Kamri Dayton Ms. Roberts ELA 7 15 March, 2017 Surratt’s Sentence As Mary Surratt walked up the steps of the gallows, knowing that the low hanging noose was about to take her life, she whispered to the soldier “don’t let me fall’. Moments later the thick rope instantly brought Surratt to her last breath. Mary was accused for being involved in the association of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 15th, 1865. Mary Surratt deserved to be executed for holding her tongue during the assassination. Mary Surratt had John Wilkes Booth stay at her boarding house before the assassination of Lincoln. She said that she only knew about the kidnapping of president, but prosecutors believed that Surratt was lying because she wanted …show more content…
Lying to the court, some people find it easy to blame Surratt for trying to cover up her crime. Surratt was caught red-handed when Lewis Paine was looking for a hideout. Paine had gone back to Surratt’s boarding house after he failed to assassinate secretary, William H. Seward. It is to be that Booth visited Surratt after finding out that the president would be at Ford’s Theater on April 14th 1865. Louis Weichmann testified upon the people that John Wilkes Booth had asked Mary Surratt to deliver a package to John Lloyd before he took off after the shooting. Mary most likely knew why Booth couldn't deliver the package to Lloyd himself, he was on the run from the government and security. Mary Surratt completely deserved her punishment because she could have turned Booth and his henchman into the proper authorities. Execution is a reasonable sentence because Surratt had the chance to save a life of a grand president, but her silence resulted in taking her life also. Works Cited Kingseed, Wyatt. "A Burned Letter, Conflicting Stories and an Absent Son Helped to Send Mary Surratt to the Gallows." America's Civil War 16.6 (2004): 12-14. Web. Swanson, James L. Chasing Lincoln's Killer. New York: Scholastic, 2009.
This indicates Booth had a package for lloyd and Mrs. Surratt delivered the package which was not the right or the safest thing to do and it was not smart of Mary Surratt. Mary Surratt lied to the authorities and just for that back then that would have got you executed. Source 2 states Mary Surratt maintained his innocence when questioned if she knew of Booth’s plan she replied ‘never in the world ‘if it was the last word i utter. This shows Mary Surratt lied to the authorities and witch makes her a lier.
The Guilty Party Mary Surratt should have been executed because she helped kill the president. Mary Surratt was not just caught for bringing the guns, there was also evidence that she knew many of the conspirators. One reason she is guilty is Mary Surratt brought guns to the tavern which were later later used to kill the president. In the text it reads, “According to him, on both occasions she inquired about “Shooting Irons” previously deposited by her son” (Source 2).
First of all when Louis Weichmann gave the package to Mary which contain weapons and binoculars which was meant for John Wilkes Booth. Mary did not know what the package was meant for or what was inside of it. The evidence is Weichmann did not tell her what the package was for or who is was meant for or what was in the package More evidence is that in the letter that John Wilkes Booth gave to a fellow actor. The letter contain the names of the people who were involved in the plot of the murder and Mary Surratt name was not included in the letter proving that she was not or knew about the murder. These were the reason why Mary Surratt did not know about the
On this night John Wilks Booth intended on killing the vice president Andrew Jackson, the secretary of war Edwin M. Stanton, and successfully assassinated the 16th president of the United States of America. Booth spent 12 days on the run, within those 12 day Samuel Cox ( farmer who provides temporary refuge for Booth and Herold), Richard Garrett ( the farmer in whose barn Booth and Herold are captured), where few of the people who helped Booth during those 12 days. Sergeant Boston Corbett was the union solider who shot Booth. Booth misjudged how people would react he thought he would be seen as a southern hero, but most people saw it as a heinous crime. (O’Reilly 12) (Levison par.
The first reason that Mary Surratt received a far worse punishment than she got was because she did not hurt anyone. She got hung for treason, which she didn’t do, according to various websites. Treason is overthrowing the government, according to “dictionary.com”. Surratt did not overthrow the government. The book, Chasing Lincoln’s Killer says, “The soldiers arrested Mary Surratt”. The book never talks about Mary rebelling against the soldiers. This evidence shows that Mary Surratt received a far worse punishment than she got, because she didn’t hurt anyone.
Mary Surratt lied about knowing people . The reason I say this is because in source two it states ,” Before God sir , I do not know this man nor did I hire him to dig a ditch.” This shows that she lied about knowing people and hiring them. Hence proves that she had something to hide. Another reason that she should have been executed was in source two , it states ,”Mary Surratt lied about knowing Lewis Paine” . This shows and tells you that she lied to the federal government and police which means something is out of the normal.
He executed his part of the escape arrange splendidly. A few people may not realize that Lincoln was by all account not the only piece of Booth's crazy plan. Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward were supposed to be assassinated as well, but these aspects of Booth’s plan did not go as originally planned. Booth met David Herold, who was supposed to wait for Lewis Powell, but after Powell’s failures at the Seward mansion, abandoned him. They rode together to Maryland and stayed at Samuel Mudd’s farm, where they spent the night.
