Life Of President Lincoln example essay topic

Lincoln Many people "think" that they know about the Lincoln assassination. There are two theories on the death of Abraham Lincoln. The first theory is that of John Wilkes Booth shooting Lincoln in the cerebrum. The second theory is that a doctor misplaced his pinkie finger when assisting Lincoln to a hospital. Many people believe that the doctor's finger actually pushed the bullet further into Lincoln's brain, leading to his death. This research paper will compare and contrast the different theories and viewpoints about how Lincoln was assassinated.

(Norton) Abraham Lincoln was born on Sunday, February 12, 1809, in a log cabin in Kentucky. In his early life, he worked jobs including; running a store, surveying, and serving as a postmaster in New Orleans. There, Lincoln lived, worked, and he even wrestled the town bully, earning him the nickname, "Honest Abe". Later on in life, Lincoln got married to a woman named Mary Todd.

Later on, Lincoln became an attorney, decided to settle down and buy a house in Springfield. (Norton) In 1846 Lincoln ran for the United States House of Representatives and won. He was well known throughout the political world for his opposition to the Mexican War and his will to put an end to slavery. In 1860, Lincoln won on the third ballot and was elected the 16th President of the United States on November 6, winning over Stephen A. Douglas. (Norton) On April 14, 1865, the Lincoln family attended a play entitled "Our American Cousin", at Ford's Theater.

At about 10: 15 p.m. Lincoln was shot in the brain by John Wilkes Booth. Booth was the ninth out of ten children. He was born in Bel Air, Maryland in 1838. Booth was an actor and chose not to fight in the Civil War, his sympathies lay with the South and against President Lincoln. As the Confederacy began to lose, Booth's hatred of Lincoln became stronger and stronger.

He eventually began to plot against the President. Booth fired a single shot -. 44 - caliber Derringer into Lincoln's head, behind the left ear (according to the book, "True Crime: Assassination"), by the editors of Time -Life Books. After the shooting, Booth leaped for the stage. One of his spurs got caught in a flag, and he broke his leg after landing on the stage. (Lattimer) He staggered to his feet and shouted: "Sic semper tyrannies!" - meaning, "Thus always to tyrants!" On April 26, he was caught by Union soldiers on a farm near Bowling Green, Virginia, and apparently shot himself.

Dr. Charles Leale, who was only twenty-three years old at the time of the assassination was the first doctor to get to President Lincoln. Upon examining Lincoln, Leale discovered the only wound Lincoln had - a bullet wound in the back of his head. Leale knew that Lincoln would not have a good chance of living, but Lincoln was still alive, and Leale's job was to help prolong his life as much as possible. With the help of other doctors, Lincoln was carried across the street to the Peterson House where he passed away the next morning at 7: 22 a.m.

(Cavendish) There were nine doctors that were present during the death / autopsy of Abraham Lincoln; Surgeon General Dr. Joseph. Barnes, The Lincoln family physician, Dr. Robert King Stone, Dr. Charles Sabin Taft, Assistant Surgeon General Dr. Charles H. Crane, Army Assistant Surgeon William Morrow Nots on, General Ruler of the Army's Quartermaster Department (whose men had escorted the hearse back to the White House), Lincoln's friend, Orville H. Browning, Army Assistant Surgeon Joseph Janvier Woodard, and Army Assistant Surgeon Edward Curtis. All of Washington's top physicians arrived at some point during the long night, but there was nothing anyone could do to save the life of President Lincoln. (Elliot) Another intriguing fact according to the book, Kennedy and Lincoln: Medical and Ballistic Comparisons of Their Assassinations, by Dr. Lattimer, is that the actual course of the ball (bullet), is still undetermined. The doctors present at the April 15, 1865 autopsy gave conflicting accounts.

For example, Dr. J.J. Woodward (who performed the actual autopsy) stated, "There was a gunshot wound of the head around which the scalp was greatly thickened by hemorrhage into its tissue. The ball entered through the occipital bone about one inch to the left of the median line and just above the left lateral sinus, which it opened. It then penetrated the durra matter, passed through the left posterior lobe of the cerebrum, entered the left lateral ventricle and lodged in the white matter of the cerebrum just above the anterior portion of the left corpus stratum, where it was found."However, Dr. J.K. Barnes, Surgeon General of the Army, stated": "The ball entered the skull to the left middle line, and below the line with the ear. It ranged forward and upward toward the right eye, lodging within half an inch of that organ". (Lattimer) These autopsy reports are slightly different. Besides the fact that the first autopsy stated here is much more intricate, they both have differing sides of the path that the ball had traveled to enter Lincoln's cerebrum.

Some of the doctors may actually disagree with the photo given above (Booth shooting Lincoln). The gun is, from Booth, pointed downward at Lincoln's throat. Some may argue that the photo is not accurate. There are hundreds of photos just like the one presented above, and many from different angles. To this date, the path of the ball is still undetermined. According to the various web sites used in this report, there were supposedly two different probes used on Lincoln on April, the fourteenth.

One probe was made of silver and was approximately six inches long. The second probe was a porcelain - tipped rubberNelaton probe which reached to a depth of seven and one half inches. Another interesting fact is that neither probe used was sterile. The techniques and knowledge of medicine was not fully developed during this time. (Cavendish) It is nearly impossible to answer the inevitable question: Which killed Lincoln: The bullet, or the pinkie? It is impossible to give a "100% for certain" response to this question.

According to online research and Dr. Lattimer's book, Kennedy and Lincoln: Medical and Ballistic Comparisons of Their Assassinations, the vast majority of doctors feel that with the vast amount of brain damage that Mr. Lincoln sustained, no degree of medical care, even today, could have saved him. "There seems to be no reason to disagree with those who have stated that Lincoln could not possibly have survived this wound, even in modern times, and that, indeed, it is remarkable that he survived for nine hours, as he did, after the shooting. Even if he had survived, he most certainly would have been a decerebrate 'vegetable'; a cruel transformation from the sensitive, compassionate, and thoughtful chief of state which he had been". (Lattimer)

Bibliography

Norton, Rodger. Abraham Lincoln's Assassination [Online] Available web of Lincoln [Online] Available web Paul. Assassin! , New York: Harcourt Brace Javanovich, 1989.
True Crime: Assassination, Alexandria, Virginia: By the Editors of Time - Life Books, 1994.
Lattimer, John. Kennedy and Lincoln: Medical and Ballistic comparisons of their assassinations, New York and London, Harcourt Brace Jovanovic h, 1980.
Cavendish, Marshall. Assassinations~The Bloody Murders That Changed History, London and New York: Marshall Cavendish Publications Limited, 1975.