and a native of Chicago. He was a part-time Instructor of Law at College of Marin and has been an Instructor in the OLLI program at Dominican University for 13 years.  In his law classes, he uses courtroom drama to demonstrate legal principles.  

Oak has lived in Marin County for 50 years and was happily married for 61 years.  He has been a member of the Marin County Financial Abuse Specialist Team (“FAST”) and was selected as Outstanding Marin County Volunteer of the Year for 2012-2013. As an avocation, he has performed in theatre in Marin and San Francisco for 15 years. 

Join Oak’s talk on the assassination of John F. Kennedy on Wednesday, 8/26 at 1:00 pm.