Is Mary Surratt guilty? Mary Surratt is being accused of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and is being hanged for it. Some people say that Dr.Mudd did it and other people say that Mary did it but who really killed Abraham Lincoln? Mary Surratt definitely deserved to be hanged for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Mary Surratt, a women who assisted in killing Abraham Lincoln , is guilty of conspiracy because she knew what the plans where to assassinate the 16th president of the United States. She gave John Wilkes Booth, the killer of the president, and their follow colleagues a places to sleep and live, the boarding place she provided is also the place they came up with the plans to murder the president. One of the people who were around during this was John M. Lloyd, he was an assistant to Mrs.Surratt . As he describes Mrs. Surratt in his testimony, he had do several things that had to be done to make sure that their plan carried thru, Like getting an buggy to pick up Booth to go to the theater. Also Mrs.Surratt and Booth often held private meetings
Most Americans know John Wilkes Booth as the assassin of Abraham Lincoln- shot at a play at Ford’s Theater on April 14th, 1865. However, the names of the conspirators that surrounded Wilkes Booth are relatively unknown, especially that of Mary Surratt. Mary Surratt, a mother and boardinghouse proprietor, was arrested and tried for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln along with her son, John Surratt. Pleas from her family, lawyer, and fellow conspirators did not allow her to escape her fate, and she was hanged for her crimes on July 7th, 1865. Even from the scaffold, Lewis Powell, another conspirator condemned to die, cried, “Mrs. Surratt is innocent. She doesn't deserve to die with the rest of us.” So who was this woman, and most
Her cell was sparse, yet she was able to maintain her catholic beliefs throughout her entire trial. Her Military trial began May, 9th and she was tried alongside, Harold, Paine, Adzerodt, Michael Olaughlen, Edman Spangler, Samuel Mudd, and Samurl Arnold. Frederick Aiken and Thomas Clampitt, Marys lawyers, were very inexperienced and both were affiliated with union ties. They were livid that she was being prosecuted under military commission. The war had ended five days earlier; therefore she should have been prosecuted in a civilian’s trial. There were two main witnesses for the prosecution whose testimony was what ultimately lead to Mary’s execution. The first, Lewis Weichmen, landlord to the Surratt family, said that three days before the assassination he accompanied Mary Surratt to tavern for business. Then on the day of the assassination, Wiechmann went with Mary to the tavern once more, where she gave a package to John Lloyd. After getting back to Washington that night, around nine o'clock Weichmann testified that Booth came to the boarding house and had another secret meeting Mary. He said that after the meeting her attitude changed and she became very nervous. The jury was very suspect when learning about Mary’s secrecy and it was starting to become much clearer that she had knowledge of the affairs to be taken place that night. Lloyd, the second
Mary Surratt was very untruthful when it came to confessing that she knew Lewis Paine and many more things. Source two states “Mary lied about knowing Lewis Paine.” Mary knew him and they met when they knew about Lincoln attending Ford’s Theatre. Mary also lied when the police went to her house and they asked “Do you know this man” she replied “Before God, sir I do not know this man , and have never seen him, and I did hire him to dig a gutter for me”. It was a lie she did know that man, that man was Lewis Paine.
Mary Surratt was the defendant among the executed that received a punishment far out weighing her role in the crime. Mary Surratt was convicted of conspiracy in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. She was sentenced to death and became the first woman to be executed by the U.S. government. Mary Surratt was the mother of John Surratt who was a conspirator that helped John Wilkes Booth plan Lincoln’s kidnap and later, his assassination. With the help of Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, “Lincoln and the Writ of Liberty,” and the movie The Conspirator, it can be proven that Mary Surratt’s punishment was unjust. Mary Surratt received a punishment far worse than what she deserved because she was innocent, blamed for her son’s actions, and she did
Additionally, he is mad that his kidnapping plan didn’t work. biography.com says “Frustrated at seeing his plot fail Booth resolved to go to an even further extreme.” This is saying that Booth was frustrated that his plot failed, and he was going to assassinate the president. biography.com also says “Booth enlisted six southern sympathizers, but their March 1865 attempt in Washington D.C failed.” This shows his support of the South, and it also shows how their plan failed.
On the evening on April 14, 1856, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, who had already attempted to kidnap Lincoln twice already, while attending the play of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater. Sitting with him were Mayor Henry Rathbone and his fiancée, Clare Harris. While watching the play, Booth sneaked into the box the president, a knife in his left hand and a pistol in his right. Booth shot the president in the back of the head, slashed Rathbone across the arm, and jumped off the balcony. Booth caught his leg on a flag on the way down and broke his leg. Lincoln was carried to a boarding house next door and died the next day. President Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated in United States history. John booth escaped, sought medical attention for his wounded leg, and fled into the Virginia country side. Union troops found the barn he was hiding in, surrounded it, set it on fire, and shot Booth as he attempted to escape (“The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln,” 34f). The president’s body was taken by train to Springfield, Illinois, where he was then buried. Accomplices of Booth’s were tried for their part in trying to assassinate other leaders, such as the Vice President and the Secretary of War. Others were tried in court for attempting to aid